6 Near-Perfect Netflix Zombie Shows

Published Sep 18, 2026, 12:30 PM EDT Adrienne Tyler is a movies & TV features writer, with a focus on horror. She has written for Netflix, FanSided, & more. She was a regular guest on the Netfreaks podcast and was a YouTuber at some point. Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. The zombie genre on TV has brought some of the best TV shows of all time, and Netflix is home to some near-perfect shows from this horror branch. Through its Netflix Originals banner, the streamer has produced a variety of TV shows across different genres, and one where it has mostly succeeded is horror. Titles like The Haunting of Hill House, Marianne, Castlevania, and Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities have made Netflix a go-to platform for horror fans, showcasing its variety. Netflix’s horror shows have covered a bit of everything – from ghosts to psychological horror to vampires and zombies, the latter being one of the most popular themes in the genre. Zombies have been especially popular on TV thanks to shows like The Walking Dead and iZombie, proving how versatile this subgenre can be while staying true to the traditional rules of it. Of course, Netflix hasn’t lost the chance to produce its own zombie TV shows. As happens in every genre, not all of Netflix’s zombie TV shows have succeeded, but the platform has some near-perfect zombie shows that are worth checking out. It must be noted, however, that Netflix is infamously known for canceling good TV shows too soon, so some of its best zombie shows had short runs, and, in some cases, their stories were left incomplete. Reality Z (2020) Reality Z is a Brazilian horror TV series created by Cláudio Torres and based on the British zombie comedy horror miniseries Dead Set, created by Charlie Brooker. Reality Z introduces the audience to the fictional reality show Olympus, where contestants are confined in a Greek God-themed house and isolated from the rest of the world. One night, a zombie outbreak takes over Rio de Janeiro, forcing the crew and the remaining cast to remain locked up, turning the set into a bunker. Charlie Brooker is the creator of Black Mirror. However, the zombie outbreak gets increasingly violent, forcing the cast and crew of Olympus to fight for their lives, led by production runner Nina (Ana Hartmann). With so many big personalities, clashing egos, and different views locked up in one place, the survivors must find a way to work together if they want a chance at survival. Reality Z only ran for one season, not because it was canceled but because it was planned that way, and with just 10 episodes, it’s a perfect binge-watch. Daybreak (2019) Daybreak is a post-apocalyptic comedy series created by Brad Peyton and Aron Eli Coleite, and loosely based on the comic book series by Brian Ralph. Daybreak follows Josh Wheeler (Colin Ford), a 17-year-old Canadian student and outcast in a post-apocalyptic California. Josh has a mission: find his missing British girlfriend, Sam (Sophie Simnett), and for that, he teams up with a 10-year-old pyromaniac and with his former bully, who is now a pacifist with dreams of being a samurai. The post-apocalyptic world of Daybreak takes a lot from that of Mad Max, with Josh and company facing gangs like those in George Miller's universe (formed by evil jocks, cheerleaders who are now Amazonian warriors, etc), as well as the Ghoulies, who are people who turned into zombie-like creatures. On top of that, the sadistic leader of the jocks threatens the remaining survivors, adding yet another issue for Josh. Daybreak is a fun blend of teen drama, zombies, comedy, and a unique take on the post-apocalyptic style of Mad Max – unfortunately, it was canceled after just one season. Santa Clarita Diet (2017-2019) Santa Clarita Diet is a comedy horror TV series created by Victor Fresco. Set in the title city in California, Santa Clarita Diet introduces viewers to real estate agents and married couple, Joel (Timothy Olyphant) and Sheila Hammond (Drew Barrymore). Their lives take a wild and unexpected turn when Sheila begins to show signs of having become a zombie, including craving human flesh. This forces the Hammond family to try to find a cure, while also dealing with social and cultural norms and the mystery of how Sheila became infected. Santa Clarita Diet was a critical success, with each season being better received than the last one thanks to the show’s constant improvement and great quality. Despite its success, Santa Clarita Diet joined the infamous group of Netflix shows that didn’t make it past their third season, as the streamer canceled it due to budget reasons and viewership numbers that failed to justify the show’s high production costs. Santa Clarita Diet is one of Netflix’s best horror TV shows, but new viewers must beware of it ending on a major cliffhanger. Black Summer (2019-2021) Black Summer is a horror drama TV series created by Karl Schaefer and John Hyams, and it’s a prequel and spinoff of Syfy’s Z Nation show, though with a completely different tone. Black Summer follows Rose (Jamie King), a mother who was separated from her daughter, Anna, during the evacuation of her city during the earliest and most chaotic days of the zombie apocalypse. Rose finds herself in a small group of refugees, but she decides to venture into the hostile new world during the deadly summer of the apocalypse to find Anna. Black Summer is a lot less comedic than Z Nation and a lot darker, something that fans of the main show should take into account before going into the spinoff. Black Summer has been praised for its take on zombies, making them fast and relentless creatures, with brilliant sound design that relies on silence and natural sound, and vulnerable and realistic characters, making it an intense and immersive experience. Black Summer was canceled after two seasons, but, as it happens with other great shows canceled too soon, that makes it perfect for binge-watching. All of Us Are Dead (2022-Present) All of Us Are Dead is a coming-of-age horror TV series based on Joo Dong-geun’s 2009 webtoon of the same name. All of Us Are Dead takes viewers to South Korea, where a deadly zombie virus quickly spreads through a high school after an experiment gone wrong, later spreading to the nearby city of Hyosan, too. The virus turns the infected ones into violent, flesh-eating zombies, and so this forces a group of surviving students to lock themselves at school, completely isolated from the outside world, where the government is failing to contain the outbreak. The group uses what they have available to defend themselves, while also having to team up if they want to find a way to reach safety and survive this living nightmare. All of Us Are Dead season 1 was a huge success for Netflix, with the show being renewed for a second season. However, there has been a long wait for the new episodes, and, at the time of writing, All of Us Are Dead season 2 still doesn’t have a projected release date. Kingdom (2019-2021) Kingdom is a South Korean action horror thriller series created by Kim Eun-hee and based on the webtoon series The Kingdom of the Gods. Kingdom takes the audience back to 1601, three years after the end of the Imjin War, and into a fictional Joseon. Kingdom follows Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon), the crown prince of the House of Yi, who learns of a zombie apocalypse that is ravaging the kingdom. Chang must not only do his best to save the Kingdom from this epidemic, but also stop his political opponents from taking his throne. Kingdom was Netflix’s first original Korean series. Kingdom brilliantly blends horror, zombies, drama, and political thriller, and it was a big success with critics and general audiences. Despite its success and quality, Kingdom ran for only two seasons, but it had a special episode in 2021 titled “Ashin of the North”, which serves as a sidequel to season 2. Release Date 2019 - 2020-00-00 Network Netflix Directors Kim Seong-hun, Park In-je Cast Ju Ji-hoon Crown Prince Chang Ryu Seung-ryong Cho Hak-ju Writers Kim Eun-hee Creator(s) Kim Eun-hee, Kim Seong-hun