Witches, Angels, and Ghosts: Paranormal Sitcoms That Will Make You Laugh

Head into spooky season with these comedy gems!

The end of September can be exciting. Why? It’s dangerously close to spooky season! There are endless premises that sitcoms use in storytelling, from family drama to teen angst to workplace comedies and mockumentaries. But there is one subset of sitcoms that utilize the paranormal, a storytelling device used since the 1960s. While some sitcoms dabble in sci-fi (like alien-forward comedies like Mork & Mindy, Alf, and 3rd Rock From the Sun), we love these sitcoms that delve into the complex worlds of fantasy, using magic and ghosts for laughs. Here’s a list of some spooky paranormal comedies to get you started on some Halloween-themed watch party marathons.

1. Bewitched

Decades before teenage witch Sabrina would hang out with mortals, there was the 1960s sitcom Bewitched. It’s a classic American sitcom with a bit of magic mixed in about Samantha Stephens, a charming witch who marries a mortal man, Darrin. The couple leads a normal suburban life, and Samantha tries desperately to fit in with non-witches, but often resorts to using her magical powers—activated with a twitch of her nose—to help get her through. Samantha’s magical family, especially her mischievous mother, Endora, often complicates things with spells and supernatural antics. The show blends comedy, fantasy, and romance while exploring themes of identity, societal expectations, and the clash between two very different worlds.

2. Teen Angel

The late 90s supernatural sitcom Teen Angel (1997–1998) is the story of Marty DePolo, a teenage boy who dies after eating a spoiled hamburger and returns as a guardian angel to his best friend, Steve Beauchamp. Marty is sent back to Earth by “The Head”—a heavenly figure played by Ron Glass—with a mission to help Steve navigate the struggles of high school. But Marty is inexperienced as an angel, which often leads to comedy and chaos. 

3. Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Melissa Joan Hart became a generational hero with her first sitcom, Clarissa Explains It All. So her role as Sabrina Spellman in Sabrina the Teenage Witch from the late 90s through the early 2000s was destined to connect with fans. Sabrina is an ordinary high school student who, on her 16th birthday, discovers she’s actually a witch (relatable, right?). Sabrina’s two quirky, magical aunts, Hilda and Zelda, do their best to raise their niece as both a teenager and a budding witch, and their sarcastic talking cat, Salem (a former warlock cursed into feline form), is present for comic relief. Sabrina balances the challenges of teenage life which includes school, friends and boyfriends with the discovery of her newfound magical powers. Sabrina often uses spells to fix her problems, only to find that magic can create more trouble than it solves. 

4. The Good Place

A sitcom full of dead people? Sign us up. The Good Place, which aired from 2016 through 2020, is a philosophical comedy that questions mysteries of the afterlife. Eleanor Shellstrop, played by Kristen Bell, is a self-centered woman who, after her death, mistakenly ends up in “The Good Place,” a utopian afterlife reserved for people who led morally exemplary lives. She realizes she doesn’t belong there, and some sort of mistake has been made, so she tries to hide her past misdeeds with the help of her new afterlife friends, including the ethical and anxious Chidi, the socialite Tahani, and the lovable Jason. Under the guidance of Michael, an otherworldly architect played by Ted Danson, and Janet, a helpful AI assistant, they discover surprising truths about morality, redemption, and what it means to be a good person. Sharply witty and thought-provoking, The Good Place is a unique, comedic take on the afterlife and human nature.

5. That’s So Raven

Raven-Symoné stars in this mid-2000s Disney Channel sitcom about Raven Baxter, a high school teen who can see the future. Raven has spontaneous psychic visions that warn her of imminent happenings, and her attempts to prevent these premonitions from coming true often lead to comedy and chaos. Alongside her loyal best friends, Eddie and Chelsea, Raven navigates the ups and downs of teenage life like school and family all while trying to keep her psychic powers under wraps. The show is known for its slapstick humor and Raven’s colorful disguises, as well as the lesson of embracing who you are. Since 2017, spin-off sequel Raven’s Home takes us into Raven’s adult life as a single mother of twins, one of whom inherits her psychic abilities. As the family struggles to keep his visions a secret, Raven balances single motherhood, love, and friendship.

6. Wizards of Waverly Place

The Wizards of Waverly Place in the late 2000s launched the career of Selena Gomez. This Disney Channel sitcom is about the Russo family, living in New York City. Siblings Alex (Gomez), Justin, and Max are secretly wizards-in-training, and their father, a former wizard, and their mortal mother run a sandwich shop. The family tries to keep their magical world hidden from the regular world, and the three teens must balance their everyday lives with learning to control their magical abilities–while competing to be the sole inheritor of their family’s powers. A sequel series is about to drop in October 2024, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, a new sitcom that picks up twelve years after the final episode of Wizards of Waverly Place–and the reveal of the family inheritance winner. Siblings Alex and Justin’s families will return to wizard training–we can’t wait to see what this series has in store for the next generation of Wizards fans!

7. Ghosts

When you move from a city apartment to a new house in the country, your first concerns might be needing to repair old construction, figuring out how to furnish a big house, and making new friends nearby. But what might not be on your mind are the home’s previous–and present–spiritual inhabitants. The 2021 series Ghosts is a supernatural sitcom about a young couple, Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar), who inherit a crumbling mansion inhabited by a group of eccentric, centuries-old ghosts. After she has a near-death experience, Sam gains the ability to see and communicate with the spirits, who each come from different historical periods and have wildly different personalities–which leads to a lot of wit and humor and misunderstandings between them all. The couple attempts to turn the haunted mansion into a bed & breakfast while dealing with the ghosts’ demands, and slowly, everyone figures out how to coexist.

8. Not Dead Yet

In the 2023 sitcom Not Dead Yet, Gina Rodriguez plays Nell Stevens, a struggling journalist who, after returning to her old job at a newspaper, is assigned to write obituaries. But something about her work has changed dramatically: she begins seeing and communicating with the ghosts of the people she’s writing about, who offer her life lessons, humor, and unexpected companionship. As she learns more about each person, she’s able to offer a well-rounded write-up of their lives, and they (mostly) move on.  As Nell navigates her career, friendships, and romantic life, her interactions with the quirky and diverse spirits help her rediscover herself and move forward from past mistakes.

Which paranormal sitcoms are you loving right now? Tell us in the comments!

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