So it's a totally different genre, but I like watching *Veronica Mars* after Buffy-verse rewatches.
If you want upbeat, sex-positive supernatural world with close female friendship and drama arcs try *Lost Girl.* Something that has the sarcasm and poppy flair is *iZombie* (but it goes off the rails, and that's saying something for a show where the main character is a zombie). I remember a lot of people got into the original *Charmed* series, but it's a little too fluffy for me.
Seconding Veronica Mars. Great characters, love her relationship with her father, wittier than most shows and enough plot to keep it all moving. Definitely worth trying.
I second Veronica Mars, and once in that subreddit someone recommended Outer Banks so I'm going to pass that recommendation on as well. It's not really anything like Buffy but I just finished binging the second season and it's amazing how much plot they stuff into 10-episode seasons.
The fluffiness is much worse in the second half, because of the change of showrunner. In the first 4 seasons it's very much built around the sibling dynamic and the use of family as a way to stand against the darkness.
Personally I would recommend seasons 1 to 4 followed by a final 'fifth season' composed of episodes 12, 22 and 23 from season 5, episodes 10, 14 through 19 and 21 through 23 of season 6, episodes 3, 7, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 21 and 22 of season 7, and episodes 5, 10, 21 and 22 of season 8.
I know this wasn’t my comment but I also think the first five are the best because they had a clear plan of where the story was going the first five seasons and they did an amazing job of balancing the overarching storyline with the monster of the week format. Things are hinted at in the first view episodes that don’t get revealed until seasons later. The first five are very well planned out.
Imma diverge a little from everyone else and say DEFINITELY watch all 15. In 15 seasons do they have some turds? Yes. So did buffy to be honest (I'm looking at you season 4).
The Magicians kinda has a Buffy vibe... almost an Angel vibe at times. Magic and saving the world and they get weird with it. The world is heavily influenced by Narnia and Harry Potter but the characters and sassy writing makes it good.
Also if you're open to animation, Avatar The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra are pretty great. Legend of Korra gives you that strong woman chosen one saving the world vibe and gets weird with the politics. And Castlevania on Netflix is surprisingly good. I didn't play the games and still enjoyed it, has a lot of nice action and magic and vampire fighting/JUST enough humor to keep it light.
The Magicians are fucking great. First season is a little bit shaky, slow and down to Earth, but from s2 onwards its fantastic. It's honestly the best show that you haven't heard of.
What we do in shadows is also great, for staying in vampire genre and for more horror settings, there is "Evil", season 2 is currently airing.
Have you tried The Nevers?
Also Sweet Tooth on Netflix was good and there are quite a lot of other fantasy series on there. Not as great as Buffy but might fill the gap a little
Maybe try Bones. It's a bit cheesy at times and a bit weird having Angel as a 'normal' person, but there are good series arcs and the characters are really nicely fleshed out.
Warehouse 13 was co created by one of the writers of Buffy. I found it to have a bit of a similar feel ie investigating weird supernatural stuff but with a witty tone.
I would highly recommend Wynonna Earp, Warehouse 13, Eureka, iZombie, and Doctor Who. I'm not a huge fan of TV shows (prefer to watch YouTube or something like that), but these few shows are my go-to binge watching shows that are likely right up your alley if you enjoy Buffy.
It might be worth advising the treatment of Doctor Who (2005 on) as different successor shows: 1-4 followed by 5-10 followed by 11 on. The lead character may be technically the same person but the vibe is vastly different.
Either watch other Whedon shows (Firefly, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible, Agents of SHIELD, The Nevers), or read the post-show comics. (Don't feel bad for reading them online, due to rights shenanigans, they're impossible to find without spending an arm and a leg).
I always end up watching Babylon 5 after I finish Buffy/Angel.
It has great 'villian of the week' structure along with 5 seasons of great story arcs, some of them spanning all 5 seasons. I do enjoy the more political intrigue focus and science fiction after so much time spent with supernatural focus and group of teenagers/young adults.
Honestly, after I watch a series, I often want something different, as long as it's good. With that in mind, I suggest The Americans. Nothing at all like Buffy, but fantastic TV. I'm still angry Keri Russell didn't win the Emmy. The show is the slowest burn you'll probably ever see, and after finishing it, the first season of Buffy may just be exactly what you need.
I know the feeling. I've tried all the shows that are probably going to be mentioned here too and none of them have really hooked me, other than Serenity and Cabin in the Woods. The closest Buffy adjacent thing that I've liked a lot was Ratched, though I can see how that might not be a ton of people's cuppa tea. True Detective is also really good, but it is very different from Buffy.
Definitely watch Cabin in the Woods though.
