Television is a great medium for fantasy stories, allowing complex mythologies and worlds to unfold over the course of many episodes. These shows cast a spell on viewers by immersing them in strange settings with their own rules, factions, and characters, and keep them guessing with plenty of plot twists — often fueled by the schemes of powerful villains.

If you’re looking for the perfect escape, we’ve got you covered with this list of exciting fantasy series. From family-friendly animated shows to mature stories featuring nightmare-fueling monsters, these series spotlight the genre’s broad appeal.

Dead Boy Detectives

Here’s a scenario where you’ll actually want to get ghosted. This series, which is part of The Sandman universe and based on the beloved comic series from Neil Gaiman, follows Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri) — two teens who were born decades apart but became best friends in the afterlife, working together as ghosts to solve mysteries that no one else can. With the help of a clairvoyant named Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson) and her friend Niko (Yuyu Kitamura), they wind up using their powers to help the living as well as the dead. The show combines episodic adventures with a twisty metaplot involving a powerful witch, the afterlife’s complex bureaucracy, and talking cats.

Dead Boy Detectives

2024

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Avatar The Last Airbender

A live-action adaptation of the beloved Nickelodeon animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Aang (Gordon Cormier), the young Avatar, as he learns to master the four elemental powers (wWater, eEarth, fFire, and aAir) to restore balance to a world under attack from the Fire Nation. With newfound friends and Water tTribe siblings Sokka (Ian Ousley) and Katara (Kiawentiio) at his side, Aang embarks on an epic, action-packed quest to save the world. Together they encounter a lot of colorful characters, including a giant flying bison, but are also pursued by enemies determined to stop Aang from reaching his potential as the Avatar. 

Avatar The Last Airbender

2024

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ONE PIECE

Eiichiro Oda’s ONE PIECE is one of the bestselling manga of all time, and this live-action adaptation takes you along on the epic saga of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew of Straw Hat pirates. Imbued with the power to stretch his body like rubber, Luffy dreams of becoming King of the Pirates by finding a legendary treasure known as the One Piece. However, he’s not the only person with that ambition. He’ll have to face other ruthless pirates, some of whom also have extraordinary powers. Set sail now so you’re ready when the series returns for a second season, and don’t forget to dive into the long-running anime, too.

ONE PIECE

2023

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Wednesday

This YA mystery spin on the creepy, kooky characters of The Addams Family focuses on 16-year-old Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) as she attends Nevermore Academy, a boarding school populated by werewolves, gorgons, sirens, and other teens with supernatural powers. The perpetually sardonic Wednesday works to master her budding psychic abilities while investigating a series of murders and her parents’ secret past at Nevermore. (Luis Guzmán and Catherine Zeta-Jones play those iconic parents, Gomez and Morticia, while Fred Armisen portrays Wednesday’s eccentric — and electric — Uncle Fester.) The series was nominated for 12 Primetime Emmy Awards and a second season is in the works.

Wednesday

2022

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The Legend of Korra

Set 70 years after the events of the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra tells the story of a new Avatar as she seeks to bring harmony to both the human nations and the spirit world. A fierce and sometimes stubborn warrior who grew up in seclusion, Korra (Janet Varney) spends four seasons dealing with complicated conflicts like the relationship between benders and nonbenders, the role of the monarchy and military, and the rebuilding of the airbender traditions. It’s a more technologically advanced and urban world than the original, but just as full of quirky characters and strange animals like Korra’s trusty polar bear dog.

The Legend of Korra

2011

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Arcane

While Arcane is based on Riot Games’ League of Legends, you don’t have to know the video game to appreciate it. The gorgeously animated show follows two sisters who are damaged and divided by a war between the prosperous, progress-obsessed city of Piltover and the oppressed undercity Zaun. When a pair of brilliant inventors figure out a way to fuse magic and technology, they set off a chain of events that will cause old tensions to flare up and new heroes to rise up to face them.

