20 Shows Like The Vampire Diaries Fans Can Binge-Watch Now

Things were simpler back in 2009. Our television screens and movie theaters were filled with vampires, and the most important question plaguing the teenagers of the world was whether you were "Team Edward" or "Team Jacob." Though Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" saga is arguably the most popular vampire story of the 21st century, there was another series that showed up in the late aughts and took the world by storm — a little show by the name of "The Vampire Diaries." Instead of Team Edward or Team Jacob, the biggest controversy among "Vampire Diaries" fans was whether you thought our heroine Elena (Nina Dobrev) should be with Stefan (Paul Wesley) or his brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder).

Set in the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, "The Vampire Diaries" follows Elena Gilbert, a teen girl who's just lost both of her parents in a car accident. Elena falls in love with Stefan Salvatore — a brooding, seemingly kindhearted vampire who's riddled with guilt. Things become increasingly complicated with the arrival of Stefan's brother, Damon — a loose cannon with dangerous plans in mind. A love triangle soon develops, and Elena is introduced to the supernatural world that lurks just beneath the surface of her own.

A hugely popular show at the time, "The Vampire Diaries" wasn't the first of its kind, nor was it the last. There are plenty of other shows out there that combine high school drama with the supernatural, depict cross-species love stories, or illustrate the particular oddities of living in a small town. If you've already torn through all of "The Vampire Diaries" and need something new to satiate your thirst, then you've come to the right place. Keep reading to discover which shows you need to binge next.

Elena Gilbert may seem like a normal girl, but viewers of "The Vampire Diaries" soon come to learn that's far from the case. Supernatural creatures are attracted to her like moths to a flame, and her connection to her look-a-like Katherine may be more than just coincidental. For Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell), the title character of the series of the same name, her connection to the more mysterious elements in her small town is much less accidental. The daughter of a private investigator (Enrico Colantoni), Veronica takes it upon herself to run her own detective agency out of her high school in Neptune, California.

While the mysteries Veronica becomes embroiled in aren't of the supernatural variety, fans of the "The Vampire Diaries" will likely appreciate her tenacity and the endless drama and controversy her high school provides. Like Elena, Veronica was once a popular girl who's become something of an outcast by the time the series begins. Like most shows set in a small town, the location of "Veronica Mars" is extremely important. You may not want to live in Neptune (or Mystic Falls, for that matter), but after watching the show for a few seasons, you'll begin to feel like you know it pretty well. Without a doubt one of the best teen shows of the 2000s, "Veronica Mars" should be at the top of your list if witty banter and intrigue are what you're into.

"Roswell's" Liz Parker (Shiri Appleby) has a lot in common with Elena Gilbert. Born and raised in a small town, Liz is a high school student who unexpectedly finds herself surrounded by a group of supernatural teenagers. Unlike Elena, however, Liz comes into contact with aliens, not vampires.

Liz lives in Roswell, New Mexico — the site of the famous 1947 UFO crash. She works as a waitress at an alien-themed restaurant, and when her classmate Max (Jason Behr) saves her life, she learns his secret. Max, his sister Isabel (Katherine Heigl), and his best friend Michael (Brendan Fehr) are aliens — descendants of the extraterrestrials who crashed in 1947. Now that their closely-held secret is out, Max is forced to trust Liz, as he and his friends are being hunted by mysterious forces who want nothing more than to see them eliminated.

Liz is the archetypical girl-next-door, which makes her the perfect person to find herself suddenly involved with aliens. While Elena Gilbert sometimes struggles with her darker impulses (especially in Season 3 of "The Vampire Diaries"), Liz is a deeply good person with a heart of gold. If we're being honest, she'd be a pretty annoying character were she not played by Appleby, who imbues Liz with enough earnest charm that it's hard to really dislike her. If you're looking for a supernatural teen drama with a little more lightness to it, "Roswell" should be next on your list.

Though "The Vampire Diaries" certainly touches on some pretty adult themes, it begins as a teen show, and the tone of the series reflects that. If you feel like you've graduated from teen shows and want something a little more adult, "True Blood" may be just what the doctor ordered. The HBO series first premiered in 2008, following a young woman named Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) in the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Though she initially comes off as a charming southern belle, Sookie's a bit of an outcast because of her unique ability — reading minds. Her reputation for being a weirdo isn't helped much when she meets and falls in love with Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), a vampire who's decided to live out in the open now that "Tru Blood" –- a synthetic blood product -– is widely available.

