2024 was a good year for horror television. Series such as The Fall of the House of Usher, Teacup, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, Evil, Chucky and Interview with the Vampire proved that the most attractive and ingenious proposals of the genre are not limited to cinema.
Fortunately, 2025 is also shaping up to be a big year for horror on the small screen, too. With iconic franchises becoming TV series and hit series returning with new seasons, there’s a little something for everyone. And, the best part is that the 2025 horror series run the gamut of subgenres.
Whether you like gory horror stories, psychological thrillers or post-apocalyptic tales, you won’t have a hard time finding a TV show that suits your preferences in 2025.
Here’s our pick of the 7 most exciting horror series coming in 2025. The upcoming shows are calibrated to keep viewers on the edge of their seats, and we can’t wait to enjoy each one.
Carrie
Amazon Prime Video | Season Premiere | No release date
Created by: Mike Flanagan
Starring: No Carrie cast members have been announced yet
Carrie, the Stephen King classic, will get another adaptation, this time in series format.
More than 45 years after actress Sissy Spacek made Carrie a household name, an eight-episode adaptation is on the way. This time, it’s being directed by modern horror icon Mike Flanagan.
In recent years, Flanagan (Gerald’s Game, Ouija: Origin of Evil) has become one of the most influential voices in the horror genre. In fact, he has an unblemished track record at Netflix, with memorable projects such as The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021) and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023).
In the official Amazon Prime Video synopsis, Carrie has been described as a “bold and timely reimagining of the story of misfit high-schooler Carrie White, who has spent her life in seclusion with her domineering mother. After her father’s sudden and untimely death, Carrie finds herself contending with the alien landscape of public High School, a bullying scandal that shatters her community, and the emergence of mysterious telekinetic powers.”
Although the 1974 novel has already been reimagined in four films, as well as a special episode of Riverdale and a Broadway musical, horror fans eagerly await the creative possibilities offered by this new version.
The Conjuring Prequel Series
HBO | Season Premiere | No release date
Created by: Peter Safran, James Wan
Starring: No The Conjuring cast members have been announced yet
Let’s start with a little refresher: there are currently eight films in The Conjuring universe, and as we’ve recently learned, a ninth film is in full development. Michael Chaves (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The Nun II) is returning to the franchise to direct The Conjuring 4.
Now, in 2025, the terror of The Conjuring also comes to television, providing great thrills for fans of the supernatural genre.
The Conjuring Prequel Series was first announced in 2023, but since then there have been very few updates. According to HBO the plot will continue the story of the films, potentially exploring new cases faced by the Warren couple or incorporating flashback sequences.
Given the fact that the original trilogy has moved forward chronologically, there is already speculation that The Conjuring Prequel Series may be set after 1981, the year of Arne Cheyenne Johnson’s trial in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.
Squid Game
Netflix | Season 3 | No release date
Created by: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Starring: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-joon, Im Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Lee Jin-wook, Park Gyu-young, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Jo Yu-ri, Kang Ae-shim
Squid Game, the South Korean series centered on a group of people participating in a deadly competition, has revolutionized all Netflix records. In fact, its second season garnered more than 65 million views in its first three days of streaming, making it the biggest launch in the platform’s history.
Premiered on December 26, the second season of Squid Game saw Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) return to the mysterious survival game to take it down once and for all. The fast-paced installment of dystopian, hyperviolent horror not only revealed the true identity of Player 001, but also ended with an uprising of the participants and an unprecedented bloodbath.
Fortunately, more episodes are already around the corner and, of course, we’re longing for the series’ return to screens.
While the official synopsis for the third installment has not been released, show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has stated that Gi-hun will find himself at a “critical crossroads” following his risky decision to start a rebellion.
It seems likely that in the final season, Gi-hun will face the Front Man although it is unclear to what extent he will be able to do so with several guns pointed at his head and most of his fellow insurgents dead.
“The third season of Squid Game will bring new games and even wilder character dynamics,” actor Lee Jung-jae has said.