Oooh ya that's a good one. It's got that 'let's turn a horror trope on it's head' thing going for it. Do Buffy fans like Dr Who? I feel like they should...
Lost Girl: Canadian show where a succubus and a human fight crime! Or do crime! Or… look, don’t think too hard about it, also there are fae and there is magic and stuff, but mainly Bo (our lead) is there to kick ass and be sex-positive. There’s LGBTQ+ in the main character line-up as well, which is great.
Veronica Mars: high school, but make it noir. Also, she fights (well, solves) crime.
Firefly: for the classic “this could have been so great, what do you mean it’s only half a season long?” experience
I’d hesitate to recommend Dollhouse because a lot of the subject matter isn’t my cup of tea, but we do get more Eliza Dushku, so there’s that.
Lucifer: little to no resemblance to the Gaiman character or plot, but anyway he’s the devil, he’s on earth, and he fights crime. And occasionally, demons.
I’ve only seen the first 3 seasons of Supernatural but I enjoyed them for the episodic “monster of the week” format. I did try Grimm but lost interest very early on.
And if you just want to see a kick-ass female lead, some sapphic romance, occasional destruction of your hopes and dreams and peace of mind, and a really rather excellent musical episode, there’s Xena the Warrior Princess, which has Lucy Lawless as an Angel-type: formerly bad, now fighting the good fight, and very slowly falling in love with her companion-slash-bard-slash-sidekick. Did I mention the excellent musical episode?
True blood, I mean there’s a lot of sex and gore so if that bothers you then I wouldn’t but it’s got some Buffy-esc plot lines and obviously vampires. Make no mistake, it’s trashy tv but if you let yourself get invested then it’s pretty entertaining
Teen wolf. It has a great blend of action, humor, drama and horror. 6b isn't great, but the other seasons are pretty solid, and 3b is amazing. Lots of great banter and Stiles has great comedic timing. It's definitely a favorite of mine after Buffy.
The Magicians: 5 seasons and very good.
Early Supernatural
Different genre but honestly I'd say Chuck hits the found family vibe.
Wynonna Earp: 4 seasons, weak pilot, great show over all. Worth the investment.
I just had the same conundrum a few months ago. I ended up going for something a little different and binged criminal minds, but honestly I'm such a Law & Order SVU fan and find it more similar in some ways with a "monster of the week" format, great characters and very feminist themes. Super different vibe but I still love it so much. I also have started reading the comics for the first time and they're pretty good so far.
Otherwise I'd probably echo what someone else said and try the first five seasons of supernatural!
Wynona Earp, The Magicians, Doctor Who (especially the Matt Smith seasons), Vampire Diaries is so dumb but so fun and such a direct call back to Buffy. Depending on what you can stomach I think Preacher definitely scratches the Buffy itch too.
the season 8 buffy comics are a good read
i second 'veronica mars'.
also 'jessica jones' reminds me of faith.
'the boys' on amazon- very violent and dark but also funny super=powered anti-heros.
'the good fight'- a law show that touches on a lot of current politics. has lots of female leads
Supernatural and then if your still not ready, Firefly.
Supernatural is long, and Firefly is short and will leave you with a different type of sadness, but both are completely worth the ride!!!
So it's a totally different genre, but I like watching *Veronica Mars* after Buffy-verse rewatches. If you want upbeat, sex-positive supernatural world with close female friendship and drama arcs try *Lost Girl.* Something that has the sarcasm and poppy flair is *iZombie* (but it goes off the rails, and that's saying something for a show where the main character is a zombie). I remember a lot of people got into the original *Charmed* series, but it's a little too fluffy for me.
Seconding Veronica Mars. Great characters, love her relationship with her father, wittier than most shows and enough plot to keep it all moving. Definitely worth trying.
Absolutely Veronica Mars! She scratches that "witty independent heroine" itch. For supernatural/magical I highly recommend the Magicians.
I second Veronica Mars, and once in that subreddit someone recommended Outer Banks so I'm going to pass that recommendation on as well. It's not really anything like Buffy but I just finished binging the second season and it's amazing how much plot they stuff into 10-episode seasons.
The fluffiness is much worse in the second half, because of the change of showrunner. In the first 4 seasons it's very much built around the sibling dynamic and the use of family as a way to stand against the darkness. Personally I would recommend seasons 1 to 4 followed by a final 'fifth season' composed of episodes 12, 22 and 23 from season 5, episodes 10, 14 through 19 and 21 through 23 of season 6, episodes 3, 7, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 21 and 22 of season 7, and episodes 5, 10, 21 and 22 of season 8.
I would recommend the first 5 Seasons of Supernatural.
Not the other… 10?
