Vampires can be funny, too: 5 TV shows that trade horror for camp and comedy

“Eternally Yours” isn’t the first TV comedy to take a bite out of vampire lore. To be fair, a genre that’s given us everything from brooding, sparkling emo kids who play baseball; a stake-wielding teen slayer who can’t quit the bad boy; and eccentric sidekicks who feast on bugs is ripe with material for mockery. Here are some more recent examples.

Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, the co-creators and co-showrunners of CBS’ new vampire comedy, say they wanted to mine the idea of eternal love: “This is totally ‘Twilight’ 500 years later.”

Sam Reid as Lestat in “The Vampire Lestat,” the third season of the series “Interview With the Vampire.” (Sophie Giraud / AMC)

Sure, the third season of the adaptation of Anne Rice’s “The Vampire Chronicles” book series was about the vampire Lestat (Sam Reid) working through his Oedipus complex and abandonment issues under the guise of becoming a rock god. But series creator Rolin Jones and his staff also fully understood the absurdity of that sentence.

The sound, the look, the swagger: The three steps that vaulted Anne Rice’s seductive bloodsucker from ‘Interview With the Vampire’ to the top of the mosh pit.

Rachelle Goulding, Jacob Batalon and Georgia Waters in “Reginald the Vampire.” (James Dittiger / Syfy)

Based on Johnny B. Truant’s “Fat Vampire” book series, this Syfy series brings to light the (some would say preposterous) idea that a vampire could look like an average human. Created by “Twin Peaks” veteran Harley Peyton, it also hits on an important, body-affirming message: Reginald, who was played by Jacob Batalon, wasn’t super strong or super fast. But he was super smart.

Kieron Moore as Dimitri Belikov in “Vampire Academy.” (Jose Haro / Peacock)

While not intended to be a comedy, “The Vampire Diaries” co-creator Julie Plec’s other adaptation of a popular YA vampire series — this one was co-created by Marguerite MacIntyre and based on the Richelle Mead books — was just so ridiculously campy that it was hard to consider it true horror and fantasy. Set at a boarding school for vampires, it attempted to address classism in the species.

Shaun Dixon, Kenzi Richardson and Jiwon Lee in “Vampirina: Teenage Vampire.” (Eric McCandless / Disney)

Because you’re never too young to start your vampire obsession, this Disney Channel live-action musical comedy stars Kenzi Richardson as middle-schooler Vampirina “Vee” Hauntley (she’s a teenage vampire who also loves to sing). The show grew out of the animated “Vampirina” TV series, which was geared toward younger kids.

Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Guillermo (Harvey Guillen), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) and Laszlo (Matt Berry) in “What We Do in the Shadows.” (Russ Martin / FX)

The superb owl of recent vampire comedies, this FX mockumentary about a group of vampires (and a long-suffering human) in Staten Island is based on Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s 2014 film of the same name and was a four-time Emmy nominee for comedy series. The New Zealand TV series “Wellington Paranormal” is also set in this universe and Clement has stated that he and Waititi are working on a werewolf-themed series.

‘What We Do in the Shadows’ showrunner Paul Simms and cast members discuss their otherworldly comedy as it approaches the end.

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