Must-Watch TV Shows That Will Deeply Unnerve You
In the labyrinth of entertainment, where every turn presents a new series vying for our attention, distinguishing the truly remarkable from the fleeting can be a challenge. Yet, among this vast array, there are those gems that stand out not just for their storytelling, craftsmanship, or innovation, but for their ability to redefine the very essence of genre and narrative.
These are not just any series; these are the must-watch TV shows that have etched their names in the annals of television history. With our curated selection of must-watch TV shows, we aim to guide you through this maze, spotlighting those series that deserve not just a glance but your undivided attention.
Our focus on must-watch TV shows isn’t arbitrary. Each series listed has been chosen for its unique ability to captivate, challenge, and change the way we view television. From the shadowy realms of psychological thrillers to the unsettling corners of horror, these must-watch TV shows are your guide to the best that television has to offer. Whether it’s the intricate plotting of a mystery series or the spectral chill of supernatural shows, our list of must-watch TV shows spans a spectrum designed to satisfy all palates.
But what makes these series must-watch TV shows? Is it the depth of their characters, the intricacy of their plots, or the sheer brilliance of their creators’ vision? It’s all these factors and more. These must-watch TV shows are the ones that linger in your thoughts long after the screen has gone dark—the ones that become benchmarks for all other series. They are the shows that redefine genres, challenge societal norms, and, above all, entertain.
In this article, we not only highlight these must-watch TV shows but also delve into what makes each of them stand out. As we journey through this selection of must-watch TV shows, prepare to be intrigued, terrified, and utterly captivated. These are not just shows; they are experiences, ones that promise to haunt your nights, challenge your perceptions, and dazzle your senses.
So, as you sit back and peruse our compilation, remember, these aren’t merely recommendations; they’re your next obsessions. These must-watch TV shows are more than entertainment; they are a journey into the heart of what makes television a powerful medium for storytelling. Welcome to your definitive guide to must-watch TV shows that will, without a doubt, leave an indelible mark on your viewing experience.
Here is a list of must-watch TV shows:
The Watcher
Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan produced the American mystery thriller television series “The Watcher” for Netflix. On October 13, 2022, it made its debut. The majority of it is based on a 2018 article that Reeves Wiedeman wrote for New York magazine’s website, The Cut. The Watcher was originally planned as a miniseries, but in November 2022, it was renewed for a second season.
Plot
A married couple in the show are stalked by a man going by the alias “The Watcher” who sends ominous messages to them when they move into their dream house in a fictitious version of Westfield, New Jersey.
Characters and the cast
As Nora Brannock, Naomi Watts
Dean Brannock played by Bobby Cannavale
Ellie Brannock played by Isabel Gravitt
Matt Blumm in the role of Carter Brannock
Karen Calhoun, played by Jennifer Coolidge
Maureen/Mo, played by Margo Martindale
Richard Kind in the role of Mitch
Pearl Winslow, played by Mia Farrow
Jason Winslow, played by Terry Kinney
Det. Rourke Chamberland, played by Christopher McDonald
Theodora Birch, played by Noma Dumezweni
William “Bill” Webster / John Graff, played by Joe Mantello
Dakota, played by Henry Hunter Hall
Devil in Ohio
Based on Daria Polatin’s book of the same name, Devil in Ohio is a limited-run American suspense thriller television series produced by Netflix. The eight-episode television series debuted on September 2, 2022.
Plot
Mae appears in a hospital in Ohio as a girl who has an inverted pentagram etched onto her back. Dr. Suzanne Mathis, a psychiatrist at the hospital, becomes interested in her situation and offers to take the girl in while she searches for a suitable foster home.
It’s quickly learned that Mae fled the rural neighboring county, where there was a cult worshiping the devil. Religious freedom concerns and a fiercely protective county sheriff have prevented authorities from looking into the cult for a considerable amount of time. Mae’s presence soon causes disturbances in the Mathis household.
Characters and the cast
Dr. Suzanne Mathis, a hospital psychiatrist, played by Emily Deschanel
Sam Jaeger plays real estate developer Peter Mathis, Suzanne’s spouse.
Detective Lopez, played by Gerardo Celasco, is the one looking into Mae’s case.
Mae, played by Madeleine Arthur, is a cool-headed and unflappable teenager whose identity is as enigmatic as she
Xaria Dotson in the role of Jules Mathis, the fifteen-year-old daughter of Suzanne and Peter
Alisha Newton plays senior high school student Helen Mathis, the eldest child of Suzanne and Peter.
