Television series

First Kill

Name: First Kill
Genre: Horror, Romance, Supernatural
Released: 2022
Cast: Sarah Catherine Hook, Imani Lewis, Aubin Wise, Gracie Dzienny, Elizabeth Mitchell

Urban fantasy

A vampire trying to make her first kill and a vampire hunter sent to stop her fall for each other instead. *First Kill* is a gothic romance that treats its supernatural premise seriously, building genuine tension between two teenagers trapped between family duty and desire. It's for people who love the push-pull of enemies-to-lovers and aren't afraid of a little blood.

TVMaze rating

3.1

If you liked this

Buffy the Vampire Slayer1997

The template for teen supernatural romance with wit and stakes. Buffy balances horror, romance, and humour across seven seasons, with the same central conflict of a young woman caught between duty and desire that drives *First Kill*.

But It's genuinely funny in a late-90s way that hasn't aged like fine wine. Some episodes are clunky, and committing to seven seasons is a commitment.

The Vampire Diaries2009

A vampire love triangle set in a small town where old families run everything. It escalates wildly and never apologizes for caring deeply about its romance while the world ends around the characters. High melodrama, real emotions.

But It runs for eight seasons and sometimes seems to restart the plot. The teenage angst can tip into exhausting if you're not in the mood.

Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire2022

A lush, adult take on vampire mythology that treats immortal relationships with gothic seriousness. The production design is stunning, and it's genuinely tragic in ways *First Kill* approaches but doesn't quite reach.

But It's slower and darker with less teenage energy. If you want fun romance, this is more ache than spark.

Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from First Kill

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Only Lovers Left Alive2013

Both center on vampire romance as the engine of the story rather than a subplot, and both treat falling for someone across a supernatural divide as the only thing that matters.

Jim Jarmusch's vampire film for people who love atmosphere and languor. Two immortal lovers isolated from the world, making music, watching time pass. It's erotic without ever quite touching, and the romance is built from centuries of companionship.

But Nothing happens by conventional standards. If you need plot momentum, this will feel like watching paint dry in a very beautiful room.

Twilight2008

The obvious touchstone: a mortal and an immortal, star-crossed, mismatched in power. If you love *First Kill*'s earnest gothic romance without irony, this is the DNA ancestor.

But The emotional range is narrow, and the gender dynamics are dated. It's harder to love ironically than it used to be.

The Originals2013

A spin-off that works as its own thing: the founding vampire family in New Orleans dealing with power, family loyalty, and romance across five seasons. Richer mythology and older characters than *First Kill*.

But It inherits some of *The Vampire Diaries*' melodrama and requires knowing that show's lore to catch all the threads.

Let the Right One In2008

A Swedish vampire film that treats its vampire-human connection as tender and tragic rather than sexy. Beautifully shot, genuinely unsettling, and the emotional core is devastating.

But It's slow, bleak, and the romance is between a child and an ancient being. Not fun—devastating in a different register.

Dracula2020

A BBC miniseries that reinvents the Victorian tale for now, all style and dread. Three episodes, three different time periods, and it commits to making Dracula's villainy absolute while staying gorgeously Gothic.

But It's a closed story with no happy endings. The tonal shift from *First Kill*'s romance to pure horror might feel jarring.

Blood of My Blood2015

A Swedish vampire film about a man trying to rebuild his life after turning. It's intimate, strange, and unafraid of quietness. The mood is contemplative rather than action-driven.

But Very slow and subtitled. If you want plot propulsion, this won't give it to you.

The Strain2014

Guillermo del Toro's vampire series with a different mythology: parasitic creatures that turn humans into thralls. It has genuine body horror and builds a complex world across four seasons.

But The first season is uneven, and it gets increasingly baroque. Not as focused as *First Kill*'s central romance.

Our Flag Means Death2022

The same core: a protagonist from one world falling for someone they're supposed to oppose, and choosing love anyway. Both ask what happens when family expectation meets personal desire.

A pirate comedy where the real story is a man discovering love with an enemy. It's funny and weird and unafraid of earnestness under the absurdity. Two seasons of pure joy about people choosing love over duty.

But It's a comedy, so the stakes never feel as dire as *First Kill*. The tone is deliberately silly, which won't work if you want Gothic intensity.

Carol2015

Both explore love as transgressive and impossible within their worlds—not because of supernatural rules, but because of the families and societies that define the characters' lives. Both ask: what do you choose when you can't have both?

A 1950s romance between two women who can't be together, shot in honeyed light and longing. It's quiet, heartbreaking, and entirely about the impossibility of love in circumstances that won't allow it. The cinematography is painterly.

But It's a period drama about adult women, not supernatural teens. The pacing is glacial, and there's no happy ending—just the memory of love.