Five spooky-but-wholesome TV shows to watch after Wednesday

So you’ve raced all eight episodes of Wednesday, taught yourself Jenna Ortega​’s creepy choreography and even started wearing pigtails in honour of your new favourite psychopath. What now? Well, ​‘tis the season for merriment and all that, but if cheesy Christmas rom coms make you throw up in your mouth a little bit, you might want to turn to some ghosts (and demons and vampires and serial killers) of television’s past instead.

And you don’t have to turn to full-frontal horror to get your post-Wednesday kicks. A key element of The Addams Family spin-off’s charm is that it somehow manages to tell the tale of a homicidal maniac with a wholesome message – the power of friendship, the importance of family, the value of sticking to your guns and not giving a shit about what other people think. Who knew there was so much to learn from a kid whose hero is Machiavelli?

It’s clearly a formula that works. According to Netflix, Wednesday has now smashed Stranger Things’ record as the platform’s most-watched English-language show ever, as the world hunkered down to watch 341.2 million hours of it in one week. Blimey. That basically means that everyone in the world (ish) now has a gaping whole in their black hearts that needs filling with more spooky television. Don’t know where to start? We’ve got some ideas…

Based on the original comics, this Sabrina the Teenage Witch reboot is far darker than its ​‘90s predecessor. There’s no flying hoovers in sight and Salem the cat doesn’t even talk – a crying shame. But what it lacks in meme-able feline quotes, it makes up for in grisly plot lines and some properly creepy antics. Half mortal, half witch, Kiernan Shipka’s Sabrina is plotting to take down both Satan and the patriarchy, all while leading a double life as she splits her time between the human world and her new magic school. She’s basically a super righteous (but just about tolerable) Wednesday Addams.

Streaming now on Netflix.

Ah, Buffy Summers, the OG high schooler with a supernatural secret. Responsible for one liners such as ​“I may be dead, but I’m still pretty”, Sarah Michelle Geller’s turn as the cheerleader who fights vampires after school has genuinely become the stuff of pop culture legend. Over seven series, which ran from 1997 – 2002, Buffy and her mates save the world from evil forces again and again and again. Somehow it never gets old.

Streaming now on Disney+.

If you’re less interested in all the supernatural stuff, but lapped up Wednesday’s psychopathic tendencies, then check out Channel 4​’s black comedy The End of the F***ing World. There’s no dark magic to be seen here, only James, a 17-year-old who’s developed a taste for killing animals. But he’s growing out of all that. As he comes of age, what James really wants is to murder a human. He’s even chosen his victim, fellow classmate Alyssa. He gets more than he bargained for though, as the unlikely pair end up running away together and become pretty pally. Maybe James does have a heart after all…

Streaming now on Netflix.

Less spooky, more freaky, this British comedy follows a group of young offenders as they put on their orange overalls and get stuck into community service. Things quickly get weird though, when electrical storm gives everyone supernatural powers, including their supervisor who goes on a rabid murderous rampage. Their only option? Kill him, obviously. But now they have to cover it up, while also learning how to control their new abilities, which range from time travelling to invisibility. Much grittier than the Netflix originals on this list, this is one to watch if you find Sabrina and Wednesday just a tad too twee.

Streaming now on All 4.

Plucked from the mind of My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way, despite its name, The Umbrella Academy isn’t actually about a school. Instead, it’s the name an eccentric billionaire gave to his team of adopted teen superheroes, who he takes under his wing in order to help them save the world. Starring Elliot Page and Misfits’ Robert Sheehan, series one even features a dance scene that almost gives Wednesday a run for her money. The Umbrella kids walked so she could run.

Streaming now on Netflix.