While the 2014 film adaption of Richelle Mead's YA series Vampire Academy didn't resonate with critics or viewers (Metascore: 31), the Peacock TV series version (Metascore: 59) has solidified itself with a legion of fans. 

Vampire Academy follows Rose Hathaway (Sisi Stringer), a half-mortal, half-vampire known as a dhamir. Rose is training to become a guardian to her best friend Lissa Dragomir (Daniela Nieves), a Moroi vampire who is also a member of a royal family and a princess. The friends have shared one plan since meeting as children: graduate from St Vladimir's Academy and travel the world with Rose as Lissa's guardian. This highly trained protector keeps their Moroi safe from all harm, especially that posed by the Strigoi, a sect of violent and immortal vampires. When tragedy strikes Lissa's family, her role among the nobility has a massive shift that alters not only her path, but also Rose's path.

The adaptation's popularity is likely largely thanks to showrunner Julie Plec, the unofficial TV vampire queen who co-created The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies. If anyone knows how to make vampires sexy and watchable on the small screen, it's Plec. For her latest project, Plec teamed up once again with Marguerite MacIntyre, who appeared on the first six seasons of The Vampire Diaries and worked as a writer and producer on The Originals. 

Season 1 of Vampire Academy may have wrapped up without confirmation of a renewal, but there are plenty of sexy, intriguing, and sunshine-adverse series to binge next. Here, Metacritic highlights 10 shows to watch after Vampire Academy, ranked by their Metascore. 

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Metascore: 85
Best for: Fans of cult classic TV dramas that still stand up
Where to watch:

, , , , 
Seasons: 7

The gold standard for vampire shows, supernatural shows, high school shows, strong female fronted shows (should we go on?) continues to be Buffy The Vampire Slayer (check out that Metascore!). Sarah Michelle Gellar, who remains of the few actors ever nominated for a Golden Globe for a teen-centric series, stars as Buffy Summers, a high schooler who is the latest woman chosen by fate to be a vampire slayer. Reluctant to fulfill her duties, Buffy is often at odds with her own wants and her duty to protect others from vampires. Things get even more complicated when she falls in love with a vampire named Angel (David Boreanaz). Teenagers, amirite? The smartly written, funny, dramatic, emotional, groundbreaking, and pop culture-friendly series led to an Angel spin-off and continues to resonate with new streaming viewers and land on annual "best of" lists.

"Buffy is the best show of the year about kids in high school, with the most refreshingly original dialogue and pop cultural references." — Marvin Kitman, Newsday

Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire

Metascore: 81
Best for: Anne Rice fans who want to see vampires through decades and with a LGBTQIA+ storyline centered
Where to watch:

, ,
Seasons: 1 (so far)

Rice'sInterview with the Vampire gets the adaptation treatment again, this time for TV and without the removal of the gay undertones in the book. Giving the famous story a few fresh updates, the new series stars Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac, a wealthy and closeted Black man and brothel owner living in New Orleans in the early 20th Century. Louis is turned into a vampire by his mentor and lover Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid). The pair eventually creates a family by turning a young girl named Claudia (Bailey Bass) into a vampire and their adopted daughter. The trio contend with their often mixed feelings of lust and regret as they attempt to hold onto their humanity while sucking the life out of others for survival. 

"More of a historical romantic melodrama than a profound tragedy — not a sin and more likely to draw viewers back — it's well-made with some fine performances and evocative locations." — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Metascore: 74
Best for: Fans of supernatural series with strong female leads
Where to watch:

, , , Netflix,
Seasons: 4

Two strong female protagonists fuel Vampire Academy, which makes Chilling Adventures of Sabrina a solid pick for Vampire Academy fans. Kiernan Shipka plays Sabrina Spellman in this dark, smart take on the popular half-human, half-witch. A spin-off of Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina takes place in the small, fictional town of Greendale, where high schooler Sabrina and her friends band together to fight the dark forces that threaten their lives and those of the townspeople. There's plenty to enjoy in the supernatural series, which delves into the dark arts and dabbles with Satan and co. 

"Chilling Adventures of Sabrina proves to be a decadent, malevolent fable with sharp humor, distinct characterization and cast chemistry, opulent visuals, and a striking richness to its world-building." — Angelica Jade Bastien, Vulture

Bridgerton

Metascore: 73
Best for: Viewers who want shows with elaborate costumes, tons of scandal, and ample sex scenes
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons: 2 (so far)

Julia Quinn's hugely popular romance novels became one of the hottest shows of the past five years when Bridgerton exploded onto Netflix. The series follows the siblings of the Bridgerton family, who each get their turn finding a suitable mate during London's social season. Set in the early 19th century, the show has been applauded for its diverse cast and sex scenes filmed with the female gaze, two positives also found in Vampire Academy. Also like Vampire Academy, Bridgeton has plenty of storylines with power struggles and class division. The close friendship between Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) could also be compared to Lissa and Rose's, with the young women all navigating the demands and expectations of their families as they transition into adulthood. 

