We live in a world with plenty of genres on television. Dating a few years back, we could see dramas, comedies, or romances that hit the popular list, but these days other genres, like science fiction and best fantasy TV shows, are starting to get more popular.
Thinking about the fantasy genre, dragons and mysterious magic plays in our minds. That’s mostly true in popular fantasy television shows. However, many other shows have traded the dragons with vampires and witches.
The main goal of entertainment is to escape reality for a while, and fantasy does just that. The most excellent books written come from fantasy-based genres. Undoubtedly some fantasy movies and series do seem original too. Still, the one thing common in these is to take the audience to a fantasy world where imagination has no bounds.
Down below are mentioned the 20 best fantasy shows of all time.
20. The Magicians
- Director: Sera Gamble, John McNamara
- Writer: Lev Grossman
- Cast: Jason Ralph, Stella Maeve, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Hale Appleman, Arjun Gupta
- IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
A show based on the book series written by Lev Grossman. It depicts a Grad student named Brakebills who has been interested in the fantasy of a magical world since he was a young boy.
After becoming a mature adult, he and his friends realize that a a magical world does not exist and is a danger to humanity.
Realizing this fact, they continue living their lives with their studies and also coping with a catastrophe along with its aftermath that had taken place in their institute.
19. Xena: Warrior Princess
- Director: John Schulian, Robert Tapert
- Writer: R. J Stewart, Sami Raimi
- Cast: Lucy Lawless, Renee O’Connor
- IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
- Platforms Available: Prime Video
The series began in 1995, and the show lasted till 2001, and it had a total of six seasons.
Xena is a warrior princess who has reformed her ways and travels around to fight evil.
Gabrielle,, her friend and bard,, tags along with her and ensures she does not stray away from the good path.
As Xena tries to redeem herself, she needs an eye to look over her. The duo travels the ancient world and fights and defeats ruthless Gods and Warlords.
18. Sense 8
- Director: The Wachowskis, J. Michael Stracynski
- Writer: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, J. Michael Stracynski, David Mitchell, Aleksandar Hemon
- Cast: Aml Ameen, Doona Bae, Jamie Clayton, Tina Desai, Tuppence Middleton
- IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
In the series, there are eight strangers from across the world, and one day discovers that they are connected.
A total of three seasons are available from the years of 2015 to 2018; the way of shooting the film makes it look more strange and fantastical.
The strangers start seeing the connection through visions; later, it develops to be able to connect and share the thoughts and actions of the other.
Being more and more curious, they try to look for answers and stay safe from a mysterious organization trying to destroy them after hunting them down.
17. The Shannara Chronicles
- Director: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar
- Writer: Terry Brooks
- Cast: Austin Butler, Poppy Drayton, Ivana Baquero, Manu Benett, Aaron Jakubenko
- IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
This series contains elements of magic, humor, evil, beautiful people, romance, and action; the first season aired in the year 2016, and the show is still moving strong.
The story is based on the best-selling book of the same name!
The storyline shows thousands of years after the fall of humanity, and several heroes comes out to defeat a demon army who might destroy the universe if nothing is done on time.
The only people that can help save the universe are the Elvin princess, a half-elf man, and a human woman; later, another woman joins the fight.
16. Being Human
- Director: Toby Whithouse
- Writer: Jeremy Carver, Anna Fricke
- Cast: Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath, Sam Huntington, Kristen Hager
- IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime Video
Four seasons in all, the series began in 2011 and came to a glorious end in 2014.
The story is about roommates who are around the age of 23 years old; they are hiding something from the world.
The secrets that they hold include being a ghost, vampire, and werewolf.
The three of them tryo get along and live together sotoeep their secrets and not let the world know and also to navigate their complex lives.
15. Grimm
- Director: Stephen Carpenter, Jim Kouf, David Greenwalt
- Writer: Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm
- Cast: David Giuntoli, Russell Hornsby, Bitsie Tulloch, Jacqueline Toboni
- IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime Video
Six seasons were aired from 2011 to 2017; the series contains fairy tales with a modern twist.
