I may be writing funny, sexy vampire romances for Kensington Brava (MUST LOVE VAMPIRES, THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS), but I don’t just like to write about the paranormal—with both a serious & humorous bent. I also like to read it & watch it…& I’m betting many of you are the same. 
And the paranormal programming that’s on television right now is some of the best I’ve seen in a while.
GRIMM — I love this show! I love that it’s a cop drama, but also has oodles of otherworldly creatures & lore mixed in. And one of the things I enjoy most is how each time somebody turns out to be a “monster,” the monster’s character traits totally suit the human side of the person. You know what I mean… A snake creature turns out to be a slimy slip-and-fall lawyer… An ogre turns out be be a big bully (i.e. ogre) in real life… A wolf turns out to be protective & pack-like…
ONCE UPON A TIME — I always group Grimm & Once Upon a Time together, but they really aren’t anything alike. One is straight paranormal, while the other draws its paranormal elements from the fairy tales & folk lore we’re already familiar with. And I love the fairy tale aspect of Once Upon a Time. The Evil Queen…Snow White & Prince Charming…Rumplestiltskin… But I also love how it takes place in two different time periods, jumping back & forth to show us how current circumstances began in or mirror the past. I also love the heroism & determination of Henry, the little boy who figures it all out & is fighting to put things right, even against the woman who raised him.
BEING HUMAN — To be honest, I don’t really enjoy Being Human very much. I had high hopes for it. A vampire, a werewolf, & a ghost…? Oh, it had so much potential. But even though I continue to watch each new episode just to kind of keep up with what’s going on, I really don’t care. It’s too confusing, too convoluted, too soap opera-ish for my tastes.
SUPERNATURAL — I was a late-comer to this one. Literally, I just started watching it the last time TNT started running the episodes in repeats from the very beginning a few months ago. I also literally kick myself at least once a day for not catching this one from the first moment it aired. 
And now that I’ve discovered it, I am completely hooked, verging on obsessed. In fact, be sure to drop by WIPs and Chains on Thursday, where I share the amazing tale of how I came to own the entire series on DVD over Christmas. 
But I am totally in love with Sam & Dean. (A little more with Dean than Sam, actually. 
) Just about everything about this show is freaking amazing—including the music!—& even though I’m only up to Season 6 so far in my viewing, I hope it never gets old & never disappoints, because I want to be delighted, entertained, spellbound, enthralled, horrified…&, yes, obsessed by it forever!
Are you watching these, too? So what do you think? Which is your favorite & your least favorite?
Are there any other shows on TV right now with a paranormal twist that I might be missing?
I love Grimm & Once Upon A Time as well. Did you know that both have a Buffy background?
David Greenwalt for Grimm and Jane Espenson for Once? Both are phenomenal writers and producers with outrageous imaginations and serious talent for making the mystical accessible to those who would normally scoff at it.
I’ve tried to get into Supernatural (did the TNT thing as well) but just couldn’t. Wanted to like Being human- tried both US & UK versions. Nope.
Lost Girl started last week on SyFy- seems kind of Fae-ish. Looks like they’re mixing and matching myths/breeds etc. As a Fae enthusiast, I’m going to give it 3eps and see how it goes.
Oh, and it *is* totally possible to be in love with Sam and Dean without liking the show.
I did know about Jane being involved with Once, & possibly knew about David with Grimm, too, but don’t pat a lot of attention to that sort of thing. Kind of explains a lot, tho—both are awesome.
So surprised you couldn’t get into Supernatural—it totally knocked me off my feet. But if it makes a difference, the first few eps aren’t great; they feel kind of like X-Files/monster-of-the-week. A friend warned me about that, tho, & told me to stick with it, & by ep 5 or 6 when the familial relationships started to build, I was hooked.
Of course, if you’re in love with both Sam & Deal without loving the show, you just want them for their bodies. *I* love them for their souls. Altho, Sam doesn’t have one right now, so…
Haven’t tried Lost Girl. I don’t seem to be very impressed with SyFy originals, so I’m reluctant to start another. If I hear one is exceptionally good, tho, I’d be willing to check it out.
Side note: good point about giving a show some time! Vampire Diaries took 6 episodes to get out of its teenage-angsty-emo phase, but then it got GOOD. No debate on who’s hotter on that show. What Damon lacks in stature he makes up for with charisma! (and those eyes!)
I was really glad my friend warned me of that, because the first few eps of Supernatural were okay, but very formulaic. I liked it, but didn’t LOVE it. I stuck with it, tho, & then…
Well, you know those commercials where the ladies have their hair blow back (K-Y? Trojan? Something intimate)? Yeah, it blew my hair back big-time.
Hi Heidi
I live in New Zealand and we don’t get Grimm or Once Upon A Time.
I too was VERY disappointed with Being Human.
As for Supernatural – what’s not to like. The boys are gorgeous. Only problem is I usually MySky it to watch in daylight. It’s a bit too spooky sometimes.
Oh, no – I feel so sorry for you. When Grimm & Once Upon a Time do roll around, watch them, they’re FAB!