"All the graces and visual splendor one expects of some dream version of 19th century England seduces the eye on the front end, but beneath this show's heaving decolletage beats the heart of Scandal and lust of Grey's Anatomy." — Melanie McFarland, Salon

The Magicians

Metascore: 65
Best for: Fans of school-centric shows with a major supernatural element
Where to watch:

, , , Netflix,
Seasons: 5

Take the boarding school aspect of Vampire Academy and switch vampire besties with magic besties and you've got the start of The Magicians. The series opens with magic fan Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph) starting grad school at Brakebills University, where he learns that magic is real and that becoming a magician means entering a world of danger. Quentin's best friend Julia (Stella Maeve) takes her journey into the world of magic with a group of self-taught spell masters. The show has a dark tone and not only explores the world of the supernatural but also takes on intense storylines that include sexual assault and murder. It's based on Lev Grossman's book series of the same title.

"There's a lot to like here, and plenty of potential to make the show as engrossing and sometimes devastating as the books on which it's based." — Allison Shoemaker, AV Club

Legacies

Metascore: 59
Best for: X-Men fans or anyone who enjoys supernatural teens
Where to watch:

, , , Netflix,
Seasons: 4 

While Vampire Academy focuses on students learning the ABCs of guarding/killing/being a vampire, Legacies focuses on the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, which welcomes students with various supernatural abilities. The series is a spin-off of a spin-off (The Originals) and stars Danielle Rose Russell as new student Hope Mikaelson. Hope was first seen in The Originals and is the teen daughter of Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan), who first appeared in The Vampire Diaries. Still with us? Legacies, whichbrings back several characters from earlier Plec shows, follows the lives of students who all possess special powers and don't always follow the rules. What could go wrong?

"It's slickly produced, but it all comes back to a formula that CW has mined a few times too many, where raging teen hormones are further complicated by extraordinary abilities." — Brian Lowry, CNN

The Vampire Diaries

Metascore: 57
Best for: Fans of sexy vampire times who don't mind a web of storylines, lineages, and time hops to keep straight
Where to watch:

, , , , ,
Seasons: 8

You can't discuss vampire shows without including the hugely popular The Vampire Diaries, which inspired two spin-offs and ran for eight seasons. Adapted from L. J. Smith's book series by Plec and Kevin Williamson, the series centers on newly orphaned human Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and her friends, who live in a small town with a rich supernatural history. The series opens with Elena meeting vampire brothers Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder), with the pair creating a love triangle that will follow for several seasons. Throw in some doppelgangers, werewolves, and witches and you've got a show with rich and complicated relationships.

"The Vampire Diaries ... successfully hitches the sanguinary sexuality of the vampire ethos to the in-group/out-group dynamic of the teen soap." — Glenn Garvin, The Miami Herald 

The Wheel of Time

Metascore: 55
Best for: Fantasy fans who want a mash-up of Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Where to watch:

Seasons: 1 (so far)

Like most titles on this list, The Wheel of Time is based on a popular book series, in this case, written by Robert Jordan. The series was finally adapted for TV and premiered in 2021, starring Golden Globe and Emmy winner Rosamund Pike as Moiraine. As a powerful Aes Sedai, Moiraine has as al'Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney) as her warder, a position similar to the role of guardian in Vampire Academy. Like Rose and Lissa's relationship, Moiraine and al'Lan experience complications based on their feelings for each other. Their partnership is tested as the pair search and possibly find the reincarnation of the Dragon, the one who will save or destroy the world, in a small town where five best friends are inextricably linked. 

"The good news for fantasy-hungry viewers is that this lush and ambitious series quickly approaches [Game of] Thrones, and even Peter Jackson's Tolkien films, in grandeur and polish. It's in the verve of life and depth of character that Wheel is a few revolutions behind." — James Poniewozik, The New York Times

Reign

Metascore: 53
Best for: Royal fans who are okay with taking historical liberties in the name of entertainment
Where to watch:

, , ,
Seasons: 4

For Vampire Academy viewers who are more interested in the royalty side of the series, Reign is a historical drama that might satisfy those needs. Several artistic liberties are taken with the series, which follows Mary, Queen of Scot's (Adelaide Kane) rise to power, her short marriage to King Francis (Toby Regbo), and her tumultuous relationships with Catherine de' Medici (Megan Follows) and her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I (Rachel Skarsten). Fact-checking aside, the main historical points are present and the series is an entertaining and exciting entry into the 16th-century European court. There's no shortage of sexually charged scenes among the royalty and their staff and there are even some supernatural storylines that vampire-leaning viewers will enjoy. 

"Reign looks good (the pilot was shot in Ireland), moves smoothly and features CW's characteristic bland but competent performances." — Mike Hale, The New York Times

The Originals

Metascore: 52
Best for: Fans of grown-up vampires and their power struggles
Where to watch:

, , , Netflix,
Seasons: 5

The final Plec creation on our list is The Vampire Diaries' first spin-off, The Originals. The series follows The Vampire Diaries baddie, and vampire/werewolf hybrid Klaus. Klaus and his family, including other The Vampire Diaries characters Elijah (Daniel Gillies) and Rebekah (Claire Holt), the first vampires (hence the title), return to New Orleans, where they are embroiled in political power struggles with other members of the undead society. Klaus' one-night stand Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) is pregnant with his child, his former protege has taken control of the city, and his parents want him and his siblings dead. Being a vampire/werewolf sound exhausting.

"It's House of Cards, with a werewolf/vampire hybrid instead of a charming but ruthless Southern senator." — Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times