Some TV shows carry with them a distinctively eerie atmosphere that feels strangely close to a fever dream. If movies already face a certain pressure around having a beginning, middle, and end, things get even more complicated for TV shows that need to keep viewers hooked with each episode and season that passes. There are a handful of shows that defy this linear structure and take advantage of it to create a unique tone.
While not necessarily horror shows, there are series that use this unconventional approach to back up their desire to translate dreams onto the screen. However, this dreamlike atmosphere can often turn into a nightmare. Here are 10 TV shows that feel like a fever dream.
10Them (2021-Present)
Boasting only one season so far,Themisan anthology seriesthat blends dramatically-charged stories with horror. The first season is set in 1953 and follows a Black family trying to lead a peaceful life in North Carolina. Living in an all-white neighborhood, their peace is disrupted by both human and supernatural forces, unleashing horrors from their past.
An Intimidating Atmosphere Fueled by Violence
Themwas on everyone’s lips back when it was released in 2021, dividing audiences due to its shockingly graphic depictions of violence and abuse. The handling of the subject matter surely goes to alarming extremes, but what sticks in the end is how intimidating the atmosphere is. It dismantles all the aspects of its seemingly grounded narrative in the blink of an eye, just to suddenly get back at it in the aftermath of a bizarre showdown.Stream on Prime Video
9DEVS (2020)
Alex Garland left a major impression on sci-fi fans afterEx-MachinaandAnnihilation, andDEVSfeels like the collision of both these movies. Deciding to focus on a serial structure, the filmmaker turned to television for an unconventional miniseries. Sonoya Mizuno takes over the lead role as Lily Chan, a computer engineer convinced that her employer’s secretive development division has something to do with her boyfriend’s disappearance.
Creator vs. Creation
Garland’s specialty lies in making the audience question their humanity in the face of technology, and he showcases his best traits once again with a mind-boggling system known as DEVS. There’s an eerie dilemma between creator and creation that takes a real dark turn, and as the series progresses, viewers will have a hard time discerning what’s reality and what’s not: both in the show and real life.Stream on Hulu
8The OA (2016-2019)
The OAhas all the good components of agood supernatural dramawith hints of mystery, centered around Prairie, a young blind woman, who disappeared for seven years and inexplicably returned with her sight restored. Her return triggers a series of strange events as the people around Prairie argue about whether she’s a miracle or a curse.
In Close Contact with the Unknown
The OAgets more intense with each episode, aiming at a heavy emotional impact through deep psychological dilemmas. The mystique around Prairie and her abilities enshrouds viewers with the uncertainty of the unknown, effectively conveying how beautiful, yet how scary, it can be to get in contact with it.Stream on Netflix
Related:25 Trippy Movies That Feel Like a Fever Dream
7Lovecraft Country (2020)
Lovecraft Country
Lovecraft Country’s short lifespan doesn’t undermine the show’s success in translating unspeakablecosmic horror elementsonto the screen. Throughout its first and only season, the series added flavor to the best creations of H.P. Lovecraft, and traced chilling parallels between these mind-boggling horrors and the U.S.’s history with racism, as created by Matt Ruff in a book of the same name.
A Nightmarish Allegory to Societal Problems
The whole purpose of cosmic horror is to put humanity in contact with beings and creations that challenge human comprehension, dissecting our sanity in the face of unbelievable truths.Lovecraft Countrydoes a great job of enacting these concepts in a linear, interconnected narrative. It welcomes the audience to venture across the frightening secrets the country tries to bury, with allegories that are as eerie as the creatures they materialize.Stream on Max
6The Lost Room (2006)
The Lost Roomcan feel like a fervent fever dream at times, and even for a miniseries, it’s a pretty short one. The story is split into three parts, each one increasingly boosting the feeling of disorientation and apprehension brought about by the mysterious room 10 of the Sunshine Motel on Route 66. The show follows a desperate detective looking for his daughter, with every clue leading him to this obscure place that acts as a portal to anywhere in the world.