Bon Temps is full of colorful characters, both human and otherwise. Many of the residents don't take kindly to Sookie's relationship with Bill, and she must contend with another suitor, the cunning Eric (Alexander Skarsgård), who happens to be the vampire sheriff of the area. Bill and Eric have a lot in common with Stefan and Damon: Bill and Stefan initially appear as the picture of charm and civility, while Eric and Damon come off as selfish and mean-spirited, but they all eventually reveal hidden depths. "True Blood" is undoubtedly one of HBO's best offerings, and it's a must-watch for anyone interested in exploring the world of the supernatural from a decidedly R-rated perspective.

If you're a fan of "The Vampire Diaries" as well as the "Harry Potter" series, we've got something that might be right up your alley. "The Magicians" is a SyFy series that first premiered in 2015. Based on the book of the same name by Lev Grossman, the show follows Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph), a graduate student at Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy. While studying to become a magician, he becomes embroiled in a secret supernatural plot that threatens the fate of the world. The show also follows Quentin's longtime friend Julia Quicker (Stella Maeve), who takes a less formal approach to her own magical education.

"The Magicians" is a unique series because it does follow students, but not the high school or even college students we're used to. Because of this, it's a show that will likely appeal to those who are fans of teen shows or YA fantasy in general, but who are looking for something just slightly more grown-up. If you're upset about the lack of graduate school representation on television (who isn't?), then it might be time to add "The Magicians" to the queue.

Though The CW has a reputation for producing shows that fall on the side of cheesy, there are some unexpectedly profound gems in their catalog. One such show is "The 100," which first premiered on the network in 2014. Set 100 years after a nuclear war has devastated the Earth, the series follows the remaining human survivors, who now live aboard a space station known as the Ark. With resources depleting, the Ark leaders decide to send 100 juvenile delinquents down to earth to see if it's habitable once again. Included in this group is our lead character, 18-year-old Clarke (Eliza Taylor).

The residents aboard the Ark assume that Earth is uninhabited, but the teens soon find out this is not the case. They encounter a number of different groups upon reaching the planet's surface, many of which prove to be quite dangerous in a variety of ways. Though most of the main characters are teenagers — at least initially — there isn't much time for typical high school drama, as everyone's constantly fighting for their survival. Clarke is forced to make some truly horrific decisions in order to ensure the survival of her people, and many lives are lost along the way. If you're looking for something easy, breezy, and light, then "The 100" is certainly not for you, but if post-apocalyptic turmoil is what you're after, then be sure to add it to your list.

While vampires were initially the name of the game in "The Vampire Diaries," the world of the supernatural depicted in the show expands each season. For example, Elena's best friend Bonnie (Kat Graham) becomes an extremely powerful witch. If you have vampire fatigue and are looking for something witchier (and a little less broody) instead, "Charmed" might be right up your alley.

Along with "The X-Files," "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," and "Xena: Warrior Princess," The WB's "Charmed" was part of a fantastic lineage of supernatural and fantasy shows in the 1990s. While "Buffy" was categorized as a teen show and "The X-Files" had higher-concept aspirations, "Charmed" was somewhere in the middle. The series follows Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) Halliwell, three sister witches living in San Francisco. On the outside, they live seemingly normal lives and work human jobs, but in reality, they're the mythical Charmed Ones, and it's their duty to use their powers to protect the innocent.

"Charmed" is the perfect blend of supernatural drama and lighthearted humor, and it's really the sisters' relationships and their chemistry with one another that make the show sing. It often follows a monster-of-the-week format as famously defined by shows like "Buffy" and "The X-Files," but the familial bond between the Halliwells is what really holds it all together. Like Elena Gilbert, the Halliwells are orphans, but their connection to one another means they're never truly alone.

