Whilefantasyfilms are often displays of spectacle and adventure, their televised counterparts are often forced to do so much more with so much less. Shooting schedules, the need to maintain viewers, and pressure from networks can heavily influence a show even as it airs. Not everyfantasy show can pack in epic battlesto boost ratings, as many focus on smaller-scale stories in order to conserve budgets.
There are plenty of phenomenalfantasy shows with new seasons coming in 2025, but there are also some incredible shows sitting in studio archives or waiting on streaming services for new viewers to find, or for old viewers to rediscover and fall back in love with. After all, the best fantasies aren’t alwaysthe highest-rated fantasy shows– sometimes, they’re the ones that areold enough to be a little endearing despite their flaws.
Game Of Thrones
Cast
Based on George R. R. Martin’s ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire novel series, Game of Thrones is a fantasy drama set in the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos. It follows noble families like the Starks, Lannisters, and Targaryen vying for control of the Iron Throne while a rising threat from the undead looms in the North. The series received significant critical success and amassed a loyal fan base due to its high production values, sprawling sets, iconic characters, and shocking twists.
WhenGame of Thronesfirst premiered in April 2011, it was all anyone even remotely interested in fantasy television could talk about. George R. R. Martin’sA Song of Ice and Firenovels were popular enough, but with the usual barrier to entry one expects of books that are over 700 pages long.HBO adapting such a book was groundbreaking, and the show rapidly became an international hit.
Why Game Of Thrones' Title Wasn’t “A Song Of Ice & Fire”
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AsGame of Thronescontinued, it accrued a dragon’s hoard of awards, until the final season stumbled when trying to run.The show’s production schedule had outpaced Martin’s writing, forcing the showrunners to come up with an ending on their own – an ending that was seen as shallow and rushed, with the early season’s focus on character interactions that had been fueled by the books replaced by spectacle and plot twists.
Game Of Thrones Left Out One Of The Most Important Parts Of House Stark’s Story, And It Hurt 6 Characters
Game of Thrones left out the most important part about House Stark, which hurt all six Stark children—Jon, Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon.
Still, while the ending was a critical disappointment,much ofGame of Thronesstill holds upas an excellent example of low fantasy and political drama. Peter Dinklage’s portrayal of Tyrion Lannister was phenomenal from start to finish, a legitimate source of much of the show’s critical acclaim. And of course, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons, repeatedly delivered a command performance.
The Vampire Diaries
Based on the novels by L.J. Smith, The Vampire Diaries is a story about the developing love triangle between Elena Gilbert and two vampiric brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Set in the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, the show follows the trio from high school through college as they battle for one another’s affection.
WhenThe Vampire Diariespremiered on the CW, it was a blockbuster for the network, which had been struggling since it was formed from the dying bones of Paramount’s UPN and Warner Brothers' WB networks.The Vampire Diariesrapidly became a fixture of the CW’s schedule, and was the most-watched show there untilArrowtook that title in 2012.
The Vampire Diariesfollowed Nina Dobrev as teenager Elena Gilbert, a girl who had recently lost her parents and falls in love with vampire Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). In doing so, shefinds herself drawn into the surprising amount of supernatural activity in her small-town homeof Mystic Falls, Virginia. Over the show’s eight-season run, Elena and her friends dealt with witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and all sorts of other brooding supernatural creatures.
The Vampire Diaries' Original Ending Would Have Been Way More Disappointing Than What We Got
The Vampire Diaries’ finale received a mixed response from audiences, but it would have been much worse if the show used its original ending.
Even thoughThe Vampire Diarieswas popular with viewers,it had a much more hit-and-miss impact with critics, with theMetacriticreview of the first season still sitting at an abysmal rating of 50 out of 100. Still, opinions changed over the show’s run, with the development of strong female characters like Nina Dobrev ensuring thatThe Vampire Diarieswould remain memorable with anyone who likes broody vampires, gorgeous casts, and small-town family politics.
