Van Helsing is a fantasy horror drama television series. Kelly Overton plays the titular character of the series, which was inspired by Zenescope Entertainment's graphic novel series Helsing. A commercial-free advance preview of the pilot aired on July 31, 2016, on Syfy ahead of its September 23, 2016 premiere. In December 2019, Syfy renewed the series for a fifth and final season which premiered on April 16, 2021, and concluded on June 25, 2021.
Contents
Plot
Van Helsing is set in a post-apocalyptic near future. Vanessa Van Helsing, a descendant of Abraham Van Helsing, awakens from a coma after her supposed death to find herself in a post-apocalyptic world, three years after an eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera had blanketed the world in ash, blocking out sunlight and allowing vampires to overrun humanity. She is humanity's last hope, as her unique blood composition gives her the ability to turn vampires back into humans. With this secret weapon, Vanessa becomes a prime target for the vampires. She is protected by a Marine ordered to keep her safe, and the doctor who saved her, so she can lead a resistance against the vampires that plague the world's survivors.
In the second season, Vanessa journeys east towards the safe haven of Denver, Colorado and discovers her long-lost sister Scarlett, who has been trained to kill vampires since birth. In the third season, Vanessa and Scarlett hunt the Elders, the original vampires, in order to defeat them for good. Following Vanessa's apparent death in the fourth season, the series switches focus to her long-lost biological daughters Violet and Jack as they face a new "daywalker" breed of vampires as well as the "Dark One" and ruler of the vampire species, Countess Olivia von Dracula and her brides, a former countess of Transylvania and de facto President of the United States.
Cast and characters
Main
Kelly Overton as Vanessa / Van Helsing / Rezuarc (Predator) (formerly Vanessa Stewart), humanity's last hope to lead an offensive to take back what has been lost in a post-Rising world, as her unique blood composition gives her the ability to turn vampires back into humans.
Jonathan Scarfe as Axel Miller, a former Marine with unwavering devotion and loyalty to both duty and Vanessa, despite years of isolation.
Christopher Heyerdahl as Samuel "Sam" (seasons 1–4), a deaf survivor of the Rising who relies on his strength and observational skills to stay hidden.
David Cubitt as John (season 1; guest season 3), a survivor of the Rising whose actions are fueled by anger, prejudice, suspicion and fear.
Vincent Gale as Phil "Flesh" Fleischman (seasons 1–4), a vampire who was originally a human named Phil Fleishman.
Rukiya Bernard as Sarah "Doc" Carol, a Seattleite medical examiner and scientist.
Trezzo Mahoro as Mohamad (seasons 1–2; recurring season 3), a happy guy, despite all of the evil in the world.
Tim Guinee as Ted (season 1), a Marine and a friend of Axel Miller.
Laura Mennell as Rebecca (seasons 1–2), an ancient, high-ranking vampire who sees very little use in human life.
Paul Johansson as Dmitri (seasons 1–2), a vampire turned long before the Rising.
Missy Peregrym as Scarlett Van Helsing, formerly Scarlett Harker; (seasons 2–3, credited as "Special Guest Star"; voice-only season 5), Vanessa's sister, who shares some of Vanessa's special abilities.
Recurring
Hilary Jardine as Susan Jackson (season 1; guest seasons 2–3, 5), Vanessa's neighbor and best friend up until The Rising, during which time she became a vampire.
Hannah Cheramy as Dylan (seasons 1–2, guest seasons 3, 5), the daughter of Vanessa.
Terry Chen as Brendan (season 1), the de facto leader of a group of survivors from Idaho.
Jennifer Copping as Quaid (season 1), a member of the Portland Human Resistance.
Ben Cotton as Campbell (season 1), a member of the Portland Human Resistance.
Gia Crovatin as Anastasia (seasons 1–2), an ancient vampire like her brother Dmitri.
John DeSantis as Gustov (season 1), a notable vampire from Julius' Brood.
Sarah Desjardins as Catherine (season 1), a member of a group of survivors from Idaho.
Christina Jastrzembska as Mama (season 1; guest seasons 2, 5), the mother of Julius, as well as a member of his Brood.
Macie Juiles as Callie (seasons 1–3; guest seasons 4–5), a member of a group of survivors from Idaho.
Avery Konrad as Cynthia (season 1), a young woman who survived The Rising.
Duncan Ollerenshaw as Dr. Sholomenko (season 1; guest season 2), a human doctor, who was forced into working for Dmitri and Rebecca in order to create day walking vampires with components from Vanessa's blood.
Special guest stars
Sara Canning as Polly Miller / Carter ("Been Away"), the anti-social member of a group of survivors in Axel's hometown, who is Axel's long-lost sister.
Michael Eklund as Abraham Van Helsing ("Metamorphosis") and as Jacob Van Helsing ("The Prism"), The former is the original patriarch of the Van Helsing family who managed to previously trap the Dark One, and the latter is Abraham's twin brother, who was turned into a vampire by Hansen.
Development and production
Syfy acquired Van Helsing from Nomadic Pictures in November 2015, with a 13-episode order beginning production in January 2016, and a series premiere scheduled for Fall 2016. On October 14, 2016, Syfy renewed Van Helsing for a 13-episode second season, which premiered on October 5, 2017. It was revealed during San Diego Comic-Con 2017 that series star Kelly Overton was pregnant during the production of the second season of Van Helsing.
On December 19, 2017, Syfy renewed Van Helsing for a 13-episode third season, which premiered on October 5, 2018. Syfy renewed the series for a 13-episode fourth season on December 18, 2018. After three seasons, Neil LaBute stepped down as showrunner, with series writer Jonathan Walker taking over as showrunner for season 4. On December 17, 2019, Syfy renewed the series for a fifth and final season. The fifth season premiered on April 16, 2021.
Casting
It was announced on May 14, 2019, that Tricia Helfer had been cast as Dracula in the fourth season, and that Richard Harmon, Nicole Munoz, Keeya King and The Big Show will join the series in its fourth season, in undisclosed roles.
Episodes
Season 3 (2018)
All the episodes in Season 3 were named after songs by Soundgarden. In addition, the penultimate episode's title is the censored version of "Jesus Christ Pose".
Broadcast and release
Syfy aired a commercial-free preview of the pilot on July 31, 2016; this was followed by the series premiere on September 23, 2016.
The series was originally slated to premiere in Canada on Super Channel, but because of Super Channel's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, the series was ultimately dropped from their schedule and instead premiered on Netflix on December 23, 2016.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 reported an 82% approval rating based on 11 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Van Helsing incorporates relatable performances and tried and true sci-fi tropes into a strong fallen-society storyline, though it might benefit from additional action sequences." On the review aggregator website Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, season 1 received a score of 54 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
The series' pilot episode received 4.5 stars from Den of Geek. In his review of Van Helsing, Keith Uhlich of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "It's pretty good... or is at least, to quote that old critic's saw, 'better than it has any right to be'."