"The Vampire Diaries" is a pretty dark show, both tonally and visually. If you're looking for another series that meets that criteria, our recommendation is the Showtime series "Penny Dreadful." Set in Victorian London, the series brings to life literary characters from the era along with other fantastical and terrifying creatures. Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) is a guilt-ridden explorer who lost his daughter to the city's demonic set. He lives with Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), a clairvoyant with a dark side. Sir Malcolm recruits a charming American sharpshooter named Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) to help locate his daughter, and together, the three begin to explore the horrifying things that lie just beneath the surface of their world.

Like most good shows of the supernatural variety, the fantastical elements of the series are stand-ins for very human questions and anxieties. Vanessa struggles with faith and the push and pull between light and dark, while Ethan struggles with what it means to be a good man. Along the way, they encounter people like Dr. Frankenstein and Dorian Gray, who struggle with similarly existential questions.

For fans of the more romantic aspects of "The Vampire Diaries," "Penny Dreadful" has that too, and the evolution of Vannesa and Ethan's relationship is incredible to watch, even if truly happy moments on the show are few and far between. If you're ready to let a little darkness into your life, queue "Penny Dreadful" right up.

In broad terms, most shows of the supernatural variety depict what happens when the "normal" world and the fantastical one collide. In the ABC series "Once Upon a Time," that's quite literally the premise. The show follows Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), a woman living a comfortable life as a bail bonds collector. Everything changes when her son Henry (Jared S. Gilmore), who she gave up 10 years earlier, shows up out of the blue. Henry tells Emma that he believes she's the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, and that she was given up so she would be protected from the Evil Queen. As the story goes, the Evil Queen cast a curse that trapped fairytale characters in the modern world and froze them in time.

Emma doesn't believe Henry at first, but when she travels to his quaint town of Storybrooke, she starts to see his side of things. Storybrooke is filled with fairytale characters who don't know their true identities, and Emma discovers that the Evil Queen is much closer than she had thought. It's certainly a fantastical premise, but the talented cast (especially Morrison and Lana Parilla) pull it off. Like Mystic Falls, Storybrooke is a quaint town that hides its magic in plain sight. One might be tempted to choose Storybrooke over Mystic Falls from a safety standpoint, but, as Emma soon discovers, not all is well in the land of princesses and fairy tales.

Zombies have been a popular topic of film and television for decades now, and the premise is usually the same: A group of survivors living in a post-apocalyptic world try to fight off the undead and avoid becoming one themselves. The CW series "iZombie," which premiered on The CW in 2015, takes a slightly different approach. The show follows Liv Moore (Rose McIver), a high-achieving medical resident who lives in Seattle. When Liv is turned into a zombie during a party one night, she comes up with a plan to hide her condition by working in the coroner's office and snacking on brains in order to stave off her newfound appetite. When she discovers that she temporarily gains access to the memories of those she eats, she uses her ability -– initially posing as a psychic –- to help the police solve murders.

"iZombie" is one of those supernatural shows that tries to balance the darkness of existential angst with the humor of its zany premise. While Liv finds she can get by due to her new job, the fact that the life she once lived is essentially over undergirds the whole series. Luckily, Liv meets Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti, a medical examiner who discovers Liv's condition and works to find a cure. It's certainly a unique twist on the zombie genre, and if you're looking for something that's both irreverent and bizarre, it might be your best bet.

This story may sound familiar: At an auspicious moment in her life, a teenage girl discovers something about herself that she never knew and must suddenly confront her destiny and discover her path in life. It's always a compelling premise for any supernatural series, and it also happens to describe the next show on this list pretty well. Based on the "Mortal Instruments" series by Cassandra Clare, "Shadowhunters" follows Clary Fray (Katherine McNamara), an 18-year-old girl who discovers she comes from a family of human-angel hybrids called Shadowhunters who hunt demons.

When Clary's mother is kidnapped, she's suddenly exposed to the world of the supernatural and must rely on the assistance of fellow Shadowhunters Jace (Dominic Sherwood), Isabelle (Matthew Daddario), and Isabelle (Emeraude Toubia) in order to survive her new circumstances. As one might expect, "Shadowhunters" also touches on the archetypal story of forbidden love — something "The Vampire Diaries" fans will likely appreciate. Even if you're not familiar with Cassandra Clare's best-selling novles, there's plenty for fantasy fans to sink their teeth into with this one. Time to get streaming.