Supernatural can be a little dark sometimes…but that’s *why* I watch them at night. I like to be scared.
I am loving all those shows. I’ve been watching supernatural since it first started and I love it.
Other shows you might like are :
Lost Girl
The Secret Circle
The Vampire Diaries
miztik_rose@yahoo.com
Three I haven’t checked out, tho I’ve certainly seen the commercials. You’d think The Vampire Diaries would be right up my alley, too, right? LOL
Hi Heidi!
I LOVE Once Upon a Time! The creator(s) on this (and American Horror Story…which I’m going to wait patiently for it’s return) are just pure geniuses.
Another new one (that isn’t quite paranormal, but has an interesting twist) is The Finder. Funny (think Burn Notice and Psych) and Walter is just such a cute geek. I can’t resist cute geeks.
Once Upon a Time is killing me. The Snow White/Prince Charming storyline…every time I think they might catch a break, it goes bad.
Haven’t watched American Horror Story. I think I’d like it, but I’m almost afraid to try. FX is so bizarre sometimes with its shows & the previews alone creep me out.
As for The Finder, I saw the Bone warm-up ep when it was on & it did absolutely nothing for me. Then again, I’m bored silly with Bones these days, too. Was thinking of giving The Finder a shot now that they’ve given it a bit of a new cast. I mean, I didn’t like the Suspect Behavior ep of Criminal Minds, either, but when it spun off into its own show, I loved it! (And think they canceled it already. But still, I liked it way better on its own than as an ep within the other series.)
Ack! Where can I find reruns of AHS?! I missed the whole season and want to get on track!
If you watch the FX schedule, they tend to repeat *a lot*. But it can be hard to find stuff from the beginning once they get a few eps under their belt. I’ll keep an eye out for you, too.
Aww, thanks! I’ll check FX.com and hulu.com too, but at last check, they had all the episodes available to play—except for the first one.
The Fades is a new show on BBC America. I also like Alphas on SyFy. I think it’ll come back for season 2 in the summer.
Hadn’t heard of The Fades. Have been seeing previews for The River on ABC, tho, & it’s freaking me out.
Have heard good things about Alphas, so I may have to give that one a shot some day.
I, too, am a late arrival at the Supernatural gate. And, I have to say, the show is incredible. Haven’t yet taken on the task of watching from the beginning but oh, I would (Dear Netflix, why isn’t this in instant play?!)
Recently had the Sam/Dean debate on my blog. I STILL am undecided who is hotter! 
Aw, shucks, I’ll have them both. 
I havent caught either Grimm or Once, but hear good things about the latter. And Being Human IS in Netflix, both the UK & US version. Which one do I start watching?
I haven’t decided which side of the fries/chips debate to land on yet. 
Other paranormals I adore: Vampire Diaries. Stupid title, excellent show! And True Blood, but of course.
(It’s like an uber-naughty version of VD…yes, bad acronym.) 
Oh, you MUST see Supernatural from the beginning. There’s a whole brother/familial/absentee father arc that really builds & is revealed slowly from the beginning. And shoot–TNT just started playing them over from #1 on Monday. Now you’re behind again!
You also MUST start watching Grimm & Once Upon a Time. Ohmigosh, they are SO good. Seriously, amazingly good. They’re already on my “darn it, I’m going to have to buy these on DVD, aren’t I?” mental list.
As for Being Human…I’ve been told the UK version is way better than the US one, so if you have the chance to check it out, I would. I’m not sure I even want to, I was so disappointed in the SyFy version. And yet I continue to watch new eps just to keep up—what the heck is wrong with me?!
I’ve never gotten into Vampire Diaries or TrueBlood. Didn’t care for the books, so couldn’t work up any interest in the shows. But someday, I probably will check them out, at least a little bit.
Omg, I forgot to mention The Walking Dead.
now, THAT is a great show!!!
Oh, I am all over The Walking Dead, but…this is going to sound weird…I don’t consider it paranormal. To me, paranormal is otherworldly creatures, but zombies fall more into “horror” than paranormal. Potato/potato, tho, I’m sure.
I absolutely love horror & zombies. I mean LOOOOOVE them. But even tho I love that aspect of Walking Dead, I’m getting a little tired of the personal drama & how slow the show can be sometimes. I’ve always said that the one thing The Walking Dead needs most it MORE ZOMBIES!!!
I see your point. TWD is more horror than para. Although, paranormal does mean “above the normal” and flesh-rotting, organ-eating zombies is def above the normal in my world…but tomato,-tomahto.
And to your point, I agree! MOAR Zombies!!! Let’s hope that Feb 12′s mid-season premiere (a mid-season break, really?!
) is full of MONSTERS! 
Oh, I absolutely agree that zombies probably *do* fall under paranormal…like a sub-set…I just never think of them that way.
And I’ll definitely be there for the new season. Just…MORE ZOMBIES & GORE, please!
FYI, I’ve actually moved this topic over to my personal blog, WIPs and Chains, so if anybody wants to keep chatting about TV with a Twist, follow me over there…
http://heidibetts.com/2012/01/tv-with-a-twist/