{"id":380756,"date":"2026-01-20T18:28:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T18:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/380756\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T18:28:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T18:28:17","slug":"the-nine-best-fantasy-tv-series-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/380756\/","title":{"rendered":"The nine best fantasy TV series of all time"},"content":{"rendered":"

What a fantastic time to be a fantasy fan. Arriving just in time to banish the New Year blues, the eagerly awaited Game of Thrones<\/a> spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is about to sweep us off our feet and back to the world of Westeros. Buckle up for fabulous fights, top-level skulduggery and a reliable supply of sneery villains in ornate helmets.<\/p>\n

But the new show also adds a feel-good element largely absent from Game of Thrones. Set 70 years before the time of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, it tells the story of a humble \u201chedge knight\u201d, Ser Duncan (Peter Claffey), and his unlikely friendship with young squire \u201cEgg\u201d (Dexter Sol Ansell). Imagine The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda \u2013 or Steve and Dustin in Stranger Things<\/a> \u2013 with bonus jousting.<\/p>\n

The real magic, though, is that Knight of the Seven Kingdoms looks set to be another major hit. How far we have come from that distant time when decent fantasy series were rarer than a Nazg\u00fbl in a nightie. Clench thy broadsword, then, and adjust thy chain mail \u2013 here are the nine best fantasy shows of all time:<\/p>\n

9. Avatar: The Last Airbender<\/p>\n

\"Nickelodeon's\u2018Avatar: The Last Airbender\u2019 attracts new fans to this day (Photo: Nickelodeon)<\/p>\n

Not to be confused with James Cameron\u2019s blue aliens<\/a>, Avatar is a kids\u2019 cartoon with a maturity and dramatic scope beyond its years. Set in a vaguely Far East-style fantasy kingdom, the story unfolds during a destructive war between four kingdoms named after the elements. <\/p>\n

As chaos rages, a potential saviour emerges in the form of a young boy named Aang, who is the last of his generation with the power to manipulate \u2013 or \u201cbend\u201d \u2013 air. Featuring richly drawn characters, complicated baddies \u2013 Prince Zuko is one of TV\u2019s most evocative villains \u2013 and fantastic magical action, Avatar: The Last Airbender is an epic tapestry of a show that eclipses its children\u2019s TV origins and is rightly regarded as a classic. <\/p>\n

Twenty-one years after it first aired in 2005, it still draws new fans \u2013 and has even inspired a decent live-action reboot from Netflix.<\/p>\n

Streaming on Netflix<\/a><\/p>\n

8. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell<\/p>\n

\"TelevisionThe BBC series is an adaptation of Susanna Clarke\u2019s 2004 novel (Photo: Marko Ercegovic\/JSMN Ltd\/BBC)<\/p>\n

The 2004 novel by Susanna Clarke<\/a> is regarded as perhaps the greatest fantasy novel of the 21st century. This 2015 BBC adaptation does justice to the book, even if the budget isn\u2019t quite up to its sweeping scope. <\/p>\n

Set during the Napoleonic Wars, it tells the story of feuding magicians who are caught in a war between human forces and shadowy figures from the world of faerie, as personified by Marc Warren\u2019s eerie Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair. Bertie Carvel<\/a> and Eddie Marsan are the perfect mix of petty and paranormal as the rival wizards, Strange and Norrell \u2013 each too multifaceted to qualify as a straightforward hero or villain.<\/p>\n

Clarke\u2019s novel was a dashing Regency romp, but it also delved into the difference in world view between Yorkshire-born Norrell\u2019s practical attitude to magic and the more privileged Strange\u2019s rakish outlook. That tension is preserved in the BBC retelling, which has the quality of a Jane Austen novel crossed with a haunting fairy tale.<\/p>\n

Streaming on Prime Video<\/a><\/p>\n

7. The Chronicles of Narnia<\/p>\n

\"TelevisionThe BBC version of \u2018The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe\u2019 was eerily melancholic (Photo: BBC)<\/p>\n

The CS Lewis Narnia novels are soon to be rebooted by Netflix<\/a> and director Greta Gerwig<\/a>. But she will do well to locate the eerie melancholy that ran through the books and which was beautifully conveyed by the BBC\u2019s overlooked adaptations of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and its sequels Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair.<\/p>\n

Filmed on a micro-budget, these three series from 1988 to 1990 radiate the low-budget, shot-on-video creepiness that was a feature of so much 80s kids\u2019 TV. The BBC had the genius to cast 70s horror movie star Barbara Kellerman as the White Witch, who gives a performance which is a cross between Joan Collins and Florence and the Machine. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, The Silver Chair (a faithful retelling of the strongest of the Narnia books) featured the best Doctor Who<\/a> ever, Tom Baker, as morose sidekick Puddleglum.<\/p>\n

Streaming on YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

6. Children of the Stones<\/p>\n

\"ChildrenThis 1977 ITV kids\u2019 series is thrillingly weird (Photo: YouTube)<\/p>\n

Fantasy or folk horror for kids? When it comes to escapist storytelling, there is always the question of what does or does not fall inside the tent.<\/p>\n