3Lost Girl
Showcase, 2010-2015
Canadian network Showcase usedLost Girlas the flagship of their shift away from focusing so much on the risqué absurdism of theirTrailer Park Boysfranchise, choosing instead to highlight risqué supernatural drama.Lost Girlis the story of Bo Dennis, a succubus who knows nothing of her supernatural past other than thatanyone she is sexually intimate with tends to die.
Not all ofLost Girlhas aged well, particularly with regard to the show’s special effects, butmuch of its character work is fantastic, especially Anna Silk’s work portraying Bo’s conflict between her desire for intimacy and her fear of hurting people she cares about. The show has a phenomenal supporting cast, notably Kris Holden-Ried (Departure) as stoic werewolf detective Dyson, Ksenia Solo (Orphan Black) as Bo’s human bestie/sidekick/pet Kenzie, and Zoe Palmer (Dark Matter) as Dr. Lauren Lewis.
Lost Girlis notable for its LGBTQ+ representation, as Bo, being a succubus, is openly bisexual, and develops romantic tension with both Dyson and Dr. Lewis, eventually ending the series in a relationship with the doctor. Other LGBT characters also appear with some frequency, resulting inLost Girlwinning quite a few Leo Awards for LGBT visibility between 2012 and 2015.
Charmed
Charmed is a television series centered on three sisters—Prue, Piper, and Phoebe—who discover their powers as the Charmed Ones, destined to fight evil forces. Set in modern-day San Francisco, the series explores their evolving magical abilities while they juggle personal lives and combat demons and warlocks.
Charmedwas the WB’s surprise cult – or more appropriately, coven – hit, with its first episode breaking records as it aired to 7.7 million viewers on an otherwise quiet Wednesday night in 1998. The central characters are the three Halliwell sisters, Prue (Shannon Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), who discover their family’s Book of Shadows in the attic of their San Francisco home and find out they are the Charmed Ones, witches of great power with a destiny to protect the world from dark forces.
Unfortunately,Charmed’s later seasons lost the plot; Shannon Doherty’s departure from the show meant her character of Prue Halliwell was killed off in the season 3 finale, resulting in season 4 having a particularly grim tone as itreplaced Doherty with Rose McGowanas Paige Matthews, the surprise fourth Halliwell sister who was given up for adoption at birth. Later seasons diverged further, replacing many of the traditionally occult foes with fairy-tale creatures.
All 8 Seasons Of Charmed, Ranked Worst To Best
While the eight seasons of Charmed provided entertainment from start to finish, some seasons were more entertaining and of higher quality than others.
Even with the decline in quality over its run, though,Charmedremains an enjoyable, easily binge-watched supernatural drama. It also had a profound effect on TV production, as it was one of the longest-running network dramas that had a mostly female main cast. The CW, which succeeded the WB, rebootedCharmedin 2018 with no input from the original cast or creators, which garnered some initial criticism from fans; the reboot was popular enough to run for four seasons, though.
Galavant
Galavant is a musical comedy television series that follows the adventures of the eponymous knight as he attempts to reclaim his reputation and his love, Madalena, from the villainous King Richard. Created by Dan Fogelman, the show combines elements of fantasy and musical theater, featuring a blend of humor, romance, and catchy songs by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.
ABC’sGalavantwas a bold experiment in television that never quite got the chance to hit its stride. A fantasy musical centered around titular knight Gary Galavant (Joshua Sasse) and his quest for vengeance against the evil King Richard (Timothy Omundson), it wasa surprisingly genre-savvy rompthat cast member Mallory Jansen described as “the bastard child of Monty Python and The Princess Bride.”
With a phenomenal cast, impeccable writing, and even musical cameos from Kylie Minogue and “Weird Al” Yankovic,Galavantrepeatedly shattered the fourth wall, delighting critics but struggling to retain viewers. Revisiting the show now,it seems very much like something so ahead of its time that it doesn’t know how to present itself; streaming platforms would likely have treatedGalavantfar more kindly than broadcast TV did, but thankfully both seasons are still available to enjoy on multiple platforms.
