Between Widow’s Bay and Eternally Yours, Horror-Comedy is Making A Comeback in TV — And I’m Here For It

Summer isn’t over yet, but I’ve been in the mood for spooky season as of late.

2026 has been a great year for horror fans, as it seems like horror movies are taking over the big screen (anyone else feel like they can’t escape the hype around Obsession?).

But TV has been having a great year for horror fans, too.

With The Vampire Lestat taking the world by storm and the upcoming Carrie adaptation, there’s no shortage of chills and thrills for TV lovers. 

What I’m most excited about the blending of horror with other genres, namely comedy.

Anyone who knows me knows that comedy is my specialty when it comes to TV shows. 

And even though sitcoms are my subgenre of choice, I’ve been finding myself revisiting the horror-comedy genre more as of late for a few reasons. 

The main one is that there seem to be more horror-comedy series emerging, namely Widow’s Bay and Eternally Yours. 

This subgenre might be niche, but given the recent love it’s receiving, I’m excited about the potential for horror-comedy to re-emerge on TV. 

Screaming With Laughter

Comedy is a genre that tends to blend well with others, as even the most serious dramas like Succession are full of comedic moments. 

But in particular, comedy and horror pair particularly well, as comedy often offers light-hearted relief from the tension that horror tries to build. 

There’s a deep history of horror-comedy shows, starting with The Addams Family sitcom from the ’60s, but some of my personal stand-outs include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, What We Do in the Shadows, and Ghosts. 

Buffy conforms more to traditional cable dramas with its monster-of-the-week format. 

But the show’s trademark is the characters’ memorable one-liners that provide comedic relief between battling vampires and other monsters. 

Ghosts falls more into the category of comedy, but the CBS sitcom still has some horror elements (after all, ghosts still count as monsters, even if they’re friendly in this case). 

Out of all the series mentioned, What We Do in the Shadows fits my ideal blend of comedy and horror. 

It combined the workplace mockumentary sitcom style with the world of vampires, in all its bloody gory. 

What We Do in the Shadows struck a perfect balance between gnarly vampire feedings and the comedy of vampires failing to assimilate into the modern world. 

This FX series also handled the campiness of horror-comedy wonderfully by leaning into morbid moments, such as Guillermo’s nasty task of disposing of bodies, but also making space for the grounded, human emotions of guilt and sorrow in between the comedic moments. 

I don’t think there’ll ever be a show that will ever be as special as What We Do in the Shadows to me, but I have a feeling that the horror-comedy series of 2026 might come close to scratching that itch. 

It’s a Great Time To Get Into Horror-Comedy

When I first heard about Eternally Yours, I was immediately won over. 

Just knowing that it’s made by the people who created the US adaptation of Ghosts and that it’s a sitcom about a vampire family was enough to convince me to tune in. 

Plus, I think Helen Shen is a great addition to the cast and can’t wait to see her TV debut. 

While it hasn’t started airing yet, I’m absolutely ready for when Eternally Yours premieres on CBS in October. 

But until then, I’m planning to finally tune into Widow’s Bay. 

This Apple TV show has received plenty of love in this year’s Emmy nominations, and any series that stands as a strong contender against Hacks intrigues me.

Widow’s Bay is about a mayor who wants to turn his island into a tourist hotspot but runs into some supernatural barriers.

Every single person who has talked to me about the show has done nothing short of raving about how much they love it. 

Something that stands out about all the compliments Widow’s Bay has been receiving is how seamlessly it blends horror and comedy.

All the buzz around Widow’s Bay not only has me excited to tune in and see what all the commotion is about, but also invested in the future of horror-comedy on TV. 

Even though I might be able to stomach Interview with the Vampire‘s brutal decapitations and Hannibal‘s dissection scenes, I still prefer to consume horror in small quantities.

So, an increase of horror-comedy series would be the ideal way for me to continue satisfying the part of me that enjoys a good scare now and then while still staying in the familiar territory of comedy. 

Over to you now, horror and comedy TV Fanatics! 

What are some of your favorite horror-comedy series?

Have you tuned into any of the series mentioned on this list? What’s your all-time favorite horror-comedy series?

Let me know in the comments below!

I’m always looking for new suggestions on what to watch.