Either way, this 1977 ITV kids\u2019 series is thrillingly weird. Remembered today for its shrieking soundtrack by the choral group the Ambrosian Singers, it tells the story of an astrophysicist and his teenage son who become obsessed with a megalithic stone circle (real-life Avebury circle in Wiltshire) and eventually pass into a completely different dimension.<\/p>\n

Sheer nightmare fuel and a prime example of the \u201chauntology genre\u201d in which the dystopian qualities of 70s Britain are given a supernatural glow-up.<\/p>\n

Streaming on YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Xena: Warrior Princess<\/p>\n

\"XENA:Lucy Lawless\u2019s series was brilliantly fun and cheesy (Photo: Sky TV)<\/p>\n

The 90s were tough for fantasy fans. Dungeons and Dragons was in decline, fantasy films flopped at the box office and literary fantasy went through an unfortunate \u201cgrimdark\u201d phase that often verged on torture porn. <\/p>\n

There was a bright spot, however, in the brilliantly fun and cheesy Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless as the eponymous warrior on a mission to stand up for the less fortunate. Yes, it was as camp as a scouting jamboree \u2013 but the best fantasy always has a core of silliness, and Xena is more fun than you could shake a battle axe at. <\/p>\n

Filmed in New Zealand, it also paved the way for Peter Jackson\u2019s Lord of the Rings<\/a> trilogy \u2013 likewise shot in the home of the All Blacks and which similarly made full use of the stunning landscapes.<\/p>\n

Available to rent or buy on Prime Video<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Robin of Sherwood<\/p>\n

\"JASON\u2018Robin of Sherwood\u2019 had great hair, fantastic mytholology and thrilling fight scenes (Photo: ITV\/LFI)<\/p>\n

Best remembered today for Michael Praed\u2019s hair flapping majestically as Clannad burbled in the background in the opening credits, Robin of Sherwood was part of the rich tradition of British kids\u2019 telly designed to terrify viewers of all ages. <\/p>\n

In one episode, Robin went up against Satan himself. Elsewhere he was constantly pestered by his shadowy spiritual \u201cfather\u201d, Herne the Hunter. But Robin of Sherwood\u2019s genius was never to wink at us watching: it took itself seriously and, by introducing elements of the supernatural, fleshed out the fantastical undertones of the Robin Hood legend.<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s creator, Richard Carpenter, was explicit about wanting to retell the Robin Hood legend in the context of Britain\u2019s pagan history \u2013 a past that had not quite stepped into legend in the time period of the show. \u201cThe Middle Ages were extremely superstitious and much remained of the old pre-Christian fertility and tree worship religions,\u201d he explained. Great hair, fantastic mytholology and thrilling fight scenes \u2013 Robin of Sherwood had it all and then some. <\/p>\n

Streaming on ITVX<\/a><\/p>\n

3. The Magicians<\/p>\n

What if Harry Potter<\/a> was for grown-ups and less annoying? That was the pitch, more or less, of Lev Grossman\u2019s Magicians books \u2013 which are well served by an enjoyably soapy Syfy Channel adaptation that ran for five seasons. <\/p>\n

Unfolding in Hogwarts-esque Brakebills University, it tells the story of a group of young magic users who push themselves to the limit to master the dark arts. They include a nervy New Yorker, Quentin Coldwater, who is astounded to discover that his favourite novels, the Narnia-esque Fillory series, are real \u2013 and that mystical Brakebills wants him as a student. <\/p>\n

Blending high school drama and epic fantasy, it\u2019s a romp from beginning to end \u2013 and all without a Quidditch stick or racially dubious character name to be seen.<\/p>\n

Available to buy on Prime Video<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Arcane<\/p>\n

\"Arcane.The animation style of \u2018Arcane\u2019 looks spectacular (Photo: Netflix)<\/p>\n

Streaming has brought mixed results for fantasy. There have been average shows (The Witcher<\/a> on Netflix) and absolute dross (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power<\/a> on Prime Video). One of the best, however, is Arcane, a tale of feuding sisters Vi and Jinx set in a steam-punk alternative universe and featuring gorgeous visuals, morally ambiguous characters and top-rank voice acting (Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell play the two leads). <\/p>\n

It looks spectacular \u2013 French animation powerhouse Fortiche laboured on the production for years \u2013 and the tale of sibling rivalry in a retro-future dystopia is gripping.<\/p>\n

Streaming on Netflix<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Game of Thrones<\/p>\n

\"Game\u2018Game of Thrones\u2019 is one of the best series of the last 25 years (Photo: HBO)<\/p>\n

Yes, the ending was dreadful and the reliance on sexual violence as a plot device<\/a> has aged terribly (and was pretty iffy in the moment). But let\u2019s not allow that to detract from the fact that for its first four seasons, at least, Game of Thrones brought us some of the best on-screen fantasy ever. <\/p>\n

Arya Stark watching in horror as her father was led to the chopping block; the Battle of the Blackwater; the Night King\u2019s attack on Hardhome; Jon Snow<\/a> standing firm against Ramsay Bolton\u2019s hordes. These are not only some of the best fantasy moments, they are part of the highlight reel of the greatest TV of the past 25 years. <\/p>\n

Streaming on Now<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\tYour next read<\/p>\n


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