There are few things that go better together than zombies and Halloween. Unfortunately for most fans of The Walking Dead, we've watched everything that The Walking Dead franchise has delivered over the years. Unless we're rewatching the series and all of its spinoffs, which is never a bad idea, by the way, fans will probably like to watch a zombie show they've never seen before this Halloween.
There's good news and bad news on that front! Let's start with the bad news, first. For one, there just aren't that many great zombie shows. It's a tough genre because it requires so much more investment with all the effects, makeup, and more than your typical TV drama or comedy. The good news is that some of the best shows of the last decade have been zombie shows. So, let's talk about them!
I shared the three zombie shows that Walking Dead fans should watch this Halloween. As mentioned, none of them are Walking Dead shows. You already know about all those.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us is the perfect Halloween show for Walking Dead fans to watch, especially if you haven't started this great series yet. The series, which was developed by two of the greatest modern storytellers, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, is based on the video game franchise of the same name. The Last of Us premiered on HBO on Jan. 15, 2023, and it was a smash hit right out of the gate.
The zombie series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), an unlikely duo, who try to cross the country years after the United States has fallen into separate warring factions after a fungal pandemic starts turning everyone into zombies. There's hope, though, in Ellie.
The Last of Us isn't just a good story with fantastic effects and design. It has an incredible cast. In addition to Pascael and Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Isabela Merced, Kaitlyn Dever, Young Mazino, and more star in the series. We also have smaller appearances from some of the biggest TV stars, including Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, Melanie Lynskey, Anna Torv, Jeffrey Wright, Tati Gabrielle, and more.
So far, two seasons of The Last of Us have aired and are available to stream on HBO Max. The Last of Us season 3 will be the final season of the series, and it arrives sometime in 2027.
All of Us Are Dead
All of Us Are Dead is one of my favorite zombie shows, although I don't consider it to be as good as, say, The Last of Us or Kingdom, two of the best zombie shows ever. With that said, it's highly entertaining and can easily be binge-watched in a day or a weekend.
All of Us Are Dead is a South Korean Netflix original series that takes place at a high school in Hyosan. The first season follows a group of students who are just trying to survive the deadly outbreak.
After it was a massive hit on Netflix, it was quickly renewed for season 2, but it has taken years for it to be released. We're currently waiting for the release of the second season on Netflix, but production wrapped in early 2026, so we should see the season very soon, like sometime in early 2027.
We're expecting to learn the release date at Netflix's upcoming event in South Korea on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. You definitely need to watch this show before season 2 premieres next year.
Santa Clarita Diet
Last but not least, I have to share another one of my favorite zombie shows of all time, and that's Santa Clarita Diet, starring the great Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant.
Victor Fresco's series follows Sheila and Joel Hammond, played by Barrymore and Olyphant, after Sheila dies and comes back to life as a zombie. Joel does what he can to help his wife sustain herself on human flesh. Skyler Gisondo and Liv Hewson round out the rest of the main cast.
There are three seasons of Santa Clarita Diet on Netflix. Surprisingly, Netflix canceled this great show after just three seasons. To this day, it remains one of the most puzzling cancellation decisions the streaming network has ever made.
Even though it was canceled, it still remains a great show to watch on Netflix!
Those are three big zombie shows I would watch on Halloween if I hadn't seen them already as a fan of The Walking Dead. They are very different from The Walking Dead in some ways, but I think you'll find a lot of similarities between all three shows if you give them a chance. Santa Clarita Diet, I will say, is much more light-hearted and fun than the other two shows.
Happy Halloween, zombie fans!
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