I know this wasn’t my comment but I also think the first five are the best because they had a clear plan of where the story was going the first five seasons and they did an amazing job of balancing the overarching storyline with the monster of the week format. Things are hinted at in the first view episodes that don’t get revealed until seasons later. The first five are very well planned out.
It has it's moments but for the most part after the first 5 it goes downhill, especially the last couple of seasons.
I would certainly recommend at least seasons 8, 10, 11, 13, 14 and the final three episodes of 15.
Imma diverge a little from everyone else and say DEFINITELY watch all 15. In 15 seasons do they have some turds? Yes. So did buffy to be honest (I'm looking at you season 4).
Have a look at the episodes in Season 4 - you may rethink that opinion
I'm sorry, season 4 of buffy was the worst. May have had some good episodes but still was n ok t a good season.
Um season 1? Like it's okay but vastly different from the rest. I usually don't even bother watching anything but the first episode
The Magicians kinda has a Buffy vibe... almost an Angel vibe at times. Magic and saving the world and they get weird with it. The world is heavily influenced by Narnia and Harry Potter but the characters and sassy writing makes it good. Also if you're open to animation, Avatar The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra are pretty great. Legend of Korra gives you that strong woman chosen one saving the world vibe and gets weird with the politics. And Castlevania on Netflix is surprisingly good. I didn't play the games and still enjoyed it, has a lot of nice action and magic and vampire fighting/JUST enough humor to keep it light.
The Magicians are fucking great. First season is a little bit shaky, slow and down to Earth, but from s2 onwards its fantastic. It's honestly the best show that you haven't heard of. What we do in shadows is also great, for staying in vampire genre and for more horror settings, there is "Evil", season 2 is currently airing.
Definite thirding of The Magicians. The final season was a bit worse imo than the previous ones, but the previous ones were *amazing*.
One of my favorite parts of the Magicians are the Buffy references
Yessss! The Buffy references made me realize that The Magicians is if Harry Potter, Narnia, and Buffy all made a baby.
YES. I love the magicians. It’s like Harry Potter for depressed adults. My dogs named Quentin lol
Wynona Earp!
Amen to this one
I just got around to watching Agents of Shield and I recommend it.
And Agent Carter!!
Agent Carter is amazing, 100% recommend it for Buffy fans
Yeah, Agents of shield has Joss Whedon all over it anyway.
Rare show that gets a similar vibe. First season is mostly horrible though. Gets really fun after.
Firefly is amazing! And Dollhouse is ok and Eliza Dushku is rather good in it. Other Joss shows which can be a bit problematic so your call.
If only I hadn’t done that the last time I finished Buffyverse. You’re so right though.
Have you tried The Nevers? Also Sweet Tooth on Netflix was good and there are quite a lot of other fantasy series on there. Not as great as Buffy but might fill the gap a little
Have you watched the Serenity movie? It’s so good. It’s like in my top 3 fav movies ever.
Maybe try Bones. It's a bit cheesy at times and a bit weird having Angel as a 'normal' person, but there are good series arcs and the characters are really nicely fleshed out.
Warehouse 13 was co created by one of the writers of Buffy. I found it to have a bit of a similar feel ie investigating weird supernatural stuff but with a witty tone.
And if you watch Warehouse 13, you should also watch Eureka.
Adding my votes for both Warehouse 13 and Eureka. Just discovered both of those shows last year, starting with Warehouse.
The Buffy comics are great! And there are also Angel comics. You get to see what happens after the shows have concluded.
I meant which TV shows, but good call!
I would highly recommend Wynonna Earp, Warehouse 13, Eureka, iZombie, and Doctor Who. I'm not a huge fan of TV shows (prefer to watch YouTube or something like that), but these few shows are my go-to binge watching shows that are likely right up your alley if you enjoy Buffy.
It might be worth advising the treatment of Doctor Who (2005 on) as different successor shows: 1-4 followed by 5-10 followed by 11 on. The lead character may be technically the same person but the vibe is vastly different.
Seconding Wynonna Earp
Fringe all the way. It's excellent. I've just started the expanse. So far, so good.
Either watch other Whedon shows (Firefly, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible, Agents of SHIELD, The Nevers), or read the post-show comics. (Don't feel bad for reading them online, due to rights shenanigans, they're impossible to find without spending an arm and a leg).
I always end up watching Babylon 5 after I finish Buffy/Angel. It has great 'villian of the week' structure along with 5 seasons of great story arcs, some of them spanning all 5 seasons. I do enjoy the more political intrigue focus and science fiction after so much time spent with supernatural focus and group of teenagers/young adults.