Deconstructing Time and Space
The renewing sense of discovery this show evokes is its best attribute, accompanied by a careful set of rules related to Room 10 that alters everything one knows about time and space. The complexity of the themes never goes to waste, building up an elaborate web of exciting sci-fi elements. Reality deconstructs itself as the main character digs deeper and deeper, and viewers follow closely behind him.Stream on Prime Video
Related:10 TV Shows That Are Mostly About Nothing
5The Leftovers (2014-2017)
The Leftovers
The Leftoversis a hypnotic drama constantly giving in to a delirious state, thanks to the heavy psychological nature of its meditations on miracles, the divine, and the unknown. The show takes place three years after 2% of the world’s human population disappears without a trace, following the inhabitants of a small town struggling to come to terms with the inexplicable tragedy.
Faith in the Face of the Inexplicable
The Leftoverscould’ve gone down a pretty unexciting path, focusing on the mystery of its premise rather than the drama of the characters. It’s precisely the uncertainty and lack of explanation behind the fateful “departure” that makes the show’s feverish aspects work so well. There are no answers to be found, but these characters are constantly looking for them, constantly on the move. What they end up finding is the eternal absurdity of the human condition.Stream on Max
4Legion (2017-2019)
Initially sold as anX-Mensideshow,Legendis centered around David Haller, a young man diagnosed with schizophrenia who’s actually a powerful mutant. Except for the Marvel imprimatur in the credits, there’s a great distance between theX-Menuniverse viewers are used to andthis hallucinatory journeyinto the chaos of David’s mind: it works as both a universe expansion and an entry door for those who are looking for Marvel’s more obscure stuff.
Legendis determined to put viewers in David’s shoes, and for a character as troubled as him, one can expect the equivalent of an endless bad trip. David awakens powerful psychic abilities within himself, but given his fragile state of mind, it’s often difficult to make out what’s actually real and what’s just a fever dream. The psychedelic visuals always feel refreshing, and they’re present in every episode. Too bad such a weird show ended so soon.Stream on Hulu
3Lost (2004-2010)
Over a decade afterLostended, it’s still difficult to find the right words to describe the full scope of the series. The premise is seemingly simple: survivors of a plane crash try to survive on an unreliable island. However, as the show begins to dig deeper into the past of its vast range of characters and the inexplicable secrets of the island, things take a real turn to the uncanny and surreal.
Defied Conventional TV Structure
Lostnever settled with easy answers, and, consequently, each member of its legion of fans has come up with completely different theories about the countless mysteries of the island and its inhabitants. On this basis,Lostcan be an allegory to a variety of things; it defied conventional TV structure with insightful ideas about the incomprehensible nature of life and death, always backed up by its characters' genuine human struggles and emotions.Stream on Hulu
2Scavengers Reign (2023)
Scavengers Reignis an animated series that slipped under the audience of TV fans in 2023, but deserves credit for the mesmerizing effort dedicated to building a brand new world from scratch. In the show, members of a damaged spaceship’s crew find themselves stranded in the mysterious Vesta, a planet as beautiful as it is dangerous.
Surviving in a Beautiful, Unforgiving Planet
Being an animated series,Scavengers Reignis able to explore themind-boggling fauna and floraof Vesta at its full potential. Every detail, from the landscapes in the distance to the mysterious living beings of this planet, feels unique and otherworldly. However,Scavengers Reignis far from a typical contemplative show, as its incredible world-building frequently leans on something darker; Vesta is hypnotic, but also extremely unreliable, sending the characters on a mind-altering journey that turns into an incessant struggle for survival.Stream on Max
1Twin Peaks (1990-2017)
Twin Peaks
Finding the exact words to describeTwin Peaksis like trying to solve a puzzle with covered eyes, for nothing in the past or current century came close to untangling the full scope ofDavid Lynch’s TV masterpiece. The show opens with the discovery of Laura Palmer’s body, the homecoming queen of Twin Peaks' high school. The investigation brings about a chilling truth about the darkness that inhabits the town’s nearby woods.
Moodscapes of Surreal Horror
While the main storyline unravels like a conventional soap opera, the narrative is frequently disrupted by nightmarish sequences and unfathomable events. There’s a lingering mood of dread and horror surrounding each character arc, adding toTwin Peaks' surrealist tone. It sure helps that the show was created and developed by a fever dream master like Lynch, and it even has an equally terrifying movie to back up the story.Stream on Paramount+
