Best Fall TV Shows to Watch in 2025

Some series simply feel like fall—coffee steam against frosty windows, homecoming games, campus corridors, and a hint of mystery after dark. If you’re building a seasonal watchlist, the best Fall TV shows blend warmth and atmosphere with just enough suspense. Below are ten hand-picked picks—comfort classics and cozy-spooky staples—that play perfectly with sweaters, cider, and earlier sunsets.

At a Glance

• Cozy small-town escapes: Gilmore Girls and Anne with an E capture the coffee cups, books, and back-to-school warmth of autumn.
• Spooky, supernatural vibes: Wednesday, The Vampire Diaries, Stranger Things, and The Haunting of Hill House bring just the right amount of Halloween energy.
• Community and comfort: Friday Night Lights and The Great British Bake Off showcase the rituals of fall—from stadium lights to spiced loaves.
• Clever mysteries: Only Murders in the Building and Veronica Mars add witty whodunits that pair perfectly with chilly nights.

1) Gilmore Girls (The WB/Netflix)

Gilmore Girls is known as one of the best fall TV shows for a good reason. The blueprint for cozy viewing: Stars Hollow’s town meetings, leaf-strewn sidewalks, and mother-daughter banter that snaps like kindling. School starts, festivals pop up every other week, and coffee powers it all. Few shows capture back-to-school energy and small-town ritual as completely as this one.

• Autumn vibe: Small-town festivals, plaid coats, bookstore runs
  
  
• Peak fall arc: S1–S3 (Back-to-school through Thanksgiving episodes)
  
  
• Perfect pairing: Apple pie + a giant mug of coffee
  

2) Wednesday (Netflix)

A gothic reimagining of the Addams family universe, Wednesday nails the fall aesthetic with moody landscapes, spooky boarding school vibes, and Jenna Ortega’s delightfully deadpan performance. It’s quirky, darkly funny, and tailor-made for Halloween-season viewing.

• Autumn vibe: Gothic architecture, stormy forests, candlelit corridors
  
  
• Peak fall arc: Entire first season (watch in October for full effect)
  
  
• Perfect pairing: Pumpkin cookies + black coffee in a skull mug

3) The Vampire Diaries (The CW/Max)

The Vampire Diaries is one of the best fall TV shows, as it being vampire-themed is as fall-coded as it gets. Football lights and Halloween-adjacent chills collide in Mystic Falls. Early seasons are all crisp nights, school dances, carved pumpkins, and an undercurrent of gothic romance. It’s the cozy-spooky lane at its most bingeable.

• Autumn vibe: Jack-o’-lanterns, letterman jackets, cemetery fog
  
  
• Peak fall arc: S1–S2 (homecoming + early holiday episodes)
  
  
• Perfect pairing: Pumpkin spice + a blanket you can hide under
  

4) Friday Night Lights (NBC/Peacock)

When you watch Friday Night Lights, you get marching bands, stadium lights, and the hum of a town in flannel—this is fall as ritual and community. The show’s quiet human stakes feel truest when the air cools and the bleachers fill. Clear eyes, full hearts, sweater weather.

• Autumn vibe: Chili cookoffs, pep rallies, porch lights
  
  
• Peak fall arc: S1 (the whole town learning to breathe together)
  
  
• Perfect pairing: Chili night + game-day snacks
  

5) Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Only Murders in the Building is a watch that feels like fall. A soft-edged whodunit with scarves, brownstones, and park leaves swirling outside the Arconia. The comedy is warm, the mystery inviting rather than bleak, and the sweaters deserve their own credits. It’s the rare murder show that’s genuinely cozy.

• Autumn vibe: Brownstone lobbies, podcast microphones, tweed
  
  
• Peak fall arc: S1 for the “first-case” giddiness
  
  
• Perfect pairing: Cheese board + tea in a thermos
  

6) Stranger Things (Netflix)

Bike rides at dusk, Halloween posters in homerooms, and the thrill of a costume party that might end in a monster chase. Stranger Things is one of the best fall TV shows that folds ‘80s nostalgia into a brisk October breeze. It is equal parts comfort and goosebumps. Start with the Halloween-season run for maximum fall mood.

• Autumn vibe: School hallways, arcades, foggy fields
  
  
• Peak fall arc: S2 (the Halloween chapter)
  
  
• Perfect pairing: Retro candy + lights dimmed low
  

7) Anne with an E (Netflix)

Anne with an E is a fall TV show with back-to-school jitters and chalk-dust afternoons. It is Prince Edward Island bathed in russet light. This adaptation leans into found family and second chances, which land even softer in autumn. It’s literary comfort with stove-warmed hearts.

• Autumn vibe: Notebooks, knit scarves, field walks at golden hour
  
  
• Peak fall arc: S1–S2 (school terms, harvest fairs)
  
  
• Perfect pairing: Tea + a stack of old paperbacks
  

8) The Great British Bake Off / Baking Show (Channel 4/Netflix)

Spice loaves, sticky toffee pudding, and gentle stakes in a canvas tent. Episodes feel like a warm kitchen when the world turns chilly; cinnamon and nutmeg basically waft through the screen. It’s communal, kind, and endlessly rewatchable. The Great British Bake Off is a fall TV show that will get you in the spirit!

• Autumn vibe: Cinnamon, cardamom, warm ovens, knit jumpers
  
  
• Peak fall arc: Any season’s “Autumn/Spice” weeks and holiday specials
  
  
• Perfect pairing: Baking along (or just eating along)
  

9) The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)

The Haunting of Hill House is a fall TV show you can’t miss! For viewers who want candlelit atmosphere with their cozy: a gothic family tale where memory and house creak together. It’s elegant and melancholy rather than gore-driven, the exact register that suits long October nights. Watch with the lights down and a blanket pulled up.

• Autumn vibe: Rainy nights, old books, long corridors
  
  
• Peak fall arc: S1 straight through (save S1E5 for a late-night jolt)
  
  
• Perfect pairing: Dark chocolate + a single brave lamp
  

10) Veronica Mars (Hulu)

Crisp coastal mornings, homecoming banners, and PI noir tucked between lockers. It’s fall as first period meets first suspects, with a heroine who carries a thermos of sarcasm. The mysteries are chewy; the vibe is peak September. Watch the fall-themed TV show on Hulu. 

• Autumn vibe: Hall passes, pep rallies, after-school stakeouts
  
  
• Peak fall arc: S1 (don’t spoil it for yourself—just dive in)
  
  
• Perfect pairing: Latte + a notebook for your theories
  

Sweater-Weather Stories on Screen

If autumn had a queue, these are the best Fall TV shows we’d drop in first—comfort, campus, and candlelit chills in equal measure. Whether you want the warm glow of small-town ritual or the soft shiver of a Halloween mystery, these best Fall TV series will make your evenings feel seasonally right. Consider it your 2025 sweater-weather starter pack—the best Fall TV shows to watch in 2025 when you want your screen time to match the mood