There’s something undeniably captivating about the world of dark academia—where intellect meets mystery, candlelight flickers across crumbling tomes, and secrets are buried under layers of tweed and trauma.
Whether it’s a haunted boarding school, a brooding detective with a taste for vintage suits, or a scholar unraveling ancient conspiracies, these shows invite you into a universe where knowledge is power… and often a little dangerous.
So, if you crave moody aesthetics, literary references, morally gray characters, and libraries that might be hiding a gateway to the occult, you’re in the right place. Here are the best dark academia TV shows worth getting obsessed over.
A Discovery of Witches, Sky One/Sky Max (2018 – 2022)
Witches, Oxford libraries, and centuries-old vampire scholars? A Discovery of Witches is basically dark academia catnip.
This British fantasy series blends forbidden romance, ancient texts, and academic intrigue into a binge-worthy package.
Historian Diana Bishop stumbles upon a bewitched manuscript that throws her into a war between magical species—and straight into the arms of a dreamy vampire scientist.
It has a gothic campus backdrop and a heroine who actually knows how to handle a dusty archive. Bonus points for the stunning European scenery and all the tweed. This one’s for the nerds with secrets.
The Magicians, Syfy (2015 – 2020)
What if your dark academia fantasy involved actual magic and a lot more emotional damage? Enter The Magicians, where grad students at a secret university learn real-world spells—and unleash absolute chaos.
Based on Lev Grossman’s novels, this series is what happens when you mix Harry Potter with The Secret History and give it an R-rating.
Mental health, trauma, power, addiction—it’s all fair game here. Plus, the campus vibes are immaculate, and the characters read like Tumblr’s dream cast of tortured intellectuals.
If you’ve ever wanted your magical academia with extra existential dread, The Magicians delivers in spades.
The Boarding School: Las Cumbres, Amazon Prime Video (2021 – 2023)
Nothing says dark academia like a creepy, remote boarding school surrounded by misty woods and sinister secrets.
The Boarding School: Las Cumbres (a reboot of El Internado) leans into the aesthetic with eerie nuns, cryptic symbols, and missing students.
The uniforms are sharp, the atmosphere is dripping with tension, and every hallway feels like something out of The Name of the Rose—if that book had more teen angst and secret societies.
It’s stylish, spooky, and filled with twists that keep you guessing. If you’re into cloistered institutions where education and danger go hand-in-hand, this is your next obsession.
The Black Lagoon Boarding School, Antena 3 (2007 – 2010)
Before The Boarding School: Las Cumbres, there was El Internado: Laguna Negra—the original Spanish thriller that blended teen drama, gothic horror, and dark academia to perfection.
Set in a secluded, ivy-covered boarding school surrounded by dense forest, the show follows students unraveling terrifying secrets involving missing persons, secret labs, and sinister experiments.
With its candlelit classrooms, hidden tunnels, and conspiracies thicker than a dusty Latin textbook, El Internado set the blueprint for brooding mystery series to come.
Wednesday, Netflix (2022 – present)
Tim Burton took the ultimate deadpan goth girl and dropped her into Nevermore Academy—a school teeming with secrets, monsters, and murder.
Wednesday is the Addams Family’s twist on dark academia, and it works like a charm. Think gothic architecture, Poe-inspired literary societies, cello solos, and a whole lot of eyebrow-raising detective work.
Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday is brilliantly weird, and the show blends supernatural hijinks with classic prep school intrigue.
It’s part whodunit, part teen drama, all wrapped in raven feathers and sarcasm. Add in moody forests and typewriters, and you’ve got a spooky-scholarly treat worth bingeing in black.
Ares, Netflix (2020)
Secret societies? Check. Creepy rituals? Check. Blood oaths, glowing goo, and psychological horror at a prestigious university? Oh yes.
Ares is a Dutch horror series that drops you into the elite, occult-infused student society of the same name.
When medical student Rosa is invited to join, she discovers that the cost of power in this world is paid in blood—and buried trauma.
