10 TV Shows To Watch If You Like Carrie

It's genuinely surprising in this day and age to find a television adaptation that successfully updates its previously adapted source material into a new definitive reinterpretation. In the case of Prime Video's "Carrie," there's some serious competition in Brian De Palma's 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek, which kickstarted a plethora of Stephen King adaptations over the years. However, the "Carrie" series takes some bold creative liberties informed by the novel's wider influence on horror and science fiction on TV. 

Created by Mike Flanagan, a prolific voice in modern horror, "Carrie" stars Summer H. Howell as the titular telekinetic teenager, with Samantha Sloyan as her overprotective mother, and a supporting cast including Matthew Lillard, Heather Graham, and Katee Sackhoff. Though Flanagan's "Carrie" retains the tone of the original seminal horror story, among the biggest changes from King's book are reframing the story in the present day, expanding the world and mythology behind Carrie's powers, and incorporating modern themes of cyberbullying, gun violence, and mob mentality. 

Though these concepts might be fresh for "Carrie," plenty of television shows have been heavily influenced not just by King's writing, but by the cinematic tone established by Brian De Palma's adaptation. Whereas Mike Flanagan re-contextualizes "Carrie" half a century after its first on-screen adaptation, these 10 TV shows showcase similar takes on the gothic horror, supernatural sci-fi, and teen coming-of-age tales that likely wouldn't exist without King's success. 

"IT" is one of Stephen King's more mainstream successes, especially in recent years after Andy Muschietti's film adaptations starring Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Though the films simply adapt the story of King's book, Muschietti and Skarsgård reunited for an HBO prequel series, "IT: Welcome to Derry," exploring the being's presence in the town in the early 1960s, with flashbacks revealing how it first took the form of Pennywise in 1908. 

Though there are narrative throughlines involving the disappearance of high schooler Matty (Miles Ekhardt), the U.S. Air Force's attempts to utilize telepath Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk) to end the Cold War, and bubbling racial tensions in the rural town, "IT: Welcome to Derry" primarily serves as an expansion of the world King created in his novels, tying in several books outside the continuity of "IT" into one cohesive, terrifying cinematic universe. 

Given that "IT: Welcome to Derry" has been renewed for Season 2 at HBO, future seasons will likely continue to explore this expanding world of King's novels, maybe even crossing over with the characters and events of "Carrie" at some point. Either way, this series incorporates a lot of the themes that King's readers should be familiar with: preternatural abilities, generational trauma, childhood independence, and small-town politics. In that regard, it shares a lot of common DNA with "Carrie," despite having completely different creators. 

"The Outsider" is another HBO series based on a novel by Stephen King, albeit one released decades after "Carrie." However, as is usually the case with King's work, it incorporates a lot of recognizable themes, and it feels especially ripe for the miniseries treatment. The show focuses on a small Georgian town shaken by the gruesome murder of a young boy, with definitive evidence indicating the killer is mild-mannered baseball coach Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman), despite there being an equally strong alibi in Terry's favor and skepticism from detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn). 

Each episode reveals new supernatural layers to the dark murder mystery series, grounded by stellar performances from Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Paddy Considine, and Julianne Nicholson. The show's direction, while more crime noir in tone than other King adaptations, perfectly captures the tension and unease that strongly define the author's best work, proving that even late in his career, he's still churning out psychologically gripping horror. 

Compared to "Carrie," which is largely a story about teenagers, "The Outsider" is far more mature, grappling with grief in adulthood and the consequences of impulsive justice. However, its inclusion of supernatural entities, psychic powers, and small-town horror makes it an apt entry in King's still-growing library of TV adaptations. 

If any television series qualifies Mike Flanagan to assume the responsibility of adapting one of Stephen King's most famous books, "The Haunting of Hill House" does all that and more. As the first entry in a horror anthology based on Shirley Jackson's novels, "The Haunting of Hill House" follows a family whose experiences with the paranormal while living in a dilapidated mansion have residual effects into their adulthood. The series cleverly switches back and forth between examining the family's reunion 20 years after their time at Hill House, and the events that caused them to be so haunted.

As one of the best horror series to watch on Netflix, "The Haunting of Hill House" went above and beyond to establish Flanagan as not just a very capable director handling recent adaptations of Stephen King's work, but a wholly unique voice in modern horror. Even King himself declared "Hill House" a masterpiece upon its initial release, as it brilliantly merges genuinely terrifying gothic horror with fascinating drama surrounding a family who have unfinished business with one another. 

