The 20 best fantasy TV shows of all time – ranked
Do you have a soft spot for dragons, heavily armoured warriors wading into battle and wizards waving wands? If so, you’ll already know few genres are more stirring and exciting than fantasy. But while fantasy is hugely popular in written form, it has tended to receive short shrift on the small screen, especially compared to its spiritual sibling, science fiction.
How to explain this second-class status? One potential issue is the question of definition – what, after all, is fantasy? The most straightforward answer is that if something “feels” like fantasy, it probably is. For this countdown, we’ve adopted the rule of thumb that where a series gives off fantasy vibes and could potentially be enjoyed by someone who has negotiated The Lord of the Rings from beginning to end – even the songs and the appendices – then it makes the cut. Read on to learn more.
20. The Wheel of Time (2021-present)
The 14 Robert Jordan doorstoppers from which WoT is adapted are considered one of the most definitive fantasy sagas ever written – bridging the gap between Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. Prime Video’s take on the tale had an up-and-down debut in 2021 – but found its groove in its second series last year. Rosamund Pike heads the cast as Moiraine Damodred, a warrior nun searching for the mythical “Dragon” – a Messiah figure with the power to save or destroy humanity. It’s fantasy done the old fashioned way, with warring armies, orc-like “Trolloc” baddies and people with names such as al’Lan Mandragoran. Still, the books are beloved for a reason, and by the time the invading Seanchan armies turn up in series two, Prime Video has stumbled into capturing some of the majesty of the source material. Read our The Wheel of Time review
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
19. Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)
Dark doings in Victorian London is what we’re in for in the under-appreciated gothic romp executive produced by Sam Mendes and starring thinking person’s Bond Girl, Eva Green, as an outsider whose gaslit adventures bring her into contact with Dorian Gray, Dracula, Dr Jekyll and Victor Frankenstein. There are moustache twirling turns by Timothy Dalton and Roy Kinnear, while Billie Piper has fun as the Bride of Frankenstein. Read our Penny Dreadful review
Where to watch: Sky
18. The Shannara Chronicles (2016-2017)
Future Oscar-nominee Austin Butler gets his pointy ears in a twist as half-elf Wil Ohmsford in a cheerfully silly adaptation of the best of Terry Brooks’s Shannara books (The Elfstones of Shannara). It’s thoroughly old-school – with dimension-hopping demons, elves with Southern Californian accents and special effects apparently churned out on a PC with a failing graphics card. Fans of venerable fantasy movies such as The Beastmaster, Hawk the Slayer and Krull will adore it.
Where to watch: Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video
17. The Witcher (2019-present)
Netflix’s take on Andrzej Sapkowski’s Brothers Grimm-meets-Tolkien novels has its flaws. The story is all over the place and lacks the easy charm of the video games (likewise based on the books and not directly connected to the series). However, the casting is spot in, with Henry Cavill perfect as monster-hunter Geralt of Rivia and Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra excelling as Geralt’s ward Ciri and sorceress love interest Yennefer respectively. But with Cavill hanging up his man-bun and Liam Hemsworth taking over as Geralt, will the show lose its charm?
Where to watch: Netflix
16. Carnival Row (2019-2023)
Cara Delevingne is literally away with the fairies as she stars opposite Orlando Bloom in a steampunk thriller set in an alternative universe version of Victorian London, where magic is real and humankind lives alongside centaurs, fey and other mystical races. As a metaphor for race and class divisions, the show is surprisingly nuanced, and Delevingne put in her best performance yet as Vignette Stonemoss, which sounds like the name of a member of The Last Dinner Party but is, in fact, the moniker by which Delevingne’s faerie is known to humans. Bloom is a bit dreary as her former lover, Philo Philostrate, though his fantastic moustache compensates somewhat.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
15. Lockwood & Co. (2023)
Ghostbusters meets Harry Potter – but in a good way! – in the adaptation of Jonathan Shroud’s novels about teenage ghost hunters battling arcane forces in contemporary London. In a parallel universe, ghosts walk among humanity – but only adolescents can see them. Ruby Stokes plays Lucy Carlyle, a disillusioned ghost buster who goes to London desperate for a job and ends up working with shambolic spook-snatcher Anthony Lockwood (Cameron Chapman). Great fun – and what a shame Netflix pulled the plug after just one series. Read our Lockwood & Co. review
Where to watch: Netflix
14. Alice in Borderland (2020-present)
Squid Game crosses paths with David Lynch with a side serving of anime classic Akira in the Japanese series about a young man (Kento Yamazaki) trapped in a through-the-looking-glass Tokyo where he is forced to complete dangerous challenges to avoid being zapped from the sky. The steampunk vibes are evocative, the action relentless.
Where to watch: Netflix
13. Berserk (1997-1998)
The Berserk manga series is regarded as one of the most influential in fantasy – it has inspired everything from the Dark Souls video games to the Avengers comic books. The story of traumatised warrior Guts is wrenching and not suitable for children, but you’ll never feel more connected to a homicidal lunk with a huge sword. This Nineties anime taps into the source material’s horror and humanity, with a focus on its iconic “Golden Age” storyline.
