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Van Helsing poster

Shows that feel likeVan Helsing (2016–2021)

Vanessa Helsing, the daughter of famous vampire hunter and Dracula nemesis Abraham Van Helsing is resurrected five years in the future to find out that vampires have taken over the world and that she possesses unique power over them. She is humanity’s last hope to lead an offensive to take back what has been lost.

If you loved Van Helsing, the closest series we have are 12 Monkeys (2015), Falling Skies (2011) and The Walking Dead: Dead City (2023). All three share Van Helsing's cerebral and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Into the Badlands (2015).

11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu
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If Van Helsing hit the spot, these will too

12 Monkeys poster
12 Monkeys
2015–2018 · 4 seasons · Syfy
★ 7.7sci-fi & fantasy · dramaPrime Video

Two things both keep coming back to: life after the end and based on movie

The difference: Takes it somewhere less twisty than Van Helsing does

The provocative story of Cole, a time traveler from a decimated future in a high-stakes race against the clock. Utilizing a dangerous and untested method of time travel, he journeys from 2043 to the present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will all but annihilate the human race.

Falling Skies poster
Falling Skies
2011–2015 · 5 seasons · TNT
★ 7.1action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy · dramaNetflix

One thread runs through both: life after the end

The difference: Trades the twists of Van Helsing for an angle of its own

Falling Skies opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign against the occupying alien force.

The Walking Dead: Dead City poster
The Walking Dead: Dead City
2023– · 3 seasons · AMC
★ 7action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

Cerebral where it counts, dreamlike underneath

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Van Helsing does

Maggie and Negan travel to post-apocalyptic Manhattan - long ago cut off from the mainland. The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made it a world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror.

Into the Badlands poster
Into the Badlands
2015–2019 · 3 seasons · AMC
★ 7.9action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasy

Both land momentum and scale at once

In a land controlled by feudal barons, a great warrior and a young boy embark on a journey across a dangerous land to find enlightenment. A genre-bending martial arts series very loosely based on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West.

The Last Ship poster
The Last Ship
2014–2018 · 5 seasons · TNT
★ 7.4action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

Both lean on bleakness more than on sci-fi & fantasy

Their mission is simple: Find a cure. Stop the virus. Save the world. When a global pandemic wipes out eighty percent of the planet's population, the crew of a lone naval destroyer must find a way to pull humanity from the brink of extinction.

The Silent Sea poster
The Silent Sea
2021 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 6.9drama · sci-fi & fantasy · mysteryNetflix

Twisty mystery, and it commits to that

During a perilous 24-hour mission on the moon, space explorers try to retrieve samples from an abandoned research facility steeped in classified secrets.

Has Fallen poster
Has Fallen
2024– · 2 seasons · Canal+
★ 6.5action & adventure · war & politicsHulu

The same preoccupation in both: based on movie

A protection officer and an MI6 operative team up after a terrorist attack. They suspect a mole as they race to thwart a larger conspiracy threatening Paris.

Z Nation poster
Z Nation
2014–2018 · 5 seasons · Syfy
★ 6.7mystery · action & adventure · dramaPeacock

Twisty action & adventure in both cases

Three years after the zombie virus has gutted the country, a team of everyday heroes must transport the only known survivor of the plague from New York to California, where the last functioning viral lab waits for his blood.

War of the Worlds poster
War of the Worlds
2019–2022 · 3 seasons · Canal+
★ 6.5sci-fi & fantasy · drama

Sci-fi & fantasy built on ideas, twice over

When astronomers detect a transmission from another galaxy, it is definitive proof of intelligent extra-terrestrial life. The world’s population waits for further contact with bated breath. They do not have to wait long. Within days, mankind is all but wiped out by a devastating attack; pockets of humanity are left in an eerily deserted world. As aliens hunt and kill those left alive, the survivors ask a burning question – who are these attackers and why are they hell-bent on our destruction?

Plunderer poster
Plunderer
2020 · 1 season · TOKYO MX
★ 6.5action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy · animation

Action & adventure with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

In a post-apocalyptic world dominated by the so-called "Numbers," each human will have their identity branded with their own "Count," which could define any number related to their life. May it be one's walked distance or amount of compliments given to them by others, this Count could lead them to the abyss when it has dropped to zero. In the year 305 of the Alcian calendar, Hina has inherited a mission from her Mother, whose Count has depreciated to zero, to search for the Legendary Red Baron. In her adventure, she meets a half-masked swordsman named Licht who tries to hide his identity, as he is known as a degenerate for having an incredibly low Count.

The Rain poster
The Rain
2018–2020 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 6.3sci-fi & fantasy · dramaNetflix

Mystery with a pulse of bleakness, in both cases

After a brutal virus wipes out most of the population, two young siblings embark on a perilous search for safety. A Scandinavian thriller series.

The Purge poster
The Purge
2018–2019 · 2 seasons · USA Network
★ 6.6mystery · crime · drama

A 2010s answer to the same itch

Set in a dystopian America ruled by a totalitarian political party, the series follows several seemingly unrelated characters living in a small city. Tying them all together is a mysterious savior who’s impeccably equipped for everything the night throws at them. As the clock winds down with their fates hanging in the balance, each character is forced to reckon with their pasts as they discover how far they will go to survive the night.

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The best-reviewed series that share Van Helsing’s defining feeling.