Naomi Tan in the role of Dani Mathis, the youngest daughter of Peter and Suzanne
Midnight Mass
Mike Flanagan is the creator and director of the American gothic supernatural horror television miniseries Midnight Mass, which stars Zach Gilford, Kate Siegel, Rahul Kohli, Kristin Lehman, Henry Thomas, and Hamish Linklater. The story revolves around a poor island town that begins to encounter paranormal activity following the entrance of an enigmatic priest.
On September 24, 2021, Netflix released it, and it got great reviews.
Plot
A young man serving four years in prison for killing someone in a drunk driving incident makes his way back to his remote Crockett Island homeland in the hopes of starting over. He arrives concurrently with a young, enigmatic, charismatic priest who starts reviving the town’s waning religion. But the priest’s actions eventually widen the rifts in society, and the small town experiences unexplained happenings.
At Midnight Mass, the cast includes:
Kate Siegel portrays Riley’s high school sweetheart, Erin Greene, who is currently a teacher on Crockett Island and is expecting a child. Prior to this, Siegel played Madison “Maddie” Young, who was shown in Flanagan’s 2016 film Hush (which he also co-wrote) and who wrote Midnight Mass.
Hamish Linklater plays Father Paul Hill, the mysterious new priest at St. Patrick’s Church. He comes to fill in for the elderly Monsignor Pruitt.
Riley Flynn, played by Zach Gilford, is a former venture capitalist who serves a four-year jail sentence for the death of a lady in a drunk driving accident. Riley Flynn returns to his birthplace of Crockett Island.
Kristin Lehman portrays Riley’s pious and forgiving mother, Annie Flynn.
Samantha Sloyan plays Bev Keane, a powerful, fanatical, and controlling churchgoer.
Igby Rigney portrays Riley’s younger brother, Warren Flynn, who serves as an altar boy at the church.
The majority of Catholic people on Crockett Island recognized Rahul Kohli as Sheriff Hassan, the Muslim sheriff, but many others had doubts.
Leeza Scarborough, the pious daughter of the mayor, is a wheelchair user due to an injury, and Annarah Cymone plays her.
Dr. Sarah Gunning, who serves as the town’s doctor, is Erin’s close friend.
Alex Essoe portrays Mildred Gunning, Sarah’s elderly mother, who has dementia.
Rahul Abburi is Ali, Ooker, and Warren’s friend and the son of the sheriff.
Matt Biedel plays the island handyman, Sturge.
Michael Trucco portrays Wade Scarborough, the mayor of Crockett Island.
Crystal Balint plays Dolly Scarborough, who is Leeza’s mother and Wade’s wife.
Louis Oliver plays Ooker, the church altar boy and buddy of Warren and Ali.
Henry Thomas portrays Riley’s father, Ed Flynn, a fisherman, as being reluctant to welcome his son home.
The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House is the first installment in the The Haunting anthology series. It is an American supernatural horror drama television miniseries, written and directed by Mike Flanagan, and produced by Amblin Television and Paramount Television for Netflix. It is partially based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 book of the same name.
The storyline shifts between two timelines: one that follows five adult siblings whose haunting experiences from Hill House persist into the present, and another that alternates between flashbacks showing the events leading up to the memorable night in 1992 when the family escaped the estate.
The actors who portray Hugh and Olivia Crain’s parents, Carla Gugino and Henry Thomas, are Timothy Hutton, who also plays Hugh’s older twin, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, and Victoria Pedretti.
The Netflix original series debuted on October 12, 2018. The Haunting of Hill House received high praise from critics for its acting, direction, and production values. October 9, 2020, saw the debut of Flanagan’s follow-up series, The Haunting of Bly Manor, which included a different plot and cast but mostly the same team.
Hugh and Olivia Crain come into Hill House in the summer of 1992 with their five children: Steven, Shirley, Theodora (Theo), Luke, and Eleanor (Nell). Olivia designs their own home and plans to sell the mansion. But they are forced to stay longer owing to unforeseen renovations, and they start seeing more and more paranormal activity.
This leads to a terrible loss, and the family leaves the house. Twenty-six years later, following yet another tragedy, the Crain siblings and their father reconcile and face the consequences of their time spent at Hill House.
Characters and the cast
Paxton Singleton and Michiel Huisman as Steven Crain, the family’s eldest son. Despite the opposition of his brothers, he wrote about his family’s experiences at Hill House and went on to become a well-known author.
