Television series

The Fades

Name: The Fades
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Supernatural
Released: 2011
Cast: Iain De Caestecker, Natalie Dormer, Tom Ellis, Daniel Kaluuya, Claire Rushbrook

The Fades is a supernatural thriller about a teenager who can see ghosts—and discovers they're becoming corporeal, violent, and ready to destroy the living world. It's tense and genuinely unsettling, with sharp character work and real stakes. For fans of horror-drama who want something darker than standard teen fare.

TVMaze rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like British supernatural drama that treats its mythology as a quiet, grubby, character-first problem, with a teenager's ordinary life pressed up against something enormous.

Skip it if you want a tidy, self-contained mystery or brisk plotting; the rules of its afterlife are sketched rather than explained, and it moves at a mournful pace.

What it asks of you: Six hour-long episodes, one season, and a slow-burning attention span; it rewards patience with the grief of its characters more than with quick reveals.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Misfits2009

British ensemble cast with supernatural powers navigating moral complexity and real consequences. Like The Fades, it balances sharp humour with genuine dread and treats its teenage characters as fully realized people.

But The tone shifts wildly between episodes—sometimes it's comedy, sometimes tragedy. The later seasons lose the original cast and struggle to maintain momentum.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer1997

The template for teen-led supernatural drama with genuine stakes. Same blend of mundane and apocalyptic, same willingness to let characters grow up and the world get darker as seasons progress.

But It's a long commitment (seven seasons) and the effects work and some dialogue haven't aged well. The first season is genuinely rough.

Penny Dreadful2014

Gorgeously dark Victorian supernatural drama with a strong ensemble cast and genuine sense of danger. Every episode feels weighted; nothing is played for laughs.

But Reaches for pretension sometimes and the plotting gets tangled. The final season contracts sharply in scope and feels rushed.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Fades

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Jacob's Ladder1990

Both use the supernatural as a vehicle for psychological horror and existential terror. Both ask: what if the supernatural wasn't dramatic—what if it was just real and it destroyed you?

A two-hour film that does exactly what The Fades attempts—reality becoming unstable, the boundary between living and dead collapsing, genuine dread underneath a sympathetic protagonist's unraveling. Infinitely more economical with its horror.

But Shot and scored like a fever dream. If you want clarity and resolution, this deliberately refuses both. Some find it actively frustrating rather than unsettling.

The OA2016

Mysterious and architecturally ambitious, with a teenager at the center uncovering supernatural truths. Genuinely strange in ways that feel earned, not arbitrary.

But Cancelled on a cliffhanger. The premise is deliberately obscure and some viewers find it alienating rather than intriguing.

Orphan Black2013

Young protagonist caught in something vast and dangerous, surrounded by brilliant supporting characters. Builds momentum episode to episode and respects its audience's intelligence.

But The core plot hinges on clones and body-swapping, which some find convoluted. Later seasons dilute the tight focus that made it work.

A Discovery of Witches2018

Hidden supernatural world collides with ordinary life. Serious in tone, strong ensemble cast, and genuinely invested in the emotional stakes beneath the magic and danger.

But Based on a book series and sometimes feels more like adaptation homework than original vision. Pacing can stall when servicing plot.

Flesh and Bone2015

Dark and psychologically precise about trauma and obsession. Refuses easy answers and takes its characters' suffering seriously.

But Only one season. Very dark psychological territory—if you're watching for uplift or catharsis, this will disappoint you.

Sense82015

Visually inventive and genuinely supernatural, with a sprawling ensemble of distinct characters experiencing something inexplicable and terrifying together.

But Thirteen-hour runtime across two seasons (it was cancelled and revived). The plot is deliberately sprawling and some episode pacing is slack.

The Act of Killing2012

Both are fundamentally about violence becoming real. The Fades works as supernatural thriller; this achieves actual horror by refusing supernatural distance. Same question: what happens when evil stops being abstract?

A documentary that constructs its own narrative horror: perpetrators of mass violence re-enacting their crimes for the camera. Unbearably tense in a way no thriller can quite touch because you know it's real people talking about real killing.

But This is difficult and morally vertiginous material. Not for evening entertainment—for confrontation. Documentary form means no plot momentum to carry you through.

Yellowjackets2021

Both center on adolescents thrust into apocalyptic supernatural scenarios and forced to grow up in impossible ways. Both use the fantastic to explore how trauma shapes identity—the real horror isn't the monsters, it's what they do to the people forced to fight them.

Teenage survivors of trauma forced into something vast and inexplicable they can't fully understand or articulate. Blends psychological drama with genuine supernatural dread, treats its young characters as complex and capable.

But Heavily serialized with ongoing cliffhangers. If you need resolution or answers, this is structured to withhold both. Season two divides viewers sharply on tone shifts.