6 Elite Fantasy Shows With No Bad Seasons, Ranked

Fantasy television is notoriously difficult to get right: some shows outlive their source material and go downhill, à la Game of Thrones; others struggle with enormous world-building, and some opt for a deliberately slow build-up that results in their cancelation. With so many different subgenres to choose from, plenty of fantasy series begin with an intriguing premise only to lose their way throughout their run.

The following six fantasy shows make a strong case for being exceptions. From a schoolgirl battling vampires in Sunnydale to a group of strangers discovering that the afterlife is way more complicated than they thought, each fantasy show on this list understands what keeps viewers coming back for the next installment. Of course, a consistently elite fantasy show doesn’t necessarily mean every season is totally perfect, but these series successfully deliver engaging stories in each installment, whether by deepening their characters or expanding their mythology.

6

Shadow and Bone

2 Seasons

Now, Netflix canceled Shadow and Bone before it got to properly conclude its story, but the two seasons it gave fans were elite. Set in the Grishaverse, a world of magical powers and political intrigue, Shadow and Bone follows Alina Starkov, who discovers she possesses a rare ability that could destroy the Shadow Fold, a stretch of darkness and monstrous creatures that divides her country. Jessie Mei Li brings a compelling mixture of vulnerability and determination to Alina, and the show makes its fantasy mythology accessible to viewers without losing sight of the human characters caught up in it.

Meanwhile, the criminal crew led by Kaz Brekker brings a very different energy to the story, with their schemes and shifting loyalties providing plenty of Shadow and Bone’s most entertaining moments. Season 1 does a particularly good job of establishing the Fold as a genuinely frightening threat while introducing Alina to the seductive, dangerous world of the Grisha. Ben Barnes is fantastic as Kiligan, and his charm makes his growing menace all the more effective.

Season 2 expands the scope considerably, bringing in more characters, creatures, political maneuvering, and major developments for Alina. The storytelling does become somewhat crowded, but the lavish production design, incredible cast, and compelling Grishaverse mythology make both seasons elite fantasy television. It’s just a shame Netflix canceled Shadow and Bone.

5

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

7 Seasons

On paper, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a monster-of-the-week fantasy show about the titular Slayer, who spends her time fighting vampires and demons. However, Buffy is far more interesting than that. Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Buffy Summers, a reluctant hero trying to balance her Chosen One duties with friendships, relationships, school, and eventually adult life. Sunnydale’s Hellmouth provides an endless supply of monsters, but the show uses those threats to explore the awkwardness, heartbreak, and ordinariness of adolescence.

Season 1 is relatively small-scale, but episodes like “Prophecy Girl” establish the emotional stakes that will define Buffy. Season 2 raises the bar with Buffy’s relationship with Angel and the devastating turn that follows, while Season 3 gives the Scooby Gang one of its best recurring villains in Mayor Richard Wilkins. College brings a change of scenery in Season 4, and although the Initiative storyline is sometimes uneven, “Hush” is easily one of Buffy’s most fascinating episodes.

Season 5 delivers the emotional gut-punch of “The Body” and a powerful finale, and Season 6 shifts into a darker gear to explore grief, depression, financial hardship, and Willow’s reliance on magic. Buffy‘s willingness to let its heroes behave badly gives the show real weight, and Season 7’s introduction of the Potential Slayers builds toward a finale that finally transforms the Slayer’s solitary calling into something shared. Not everything is equally loved, but even “weaker” stretches are still elite and contain some of the most influential, groundbreaking, and iconic fantasy storytelling.

4

Merlin

5 Seasons

The BBC’s Merlin takes one of fantasy’s most familiar legends but presents it with a different angle; here, the titular young wizard arrives in Camelot when King Uther Pendragon has outlawed magic, forcing Merlin to conceal his abilities while serving the arrogant Prince Arthur. Colin Morgan and Bradley James give that central relationship its staying power, as Merlin knows Arthur is destined for greatness but must deal with constant insults, covering up magical mishaps, and saving his future king from threats Arthur doesn’t even know exist. Their growth from reluctant servant and master to genuine friends is at the heart of Merlin, giving its adventures a warmth that other Arthurian fantasy shows sometimes lack.

Season 1 establishes a reliable rhythm of magical threats, court intrigue, and Merlin’s desperate attempts to hide his secret. Season 2 further builds on that formula, while Season 3 benefits from Morgause’s arrival and the increasingly complicated political and magical tensions surrounding Camelot. Some of the early episodic charm recedes in Season 4, but the fourth installment still feels ambitious as Merlin shifts toward darker drama. Season 5 is the most bittersweet stretch, with a tragic conclusion that confidently avoids a typical happily ever after. Across five seasons, Merlin keeps its eyes firmly focused on the central friendship that makes its retelling worth watching.