Carla Gugino plays Olivia Crain, the family matriarch and interior designer. She is one of the people most impacted by the paranormal activity in the house, along with her youngest daughter, Nell.
Henry Thomas and Timothy Hutton play the family patriarch, house flipper Hugh Crain. After what happened at Hill House, he grows distant from his kids.
Lulu Wilson and Elizabeth Reaser as Shirley Crain Harris, the family’s eldest daughter. Together with her husband, Kevin, she owns a mortuary. They have a daughter and a boy.
Julian Hilliard and Oliver Jackson-Cohen played Luke Crain, Nell’s elder twin and one of the two youngest family members, respectively. As an adult, he battles a heroin addiction that makes it difficult for him to forget Hill House.
Kate Siegel and Mckenna Grace play Theodora “Theo” Crain, the middle child of the five and a child psychologist. Like her mother, she is “sensitive” and avoids touching others to avoid getting psychic information about them by donning gloves.
Victoria Pedretti and Violet McGraw play Eleanor “Nell” Crain Vance, Luke’s younger twin and one of the two youngest family members. The haunting she endured while residing in Hill House has never really left her.
Ratched
Sarah Paulson plays Nurse Mildred Ratched in the American psychological thriller television series Ratched, which Ryan Murphy developed and Evan Romansky directed.
A preface to Miloš Forman’s 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (which itself was based on Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel of the same name), it shows Mildred Ratched’s life before the events shown in the movie, but in California instead of Oregon.
The two-season series order was given to Ratched. On September 18, 2020, the first season debuted on Netflix. Paulson stated in August 2022 that she wasn’t sure if the second season was still in production. After one season, Ratched was canceled in February 2024, and Paulson confirmed the show’s demise.
Plot
The origin tale of asylum nurse Mildred Ratched is told in the gripping TV series Ratched. When Mildred moves to Northern California in 1947, she goes to work at a prestigious mental health facility where disturbing new experiments on the human mind are being conducted.
Mildred presents herself as the epitome of what a committed nurse should be while on a covert mission, but things are never static. As she starts to infiltrate the mental health care system and those who work there, Mildred’s fashionable exterior hides a dark side that has long been simmering beneath the surface, demonstrating that real monsters are created, not born.
Characters and the cast
Dr. Hanover employs Mildred Ratched, played by Sarah Paulson, as a nurse at Lucia State Hospital. Her primary goal for working there is to free her foster brother Edmund from the facility when he is admitted there for the murder of multiple priests.
Finn Wittrock portrays Ratched’s foster brother, Edmund Tolleson, a psychotic and vicious man, as a nurse at Lucia State Hospital.
Cynthia Nixon is Ratched’s romantic interest, as is Gwendolyn Briggs, press secretary and campaign manager for Governor Willburn.
Manuel Baaga, the director of Lucia State Hospital, hires Jon Briones, also known as Dr. Richard Hanover or Dr. Ratched.
Charlie Carver plays Lucia State Hospital orderly Huck Finnigan, who suffered severe facial disfigurement as a result of a combat accident. Later, after Betsy takes over the hospital from Dr. Hanover, he is promoted to head nurse.
Judy Davis portrays Ratched’s adversary, Lucia State Hospital’s chief nurse, Betsy Bucket. Later, once Dr. Hanover flees the police for his previous crimes, she assumes control of the hospital from him.
Sharon Stone plays Lenore Osgood, a wealthy heiress who, after hiring Dr. Hanover to cure her son’s mental condition, employs a hitman to kill Hanover for disfiguring her son.
The Girl In The Mirror
Sergio G. Sánchez is the creator of the Spanish supernatural thriller television series The Girl in the Mirror (Spanish: Alma), which debuted on August 19, 2022, on Netflix. Mireia Oriol is the cast’s leader, along with Lex Villazán, Pol Monen, Claudia Roset, Javier Morgade, Nil Cardoner, Mara Caballero, Milena Smit, and Elena Irureta.
Plot
Alma, one of the few survivors of a bus tragedy, awakens from amnesia at a hospital after the incident. Tranquilized and shaken, she attempts to solve the accident’s riddle.
In late 2018, Netflix placed an order for the series. Sergio G. Sanchez, Teresa de Rosendo, and Paul Pen co-wrote the screenplay for the program, and he also directed it with Kike Mallo. Sospecha Films handled the production for Netflix.
Filming began in September 2020 and took place in various locations in Asturias, including Llanes and Manresa, Catalonia. The Netflix series debuted on August 19, 2022.
