Ghosts, Los Espookys and What We Do in the Shadows are part of TV's horror-comedy trend

The A.V. Club

"Recent TV horror comedies like Santa Clarita Diet, FX’s What We Do In The Shadows, HBO’s Los Espookys, and CBS’ new sitcom Ghosts present an exciting amalgamation of two already massive genres in their own distinctive ways," says Saloni Gajjar. "This deadly combination has had wide appeal, pulling in audiences who might not usually be able to stomach gore, and inviting fright fans to enjoy heartwarming and slapstick content." Gajjar adds: "Examining various horror dimensions through a comedic or satirical lens isn’t a novel concept. Shows like the macabre The Munsters and The Addams Family brought the approach to the small screen in the 1960s. Netflix’s upcoming coming-of-age Wednesday, about Wednesday Addams, and Rob Zombie’s The Munsters reboot for Peacock will keep the respective IPs going strong. Dark dramas of the ’90s like Twin Peaks and Buffy The Vampire Slayer added gallows humor to offset the horror. More recent shows like Fox’s slasher parody Scream Queens and Starz’s Ash Vs. Evil Dead take a stab at expanding the style on TV. The latter cable network also has Courteney Cox-led Shining Vale in the pipeline for 2022, wherein her character gets possessed by the ghosts in her new house. This genre fusion is being revitalized on TV through horror comedies that are character-driven and on a smaller scale."