The Shannara Chronicles
The Shannara Chronicles is a television adaptation of Terry Brooks’ Shannara series, set in a post-apocalyptic world where three teens named Wil, Amberle, and Eretria embark on a quest to stop a demon army from destroying the Four Lands. With a mix of magic and adventure, the series explores themes of friendship, destiny, and the constant battle between good and evil.
Liberally adapted from only a small fraction of Terry Brooks' massiveShannarabook series,The Shannara Chroniclesattempted to blend classic fantasy tropes, post-apocalyptic aesthetics, and the mid-2010s obsession with brooding protagonists,only partially succeeding. Declining ratings over the first season saw it moved from MTV to Spike (now the Paramount Network), who declined to order a second season; although the showrunners tried to shop it around, they failed to find it a home, and the show was forced to end on a cliffhanger.
The Shannara Chroniclesfollows young half-elf Wil Ohmsford (Austin Butler), who finds he is the heir of a powerful magical artifact, a set of elfstones that give him powerful magic. Meanwhile, the Elven city of Arborlon is under siege by demons. Set in the far-future ruins of the Pacific Northwest after a vaguely magical apocalypse,Shannarawas seen by critics as a “teen-friendlyGame of Thrones”(viaRottenTomatoes). Still, the effects are fun, the characters are lively and brooding, and the first season is memorable thanks to John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings) as the Elven king Eventine.
true blood
True Blood is a horror/fantasy drama series created by Alan Ball and starring Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, and Alexander Skarsgård. The series follows the life of Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress with telepathic powers that lives in a fictional town in Louisiana. In this town, a new synthetic “drug” has allowed vampires to escape their coffins and roam amongst the living.
Initial impressions of HBO’s vampire drama were mixed, but the adaptation of Charlaine Harris’The Southern Vampire Mysteriesrose to prominence asthe preeminent supernatural show for anyone who liked their spooky hotties to have a touch of Southern charm. Anna Paquin as telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse and Stephen Moyer as Confederate-soldier-turned-vampire Bill Compton fell in love in a world where vampires have become common knowledge.
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Despite being a hit vampire drama at its debut, True Blood, upon rewatch, unveils unsettling revelations that are challenging to reconcile.
True Bloodput genuine effort into exploring vampires and other supernatural creatures and how they would exist in a world where they were treated as an oppressed minority, oftenframing them allegoricallyto be similar to the ongoing struggles the LGBT community was concurrently facing, as well as echoing the impact the civil rights movement of the 20th century had in the American South. While not always successful in this framing – not all of those allegories have aged well – it was still a laudable effort that made for fun, fang-tastical drama.
Wynonna Earp
Based on a comic book series by Beau Smith, Wynonna Earp tells the story of the titular heroine who is the great-great-granddaughter of Wyatt Earp. The series follows Wynonna’s return to her hometown, where she must do battle with the reanimated criminals previously killed by Earp. Aided by her sister, her great-great-grandfather’s immortal partner Doc Holiday, and a member of the US Marshals, Wynonna works to keep Purgatory safe from the revenants.
Adapted from the 2003 limited series of the same name from Image Comics, Syfy’sfour-seasonWynonna Earpis still one of the best examples of the Weird West ever aired on TV. Starring Melanie Scrofano (Letterkenny,Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) asWynonna Earp, descendant of famous Wild West lawman Wyatt Earp, the show is set in the small Rocky Mountain town of Purgatory, which is plagued by the undead revenants of every person Wyatt Earp ever killed.
“Weird West” is the term for Westerns with a supernatural influence, typically incorporating fantastical horror elements, as well as occasionally science fiction. Other notable examples include the 1999 filmWild Wild West, starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline, and the tabletop roleplaying franchiseDeadlands, which most recently was updated to use theSavage Worldssystem.
As the heir to Wyatt Earp’s gun and duties,Wynonna is forced to try and return every revenant to Hellbefore they can kill her first. Of course, plenty of other supernatural forces are at work in Purgatory, including an immortal and infuriatingly charming Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon), Xavier Dolls (Shamier Anderson), the broody agent from a vague yet menacing government agency who is secretly some kind of lizard-man , and more demons, undead, and witches than you’re able to shake a Colt Peacemaker at.