Cast
As Alma, Mireia Oriol
As Tom, Álex Villazán
As Bruno, Pol Monen
Roset Claudia
As Martín, Javier Morgade
Cardoner Nil
María Caballero
Smit Milena
Irureta Elena
Belaustegui Marta
Bengoetxea Josean
Uranga Cándido
Borlado, Katia R.
Ximena Vera
Sastre, Celia
Laura Ubach
Raúl Tejón
Serrano Alejandro
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From
John Griffin is the creator of the American science fiction horror television series From (stylized as FROM). February 20, 2022, saw the debut of the first season on Epix. The show was given a second season renewal in April 2022, and it debuted on the redesigned MGM+ on April 23, 2023. The show was given a third-season renewal in June 2023, with a 2024 launch date scheduled.
Plot
Unwilling citizens of a nightmare town in Middle America fight to survive and look for a way out while dealing with terrible nighttime creatures from the nearby forest and mysteries kept within the town.
Characters and the cast
Boyd Stevens, played by Harold Perrineau, is the town’s de facto mayor and self-appointed sheriff. He and his son, Ellis, are not on good terms. He served in both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and is a retired Army soldier. During their stay in the town, his wife Abby was murdered and interred there.
Catalina Sandino Moreno portrays Tabitha Matthews, Jim’s wife, as well as Julie and Ethan’s mother, who are newcomers to the area. She is still in sorrow for her youngest child, Thomas, who passed away recently, and she has chosen to remain in the Township with her spouse and son.
Eion Bailey portrays Jim Matthews as a man who lives in the Township with his wife and son. Jim is both Julie and Ethan’s father and Tabitha’s husband. In order to get out of town and make contact with the outside world, he collaborates with Jade.
Rich software developer Jade Herrera, played by David Alpay, comes in town the same day the Matthews family does. Despite his brilliance, he struggles with his new situation and is conceited and harsh with the Township people.
Elizabeth Saunders plays Colony House’s resident leader, Donna Raines, who lives apart from the Township.
Shaun Majumder portrays Father Khatri, the Township’s priest and the community’s voice of reason (season 1; guest season 2).
Victor, played by Scott McCord, is an oddball Colony House inmate who has been imprisoned in the community since he was a small child. Eli Arsenault portrays Victor as a young boy.
Ricky He plays Boyd’s right-hand man and deputy, Kenny Liu, who resides in the Township with his elderly parents.
Chloe Van Landschoot plays Kristi Miller, the doctor of the town and a former paramedic who became stuck in the town and lost contact with her fiancé.
Pegah Ghafoori as Ellis’ girlfriend, Fatima Hassan, a resident of Colony House
Ellis Stevens, played by Corteon Moore, is Boyd’s son, who resides at Colony House apart from his father.
Hannah Cheramy plays Julie Matthews, the adolescent daughter of Jim and Tabitha and the elder sister of Ethan, who decides to move into Colony House and makes friends with Ellis and Fatima.
Simon Webster plays Ethan Matthews, the younger brother of Julie and the young son of Jim and Tabitha, who resides in the Township with his parents.
Sara Myers, Nathan’s sister, works at the Township cafe, and Avery Konrad plays her. She frequently experiences hallucinations in which she is given orders to murder the inhabitants of the town.
Paul Zinno stars in the first season as Nathan Myers, Sara’s brother, who looks after the farm animals in the town
Elizabeth Moy plays Tian-Chen Liu, the Township cafe owner and mother of Kenny and Bing-Qian.
Deborah Grover stars in the second season as Tillie, an elderly, carefree lady who is a bus passenger arriving in town
Bakta (Angela Moore, season 2) is a bus driver who unintentionally attracts a lot of newcomers to the community.
Kaelen Ohm as Kristi’s fiancée, Marielle (season 2), a pediatric nurse, and a rider on the bus
A.J. Simmons stars in Season 2 as Randall, a man on the bus who is erratic and easily enraged.
Nathan D. Simmons in “Elgin” (season 2), a bus rider who, before coming, had visions about the town
As our journey through the dark corners of television comes to a close, remember that these must-watch TV shows were chosen for their ability to captivate, terrify, and leave a lasting impression. From supernatural hauntings to psychological thrillers that play mind games, each series on this list earns its place as a must-watch TV show.
Whether you’re a seasoned horror fan or new to the genre, these must-watch TV shows promise to deliver nights filled with suspense and shadows. So, keep the lights dim, the doors locked, and brace yourself for an unforgettable experience with these must-watch TV shows that will undoubtedly haunt your nights.