IT: Welcome to Derry
Max | Season Premiere | No release date
Created by: Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Jason Fuchs
Starring: Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Madeleine Stowe, Bill Skarsgård
The ever-chilling world of IT returns once again in Welcome to Derry, a prequel set in the same universe as Andy Muschietti’s films. Max’s series takes place in the 1960s before the events of It: Chapter One and examines the history of Derry, Maine, and the origins of the sinister Pennywise.
While Pennywise has terrified audiences in both film and print for decades, Welcome to Derry promises new layers of terror, exploring the early days of the supernatural being and answering long-asked questions about the darkness that looms over the town.
With a riveting blend of terror and psychological tension, Welcome to Derry is sure to be one of the most exciting horror series to premiere this year; fans couldn’t be happier to learn that the chameleon-like Bill Skarsgård will reprise his iconic role.
The Last of Us
HBO | Season 2 | Release date: April 2025
Created by: Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Kaitlin Dever, Young Mazino, Isabela Merced, Danny Ramirez, Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Wright, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, Spencer Lord
HBO’s terrifying zombie thriller The Last of Us chronicles the aftermath of a global outbreak that decimated the population and essentially created organic monsters. The fiction offers a biological twist to its cataclysm: a fungus, ophiocordyceps, mutates to infect humans.
In the first installment of The Last of Us, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and young Ellie (Bella Ramsey) form a father-daughter pair as they struggle to survive the new world. At the time, the HBO adaptation was the media giant’s second-highest grossing premiere, behind only the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon.
Following the season finale, fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of the Emmy-winning series. Showrunner Craig Mazin is once again teaming up with Neil Druckmann, developer of the original game, for creative duties on Season 2.
HBO’s official synopsis reads as follows:
“After five years of peace following the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie’s collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.”
Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Wright and Kaitlyn Dever are among the additions to the cast. The season consists of seven episodes.
Alien: Earth
FX/ Hulu | Season Premiere | Release date: Summer 2025
Created by: Noah Hawley
Starring: Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin, Essie Davis, Adarsh Gourav, Kit Young, Timothy Olyphant, David Rysdahl
The Alien story has been a hot and compelling topic since its debut in the 1960s, and the good news is that the blockbuster franchise is expanding once again with the Alien: Earth television series.
Set in the year 2120, Alien: Earth is a prequel to the original 1979 film directed by Ridley Scott. Unlike the feature films in the franchise, this series is set on Earth and focuses on humanity’s early, ill-advised attempts to transform the xenomorphs into weapons of destruction.
FX’s official tagline notes the following:
“When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.”
Described as a sci-fi horror series, FX’s latest offering is directed by Noah Hawley, the acclaimed creator of Fargo and Legion, and has Ridley Scott executive producing. Whether it hits the mark or not, the latest entry into the Alien universe will undoubtedly be a must-see for fans of the genre.
Stranger Things
Netflix | Season 5 | Release date: 2025
Created by: Matt y Ross Duffer
Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Priah Ferguson, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke, Joe Keery, David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Brett Gelman
Stranger Things has (almost) come to an end.
Created by The Duffer Brothers, the horror/sci-fi series Stranger Things has been recognized as one of the best television series ever produced, and undoubtedly helped make Netflix the cultural fixture it is today.
Premiering in the summer of 2022, the fourth season ended with an all-out battle against the evil Vecna and the Demogorgons in the Upside Down, where newcomer Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) sacrificed himself to save his friends. The fifth season of Stranger Things will take place a year after these events.
While Netflix has yet to reveal the official plot, the story will most likely follow Eleven, Mike Wheeler and the rest of the Hawkins gang as they attempt to defeat Vecna, who is still powerful enough to spread the Upside Down in Hawkins and the world.
Co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer return to direct for the eight-episode final season, with nearly all of the series’ regular and recurring cast returning in some capacity. To add, The Terminator star Linda Hamilton also joins the cast in a mysterious role.