The Midnight Club: 8 Similar Shows You Must Watch Next

Based on the 1994 namesake novel by Christopher Pike and created by Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong, Netflix’s ‘The Midnight Club’ is a horror mystery series. After being diagnosed with terminal thyroid cancer, teenager Ilonka learns about Brightcliffe Hospice, a facility for young adults in similar circumstances, and convinces her foster father to admit her there. She secretly hopes for a cure as she has read that a girl left Brightcliffe years ago, completely healed of her terminal illness.

At the facility, Ilonka befriends the seven other residents and discovers that they gather in the library at midnight every day to tell each other scary stories. The screenwriters of ‘The Midnight Club’ use horror and mystery elements to give structure to the narrative, while the show deals with themes like friendship, family, faith, grief, and attempts at reconciliation with one’s reality. If you have watched ‘The Midnight Club’ and loved it, here is a list of recommendations that might fit your taste.

8. The Order (2019-2020)

‘The Order’ tells the story of college student Jack Morton, who, like Ilonka, joins a secret society. However, in Jack’s case, the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose does practice and teach magic, unlike the Midnight Club. In ‘The Order,’ Jack also becomes part of the Knights of Saint Christopher and begins investigating the secrets of both organizations. ‘The Order’ is a fun show filled to the brim with action, adventure, and magic. Unfortunately, it was canceled after two seasons.

7. Open Your Eyes (2021-)

Like ‘The Midnight Club,’ the Polish thriller series ‘Open Your Eyes’ tells the story of a group of young people residing in a health facility. At the start of the series, Julia discovers she is at an amnesiac treatment center with no knowledge of how she got there. In the course of the show, she befriends other residents and realizes there is something deeply sinister about their new home.

6. The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)

‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ is the second entry in Flanagan’s ‘The Haunting’ anthology series after ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ and is based on Henry James’ 1898 novella ‘The Turn of the Screw.’ ‘Bly Manor’ may have received a more subdued response than ‘Hill House,’ but the former is the first show where Flanagan effectively uses the horror elements as bookends to focus more on the human aspect of the story, just like ‘The Midnight Club’ and one of the other entries in this list. ‘Bly Manor’ follows an American ex-pat, Dani, who gets hired as an au pair by a British aristocrat for his children. After arriving at the titular home, Dani starts experiencing supernatural incidents.

5. American Horror Story (2011-)

‘American Horror Story’ is an anthology series that has a different plot and different cast of characters every season. In season 3, titled ‘American Horror Story: Coven,’ the plot revolves around the descendants of the survivors of the Salem witch trials. Even in the modern world, these people face constant danger from forces seeking to harm them. The seventh season of AHS focuses on a cult, which, like witchcraft, is a major part of the narrative of ‘The Midnight Club.’

4. Supernatural (2005-2020)

One of the prominent TV shows of the 21st century, ‘Supernatural’ follows the Winchester brothers — Sam and Dean — as they travel across America to hunt things that go bump in the night. In its 15-season-long run, ‘supernatural’ has depicted countless types of antagonists, including death cults, which has also found a place in the overall narrative of ‘The Midnight Club.’ Moreover, the bond Ilonka develops with the other seven residents of Brightcliff is as strong as the one between the Winchester brothers.

3. The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

A loose adaptation of the 1959 namesake novel by Shirley Jackson, ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ shifts back and forth between two timelines. One follows the Crain family in 1992 when they lived in the titular house and experienced supernatural incidents. The second takes place in the present as the five Crain siblings continue to struggle with the horrible memories of their time at the Hill House. Like all other Mike Flanagan projects in this list, ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ is much more than a horror show, dealing with themes such as family, grief, and tragedy.

2. Stranger Things (2016-)

Set in the 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, ‘Stranger Things’ revolves around a group of young and adult characters who must fight otherworldly beings to protect their town and the people they love. ‘Stranger Things’ is a love letter to the 1980s, a shot of pure nostalgia for the fans of the entertainment content that came out during that decade. Both ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘The Midnight Club’ have a predominantly young-adult cast and are set in the past, though the latter is more focused on delving deep into its theme.

1. Midnight Mass (2021)

Yet another Mike Flanagan creation, ‘Midnight Mass’ takes place in a small settlement atop Crockett Island. A former resident returns home after spending four years in prison for killing someone while driving under the influence of alcohol. His return coincides with the arrival of the town’s new enigmatic priest, who seems to have the ability to perform miracles. Like ‘The Midnight Club,’ ‘Midnight Mass’ isn’t constrained by a singular genre. It has a dense, dialogue-heavy narrative and explores themes such as faith, redemption, free will, and addiction.