Arcane

2021

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The Sandman

The Sandman is a faithful adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s DC Comics series that immerses both devoted fans and new audiences in the rich tales of Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), the lord of dreams, who must reclaim his power and right past wrongs after being imprisoned for more than 100 years. It’s a complex series with a deep cosmology that includes occultists, living nightmares, demons, and Death herself. The show also features lush costumes, dramatic battles of will, gorgeous special effects, and some truly unsettling horror. New episodes are coming that promise to expand the story even further, introducing more of Dream’s family and following his story over centuries.

The Sandman

2022

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The Witcher

This Emmy-nominated drama adapts the dark fantasy novels of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, which also inspired a hit video game series. The show follows Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), a mutated monster hunter for hire who becomes entangled in the destiny of Ciri (Freya Allan), an orphaned princess with strange magical powers. Geralt’s trained to dispatch all sorts of dangerous creatures, but he has a much harder time staying out of the machinations of rival monarchs and sorcerers, particularly those involving the seductive sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra). Liam Hemsworth takes on the role of Geralt in Season 4, when The Matrix star Laurence Fishburne will also join the cast.

The Witcher

2019

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Sweet Tooth

Based on Jeff Lemire’s beloved comics series, this fantasy adventure takes place after a pandemic has wiped out much of the population. At the same time, human-animal hybrids start being born into a world divided over whether these children are a result or cause of that devastating sickness. The half human, half deer Gus (played by Christian Convery), is one such child, who sets off from his secluded life in the wilderness following the death of his father (Will Forte) in the hopes of finding his mother. What comes next is an action-packed and dangerous journey that pairs Gus with a reluctant protector (Nonso Anozie), all while a doctor (Adeel Akhtar) races to find a cure for the disease so he can save his infected wife. Stream the first two seasons while waiting for the third and final one to arrive later this year.

Sweet Tooth

2021

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Lucifer

An adaptation of Mike Carey’s spin-off of The Sandman comics based around Neil Gaiman’s take on the fallen angel, Lucifer started on Fox before moving to Netflix. The show follows the devil (Tom Ellis) after he becomes bored of running hell and leaves his job behind, moving to the City of Angels to open a nightclub. He winds up working with the LAPD to solve supernatural crimes while also dealing with angels, demons, and gods with their own schemes. It’s not part of the current The Sandman universe but offers a different take on the diabolically charming character.

Lucifer

2016

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The Dragon Prince

Co-created by Aaron Ehasz, who served as head writer for Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Dragon Prince also focuses on complex characters, dark themes, rich mythology, and adorable animals. A young prince, his scholarly half brother, and an elf assassin embark on a dangerous journey to return a stolen dragon egg to its mother and end a war between humans and the magical creatures of Xadia. The show has sweet romance, goofy humor, and some genuinely disturbing villains who make terrible sacrifices and destroy entire kingdoms in their quest for power. Season 6 will premiere later this year.

The Dragon Prince

2018

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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Being a teenager is complicated, but especially so for Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka), who’s trying to divide her time between two schools — Baxter High and the Academy of the Unseen Arts. Heavy on the supernatural horror, this show based on the Archie comics character follows Sabrina as she struggles to keep her mortal and witch lives separate while staying true to her strong convictions. There’s also plenty of steamy romance as she’s torn between her wholesome human boyfriend Harvey and charming warlock Nick.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

2018

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The Magicians

The Magicians

2015

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DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Part of the CW’s Arrowverse, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow follows a group of D-list superheroes and villains who wind up as bumbling time travelers. It’s a hilarious and often meta romp through DC Comics and pop culture in general, with plots including saving J.R.R. Tolkien from the Legion of Doom and an entire season dedicated to encounters with dangerous fantasy creatures like a vicious unicorn and a diabolical fairy godmother. If you liked Johanna Constantine in The Sandman, you might also enjoy meeting John Constantine when he joins Legends of Tomorrow in the show’s third season.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

2016

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