Television series
The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself
A kinetic YA fantasy about a teenage boy born to a dark witch father, raised under surveillance, forced to reckon with his own power as the world's certainties crumble. Fast-paced, visually inventive, genuinely tense—it has the energy of someone who learned storytelling from both comics and prestige TV. Built for viewers who want stakes that feel real.
If you liked this
The Umbrella Academy2019
Traumatized gifted kids learning to use their powers while figuring out who they are. Maximalist visual storytelling, genuine stakes, the same tonal balance between cosmic threat and intimate family chaos.
But Ensemble cast means less focus on any single character. Gets increasingly convoluted across seasons, and later entries lose some of the early charm.

The Midnight Club2022
Young people trapped in an escalating situation where the rules keep changing and nobody can be fully trusted. Gothic atmosphere, genuinely unsettling, visual storytelling that rewards attention.
But It's a mystery box that some viewers found frustrating. The final revelation won't satisfy everyone, and it leans heavily into atmosphere over plot clarity.

The Owl House2020
A teenager trapped in a dangerous magical world, learning real magic, making impossible choices about which side of a conflict to stand on. Animated but never childish. Emotionally sophisticated and genuinely thrilling.
But It's animated, which filters some viewers before they even start. Requires patience in the first season before the larger story kicks in.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners2022
Both follow a young person of hidden parentage discovering power within a system designed to exploit or destroy them; both collapse the distance between personal stakes and apocalyptic stakes.
An anime about a desperate kid in a corrupt system discovering hidden power and learning exactly what the cost of defiance is. Propulsive, gorgeous, emotionally devastating. Shares the DNA of YA survival stories told with the visual language of something far more adult.
But Animated, which filters viewers. Assumes some cyberpunk knowledge. Brutally sad ending that doesn't offer easy comfort. Just ten episodes—some want more story.

More like this (6)
Lockwood & Co.2023
Young people with dangerous supernatural abilities operating in a world that treats them as disposable assets. Stylish, moody, compelling character dynamics, smart plotting that respects the audience.
But Cancelled after one season. The cliffhanger ending will haunt you in a way that's not entirely satisfying. Period setting isn't for everyone.

Manifest2018
Ordinary people reckoning with inexplicable supernatural power and discovery of a larger, darker scheme. Propulsive plotting, genuine mystery, high emotional stakes that accumulate across episodes.
But Mythology gets increasingly convoluted and some reveal choices polarize viewers hard. Requires real commitment and pays off unevenly.

Warrior2019
A driven outsider fighting to survive in a dangerous world while concealing part of his identity. Kinetic action, intimate character work, real consequence and thematic depth hiding under the action sequences.
But Brutal violence that some find gratuitous. Cancelled after two seasons, so limited overall arc. Slower character moments can feel indulgent.

The Magicians2015
Magic school for damaged kids who discover the fantasy world from their favorite book is real and infinitely darker. Ambitious, genre-playful, unafraid to devastate its characters and themes.
But Tonal whiplash between comedy and tragedy. Quality varies significantly across seasons, and some found the premise more interesting than the execution.

The Fall2013
Both grapple seriously with the question of whether power inherited from a dark source can be used for good, and whether the effort to be better than your bloodline might itself be corrupting.
A serial killer and a detective in a tense psychological cat-and-mouse that treats evil as a real thing to be understood, not abstracted. Morally unflinching, visually precise, genuinely unsettling. Shows what happens when a show trusts its audience with ambiguity.
But It's a procedural about hunting a killer—graphic in places, bleak throughout. Slow burn that some find glacial. The protagonist's obsession becomes its own kind of darkness.

Castlevania: Nocturne2023
Both follow a reluctant protagonist learning his own power while trapped between warring factions; both use family curse and inheritance as the engine of conflict rather than just color.
A young man drawn into a supernatural conflict he didn't choose, learning to survive against impossible odds. Gothic fantasy told with the sophistication of prestige drama. Visually elaborate, genuinely menacing, treats its mythology with respect.
But Anime-adjacent animation style; some find the designs overwrought. Heavy lore dump in places. Can feel more focused on world-building than character intimacy.

People
Cast
Writing
- Joe BartonCreator
Production
- Catherine SlaterAssociate Producer
- Andy SerkisExecutive Producer
- Colm McCarthyExecutive Producer
- Joe BartonExecutive Producer
- Jonathan CavendishExecutive Producer
- Phil RobertsonExecutive Producer
- Will TennantExecutive Producer
- Adrian SturgesProducer
- Steve Clark-HallProducer