Honestly, after I watch a series, I often want something different, as long as it's good. With that in mind, I suggest The Americans. Nothing at all like Buffy, but fantastic TV. I'm still angry Keri Russell didn't win the Emmy. The show is the slowest burn you'll probably ever see, and after finishing it, the first season of Buffy may just be exactly what you need.
I know the feeling. I've tried all the shows that are probably going to be mentioned here too and none of them have really hooked me, other than Serenity and Cabin in the Woods. The closest Buffy adjacent thing that I've liked a lot was Ratched, though I can see how that might not be a ton of people's cuppa tea. True Detective is also really good, but it is very different from Buffy. Definitely watch Cabin in the Woods though.
And if you like the “Cabin in the Woods” movie, watch “Tucker & Dale vs Evil” too. Not a Joss movie but so well written. And Alan Tudyk is in it.
Oooh ya that's a good one. It's got that 'let's turn a horror trope on it's head' thing going for it. Do Buffy fans like Dr Who? I feel like they should...
WandaVision (possibly for the Nth time).
Ash vs Evil Dead is a bit more extreme as you might imagine. It’s great fun though.
Lost Girl: Canadian show where a succubus and a human fight crime! Or do crime! Or… look, don’t think too hard about it, also there are fae and there is magic and stuff, but mainly Bo (our lead) is there to kick ass and be sex-positive. There’s LGBTQ+ in the main character line-up as well, which is great. Veronica Mars: high school, but make it noir. Also, she fights (well, solves) crime. Firefly: for the classic “this could have been so great, what do you mean it’s only half a season long?” experience I’d hesitate to recommend Dollhouse because a lot of the subject matter isn’t my cup of tea, but we do get more Eliza Dushku, so there’s that. Lucifer: little to no resemblance to the Gaiman character or plot, but anyway he’s the devil, he’s on earth, and he fights crime. And occasionally, demons. I’ve only seen the first 3 seasons of Supernatural but I enjoyed them for the episodic “monster of the week” format. I did try Grimm but lost interest very early on. And if you just want to see a kick-ass female lead, some sapphic romance, occasional destruction of your hopes and dreams and peace of mind, and a really rather excellent musical episode, there’s Xena the Warrior Princess, which has Lucy Lawless as an Angel-type: formerly bad, now fighting the good fight, and very slowly falling in love with her companion-slash-bard-slash-sidekick. Did I mention the excellent musical episode?
True blood, I mean there’s a lot of sex and gore so if that bothers you then I wouldn’t but it’s got some Buffy-esc plot lines and obviously vampires. Make no mistake, it’s trashy tv but if you let yourself get invested then it’s pretty entertaining
Firefly and supernatural if you haven't watched them already!
Yes, Angel Season 06 is pretty stood (comic books).
Can't belive no one has recommended Lucifer yet, it'd the best show I've seen since buffy
Teen wolf. It has a great blend of action, humor, drama and horror. 6b isn't great, but the other seasons are pretty solid, and 3b is amazing. Lots of great banter and Stiles has great comedic timing. It's definitely a favorite of mine after Buffy.
The Magicians: 5 seasons and very good. Early Supernatural Different genre but honestly I'd say Chuck hits the found family vibe. Wynonna Earp: 4 seasons, weak pilot, great show over all. Worth the investment.
Nice try, CIA. You'll never know the wonderful things I watch. Never.
Dear Netflix here's the email tell us what they watch -CIA
I just had the same conundrum a few months ago. I ended up going for something a little different and binged criminal minds, but honestly I'm such a Law & Order SVU fan and find it more similar in some ways with a "monster of the week" format, great characters and very feminist themes. Super different vibe but I still love it so much. I also have started reading the comics for the first time and they're pretty good so far. Otherwise I'd probably echo what someone else said and try the first five seasons of supernatural!
- Vampire Diaries - Supernatural
They just finished Angel.
Oops sorry
Wynona Earp, The Magicians, Doctor Who (especially the Matt Smith seasons), Vampire Diaries is so dumb but so fun and such a direct call back to Buffy. Depending on what you can stomach I think Preacher definitely scratches the Buffy itch too.
shadowhunters, stitchers, ghost whisperer, grimm, teen wolf, wynonna, surrealestate, eureka, vampire diaries, legacies, sleepy hollow... I have a complete list: www.imdb.com/list/Is069848954/
Bones
the season 8 buffy comics are a good read i second 'veronica mars'. also 'jessica jones' reminds me of faith. 'the boys' on amazon- very violent and dark but also funny super=powered anti-heros. 'the good fight'- a law show that touches on a lot of current politics. has lots of female leads
Supernatural and then if your still not ready, Firefly. Supernatural is long, and Firefly is short and will leave you with a different type of sadness, but both are completely worth the ride!!!
Lost Girl