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Wynonna Earp follows a demon-fighting descendant gunslinger but the relationships in the show, like the popular Wayhaught, are just as important.
Wynonna Earpwas also lauded for its LGBT representation, with Wynonna’s younger sister Waverly Earp (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) having a romantic arc withPurgatory’s deputy sheriff Nicole Haught(Katherine Barrell) that led to their wedding in the finale; the show was nominated for GLAAD’s Outstanding Drama Series award in 2017, 2019, and 2021. 2024 saw the release of a follow-up movie-length special,Wynonna Earp: Vengeance, on Tubi.
Xena: Warrior Princess
Staring Lucy Lawless and Renne O’Connor, Xena: Warrior Princess follows the titular heroine, a formidable female warrior from Ancient Greece who uses her powers to help protect and defend the innocent. Xena is accompanied by her sidekick, Gabrielle, on all of her missions. The series ran from 1995 to 2001, and maintains cult classic status and a devoted fanbase to this day.
There’s no question thatXena: Warrior Princessis one of the most enduring fantasy TV shows to come out of the 1990s; it’s also,due to its age, extremely difficult to watch. It still hasn’t received a high definition remaster, and the special effects were low-budget to begin with – and yetXenastill remains a cult classicthanks to its phenomenal mixture of earnest character work, a willingness to take storytelling risks, and Lucy Lawless being Lucy Lawless.
Xena (Lawless), the Warrior Princess of the title, was once a cruel warlord from the Greek city of Amphipolis who, having a change of heart after an encounter with Hercules (inHercules: the Legendary Journeys, a show which hasn’t aged nearly as well),dedicates her life to righting the wrongs she was responsible forand protecting the innocent. With her stalwart soulmate, the bard Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor), at her side, Xena travels throughout the ancient world, fighting evil and defying the gods.
It Took 24 Years, But Xena & Gabrielle’s Romance Was Confirmed with One Kiss
Shippers' long-time belief Xena & Gabrielle’s romance is validated, as the official comic book continuation finally lets the lovers kiss.
Another landmark show for LGBT representation,Xenahas had a profound legacyin both lesbian culture and genre television. NBC attempted to reboot the show in 2015, but creative difficulties shelved the plan in 2017;Xenaremains inimitable, and is still a phenomenal show despite its age.
Angel
A spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel is a drama series with supernatural elements that stars David Boreanaz, reprising his role as the titular vampire. An immortal cursed with his human soul returning to his body, which makes him susceptible to human emotions such as remorse. Angel lives in Los Angeles as a private detective, seeking redemption for his murderous past as a vicious warlord. Angel will face threats such as humans and demons that rival his own cruel potential as he ventures to help those in need.
Joss Whedon’s spinoff ofBuffy the Vampire Slayercentered on the titular vampire Angel isunquestionably a deeply flawed show. Initially considered a poor attempt at a cash grab, it never managed to eclipseBuffyin ratings, but by the later seasonsAngelfound its footing.
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David Boreanaz continued in the role of Angel, the vampire with a soul (and an on-again, off-again relationship with Buffy) who departed Sunnydale at the end ofBuffy’s third season to find redemption in, of all places, Los Angeles. With fellowBuffycharacters Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter), Wesley Windham-Price (Alexis Denisof), Spike (James Marsters), and Harmony Kendall (Mercedes McNab) joining over the course ofAngel’s run,the show replacedBuffy’s adolescent angst with a more mature, film noir-inspired angst.
While the first few seasons ofAngelstruggle to find their own pace and identity,the show redeems itself by the fifth season, thanks in part to Spike joining the cast. Boreanaz and Marsters have an undeniable chemistry that could easily convince viewers that in real life theymust hate each other like Spike and Angel do, and any scene with them at odds crackles with energy. An especial stand-out episode is whereAngel gets turned into a puppet(“Smile Time,” season 5, episode 14).
