LOS ANGELES — Vampires, zombies, serial killers and a host of other evildoers roam wild over the pop culture landscape. And when they come to prime time, you can be sure there will be blood.

The flesh-eating undead of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” relentlessly stalk survivors. Bloodsuckers and blood lust — among other forms of lust ——abound in HBO’s “True Blood.” The serial killer of serial killers, Dexter Morgan, carries out his own brutal brand of vigilante justice on Showtime’s “Dexter.” And creative homicidal psychopaths routinely keep the dogged investigators from “Criminal Minds,” “Bones” and the “CSI” franchises on their toes.

But while splatter and gore are essential — and expected — parts of the DNA of those popular dramas, extreme, unflinching acts of graphic, stomach-churning violence have been spilling into an unexpected arena: television’s elite dramas. AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” and FX’s “Sons of Anarchy,” among other shows, have long enjoyed critical praise for interweaving complex character studies, intricate plots and high production values. But this season these quality programs have unveiled a new level of savagery.

Violence in television is, of course, not new. What is new — at least in this class of programming — is the unsparing detail with which it’s being displayed, not to mention the inventiveness employed in showcasing the hacking, dismembering and killing. For these shows, the “graphic violence” label before the opening credits isn’t just an advisory, it’s a warning.

The Prohibition-era mobster tale “Boardwalk Empire,” which received 18 Emmy nominations this year, has featured a close-up of a man getting his head caved in by a heavy wrench, the scalping of a veteran of the American-Indian Wars and the slaying of a man hanging upside down in a butcher shop pleading for his life before getting his throat sliced open with a freshly sharpened blade.

The fourth-season opener of “Breaking Bad,” whose leading man, Bryan Cranston, has won three Emmys for his gritty portrayal of a chemistry teacher turned meth maker, saw drug kingpin Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) don plastic overalls before slashing the throat of an accomplice with a box cutter. In the season finale, the karmic wheel of fortune turned against Gus as he fell victim to a revenge bombing plot that blew off half his face.

Even though the A-list bloodshed occurs on premium and basic cable, where standards for violence are far looser than on the major networks, the extreme acts have provoked sharp reaction from some of the shows’ most adoring critics.