10 Years Later, CBS Is Returning to an Unexpected Genre
Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with extensive experience. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy, and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. With his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's tackled a wide variety of articles.
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CBS has seen plenty of success with its adaptation of Ghosts, and now it's about to see whether lightning can strike twice when Eternally Yours debuts next month. Much like Ghosts, Eternally Yours blends the supernatural with sitcom tropes as a pair of married vampires deal with the ups and downs of eternity, not to mention the fact that their daughter is dating a human. It sounds like the perfect show for anyone who misses What We Do in the Shadows or wants something to shake up their TV schedule, but CBS isn't the first to tackle a vampire-themed TV show.
Back in 2007, CBS launched the short-lived supernatural procedural Moonlight, which carried an intriguing premise. Private investigator Mick St. John (Alex O'Loughlin) teams up with reporter Beth Turner (Sophia Myles) to solve a murder, and during the investigation, Beth learns a shocking truth about Mick. He's a vampire who has been watching over her for decades, ever since she was a child, and saved her after she was kidnapped. Moonlight lasted for a single season, but it's still worth a watch thanks to its mix of supernatural mythology and high-stakes drama.
'Moonlight' Blends Vampire Myth and Procedural Tropes
Over its short run, Moonlight slowly built its own unique take on vampires. For starters, sunlight won't outright kill a vampire in this world but slowly saps away their powers; garlic and holy water aren't lethal either. In addition, consuming their blood leads to a euphoric high for humans. This means that Moonlight had to get inventive when coming up with threats for Mick and Beth to fight, and to their credit, the writing staff came up with some unique stories. The episode "Out of the Past" is a great example of what makes Moonlight work, as it features Mick hunting down a serial killer he put away...only the killer knows he's a vampire and how to take him down.
Moonlight also doesn't shy away from drama, especially in the dynamic between Mick and Beth. Early on, it's revealed that Beth's friend Morgan (Shannyn Sossamon) is actually Mick's ex-wife Coraline, who turned him into a vampire. Further complicating matters is the budding romance between Mick and Beth, which is complicated by the presence of her boyfriend, Josh (Jordan Belfi). The idea of a vampire and a human in a relationship is nothing new, but Moonlight made that relationship intriguing while still packing plenty of action and supernatural elements.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes What Is Your Biggest Horror Nightmare? Elm Street · Chucky · Scream · The Conjuring
Four horror franchises. Four completely different ways of scaring you. One waits until you fall asleep. One makes sure nobody believes you. One is already in your group of friends. And one is in the house with your family. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually watch horror, and find out which nightmare was built for you.
😴Elm Street(Freddy Krueger)
🧸Chucky(Child's Play)
📞Scream(Ghostface)
🕯️The Conjuring(The Warren Files)
01
Which horror scene makes you cover your eyes? Four classic images. One of them is worse than the others for you.
02
You are home alone and you hear a noise. First thought? Everybody has one. It arrives before you have decided anything.
03
Which horror movie rule would you break first? Everybody thinks they would survive. Almost nobody actually does.
04
Something genuinely frightening happens. What do you do? Not in a film. In your actual living room, tonight.
05
How do you actually watch a horror film? Be honest about this one. Nobody is checking.
06
Somebody offers you serious money. Which do you still refuse? The amount does not matter. There is one on this list you are not doing.
07
Which feeling stays with you a week after the film? Good horror does not stop when the credits do.
08
Something wakes you at 3am. What is the worst possibility? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your nightmare.
The Lights Just Went Out Your Nightmare Is…
Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath your skin. This is the one built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what it would leave behind.
Elm Street
Your nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you to close your eyes, which you are going to have to do eventually, because nobody has ever won that particular argument.
- Freddy is horror's cruellest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you cannot guard, cannot lock, and cannot avoid forever.
- You are the one who is fine during the film and wide awake at two in the morning. Your own head is where this does its damage.
- These films understood exhaustion as a horror engine. The kids on Elm Street do not lose because they are weak. They lose because they are tired.
- You can lock every door in the house. You still have to sleep.
Chucky
Your nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the person you tell, and the way they decide, very kindly, that you have imagined all of it.
- Chucky works precisely because he is absurd. That is the trap: the more accurately you describe him, the less anybody is going to believe you.
- You are the one shouting at the screen because the characters are not listening. You know that feeling from real life too.
- The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are the real obstacle, and you have met those adults.
- By the time somebody finally believes you, you will have handled most of it on your own.
Scream
Your nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.
- Scream is the only one of these where the killer takes the mask off and turns out to be somebody who was at the party.
- You are the person who calls the twist out loud before it lands. You watch people the same way you watch films.
- The franchise made the rules of horror part of the plot, which means the survivors are the ones paying attention. You would be paying attention.
- Everybody is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.
The Conjuring
Your nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people asleep down the hall, and the feeling that whatever is here is not interested in leaving.
- The Conjuring films are domestic horror. The house, the family, the perfectly ordinary room that quietly stops feeling ordinary.
- Your instinct is to get everybody into one room. Your fear is protective rather than personal, which is rarer than it sounds.
- This is the one franchise where belief is the weapon. The people who come through it are the ones who are not alone and refuse to be.
- Whatever is here did not come for you. It came for the household, and you are the one standing in the hallway.
CBS Was Ahead of the Curve With 'Moonlight'
Despite its innovation, Moonlight faced an uphill battle from the start. David Greenwalt, best known for his work on Angel, was tapped as showrunner but had to leave because of health issues. When the series premiered, it drew negative reviews but still carved out a small, loyal audience. The 2007–2008 Writers' Guild strike, which cut off its momentum,was the proverbial stake in Moonlight's heart, and it was canceled shortly after. Still, it ended on a pitch-perfect note as Mick and Beth shared their first kiss after he confessed his feelings.
Ironically, Moonlight was canceled right as the vampire craze started to take off thanks to Twilight. If that wasn't enough, the series made a brief comeback on the CW when it aired alongside reruns of The Vampire Diaries in 2010. Because the two shows share a blend of vampirism, romance, and drama, they made a perfect pairing. As for Alex O'Loughlin, he'd eventually return to CBS with the Hawaii Five-O reboot that same year. In an interview, O'Loughlin would later say that he felt like Moonlight was a "career error" due to the passionate fanbase he encountered:
"One of the errors of my career was doing a vampire show...The fans that I got from that show are very committed. They will never ever see me as anything other than Mick St. John."
It's too soon to tell whether Eternally Yours will share Moonlight's fate or become the same smash success as Ghosts, but it's clear CBS sees value in the vampire business.
Moonlight is currently available to stream for free on Tubi.
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