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
12. His Dark Materials (2019-2022)
The BBC/HBO tilt at the Philip Pullman children’s classic suffers the same flaws as the books in that the first series is by far the best and it all falls apart slightly in the end (the final novel descending into an atheist rant). But you can’t help but admire the world-building as we join young Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen), her shape-changing daemon Pantalaimon (a sort of furry, Freudian extension of her id) in an alternative Oxford where giant airships fill the sky, and people share stories of armoured polar bears in the far north. It also has Ruth Wilson in the role she was born to play – terrifying villain, Mrs Coulter. Read our His Dark Materials review
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer
11. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015)
Bertie Carvel and Eddie Marsan are feuding wizards in early 19th-century Britain whose powers are required to help in the wars against Napoleon. Susanna Clarke’s novel was folk horror Jane Austen, and while the series doesn’t quite conjure the magic of the source material, it is nonetheless a stirring helping of costume drama with sorcery up its sleeves. Read our Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell review
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
10. The Dragon Prince (2018-present)
Netflix’s kids show serves up a gripping tale of warring dragons, elves and humans in a richly imagined fantasy universe. We join human princes Callum and Ezran and Moonshadow Elf Rayla as they try to bring to an end centuries of conflict across the continent of Xadia. Unfolding across multiple seasons, the series is acknowledged as a classic of modern fantasy.
Where to watch: Netflix
9. The Box of Delights (1984)
Few things are scarier than children’s TV from the early Eighties (ask anyone still traumatised by repeat exposure to ITV’s 1984 adaption of John Wyndham’s Chocky). Right up there is The Box of Delights, adapted from the 1935 John Masefield novel about a boy who inherits a magical box which he must protect from various evil-doers. The great Patrick Troughton plays the wizard who gives the case to Kay Harker – an unsuspecting schoolboy soon tangling with werewolves and evil Punch and Judy puppets.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
8. The Chronicles of Narnia (1988-1990)
The BBC’s late Eighties take on CS Lewis lacks the blockbusting budgets of the subsequent movies, and viewers will have to suspend their disbelief for the appearance of a moth-eaten Aslan made largely out of curtain fabric. But the adaptations of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (the latter two were combined into a single series), and The Silver Chair captured the eeriness threaded throughout the Lewis novels but which subsequent retellings have failed to pick up on. Look out for a former Doctor Who: Tom Baker plays depressed sidekick Puddleglum in The Silver Chair.
Where to watch: YouTube
7. House of the Dragon (2022-present)
Yes, it went slightly off the boil by the end of the second series. Still, the Game of Thrones prequel features some of the most impressive fire-spitting monsters ever to grace the screen. And that’s just Matt Smith as dastardly Daemon Targaryen – the actual dragons are impressive, too. Read our House of the Dragon review
Where to watch: Sky Atlantic
6. Kingdom (2019-2021)
Is this Korean-set zombie drama fantasy or horror? You can argue either way, but the medieval backdrops and epic battles surely tilt it towards the former. In 17th-century Korea, warring factions have achieved a fragile peace, only for a zombie apocalypse to come along and ruin everything. The undead hordes are chilling, the period–accurate traditional “gat” hats breathtaking.
Where to watch: Netflix
5. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008)
Skip the so-so Netflix adaptation and avoid the horrific M Night Shyamalan movie from 2010 at all costs and go straight to the original Nickelodeon cartoon set in an East Asia-inspired world where warring forces can manipulate – or “bend” – the elements. The hero is Aang – the prepubescent last survivor of the Air Nomads with the unique ability to bend air. Sequel series The Legend of Korra – set decades later – is equally essential.
Where to watch: Netflix
4. Dungeons & Dragons (1983-1985)
Released during the height of the early Eighties Dungeons & Dragons craze (as later celebrated in Stranger Things), this cartoon is a love letter to fantasy and role playing games. Six kids take the wrong theme park ride and are swept off to a fantastical universe where they must battle five-headed dragon Tiamat and the demonic Venger, who is about to return on the cover of the new edition of D&D.
Where to watch: YouTube
3. Robin of Sherwood (1984-1986)
Described by one historian as “the most innovative and influential version of the myth in recent times”, Richard Carpenter’s retelling of the adventures of the famous brigand/redistributive class warrior introduces elements of pagan mythology, satanism and prog-folk band Clannad. Worth watching simply for the opening scene in which original Robin Michael Praed (later respawned as Jason Connery) runs through the forest, his hair flopping about majestically. It’s a shampoo ad meets Middle Earth – and peak Eighties fantasy.
Where to watch: ITVX
2. Children of the Stones (1977)
The primary goal of children’s entertainment in the Seventies was to furnish young viewers with a lifetime supply of nightmare fuel. That is certainly achieved by ITV’s compelling tale of a father and son who discover a stone circle in Wiltshire containing a terrifying time rift.
Where to watch: YouTube
1. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
Before Game of Thrones, fantasy was considered a genre for children and nerds. But within a few seasons, HBO’s giddy, gory adaptation of the George RR Martin novels had introduced millions of viewers to the pleasure of complex world-building, fantastical myths, arcane magic, and fire-snorting dragons.
It all fell apart in the end, but in those early years, there was nothing else like Game of Thrones.
Where to watch: Sky
