12 Best Season-By-Season Anthology Shows Of All Time

What typically defines an anthology show is that there isn't one single continuous story and group of characters throughout the entire run of the series. Every show handles things a little bit differently, but most commonly there is a point when an existing story completely wraps up, and most — if not all — of those characters exit, making room for a whole new plot, group of characters, and or setting entirely. Most anthology shows do this every episode, including "Black Mirror," "The Twilight Zone," and "What if...?" But there are some shows that stick with one thing for an entire season before hitting the reset for the next one.

The most prominent and longest-running (as of 2023) example of a season-by-season anthology show is "American Horror Story," and its success has definitely led to other shows following that format. It's a conceit that seems to lend itself well to the horror genre, as that is one of the most common types of anthology show in terms of both season-by-season and episode-by-episode angles. But it's a setup that has been played with in other ways as well, including mockumentary anthology shows and stories that are based on real events. 

For those that are fans of this type of show, here are the best ones of all time — only including series that have had at least two seasons and excluding those that were planned to be anthology shows but never got another season (or the second season is still forthcoming). 

The screenwriting team of Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski made a name for themselves making biopics about subversive or otherwise unlikely subjects, including comedian Andy Kaufman, filmmaker Ed Wood, publisher Larry Flynt, and actor Rudy Ray Moore. After mostly working in film, they decidedly to use those talents on the small screen when they teamed with producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Fulchuk to make a series based on the media circus murder trial of O.J. Simpson — and thus, the first season of "American Crime Story."

The second season tackled serial killer Andrew Cunanan, focusing specifically on the murder of famed fashioned designer, Gianni Versace. In 2021, the series covered Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky and subsequent impeachment, told primarily from Lewinsky's point of view and with her serving as producer (per IMDb). While each season has seen slightly diminishing returns and has yet to be as excellent as that first season — and its career-revitalizing performances by Cuba Gooding Jr., John Travolta, and David Schwimmer – each of the three seasons has still been an extremely compelling watch. Season 4, with a spotlight on the infamous Studio 54, is in development (per Deadline).

USA Network's "The Sinner" is somewhat unique among anthology shows in that it has a consistent protagonist across all four of its seasons — and that protagonist's journey ends up being a big part of the show's appeal. But each season sees that character, Detective Harry Ambrose (an excellent Bill Pullman), tackling a completely different crime whose investigation begins and ends within that season and with an entirely new cast of characters beyond Harry and a few select people that are close to him.

The pilot episode of "The Sinner" instantly grabs viewers as we see a young woman (Jessica Biel, who also executive produced) enjoying a day at the beach when suddenly as if possessed, walks over to a seemingly random person and stabs him to death. Harry's investigation into what happened and why this woman snapped is full of psychologically complex twists and turns and an ending that is virtually impossible to see coming.

Season 2 takes Harry into an apparent cult, while Season 3 has him looking into a car accident that he quickly realizes is nothing like it initially seemed. The fourth and final season gets a little deeper into Harry's personal life, and his own inner demons end up playing more of a role in his latest investigation than he bargained for. It's a fantastic series, not to mention a wonderful late career showcase for the often underappreciated Pullman. 

Creepypastas — initially a word for internet-based urban legends but now expanded to encompass internet-derived scary stories as a whole — have been one of the biggest movements in horror over the last decade or so. Slender Man might be the most well-known creepypasta creation on a mainstream level — especially after it earned widespread notoriety for the real-life crime it inspired and the subsequent movie adapted from it — but those in the know can name dozens of other characters and stories.

Having a horror anthology show that adapts creepypastas might be a great idea on paper, but anyone who has seen the "Slender Man" movie knows just how badly things can go when such a thing is attempted. But Syfy's "Channel Zero" didn't take the more obvious route of having each individual episode be a different creepypasta story and instead devoted entire seasons to them, giving each one adequate room to fully develop and tell the stories. The four seasons of "Channel Zero" have been based on the stories "Candle Cove," "No-End House," "Search and Rescue Woods" (adapted as "Butcher's Block"), and "The Hidden Door" (adapted as "The Dream Door"). 

The critical consensus of the show was "creepy, unsettling, and refreshingly unique" and its effectiveness at turning common fears we all had as children into top-notch horror television was praised. While Syfy canceled it (via Deadline), here's hoping someone else copies this angle and brings more creepypastas to the small screen.

Even though it has only been around since 2021 and is only two seasons in, "The White Lotus" has already raised the bar for anthology shows and television dramedies in general. Created by filmmaker Mike White ("School of Rock," "Enlightened") — who also writes and directs every single episode (via IMDb) – the primary connective fabric of the show is that each season takes place in one of the worldwide locations of the titular upscale resort chain. Without giving too much away, there are also two characters who made the jump from Season 1 to 2, but each has an entirely new cast otherwise.

While trailers for "The White Lotus" may suggest some sort of dark or even mystical force at work, what actually ends up unfolding on the show is simply a series of very unfortunate events, often set into motion by the victims of the events in a very self-fulfilling prophecy type of way. The show could've easily devolved into the cliched territory of watching rich people be terrible to one another and themselves that we've seen a million times, but the writing and performances elevate things beyond those tropes and things never quite go the way you are absolutely positive they are going to. Yes, these characters live very charmed lives — but they are also all deeply dysfunctional in a variety of ways, and it's impossible to look away as those dysfunctions tear them apart.

While the brilliant "Documentary Now!" had already done the mockumentary anthology show schtick, that series does a different thing for each episode. In the case of the criminally short-lived "American Vanda," the format is stretched out season-wide. While being tackled by the same two fictional budding documentary filmmaker high schoolers, the two seasons are each about solving a different mystery at a different school and feature an almost entirely different group of classmates, faculty, and other assorted teens and adults.

The first season of "American Vandal" has Hanover High School students Peter Maldonado (Tyler Alvarez) and Griffin Gluck (Sam Ecklund) trying to solve the mystery of who vandalized all of the cars in the school's parking lot with spray-painted images of a certain male body part. Season 2 sees Peter and Griffin reteam to get to the bottom of an incident at another school in which dozens of students and staff members simultaneously get violently sick one day.

The genius of "American Vandal" is the way that the boys tackle the mysteries with complete and utter seriousness, as do the people they are interviewing, with the laughs coming by way of the deadpan manner in which all of these people are asking and answering questions about the sorts of things that are typically designed to make children giggle. After two acclaimed seasons, Netflix canceled "American Vandal" despite a third season having already been mapped out.

No, this isn't "American Crime Story," and it's a mystery why anyone thought it was a good idea to launch two anthology crime shows with very similar titles just a year apart. "American Crime" debuted on ABC in 2015, with its first season focusing on a veteran who was murdered and his wife assaulted in a home invasion that went too far. Four suspects are brought in, and it quickly becomes apparent that racial biases and tensions are going to come into play.

Season 2 sees a mother try to get the authorities involved to get justice for her son after photos of him post-assault are put on social media by the alleged perpetrators. The third and unfortunately final season doesn't just focus on one clearly-defined crime and instead follows the lives of several people who face serious adversity as they try to live out the so-called American dream.

Though each season has an entirely new story and characters, it reuses several actors — including Regina King, who won two Emmy awards for it — to play different roles. All three seasons were highly acclaimed, with season 1's 94% being the lowest-rated of the three and each one doing critically better than the last. Perhaps the show could've lived on via a streaming service where immediate ratings don't make or break a show, but even so, the three seasons of "American Crime" stand as the high water mark for what an anthology show can be.