The series is about childhood fairy tales; Nick Burkhardt is a Grimm, who is a warrior who defends his city from Wesen, which are creatures that are half human and half animal.
After discovering that he is a descendant from the line of Grimms, he starts to fight against the magical creatures along with Sergeant Wu, Rosalee, and Monroe.
They are faced by external and internal forces, including Nick’s police captain, Sean Renard.
14. Lost
- Director: Jeffrey Lieber, J.J Abrams, Damon Lindelof
- Writer: J.J Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Jeffrey Lieber
- Cast: Naveen Andrews, Emilie de Ravin, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Maggie Grace
- IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime Video
The season aired in 2004 and ended in 2010 with six seasons.
A plane goes down a thousand miles off course, and the survivors land on a mysterious island; each with some kind of shocking reality or a secret.
They slowly start to realize that the things on the island do not seem to look like what they are; this tropical island contains mysteries that go beyond their wildest dreams and even include a monstrous security system.
Though the survivors find many hidden underground bunkers, they cannot figure out the mystery; the series carries further surprises and twists.
13. Charmed
- Director: Constance M. Burge
- Writer: J.J Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Jeffrey Lieber
- Cast: Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano, T.W King, Dorian Gregory
- IMDb Rating: 4.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 64%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
This series is a supernatural, fantasy, drama, action, romance, and comedy television series which was first aired in 1998 and lasted till 2006.
The three sisters find out that they are good witches,, and it is their responsibility to keep the world safe from demons.
They get together in their ancestral home to learn to wield their specific powers to fight evil creatures.
Each witch is powerful enough, but when the three combine, their strength intensifies. The once-average woman, destines to protect the innocent.
12. The Twilight Zone
- Director: Rod Serling
- Writer: Rod Serling
- Cast: Robert McCord, William Shatner, Vaughn Taylor, John McGiver, Inger Stevens
- IMDb Rating: 9.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime Video
The series lasted for five seasons, which ended in 1964; this is a classic fantasy watched by fans even after all these years.
Rod Serling won an Emmy for this series; each episode would reveal a mix of superstition, comedy, drama, science-fiction, and horror.
Famous actors of that time appeared in some of the well-known episodes too.
The show’s influence has lasted long and is still remembered for the genre made.
11. Bewitched
- Director: Sol Saks
- Writer: Various
- Cast: Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, Agnes Moorehead, Dock Sargent, David White
- IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 55%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime Video
A fantasy TV series without Bewitched would be sad, as it is one of the original fantasy/ science fiction.
The story is about a housewife named Samantha falling in love with Darrin Stephens,, an ad exec in New York.
All was good until Darrin discovers she was from a secret society with powerful witches and warlocks. Darrin makes her promise never to use her powers, and she agrees.
But, Samantha’s mother is not happy with her being married to a mortal and tries to break them up; all these scenes combine to make a supernatural romantic comedy.
10. Outlander
- Director: Christiana Ebohon Green
- Writer: Ronald D. Moore
- Cast: Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan
- IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
Claire Randall, who is an English combat nurse, gets swept back in time from 1945 mysteriously.
During World War II, she served as a British Army nurse; after that, she and her husband Frank plans on taking their second honeymoon to Scotland.
However, suddenly she is transported in time to 1743, where her life is in danger. To survive, she marries a Scots warrior, James Fraser, whose past is complicated and humorous.
Later she develops a passionate relationship and is, caught up in two widely different lives with widely other men.
9. Merlin
- Director: Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Johnny Capps, Julian Murphy
- Writer: Geoffrey of Monmouth
- Cast: Colin Morgan, Angel Coulby, Bradley James, Katie McGrath, Anthony Head
- IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
Five seasons in all, this series makes one want to watch it repeatedly.
It is an action-packed fantasy series which focuses on new adventurers of the sorcerer while he was a servant in the royal court of Camelot to Prince Arthur.
