Shows Like
Shows Like Wednesday: Gothic, Deadpan and Actually Counted
By Jordan A. · · Updated · 5 min read
Wednesday premiered on Netflix in November 2022 and has kept going since, and the reason it caught on is a fairly narrow combination: a deadpan lead who never softens, a boarding school with a monster problem, and a production design that treats gothic as a color scheme rather than a mood.
Getting more of that means deciding which of those three you actually want. The picks below are sorted that way, and every one comes with its network, its years and its season count, plus whether it got an ending or was cut off. Where each streams changes, so the title page on BingeNext shows current US options.
If you want the gothic boarding school
Lockwood and Co. (Netflix, 2023, one season of eight episodes) is a London where ghosts kill people and only teenagers can see them, so agencies of children hunt them for money. It shares the young investigators, the practical approach to the supernatural and a lead who is bad at feelings. The difference is that it was canceled after one season, so the story does not conclude. Choose it if you want the closest tonal match and can accept that.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix, 2018 to 2020, four parts) is the other Netflix gothic teen show, set in the same Archie Comics universe as Riverdale. It shares the witchcraft, the school politics and the arch visual style. The difference is that it goes much further into horror and much further into camp. Choose it if you want more episodes of roughly this thing.
School Spirits (Paramount+, 2023 onwards) has a girl investigating her own disappearance from inside her high school, alongside the other students who died there. It shares the mystery-with-a-dead-girl structure and the school setting. The difference is that it is a straight mystery drama with less humor. Choose it if the case is what kept you watching.
Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix, 2024, one season of eight episodes) follows two dead English schoolboys who refuse to move on and solve supernatural cases instead. It shares the deadpan-teen-investigator premise almost precisely, and it comes from the same corner of comics as Sandman. The difference is that it too was canceled after one season. Choose it if you want eight more hours of exactly this energy.
If you want the deadpan
What We Do in the Shadows (FX, 2019 to 2024, six seasons) is a mockumentary about vampire flatmates on Staten Island, and it is the funniest show on this list by a distance. It shares the flat delivery over absurd circumstances. The difference is that it is a pure comedy with no mystery engine. Choose it if the Thing sequences and Wednesday's one-liners were the appeal. It finished properly.
Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix, 2017 to 2019, three seasons) has Drew Barrymore as a suburban realtor who becomes undead and develops an appetite, and Timothy Olyphant as the husband adapting with alarming enthusiasm. It shares the domestic-horror comedy register. The difference is that it is gory and it ends on a cliffhanger after cancellation. Choose it if you want the laughs and can live with an unfinished plot.
Ghosts (CBS, 2021 onwards) is the American version of the BBC series, about a couple who inherit a house full of the dead. It shares the ensemble of the departed and the comedy of manners between eras. The difference is that it is a network sitcom, so it is gentle and there are a lot of episodes. Choose it if you want something to have on rather than something to study.
If you want the family and the mythology
The Umbrella Academy (Netflix, 2019 to 2024, four seasons) is a group of adopted superpowered siblings who cannot stand each other, saving the world badly. It shares the dysfunctional-family-with-powers premise and a similar visual swagger. The difference is that it is far more plot-heavy and the final season divided people. Choose it if you want the closest thing to an Addams Family in a modern key. It got a real ending, for better or worse.
Locke and Key (Netflix, 2020 to 2022, three seasons) is three siblings moving into an ancestral house full of magic keys and something in the well. It shares the gothic house and the young leads investigating their own family's history. The difference is that it is pitched younger and it is more earnest. Choose it if you want a complete story with no cliffhanger.
Archive 81 (Netflix, 2022, one season of eight episodes) is an archivist restoring damaged videotapes who starts living inside what he is watching. It shares the slow-burn investigation into a cursed institution. The difference is that it is genuinely frightening and has no comedy at all. Choose it if you want the scariest thing here. It was canceled after one season.
Pushing Daisies (ABC, 2007 to 2009, two seasons) is a pie maker who can bring the dead back with a touch, solving murders with a private detective. It shares the storybook gothic palette and the arch narration. The difference is that it is a candy-coloured romance from network television in 2007, and the writers' strike cut it short. Choose it if the look of Wednesday is what you are chasing.
Where to start
If you want the nearest match and do not mind a cancellation, start with Lockwood and Co. If you want to laugh, start with What We Do in the Shadows. If you want a full story with an ending, Locke and Key. And if you want to be properly scared, it is Archive 81.
If none of these are it, work from the show itself. Drop Wednesday and one other favorite into BingeNext TV recommendations and you will get a ranked shortlist built on what those two have in common, with a note on where each one streams. It takes about a minute.
Topics covered: dark-comedy, supernatural, mystery, gothic, coming-of-age, netflix
About the author
Jordan A., Founder, BingeNext
Jordan A. is the founder of BingeNext and is responsible for every guide published on this site. He built the recommendation engine after one too many nights lost to the streaming menu. Dates, season counts and where-to-watch details in these guides are checked against official sources before publishing, and corrections are welcome at Jordan@Bingenext.com.