Television is in the middle of a golden age that's been especially generous toward genre programming, like the horror genre. It's easy to dismiss horror programming as storytelling that's purely designed to scare, and the eclectic genre digs into the many anxieties of the human psyche, whether those may be masked murderers or unsettling meditations on the end of existence.
Compelling characters are fundamental to any good horror story, but some series are able to use horrific trauma and tragedy as a way to bring people together and create connection. There are some truly beautiful and unexpected relationships on display across the wide array of horror television.
10 Joel & Ellie Are Brought Together Through Trauma & Fight Against Infection
The Last Of Us
HBO's The Last of Us is already 2023's big television hit, but it's also definitively proven that video game adaptations can present powerful art and storytelling. Survivors who forge new families during the height of disaster is nothing new for horror, but there's such authenticity between Joel and Ellie, the unlikely pair who take the forefront in The Last Of Us.
Joel and Ellie have both already experienced debilitating casualties from the Cordyceps pandemic, and their ability to protect each other turns into an essential coping mechanism in the face of perpetual darkness. Joel and Ellie are quickly able to drop any artificial appearances and earnestly open up.
9 Hannibal Lecter & Will Graham Have Become Haunting "Murder Husbands"
Hannibal
The Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter character had run its course and lost its sense of mystique in both feature films and Thomas Harris' novels. However, Bryan Fuller's reimagining and remixing of Harris' heightened universe is still regarded as one of television's greatest series, horror or otherwise.
Hannibal adeptly juggles standalone serial killer stories with Will Graham's growing suspicions over Hannibal Lecter's true nature. Fuller's interpretation of the text creates a palpable sexual tension between Hannibal and Will. Will's addiction to Hannibal only puts him in greater danger, but he also feels like he's never been more seen or understood than by this man.
8 Riley Flynn & Erin Greene Have A Love That's So Pure That It Burns Up In Flames
Midnight Mass
Mike Flanagan has become one of this decade's most consistent names in horror. Flanagan's projects rarely miss their marks, but Midnight Mass might be his magnum opus. This moody meditation on faith, religion, addiction, and forgiveness casts both angels and vampires in a unique light that's simultaneously terrifying and thought-provoking.
Midnight Mass' Riley is a fragile, lost individual who's given a new lease on life after Father Paul's Angel feeds upon him. Midnight Mass' fifth episode is incredibly emotional, and it details the aftermath of Riley's transformation, which he uses to bare his soul to Erin and make sure that the evil that's taken hold of him is destroyed.
7 Alice & Zoe Woods Take On Generational Pain To Relieve The Other's Burdens
Channel Zero: Butcher’s Block
Channel Zero is a season-long horror anthology that largely flew under the radar during its four-season run, yet its stories deliver pure nightmare fuel that easily trumps anything that's come out of American Horror Story. Each Channel Zero season is inspired by a different Internet creepypasta story, and Season 3, Butcher's Block, becomes a harrowing examination of mental health, familial responsibilities, and survivor's guilt.
Alice Woods tends after her older sister, Zoe, who's inherited their mother's schizophrenia. Butcher's Block effectively turns the tables on the patient and protector roles that Alice and Zoe occupy. They reach some tense places, but it's all in service of helping the other.
6 Jake Wheeler & Devon Evans Find Young Love In The Face Of Fatalities
Chucky
Chucky's Child's Play killer doll slasher series has sustained seven feature films and now a television series that's entering production on its third season of tiny terror. The Chucky television show is a lore-filled love letter to the movies, but it also establishes strong new characters and becomes one of horror's most positive depictions of LGBTQ+ relationships.
Jake and Devon are two friends who get caught up in Chucky's murderous mayhem. However, through all of this chaos, the two of them are able to accept and communicate their feelings for each other and share their first kiss.
5 Kristen Bouchard & David Acosta Are Two Opposites Who Can't Help But Attract
Evil
Evil is a spiritual procedural horror series that's found great success by building upon The X-Files' tried and true skeptic/believer angle. In the case of Evil, that comes down to Kristen Bouchard and David Acosta, a psychologist and a Catholic priest who begin to investigate supposed demonic activity.
Most investigations in Evil also incorporate the perspective of the tech-savvy Ben, but it's the romantic tension between Kristen and David that adds a fascinating wrinkle to their work. David's interest in Kristen is a temptation that's in direct conflict with his pious pursuit, but it's hard for him to deny the way that she makes him feel.
4 Lisa Nova & Roy Hardaway Find Meaning Within The Madness
Brand New Cherry Flavor
Nick Antosca and Lenore Zion's Brand New Cherry Flavor is eight episodes of kaleidoscopic, surreal revenge fantasy at its finest. Rosa Salazar has never been more captivating than in her starring role as Lisa Nova, a wronged up-and-coming director who gets her passion project stolen away and turns to witchcraft and curses as a means of retaliation.
Lisa heads down a self-destructive path, but along the way, she encounters burgeoning actor Roy Hardaway, who's inspired by her raw, no-filter lifestyle. The two cling to each other as dark forces pull them apart with greater intensity.
3 Norman & Norma Bates Will Have Each Other's Backs Forever & Ever
Bates Motel
Fans were initially skeptical of the merits behind Bates Motel, A&E's five-season prequel to Psycho, but the horror series evolves into an excellent character study, largely in part due to Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga's layered performances as Norman and Norma Bates. To be clear, the level of codependency between Norman and Norma is hardly healthy or sweet, but at their core, these are two hurt individuals who would do anything for each other.
This philosophy gets pushed to troublesome places. However, Norman and Norma were also there for each other when no one else was, which is a bond so powerful that not even death could stop it.
2 Gino Barelli & Patrick Read Stay By The Other's Side Until The Bitter End
American Horror Story: NYC
Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story has delivered more than a decade of anthology horror that's covered everything from serial killers to witches to aliens. American Horror Story: NYC is a breath of fresh air and the best that the show has been in years. Set in the 1980s amid the growing AIDS crisis, AHS: NYC mixes together heightened horrors and real-life tragedies.
The season's central couple, Gino Barelli and Patrick Read, are far from perfect, but their tragic time together is some of the series' most delicate storytelling. It's a devastating finale when these two finally part ways, but their sad ending, unfortunately, mirrors far too many real couples.
1 Joe Golberg & Ellie Alves' Friendship Helps Soften This Serial Killer
You
Now in its fourth season on Netflix, You is the tonally anachronistic horror series that's like if Dexter were a romantic comedy. Joe Goldberg is the ultimate unreliable narrator, and the audience experiences his twisted tales of obsession through the flowery running monologues that perpetually fill his head and turn his heinous acts into cute love stories.
You's second season shows Joe take sympathy on Ellie Alves, a young teen played by Jenna Ortega, who's suddenly without any family. Joe grew up as an orphan and understands Ellie's growing plight. He continues to financially assist her even after they've parted ways.