The two become friends and figure out their respective destinies, Arthur does not have a sword deciding his fate, but he is a Prince.
Merlin and Arthur are portrayed, and Merlin helps Arthur to become a great king and legend.
8. Once Upon a Time
- Director: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
- Writer: Edward Kitsis
- Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Jared S. Gilmore
- IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
A total of seven seasons is present in the series.
The story is a never-ending fairy tale, with almost all the fairy tales you might have heard. This fantastical series is about what happens when the modern world comes in contact with the world of fairy tale legends.
Emma Swan sees the son that she had given up long ago; he is convinced that she is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, who was sent away from the Evil Queen with a magic chest.
Emma and her family have to face some fairy tale creatures frequently.
7. Penny Dreadful
- Director: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
- Writer: Edward Kitsis
- Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Jared S. Gilmore
- IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
In this series, Dr Frankenstien and Dorian Gray are shown, as well as the other characters, in a new light.
It is a psychological thriller which is taking place in Victorian London, and the story is explored in the cities’ dark corners.
Sir Malcolm is an explorer, and he loses his daughter to the creatures in the city, and vows that he will do anything to get her back.
Vanessa Ives, his accomplice, recruits an American to locate the missing girl and slay the monsters on the way.
6. True Blood
- Director: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
- Writer: Edward Kitsis
- Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Jared S. Gilmore
- IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
The story is inspired from here from the book adaptation of the same name.
It is a vampire series about Sookie Stackhouse, a small-town oddball waitress who can read minds.
She falls in love with a century-old vampire; due to synthetic blood, it has become difficult to live without human blood and therefore do not have to prey on humans.
But some vampires are just so happy with the “wildlife.”
5. The Vampire Diaries/The Originals
- Director: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
- Writer: Edward Kitsis
- Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Jared S. Gilmore
- IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
The Originals is a spinoff of The Vampire Diaries; the story shows how a teen unravels the truth about supernatural creatures and has to choose between two vampire brothers.
In The Originals, Klaus is the main character; he is a hybrid mix of werewolf and vampire.
Klaus is investigating a rumor that someone is plotting against him.
His friends and siblings also join him in the journey by allying with the witches.
4. Supernatural
- Director: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
- Writer: Edward Kitsis
- Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Jared S. Gilmore
- IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
Thirteen seasons are present in this series. It is a top-rated haunting series.
Two brothers are hunting down monsters; they lost their mother as little boys and were raised by their father to be soldiers to fight against the demonic and other mysterious creatures.
Though they have a bag filled with tricks and tools, at times, they need the help of each other.
Many people they meet who appear to be on their side might not be on their side either.
3. American Horror Story
- Director: Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk
- Writer: Edward Kitsis
- Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Jared S. Gilmore
- IMDb Rating: 8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
- Platforms Available: Hotstar
The first season revolves around an anthology series, the first episode being about a family with three members moving into the Murder House.
Each of the seasons in the series is portrayed with a different theme, which contains the same cast but their roles, and places differ.
One common thing about it is that it explores places that seem to be scary.
For example, a possessed farmhouse, a cult, a hotel, a witch coven, insane asylum, Murder house are the various locations in this fantastical world.
2. Stranger Things
- Director: The Duffer brothers
- Writer: Matt, Ross Duffer
- Cast: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Brown
- IMDb Rating: 8.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
Stranger Things is the most famous series running on Netflix.
The story revolves around a boy named Will Byers, who is suddenly found missing.
A complaint is filed and investigated, and his family and friends realize that finding him will not be simple.
However, after meeting a talented girl with supernatural powers.
1. Game of Thrones
- Director: Davis Benioff, D.B Weiss
- Writer: George RR Martin
- Cast: Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Michelle Fairley, Lena Head
- IMDb Rating: 9.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
- Platforms Available: Hotstar
This fantasy series is taken from the novels by RR Martin.
The characters used to bring life in the book are not excluded; instead used to get more energy in the TV show.
The fictional world is seen differently due to the Lord of the Rings, making this one of TV’s most popular fantasy series.
