Fantasy shows have come and gone, but the best ones leave a lasting impression. Over the decades, the genre has transported audiences to countless magical realms while exploring human ideas about fate, power, and the choices people make when faced with impossible circumstances. Whether characters are guided by prophecies or burdened by immense abilities, fantasy often asks whether the line between good and evil is ever truly clear.
At the same time, these series give audiences a chance to escape the ordinary world and explore places that feel completely different from our own. From an alternate version of Oxford to a brutal war between dragons, these are the most perfect fantasy shows of the last 20 years, ranked.
7
‘The Wheel of Time’ (2021–2025)
Egwene (Madeleine Madden) in The Wheel of Time Season 3.Image via Prime Video
A celebrated show gone too soon, The Wheel of Time follows Moraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), an Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah tasked with finding the Dragon Reborn, a prophesied figure powerful enough to save or destroy the world. With five potential candidates, Moraine takes them on a dangerous quest to discover the truth. As the Dark One threatens the universe, she must ensure the Dragon survives long enough for the inevitable battle, while preventing its power from consuming them.
The cancellation of The Wheel of Time sparked a massive backlash, with more than 200,000 fans signing a petition following the announcement. Fans have also organized billboards in New York, Los Angeles, and London to show their disappointment. And honestly, that reaction is understandable. The Wheel of Time is one of those fantasy shows that doesn’t just depict power on a massive, world-changing scale; it also explores it through the individual journeys of its once-reluctant heroes. Although they are all connected by the same prophecy, each character is ultimately the hero of their own story.
6
‘Merlin’ (2008–2012)
Gaius (Richard Wilson) and Merlin (Colin Morgan) standing at a door together in MerlinImage via BBC One
BBC’s Merlin follows a young Merlin (Colin Morgan) as he arrives in Camelot and discovers that he must hide his magical abilities from Arthur (Bradley James), who is his peer rather than his mentor. As Merlin learns to navigate life in Camelot, Arthur gradually grows from a spoiled bully into a noble king. Despite being a story about claiming the throne, Merlin is ultimately just as much about friendship, loyalty, and the bond between two unlikely companions.
In a sea of Arthurian stories, Merlin brings jovial whimsy to a tale of glory, betrayal, and war. You can’t help but root for the two complete opposites, Merlin and Arthur, as they go from adversaries to reluctant allies and, eventually, close friends. Rather than getting caught up in endless battles for control, Merlin embraces the lighthearted spirit of the genre, something that is often overlooked by modern fantasy shows more focused on outdoing one another with bigger wars, darker stories, and more bloodshed.
5
‘The Witcher’ (2019–Present)
Anya Chalotra as Yennefer in The WitcherImage via Netflix
The Witcher follows Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill and Liam Hemsworth), a solitary monster hunter whose fate becomes intertwined with Princess Ciri of Cintra (Freya Allan) and sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra). After their paths converge, Geralt sets out to protect Ciri from factions seeking to exploit her mysterious power while navigating a dangerous Continent filled with monsters, monarchs, and mages. Unbeknownst to Geralt, Ciri herself possesses a power capable of destroying the world.
Apart from the controversy surrounding Season 4, The Witcher refuses to sugarcoat what it means to live alongside extraordinary powers and terrifying monsters. Rather than turning its protagonists into celebrated heroes, their abilities often leave them shunned by society, even as they risk their lives to protect it. Through the found family they build together, Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer continue to fight against the destinies forced upon them, refusing to let powers they never asked for define who they become.
4
‘His Dark Materials’ (2019–2022)
Dafne Keen in His Dark Materials looking down.Image via HBO
His Dark Materials follows Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen), an orphan raised at Jordan College in Oxford. After her uncle, Lord Asriel (James McAvoy),reveals his research into Dust and parallel worlds, Lyra becomes determined to pursue her own adventure after he refuses to take her along on his travels. However, her plans take a darker turn when her best friend and other children begin disappearing, with the mysterious Gobblers suspected of being behind the abductions.
For those looking for a darker, more twisted version of Harry Potter, look no further than His Dark Materials. The series combines the lighter elements of YA fantasy, from armored polar bears to spirit animals, with much heavier themes surrounding prophecy, free will, and Original Sin. Despite tackling complex ideas that mirror religious concepts, at the end of the day, His Dark Materials is a story about how imposed beliefs can limit free will and shape the way people understand the world around them.
Collider Exclusive · Game of Thrones Personality Quiz Which Game of Thrones House Do You Belong To? Stark · Lannister · Targaryen · Baratheon · Tyrell
Five great houses. Five completely different answers to the same question: how do you hold power in a world that will take it from you the moment you stop paying attention? Eight questions will determine where your loyalties — and your nature — truly lie.
🐺Stark
🦁Lannister
🐉Targaryen
🦌Baratheon
🌹Tyrell
01
Someone powerful is acting dishonourably and everyone knows it. What do you do? In Westeros, the answer to this question has ended more than one great house.
02
What is the source of your power? Every house endures because of something. What is it for yours?
03
Who do you truly fight for? Strip away the banners and the words. The honest answer tells you everything.
04
How do you deal with your enemies? A house’s method reveals its character as clearly as its words ever could.
05
What kind of ruler do you believe in? Westeros is full of answers to this question. Most of them end badly.
06
You suffer a devastating loss. How does your house respond? How a house handles defeat tells you more about it than how it handles victory.
07
Which of these truths about Westeros do you most believe? Every house has a philosophy. This is yours.
08
The Iron Throne is within reach. What do you do? The answer reveals not just your ambition — but your character.
The Maester Has Spoken Your House Is…
Your answers point to the great house whose words, values, and way of surviving in Westeros match your own. Bend the knee — or don’t. That’s very much up to you.