3

Penny Dreadful

3 Seasons

If your ideal fantasy series is a little darker, Penny Dreadful is an elite show for you. Set in a shadowy Victorian world with plenty of characters drawn from classic horror literature, the series brings together the enigmatic medium Vanessa Ives, explorer Sir Malcolm Murray, American gunslinger Ethan Chandler, and young doctor Victor Frankenstein. Eva Green gives Vanessa a combination of ferocity, fragility, and spiritual anguish, which gives Penny Dreadful’s supernatural scenes a personal edge. The literary monsters aren’t simply Easter eggs, either, as the show uses them to explore themes like guilt, obsession, faith, and desire.

Season 1 does an excellent job of establishing Penny Dreadful’s atmosphere, with Vanessa’s possession and the hunt for Mina Murray giving the show a sinister thread through its Victorian setting. Season 2 is arguably even stronger once it shifts toward Vanessa’s dark past and the witches pursuing her, with plenty of dedicated character work. The third and final season takes the story beyond London and digs deeper into Ethan’s history, introducing Dracula and pushing Vanessa to her final confrontation with the darkness inside her. Some fans thought Season 3 was uneven, but Penny Dreadful still remains remarkably distinctive throughout its run. Its commitment to gothic horror, dark fantasy, and literary allusion gives it an incredibly unique identity.

2

His Dark Materials

3 Seasons

Adapting Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy was never going to be easy, given its vivid settings and rich world-building, but the fantasy HBO adaptation successfully pulled it off. The story follows Lyra Belacqua, a fiercely independent girl living in a world where people’s souls exist outside their bodies as animal companions. When children begin disappearing and Lyra discovers that the powerful Magisterium is hiding the truth about the mysterious “Dust” substance, her search for her friend draws her into an enormous conflict.

His Dark Materials has a huge amount of mythology to depict, but its strongest asset is the relationship between Lyra and the people she meets along the way, particularly Will Parry, whose own journey becomes inseparable from hers. The performances are excellent throughout; Dafne Keen gives Lyra the stubbornness and curiosity she needs, while Ruth Wilson makes Mrs. Coulter a genuinely unsettling presence. Season 1 introduces a vast, grounded universe, while Season 2 moves into the stranger territory of The Subtle Knife, introducing new worlds and bringing Will into the center of the story.

The mythology becomes more intricate, but the human relationships keep the story grounded. Season 3 is easily His Dark Materials’ most ambitious, adapting The Amber Spyglass novel and bringing the conflict between Lord Asriel and religious authorities to its climax. It juggles multiple storylines, including Mary Malone’s discovery of the mulefa, but delivers the emotional payoff His Dark Materials had been building toward. It’s an elite fantasy show from beginning to end, but it only gets better as it goes on.

1

The Good Place

4 Seasons

The Good Place is a very different kind of fantasy show compared to others on this list, since it also boasts just as many sitcom and philosophical fiction elements, but its afterlife setting and supernatural rules make it a great fit. The Good Place kicks off when the deeply selfish Eleanor Shellstrop wakes up in an afterlife utopia, which she’s told is called the Good Place. But Eleanor knows that there’s a clear case of mistaken identity at play and understands she doesn’t belong there. With help from philosophy professor Chidi, socialite Tahani, lovable idiot Jason, and the afterlife’s bewildered architect Michael, Eleanor tries to become a better person while keeping her secret.

It’s a hilarious premise, but The Good Place quickly turns its focus to profound ethical and moral questions about whether people can truly ever change. Season 1 is a perfect introduction to the show’s peculiar world, balancing jokes with surprisingly thoughtful questions about morality. Season 2, however, turns everything on its head with one of TV’s best plot twists, and Season 3 takes the story to Earth to explore how difficult it is to become a better person. The third season is certainly more sprawling, but its points system and the limits of individual moral improvement only deepen The Good Place’s central argument.

Season 4 then faces the challenge of bringing all those elements together into a satisfying conclusion, and while the final stretch occasionally moves faster than its character moments warrant, the finale is a beautiful culmination of its ideas about friendship, growth, and letting go. Not many fantasy shows, or TV series in general, can make philosophy this accessible, nor can they all stick the landing so gracefully. But The Good Place is utterly elite from start to finish.

Release Date

2016 – 2020-00-00

Network

NBC

Showrunner

Michael Schur

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  Kristen Bell

  Eleanor Shellstrop

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  William Jackson Harper

  Chidi Anagonye

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  Jameela Jamil

  Tahani Al-Jamil