Some of the most effective and engaging TV shows in recent years were also so gore-filled that audiences often had to look away in pure terror and disgust. From thrilling sci-fi dystopias to intense psychological horrors, just because a series was packed with gore, murder, and violence did not stop it from being truly great. In many cases, the excessively gruesome nature of these shows added to their appeal as they pushed the limits of what could be depicted and accepted in mainstream television.

Plenty of the most gruesomely violent TV shows were filled with gory sequences and sinister characters who committed heinous acts. From intense games that saw characters' lives on the line to sinister antiheroes who killed for the sheer thrill of it, in recent years, television has caught up with horror movies to make series that were equal to or even exceeded the most gore-filled cinematic spectacles.