With its candlelit chambers, grotesque symbolism, and relentless commentary on class and colonial guilt, this one’s intense. If you like your dark academia soaked in body horror and generational sins, Ares is a stylish, disturbing must-watch.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, BBC One (2015)
What if dark academia had a magical realism twist and wore a powdered wig? Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a beautifully brooding miniseries based on Susanna Clarke’s novel, where 19th-century England flirts with the return of real magic.
Two scholars—one reserved and rule-bound, the other rebellious and unpredictable—revive English sorcery through books, rivalries, and increasingly dangerous spells.
The libraries are dusty, the dialogue sharp, and the aesthetic? Positively arcane.
It’s a show where every candlelit scene feels like an oil painting, and every footnote might come alive. If you like your academia with a historical twist and magical tension, you’ll be spellbound.
The Alienist, TNT (2018 – 2020)
Set in 1890s New York, The Alienist is what happens when true crime meets historical noir and wraps itself in a moody, bloodstained cravat.
This psychological thriller follows an alienist (old-school psychologist) investigating brutal child murders alongside a determined illustrator and the city’s first female NYPD employee.
It’s intellectually intense, gorgeously shot, and unflinchingly dark. There are early forensics, leather-bound case notes, and more corseted trauma than a Brontë novel.
With performances by Daniel Brühl, Dakota Fanning, and Luke Evans, this one’s got style and substance. For fans of dark academia who like their mysteries Victorian and full of moral ambiguity.
Penny Dreadful, Showtime/Sky Atlantic (2014 – 2016)
Victorian gothic meets literary horror in Penny Dreadful, a lush fever dream of a show that brings together characters like Dorian Gray, Dr. Frankenstein, and Dracula in one gloriously cursed narrative.
Dark academia fans will swoon over the shadowy libraries, poetic monologues, and Eva Green’s mesmerizing portrayal of Vanessa Ives—a woman haunted by forces both divine and demonic.
Every episode is drenched in opulence and dread, exploring the blurred line between intellect and madness. It’s like an English lit major’s hallucination after too much absinthe and Nietzsche.
If your dark academia tastes lean toward the baroque and bloody, press play.
The Queen’s Gambit, Netflix (2020)
Yes, it’s about chess—but The Queen’s Gambit is dripping in dark academia vibes.
Orphaned prodigy Beth Harmon becomes a chess icon while battling addiction, obsession, and the crushing weight of genius.
The libraries are vast, the fashion is crisp, and the Cold War-era intellectualism is palpable. Beth spends most of her time surrounded by dusty books, elite minds, and existential dread—dark academia gold. Every match is a mind game played in cathedralesque halls with near-religious intensity.
If you’ve ever found strategy sexy, or dreamed of winning hearts and trophies in a turtleneck, this stylish slow-burn is for you.
His Dark Materials, BBC One/HBO (2019 – 2022)
Set in a parallel universe where souls walk beside their humans in animal form, His Dark Materials blends philosophical depth with high fantasy and boarding school rebellion.
Based on Philip Pullman’s trilogy, the series follows Lyra, a curious and defiant young girl, as she uncovers a conspiracy involving a magical substance called Dust, a controlling institution, and hidden truths about consciousness.
It’s a heady mix of science, theology, and mystery that practically screams “dark academia.” Add in airships, scholars in robes, secret societies, and armored polar bears—and you’ve got a moody, intelligent fantasy epic with major brainy vibes.
Sherlock, BBC One (2010)
The BBC’s Sherlock drips with dark academia energy, thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch’s high-functioning sociopath of a detective who solves crimes with more brainpower than bedside manner.
With his violin, trench coat, and obsession with knowledge, Sherlock is basically a Victorian lit grad student who swapped libraries for crime scenes.
The moody London streets, the rapid-fire deductions, and the quiet tragedy of his relationships all combine into a series that feels cerebral and stylish.
Bonus points for John Watson’s blog, gothic interiors, and all the skulls. If your idea of dark academia includes solving murders in a Belstaff coat, this is your jam.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Netflix (2018 – 2020)
Archie Comics meets Lovecraft in this witchy, gothic reimagining of Sabrina Spellman.