Though it lacks some of the more psychological, science fiction-adjacent motifs that define shows like "Carrie," Flanagan's focus on the more emotional aspects of human behavior and trauma makes its horror feel justified — not just for cheap jump scares.

One of Netflix's best horror miniseries from Mike Flanagan stands out from the rest by not being an adaptation at all. "Midnight Mass" is an original limited series that follows a rural, devoutly religious community on the remote Crockett Island, which is reinvigorated by the arrival of a new priest, Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater). Along with the return of a recently released convict, Riley (Zach Gilford), the island becomes the victim of a series of supernatural occurrences, from the widespread death of stray cats to the mysterious disappearance of the island's original priest, the elderly Father Pruitt (also played by Linklater). 

In addition to being a fresh take on various horror tropes, including vampiric creatures and Biblical disasters, "Midnight Mass" tells a gripping story about religious fanaticism, a theme all too familiar for "Carrie" fans. Though some critics felt the series' twists and turns weren't as satisfying as Flanagan's other television projects, the human drama at the center of this strange island is some of the most compelling and powerfully acted material that's ever streamed on Netflix. 

It only further contributes to the world-building of "Midnight Mass" that the series' existence is itself a reference to Flanagan's 2016 film "Hush," in which "Midnight Mass" is the successful novel of Kate Siegel's horror author character. Siegel also appears in "Midnight Mass" as Riley's ex-girlfriend, making the "Carrie" creator even more King-esque in his development of a larger shared universe between all his original projects. 

"Sharp Objects" is the only show on this list that doesn't involve the supernatural or paranormal; its connections to "Carrie" lie much more in the human aspects of the Stephen King adaptation. Based on a thriller novel by Gillian Flynn, "Sharp Objects" follows Camille Preaker (Amy Adams), a reporter recently discharged from a psychiatric hospital, who ends up investigating a local homicide in her Missouri hometown. Meanwhile, she grapples with her own trauma, having to stay with her overbearing mother, Adora (Patricia Clarkson), and half-sister, Amma (Eliza Scanlen). 

Obviously, the mother-daughter relationship at the center of "Sharp Objects" feels reminiscent of Carrie's own dysfunctional relationship with her mother. However, in place of religious fundamentalism and supernatural tension is the small-town rumor mill and depressive episodes, resulting in career-best performances from both Adams and Clarkson. Though some felt the grim thriller is a frustratingly slow burn, at its core, it's a beautiful character study of how trauma morphs across generations, especially when it doesn't manifest as telekinetic powers as it does in "Carrie." 

The murder mystery that propels much of the plot might not be the most gripping part of the series, but the acting and focus on mental health in women more than make up for its flaws. If you wish "Carrie" had more grounded drama compared to its supernatural elements, "Sharp Objects" is like a window into what it'd be like if Carrie reunited with Margaret after growing up. 

"Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" is like "Carrie" by way of "Riverdale," reinterpreting the Archie Comics character Sabrina Spellman as portrayed by a young but fiery Kiernan Shipka. Premiering in 2018 and capping off its four-part run in 2020, "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" mainly follows the half-human, half-witch navigating typical high school conflicts while also being called to serve Madam Satan (Michelle Gomez), who wishes for Sabrina to be the dark lord's queen. 

Cleverly merging the ghastly with camp sensibilities, "Sabrina" immediately garnered critical acclaim not just for its central performances, but for how bold it is tonally. Like some of Stephen King's most noteworthy work, "Sabrina" made headlines for its racy interpretations of the comics, a reputation the show never shrugged off in future seasons. Though on the surface, "Sabrina" may seem bubblier and more self-aware than a show like "Carrie," underneath it's about as adult as a horror show could get. 

Of all the scary-good reboots of classic source material, "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" balances a lot of vastly different tones and aesthetics into one cohesive series. It may send fewer chills down your spine watching Shipka's Sabrina compared to Howell's Carrie, but the Netflix series does not skimp on the macabre. 

Though it also has its own source material in Megan and Nate Trinrud's graphic novel series, "School Spirits" feels very indebted to horror like "Carrie" and other teen dramas. The Paramount+ series centers on a teenage girl, Maddie (Peyton List), who mysteriously finds she's become a ghost who's able to see and communicate with other ghosts trapped in the confines of her high school. Maddie has to investigate the circumstances of her death with the help of her still-living friends. 