Winterfell · The North
🐺 House Stark
Winter is Coming — and you have always known it. You prepare not out of fear but out of duty, because the people who depend on you deserve someone who takes the long view.
You lead with honour even when it costs you, because you understand that a reputation built on integrity is the only one worth having.
Your loyalty to family and people runs deep — not as sentiment but as a code that doesn’t bend when things get difficult.
The North endures because Starks endure — not by being the cleverest players in the game, but by being the kind of people others are willing to follow into the cold.
You are that kind of person. The pack survives. The lone wolf dies. You already know which one you are.
Casterly Rock · The Westerlands
🦁 House Lannister
You understand the game — its rules, its exceptions, and exactly when the rules become the exception. You play it without illusions and without apology.
You are sharper than most people realise, and you have learned to use that gap to your advantage.
A Lannister always pays their debts — and you always keep your word, because your word is an instrument of power, and instruments must be kept in working order.
You love your family with a ferocity that sometimes blinds you, and you know it, and you do it anyway.
The lion doesn’t concern itself with the opinion of sheep. Neither, in the end, do you.
Dragonstone · The Iron Throne
🐉 House Targaryen
You carry a sense of destiny that is difficult to explain and impossible to ignore — the feeling that you are not simply participating in the world but meant to reshape it.
You are capable of extraordinary things, and you know it, and that knowledge is both your greatest strength and your most dangerous quality.
Fire and blood are not just words to you — they are a philosophy about what change requires and what it costs.
The Targaryens at their best were transformative rulers who broke chains and defied the limits of what anyone thought possible.
At your best, so are you. The dragon has three heads. You are one of them.
Storm’s End · The Stormlands
🦌 House Baratheon
You are a force — direct, powerful, and difficult to ignore when you enter a room or a conflict. You do not negotiate with challenges. You meet them.
Ours is the fury — and yours is a kind of intensity that commands attention, respect, and occasionally fear from those who underestimate what’s behind it.
You value strength and straight dealing. You’d rather know where you stand in a fight than navigate a web of courtly whispers.
The Baratheons built their house on the back of one of the greatest military victories in Westerosi history — and then struggled with what came after.
The lesson of your house is that winning is not the end of the story. Governing is. You are learning that too.
Highgarden · The Reach
🌹 House Tyrell
You understand that power does not always announce itself — that sometimes it arrives with flowers, good wine, and a smile that doesn’t quite reach the eyes.
Growing strong is your house’s motto, and you live it: patiently, strategically, always investing in the relationships and resources that will matter most when it counts.
You are charming by choice and calculating by nature — a combination that makes you one of the most effective players in any room you enter.
The Tyrells fed King’s Landing and shaped its politics without ever sitting on the Iron Throne — and they were arguably more powerful for it.
You know that the person who controls the food controls the kingdom. And you always know where the food is.
3
‘Game of Thrones’ (2011–2019)
No other show has popularized the fantasy genre to mainstream audiences quite like Game of Thrones. In Westeros,the fight for the Iron Throne is essentially a giant game of chess, where everyone is a pawn, including kings and queens. The series begins by following Ned Stark (Sean Bean), an honorable man who is pulled into the chaos of King’s Landing after his old friend, King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), asks him to become the new Hand of the King. As Ned investigates the mysterious death of the previous Hand, he uncovers secrets that could plunge the entire realm into war.
Seasons 1–4 of Game of Thrones show the series at its absolute best, largely because of how closely they follow the source material and capture the intricate details of the books. The characters also genuinely suffer the consequences of their actions, whether those choices are intentional or not. However, the series begins to lose its footing from Season 5 onward, when many of its biggest storylines become rushed, underwhelming, or poorly developed. Characters fail to live up to their initial potential, major arcs are abruptly reversed, and prophecies lose their meaning.
2
‘Arcane’ (2021–2024)
Vi and Jinx in the Arcane Season 2 finaleImage via Netflix
Based on League of Legends, Arcane primarily follows sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell), who are separated as children as tensions between Piltover and Zaun spiral into violence between rich and poor. Meanwhile, scientists Jayce (Kevin Alejandro) and Viktor (Harry Lloyd) develop Hextech, a magic-based technology that changes the realm and eventually pulls the characters into a much bigger conflict, culminating in a civil war involving a militaristic leader and cosmic, god-like entities.
Calling Arcane a masterpiece almost feels like an understatement. The animated series is anything but your typical video game adaptation. It’s colorful, ambitious, beautifully illustrated, and feels like a genuine love letter to animation at a time when AI-generated visuals are everywhere. Even if you’ve never played League of Legends, Arcane makes its complicated world of magic, politics, and steampunk technology surprisingly easy to get invested in thanks to the bittersweet relationship between the two main sisters.
1
‘House of the Dragon’ (2022–Present)
Emma D’Arcy in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Episode 8Image via HBO
Set nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon chronicles the Targaryen family’s descent into a brutal civil war. King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) shocks the realm by breaking tradition and naming his daughter, Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock and Emma D’Arcy), as his heir instead of his brother, Daemon (Matt Smith). But after Viserys marries Rhaenyra’s closest confidante and gives birth to sons, the succession becomes increasingly contested—ultimately splitting the court between the “Blacks” and the “Greens.”
With the prequel series arriving three years after the Game of Thrones finale, House of the Dragon feels much more refined, polished, and focused. It has a tighter scope, centering on the central conflict while ensuring that its subplots and supporting characters remain connected to the larger war of succession. But the best part of House of the Dragon is undoubtedly the sheer number of dragons, which finally take center stage as they literally “dance” across the sky—a fitting spectacle for a war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