Set at Baxter High and the Academy of Unseen Arts, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina combines spellbooks, secret cults, blood rituals, and vintage outfits in a show that’s peak dark academia with a supernatural twist.
Sabrina’s world is full of rituals, dusty tomes, and moral quandaries—all while navigating teenage drama and Hell’s politics.
The aesthetic is perfectly moody: candlelit libraries, Victorian costumes, and whispered Latin incantations. It’s dark, dramatic, and stylishly strange. Basically, it’s perfect for your inner goth nerd.
Picnic at Hanging Rock, Showcase (2018)
Mysterious, surreal, and hypnotically haunting, Picnic at Hanging Rock (the 2018 TV series) reimagines the classic Australian tale with more lace, more secrets, and major dark academia energy.
Set in an elite girls’ boarding school in 1900, the story revolves around the eerie disappearance of several students and a teacher during a picnic. Natalie Dormer plays the headmistress with the perfect mix of menace and mystery.
Think gothic corridors, suppressed desire, and secrets buried beneath layers of taffeta. The show leans heavily into atmosphere and symbolism—if you like your academia with existential dread and cryptic glances, this one’s for you.
The Nevers, HBO (2021)
Imagine Victorian London, women with strange powers, and a shadowy war between science, magic, and social order—The Nevers has all that and a corset too.
This steampunk-adjacent series brings dark academia to the streets, libraries, and laboratories of a reimagined 19th century.
The series explores themes of knowledge, power, and who gets to control both, all while staying gloriously weird. Plus, the costuming is peak aesthetic.
If you love supernatural conspiracy with your intellectual drama, this show will absolutely cast its spell on you.
Da Vinci’s Demons, Starz (2013 – 2015)
What if one of the greatest minds in history moonlighted as a rogue genius solving supernatural mysteries? Da Vinci’s Demons takes the mythos of Leonardo da Vinci and supercharges it with secret societies, alchemy, and coded messages hidden in ancient texts.
It’s sexy, smart, and soaked in Renaissance flair—with plenty of candlelit lectures and philosophical musings to satisfy your inner scholar.
The Medici drama alone is worth the watch. It may lean more toward historical fantasy than pure dark academia, but between all the cryptic tomes, cloaked figures, and intellectual brooding, it earns its place on the list.
Cambridge Spies, BBC Two (2003)
Real-life espionage meets elite academia in this moody British spy miniseries based on the infamous Cambridge Five spy ring.
Cambridge Spies follows a group of brilliant young men from Cambridge University who were recruited by the KGB in the 1930s.
The series dives deep into ideological conflict, privilege, and betrayal—all while dressed in scholarly robes and fueled by lectures and revolution.
If you like your dark academia sprinkled with real historical stakes and morally complex characters, this one delivers. Plus, it’s gorgeously shot, filled with cigarette smoke and philosophical debates, and steeped in the tragic glamour of youthful idealism gone sideways.
Great Expectations, FX/BBC One (2023)
This edgy adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic leans fully into the gothic grime and brooding intellect that make dark academia tick.
Great Expectations reimagines Pip’s rags-to-riches journey with moody cinematography, intense performances, and a sharper critique of class and ambition.
Miss Havisham, as portrayed by Olivia Colman, is the ghostly embodiment of decaying aristocracy—and every candlelit room she inhabits is a lesson in literary creepiness.
With foggy courtyards, obsession-fueled love, and plenty of emotional repression, this version brings a darker, more psychological tone that’s perfect for viewers who like their academia with a twist of melodramatic menace.
How to Get Away with Murder, ABC (2014 – 2020)
It’s dark, it’s academic, and—true to its name—there’s a lot of murder.
Viola Davis stars as Annalise Keating, a brilliant, emotionally complex law professor who pulls a group of students into a mess of secrets, lies, and corpses.
How to Get Away with Murder isn’t gothic in style, but it nails the genre’s obsession with intellect, moral ambiguity, and power structures. T
he setting is a prestigious university where people spend as much time dissecting the law as they do disposing of bodies. Add in betrayal, guilt, and stylish trench coats, and you’ve got a legal drama soaked in dark academia energy.
