Best Zombie Series to Watch: 10 Picks for Every Mood
Key takeaways
- The best zombie series depends on what you want from the genre.
- Start with The Walking Dead for a sprawling survival saga, All of Us Are Dead for high-pressure outbreak horror, or Dead Set for a compact miniseries.
- If you’d rather laugh than brace for another horde, try iZombie or Santa Clarita Diet.
- A few are unconventional fits: their stories feature the undead, but they aren’t traditional zombie-survival shows.
Table of contents
- Best Zombie Series to Watch: 10 Picks for Every Mood
- Key takeaways
- The best zombie series by viewing mood
- 1. The Walking Dead — best for a sprawling survival saga
- 2. The Last of Us — best for character-focused post-outbreak drama
- 3. All of Us Are Dead — best for intense outbreak horror
- 4. Dead Set — best short zombie series
- 5. Black Summer — best for grim survival action
- 6. iZombie — best zombie series for crime-procedural fans
- 7. Santa Clarita Diet — best for zombie comedy
- 8. The Returned — best for an atmospheric supernatural mystery
- 9. In the Flesh — best for a social drama with a zombie protagonist
- 10. Ash vs Evil Dead — best for comic monster-fighting action
- Which zombie series should you start with?
The best zombie series by viewing mood
| If you want… | Try… |
|---|---|
| A long-running apocalypse saga | The Walking Dead |
| Character-focused post-outbreak drama | The Last of Us |
| Fast, enclosed-setting horror | All of Us Are Dead |
| A short, self-contained story | Dead Set |
| Grim survival action | Black Summer |
| A zombie-themed crime procedural | iZombie |
| Suburban horror-comedy | Santa Clarita Diet |
| Atmospheric supernatural mystery | The Returned |
| A social drama with a zombie protagonist | In the Flesh |
| Outlandish monster-fighting comedy | Ash vs Evil Dead |
1. The Walking Dead — best for a sprawling survival saga
If you want a large ensemble and a story that spends years exploring life after an apocalypse, The Walking Dead is the natural starting point. The series follows survivors trying to find safety and build new communities in a world where the dead are a constant danger.
Its biggest advantage is scale: there’s room for changing alliances, competing groups, and different ideas about what survival should mean. That scope also comes with a commitment. This is a long-running drama, not a quick watch, and its overall appeal can vary from season to season. Choose it for an extended survival story rather than a tightly contained outbreak thriller. Rotten Tomatoes’ zombie-TV guide includes the series and season-level ratings.
2. The Last of Us — best for character-focused post-outbreak drama
Adapted from the video game of the same name, The Last of Us pairs the dangers of an outbreak-ravaged world with a central relationship between two travelers. It’s a good pick if you want horror and survival, but also want the characters and their choices to carry the story.
Compared with shows built around constant attacks or large-scale group survival, this one is more focused on an emotional journey through a broken world. You don’t need to have played the game to follow the series. Rotten Tomatoes’ genre guide lists it among its zombie-TV selections, though a ranking or score can’t tell you whether its particular balance of drama and horror will suit your taste. See the guide.
3. All of Us Are Dead — best for intense outbreak horror
In this South Korean series, a zombie outbreak turns a high school into a trap for students trying to survive. The confined setting keeps the danger close: the characters have to contend with the outbreak while navigating a familiar place that has become unsafe.
Pick All of Us Are Dead if you like fast-moving survival horror and an ensemble of young characters under pressure. It’s a more direct outbreak story than the mystery- or comedy-led options on this list. Rotten Tomatoes has a season-one page for the series.
4. Dead Set — best short zombie series
A five-episode British miniseries, Dead Set brings a zombie outbreak into the world of reality television. Its short run makes it an easy choice if you want a complete, contained story instead of a multi-season commitment.
The reality-TV setting gives the outbreak a distinctive backdrop, while the limited episode count keeps the premise focused. Try it when you want horror with a satirical edge and don’t want to set aside weeks for a sprawling saga. Rotten Tomatoes includes Dead Set in its zombie-TV guide.