Maddie is certainly a lot more heroic in characterization than the likes of Carrie White, but "Carrie" is definitely alluded to in Maddie's status as an outsider at her school, her dysfunctional relationship with her mom, Sandra (Maria Dizzia), and the darkness lurking underneath many of the adults in Maddie's orbit. One scene in Season 3 even directly references the "Carrie" climax, featuring Maddie being pranked with fake blood thrown on her just before having her school photo taken. 

"School Spirits" may not be the most psychologically intense or horrific show on television. However, the tragic, coming-of-age tone and focus on teen struggles make it a nice palate cleanser from "Carrie" without straying too far from the same themes. 

Frankly, if you're a fan of horror and haven't already been watching "Wednesday" on Netflix, you're sorely missing out. The series is a long-overdue mix between "The Addams Family" and Tim Burton, who directs a majority of the episodes in Seasons 1 and 2.Jenna Ortega stars as the titular Addams family daughter, whose unblinking, monotone personality has never been better utilized than it is here — in a story about the character having to adapt to life at a private boarding school with her uber-positive new roommate, Enid (Emma Myers). 

In addition to brilliantly reimagining the entire Addams family with a star-studded cast including Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia and Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester, "Wednesday" makes bold choices in documenting the coming of age of its titular character, who has historically never gotten to grow up on screen. With the added conflict of Wednesday's development of telekinetic powers, the show is like a humor-filled, gothic version of "Carrie," albeit one that finds its usually misanthropic lead becoming an unlikely hero.

Ultimately, "Wednesday" recaptures the classic "Addams Family" tone for a modern audience, but likewise doesn't eschew genuine horror courtesy of Burton's one-of-a-kind cinematic style. Sure, it might be a huge change of pace for those who just finished binge-watching a show like "Carrie," but not every show about psychic teenage girls needs to be so scary and disturbing. 

Of all the shows on this list, "I Am Not Okay With This" might be the most explicit homage to "Carrie" outside of Stephen King's other work. The Netflix dramedy is based on a graphic novel by Charles Forman and stars Sophia Lillis, whose most recognizable role is in another King adaptation, the "IT" movies. Here, Lillis plays Sydney Novak, a teenage girl struggling with the grief of losing her father (just like Carrie), an emotionally stunted upbringing (just like Carrie), and the sudden discovery of telekinetic powers (just like Carrie). If anything, it might save words to talk about what "I Am Not Okay With This" doesn't share in common with "Carrie." 

What the Netflix series does differently is focus a majority of the plot on Sydney's sexuality, as she's harboring feelings for her best friend, Dina (Sofia Bryant), who is dating the school's jock, Brad (Richard Ellis). Meanwhile, Sydney comes to understand her powers with the help of her friend, Stanley (Wyatt Oleff), all culminating in a climactic final episode that not only resembles "Carrie" (a school dance setting), but also ends with a profound image of Sydney covered head to toe in blood. 

As one of the most underrated Netflix shows of all time, it's a shame "I Am Not Okay With This" didn't get picked up by the streamer for a Season 2. At least watching "Carrie" gives us a little more of the same to enjoy. 

When it comes to Stephen King homages in TV, few have had the mainstream success of "Stranger Things." The Netflix series is a love letter to all things '80s and all things horror, with references not only to King works like "Carrie," "Stand By Me," and "IT," but also to movies like "Ghostbusters" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Particularly, "Carrie" is a major influence on the show's central elements; the small-town mystery, telekinetic children, dysfunctional families, and coming-of-age stories are all present in this sprawling ensemble show.

"Stranger Things," for the most part, follows the people of Hawkins, Indiana, a rural town that becomes the center of paranormal activity following a series of covert scientific experiments on children. One such experiment, named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), escapes after opening a portal to an alternate dimension, unleashing a monster that stirs trouble after kidnapping a local boy, Will (Noah Schnapp), spurring action from his friends (Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, and Caleb McLaughlin), his mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), and the troubled police chief (David Harbour). 

The best episodes of "Stranger Things" feel on par with some of the best sci-fi and horror that's ever been on TV, though the show's low points have garnered lots of criticism. In the end, however, "Stranger Things" has reverence not just for its influences, but for its characters, making it a feel-good watch quite different from any Stephen King story.