Dickinson, Apple TV+ (2019 – 2021)
Don’t let the hip-hop soundtrack and Gen Z slang fool you—Dickinson is as dark academia as they come.
Hailee Steinfeld stars as Emily Dickinson, the reclusive poet who turns her 19th-century Massachusetts life into a fever dream of death, love, and literary angst.
The show blends historical facts with surrealist fantasy, turning quiet writing sessions into metaphysical adventures featuring literal Death (played by Wiz Khalifa, because of course).
With its candlelit parlors, crumbling journals, and intellectual rebellion, Dickinson explores what it means to be a young woman with too many thoughts and not enough freedom. Moody, poetic, and very meta.
Freud, Netflix (2020)
Imagine a young Sigmund Freud solving occult mysteries in 19th-century Vienna. That’s Freud, and yes—it’s as wild as it sounds.
This Austrian psychological thriller reimagines the father of psychoanalysis as a coke-sniffing detective unraveling murders, séances, and shadowy conspiracies.
The show leans into the gothic: candlelit parlors, masked balls, dusty libraries, and repression so thick you could cut it with a scalpel. The moody lighting and dreamlike sequences make it as trippy as it is intellectual.
It’s not historically accurate, but it’s definitely dark academia meets paranormal noir. If you want your Freudian theory with a side of murder, dig in.
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Netflix (2017 – 2019)
This might seem like a stretch—until you remember A Series of Unfortunate Events is essentially a gothic textbook on childhood trauma, literary references, and the failures of adult institutions.
The Baudelaire orphans are brilliant, bookish, and constantly outwitting villains in crumbling mansions, fog-shrouded academies, and suspiciously bureaucratic libraries.
The narration is equal parts sarcastic and scholarly (thank you, Lemony Snicket), and the aesthetic is moody perfection.
Whether they’re dodging Count Olaf’s disguises or uncovering hidden codes, the Baudelaires embody the genre’s obsession with intellect, melancholy, and moral ambiguity—all while wearing dark, vintage-inspired clothes. It’s YA dark academia, done right.
Hannibal, NBC (2013 – 2015)
Few shows embody the highbrow horror and intellectual dread of dark academia quite like Hannibal. With its poetic dialogue, psychological cat-and-mouse games, and gourmet cannibal dinners, this series is basically a philosophy class served with a side of Chianti.
Mads Mikkelsen’s Hannibal Lecter is a psychiatrist, a murderer, and a disturbingly elegant dinner host, while Hugh Dancy’s Will Graham is a troubled profiler unraveling in candlelit lecture halls and twisted mind palaces.
It’s part crime drama, part psychological thriller, and part visual art installation. If you like your academia dark, stylish, and laced with Latin, Hannibal is deliciously disturbing perfection.
Prodigal Son, FOX (2019 – 2021)
Malcolm Bright is the son of a serial killer… and a criminal profiler with a genius intellect, a tendency to unravel, and a wall full of red string.
Prodigal Son explores the psychological toll of knowledge, trauma, and legacy, all within the framework of intellectual detective work.
Malcolm’s insomnia-fueled musings, complicated father-son relationship, and dark sense of humor are textbook dark academia. He may not be teaching at a university, but he’s giving full tortured-genius energy in every scene.
With plenty of moral ambiguity, stylish murder scenes, and a love of solving puzzles, this show is both creepy and cerebral.
Murdoch Mysteries, CBC (2008 – present)
Set in late-19th-century Toronto, Murdoch Mysteries features a detective who’s basically Sherlock Holmes with a Canadian passport and a love of science.
William Murdoch solves crimes using early forensics, innovative gadgets, and the occasional existential crisis.
The show leans into Victorian academia—think gas lamps, chalkboards, and elegant waistcoats—with cameos from real historical figures like Nikola Tesla and H.G. Wells.
It’s light in tone but rich in atmosphere, especially if you love a methodical mind at work in a world of horse-drawn carriages and smoky labs. It’s not the darkest entry on this list, but the intellectual charm is undeniable.