10 Greatest Fantasy Shows No One Ever Talks About

The best fantasy TV shows of all time are not always the most creative, with some producers choosing to make tried and tested formulas over a more experimental idea, while some ideas have come at the wrong time, before a genre trend takes hold. Other shows have been the victims of early cancellation, ending on cliffhangers before the series could attract a larger fanbase and start to get viewers talking.

While the fantasy genre is one of the most inventive, it is easy for smaller TV shows to get overshadowed by hugely successful TV shows like Game of Thrones that have dominated conversations. This has led to some excellent but underrated fantasy TV shows being largely forgotten, without ever getting the acclaim that they could have done in another context or time.

Willow

Willow was one of the defining fantasy movies of the 1980s and while critics were not impressed, audiences gave it an 80% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While the TV show looked set to be a success, starring Warwick Davis as the titular character, with a plot reminiscent of Dungeons & Dragons games, and with the weight of nostalgia behind it, it impressed critics but left audiences with mixed opinions.

The TV show had a drastically different tone from the movie, which failed to capture its original fans, and its worldbuilding did not ground the new setting in a way that drew in new viewers. With 2022 being a landmark year for fantasy streaming, Willow had some significant competition from shows like House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power, so while Willow was a great show, it was lost in the crowded fantasy landscape.

Galavant

As an irreverent fantasy musical, Galavant was ahead of its time, and had it been released now after the success of the Wicked movies, it could have attracted the attention that it deserved. Unfortunately, the show straddled a difficult blend of genres, as musicals can be extremely polarizing. That said, Galavant has a 93% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, proving that it was not the show’s quality that let it down.

Galavant is the perfect fantasy comedy binge for Disney fans, with a similar tone to Once Upon a Time, but it was always going to be a difficult show to market. Mainstream successes tend to have a much broader appeal, while Galavant was extremely niche. The series was canceled after its second season, with many viewers pleasantly surprised that it was offered a second season at all. Time has not changed the fact that the show’s appeal was narrow, leaving it less likely to be discussed than crowd-pleasers like Game of Thrones.

The OA

The OA was one of the strangest TV shows ever to be made, ending with a meta twist that shocked and frustrated audiences when the show was canceled after its second season, leaving viewers on a cliffhanger that looked set to be a TV gamechanger. The OA was a blend of fantasy, sci-fi, and existential commentary that explored the role of religion in a multiverse.

The show was always likely to be divisive, introducing secret experimentation, stalking, a school shooting, and the power of dance. While these aspects should have given the series the same level of intrigue as Lost inspired, it never gained the wide appeal that made it a talking point. The OA is still a cult show among its fanbase, but with its frustrating ending widely known, this has put off new potential viewers who would otherwise be discussing fan theories.

Warrior Nun

Warrior Nun remains one of the best fantasy TV shows you’ve never heard of. The show’s two seasons earned it a 97% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a passionate fanbase who campaigned for its return when it was abruptly canceled by Netflix. With many of the streaming platform’s promotions thought to be algorithm-based, the show did not get the attention that it needed to continue, and this may be due to its rocky start.

Warrior Nun is based on a comic, and the early episodes resembled a young adult drama rather than the more exciting and character-driven epic that it was becoming. Unfortunately, this meant that many prospective viewers did not stay to follow the story, which left Warrior Nun with a smaller viewership than it could have had, and the show has largely been forgotten.

The success of TV shows like The Boys and Invincible that both subvert and parody the superhero genre prove that Extraordinary could have succeeded. The show has a fresh new take on superpowers, which are treated like everyday life skills, and the story follows Jen, who is 25 in a world where everyone develops a superpower at age 18. These powers can range from communicating with the dead to summoning fish.

Most superhero TV shows are high-budget productions and dominated by spectacle, while Extraordinary had the same tone as a low-budget sitcom. This understated style and typically British humor meant that the show was not always appealing to a global audience, and did not fit with the demographic on Disney+ where it originally aired. As the show has been overshadowed by louder, brighter superhero-themed shows, it remains a hidden gem.

Merlin

It might be a surprise to find Merlin on this list, but while the show lasted for five seasons and was immensely popular at the time it aired, it is not often counted among masterpiece fantasy TV shows, and tends to be forgotten in the discourse about the genre. This may be partly due to the fact that the show straddled a very difficult genre and story. The original myths surrounding King Arthur are dark enough to carry a much more mature fantasy horror, while the series was generally considered family viewing.

This meant that Merlin did not fit the themes that most prestige fantasy TV shows have, and even though the story and cast were great, the show often feels dated. Merlin leaned heavily into a “monster of the week” formula, which was popular in the early 2000s, but modern audiences tend to prefer shows with overarching storylines and more complex character development. While the show may gain attention from nostalgic fans in years to come, the series is often overlooked for its dated feel.

Sweet Tooth

Image via MovieStillsDB

The unusual genre combination of post-apocalypse and fantasy is what gives Sweet Tooth its unique tone and aesthetic. The show looks like a fantasy, featuring half-animal hybrid children having adventures as they navigate their new world, while also covering some extremely disturbing subject matter. This left both fantasy and post-apocalyptic fans with a show that didn’t quite meet expectations for either genre.

The show was difficult to market due to the factors that made it unique, which illustrates the problem when defining success by mass appeal. Despite its distinctive look and character design, Sweet Tooth never had a viral moment or scene shocking enough to dominate a conversation. That said, Sweet Tooth was given a proper ending, which means that prospective viewers can discover the series without being put off by a cliffhanger or abrupt cancellation.

Carnival Row

Some fantasy TV shows are frustrating for their combination of excellent ideas and bad execution. Carnival Row brought the whimsy and aesthetics of stories like the Chronicles of Narnia and placed them within the smoke and mystery of Victorian London. The show is a murder mystery set in a world in which humans and fae creatures live together, in an uneasy industrial partnership with considerable prejudice against the fae species.

Carnival Row is a fantasy show that was supposed to be huge but failed. Still, it is worth watching for the aesthetic and occasional flashes of brilliance, but unfortunately, it was let down by the acting from some of its main cast and a slower pace than most fantasy TV series. The show’s high budget gave it a polished look, but this was not enough to keep its momentum, especially after lengthy delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emerald City

Emerald City might have been a major streaming hit if it was remade now after the success of Wicked and the trend for reimagining popular stories. Unfortunately, it was released in 2017 and was canceled after its first and only season polarized audiences, with critics giving it a 38% positive Rotten Tomatoes rating and audiences seeing it much more positively with 78%.

While issues with the show’s tone and pacing have meant that Emerald City is largely forgotten and rarely talked about, the series had some great moments, with Joely Richardson and Vincent D’Onofrio playing Glinda and The Wizard, respectively. The series’ dark steampunk look gave the show a distinctive style that could have become iconic in the fantasy genre, if Emerald City had been released a few years later.

Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies keeps getting better, though it does not look like a typical fantasy and is often left out of conversations about the genre, which tend to cover the more predictable themes. Rather than dragons, supernatural beings and magic spells, Pushing Daisies follows a baker who is able to resurrect the dead with a single touch, while one more touch will make them die permanently.

While the show has a 96% and 95% Rotten Tomatoes rating from critics and audiences respectively, and standout performances from Lee Pace and Anna Friel, its whimsical tone did not fit with fantasy trends at the time. Even now, despite being an excellent series, Pushing Daisies is not memorable specifically as a fantasy TV show, which has kept it out of conversations.