5. Black Summer — best for grim survival action
Black Summer is for viewers who want a bleak, action-oriented take on trying to endure an early zombie apocalypse. Rather than leaning into comedy or a large, long-running ensemble drama, it puts the focus on immediate survival.
Its stark approach makes it a stronger fit for tense, desperate action than for viewers looking for warmth or a lighter tone. It’s part of the Z Nation universe, but you can choose it for its own survival-horror approach. Rotten Tomatoes lists it in its zombie-TV guide.
6. iZombie — best zombie series for crime-procedural fans
Not every zombie show is about the end of the world. iZombie centers on a medical resident who becomes a zombie and uses access to victims’ brains to help solve crimes. That gives the series a case-of-the-week structure, with the supernatural premise shaping its mystery format.
Choose it if you like crime procedurals and want a lighter, more playful take on the undead. It’s a particularly easy starting point for viewers who aren’t looking for relentless apocalypse horror. Rotten Tomatoes has a season-one page for iZombie.
7. Santa Clarita Diet — best for zombie comedy
In Santa Clarita Diet, a suburban couple adapts to the wife’s transformation and the appetite that comes with it. The setup turns everyday domestic life into horror-comedy, making this a very different watch from shows about communities collapsing during an outbreak.
Pick it if you want grisly moments mixed with relationship and family comedy. It’s not the choice for a serious survival drama, but it offers a lighter alternative when you’re in the mood for an undead story with a domestic setting. Rotten Tomatoes includes it in its zombie-TV selection.
8. The Returned — best for an atmospheric supernatural mystery
The Returned takes a quieter, more mysterious approach: dead people return to a community, and their reappearance unsettles those who have carried on without them. It’s better suited to viewers who value atmosphere and unanswered questions over constant action or conventional zombie scares.
The title can refer to more than one production. This recommendation is for the supernatural drama included in Rotten Tomatoes’ zombie-TV guide, not a general recommendation for every series with a similar title. Go in expecting a moody mystery rather than a straightforward apocalypse story.
9. In the Flesh — best for a social drama with a zombie protagonist
Rather than following people fighting the undead, In the Flesh centers on a teenage zombie returning to his community and facing stigma. That shift makes the series a fit for viewers who are interested in the social consequences of being treated as an outsider.
It’s a more character-focused, less conventional choice than The Walking Dead or All of Us Are Dead. If you’re looking for relentless action, it may not be the right pick; if you want the genre to explore community and acceptance, it’s a distinctive option. Rotten Tomatoes features it in its zombie-TV guide.
10. Ash vs Evil Dead — best for comic monster-fighting action
Ash vs Evil Dead brings back Ash Williams, the chainsaw-wielding hero of the Evil Dead films, for an action-horror comedy built around fighting supernatural threats. It’s the most playful, deliberately over-the-top option here.
This one sits at the edge of the zombie-series category: it’s a fit if you’re open to horror-comedy and undead-style monsters, not only conventional zombie-apocalypse stories. For a more serious outbreak, choose Dead Set or All of Us Are Dead instead. Rotten Tomatoes includes the series in its zombie-TV guide.
Which zombie series should you start with?
If you’re new to zombie TV, choose based on how much time and intensity you want:
- For a short watch: Start with Dead Set. Its five episodes make it a contained introduction to outbreak horror.
- For a long saga: Choose The Walking Dead if you want a large cast and an extended post-apocalypse story.
- For a fast-paced outbreak: Try All of Us Are Dead for a high-pressure story in a school setting.
- For a lighter option: Pick iZombie for crime-solving or Santa Clarita Diet for suburban horror-comedy.
- For something less conventional: Try The Returned for supernatural mystery or In the Flesh for a character-focused social drama.
“Best” lists can also change depending on what they measure. Rotten Tomatoes’ guide uses critic-review aggregates, but a score isn’t a substitute for choosing the tone and format you actually enjoy. For a practical first pick, go with Dead Set if you want a brief commitment, The Walking Dead for a saga, or iZombie if you’d rather watch a procedural than an apocalypse drama.
