10 Best High Fantasy Shows Of The Decade (So Far)

Image via MovieStillsDB Published Nov 2, 2026, 3:15 PM EST Adrienne Tyler is a movies & TV features writer, with a focus on horror. She has written for Netflix, FanSided, & more. She was a regular guest on the Netfreaks podcast and was a YouTuber at some point. Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. Sign in to your ScreenRant account The 2020s have seen some great TV shows across different genres so far, especially high fantasy TV shows, and more could join the list before the decade is over. Fantasy is still one of the most popular TV genres, thanks to its creativity and capacity to bring immersive experiences to the audience. Through these shows, viewers can explore unique worlds, magic, societies, and meet characters with different abilities, stories, and goals. A branch of fantasy that has been especially popular and successful is high fantasy, which is characterized by being set in a completely fictional, secondary world with its own rules, history, geography, and magic systems. Some of the most notable examples of high fantasy on TV are Game of Thrones, The Witcher, and His Dark Materials, and the 2020s have seen some great ones too, some of which now rank among the best fantasy TV shows of all time. The best high fantasy TV shows of the decade are a combination of adaptations of pre-existing works (books, comic books, etc.), remakes, or continuations of already established universes, all of them taking viewers into completely new worlds. Some of these TV shows have already ended, either too soon or after completing their planned run, and others are still active and preparing new seasons. The Mighty Nein (2025-Present) The Mighty Nein is an adult animated fantasy TV show based on campaign two of Critical Role, and it’s set 20 years after the events of The Legend of Vox Machina. The Mighty Nein takes the audience to the world of Exandria, and more specifically to the continent of Wildemount. The Mighty Nein, then, follows a group of misfits with difficult pasts and secrets who find themselves in the middle of a larger conflict. Together, they must fight to save the realm after the powerful relic The Beacon falls into the wrong hands. At the time of writing, The Mighty Nein holds a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics praising its fantasy elements and expansion of the world of Dungeons & Dragons. The Mighty Nein has been renewed for a second season. The Sandman (2022-2025) Based on Neil Gaiman’s comic book of the same name, The Sandman was one of Netflix’s most exciting projects of the decade given the popularity of the source material. The Sandman follows Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), one of the seven Endless and the personification of dreams and nightmares, who rules the realm of the Dreaming. Morpheus is captured in an occult ritual in 1916 and finally escapes in 2022, setting out to restore order to the Dreaming. The Sandman ran for two seasons and was well-received by critics and general audiences, currently holding an 81% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. The Sandman has been praised for bringing to life a story that was thought to be impossible to adapt, as well as for its performances, writing, and visual style. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024-Present) Credit: Katie Yu/Netflix Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender is a live-action adaptation of the animated show of the same name, widely regarded as one of the best animated TV shows of all time. Avatar: The Last Airbender is set in a world that has been divided into four nations: Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. In each of them, there are people, known as “benders”, who can manipulate one of the elements, and there’s only one who can master all four and is known as the “Avatar.” Twelve-year-old Aang (Gordon Cormier) is the last survivor of the Air Nomads and the next Avatar, and as such, he must maintain the balance of the world and nature, which isn't easy in a war-torn world. Despite mixed reviews, Avatar: The Last Airbender has done a good job of bringing to life the animated show and its complex world, and it's currently preparing for its third season. Blood of Zeus (2020-2025) Image via Netflix Blood of Zeus is an adult animated fantasy TV series created by Charly and Vlas Parlapanides. Blood of Zeus is set in mythical Ancient Greece and centers on Heron (voiced by Derek Phillips), the demigod son of Zeus (Jason O’Mara), who is trying to save his two homes: Olympus and Earth. Although the show claims to tell the stories “lost to history”, it isn’t part of the canon of Greek myths. Blood of Zeus was a critical success, with critics praising its animation, approach to Greek mythology, and voice acting. Although the show’s creators had plans for a five-season run, Blood of Zeus ended after just three seasons. Shadow and Bone (2021-2023) Based on the books Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone takes the audience into the Grishaverse, a fictional world formed by the nations of Ravka, Fjerda, Shu Han, Kerch, Novyi Zem, and the Wandering Isle. In this world, there are magic-users known as Grisha, who are practitioners of a unique ability known as “The Small Science,” which allows them to manipulate matter at the molecular level. Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), an orphan and assistant cartographer of the Royal Corps of Surveyors in the First Army, learns that she’s the Sun Summoner, a Grisha who can summon light. As such, Alina becomes the target of different factions, while also trying to use her powers to save her nation, Ravka. Shadow and Bone was praised for its production design, story, and world-building, but despite its success, it was canceled after two seasons. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2026, Renewed For a Second Season) The world of Game of Thrones has expanded with spinoffs, the most recent one being A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Based on George R. R. Martin’s novellas Tales of Dunk and Egg, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a prequel to Game of Thrones, and it follows lowborn hedge knight Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall (Peter Claffey) and boy Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), who is actually Prince Aegon Targaryen. Egg travels with Dunk as his squire, and so the show follows their adventures during the height of the Targaryen dynasty. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is lighter and more comedic than the rest of the shows in the Game of Thrones franchise, which has been key to its success, along with its production design and characters. Season 2 is expected to arrive in 2027. The Wheel of Time (2021-2025) Based on Robert Jordan’s book series of the same name, The Wheel of Time follows Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), a member of the Aes Sedai, a powerful organization of women who can channel the One Power. Moiraine is looking for a group of young people from the village of Emond’s Field in the Two Rivers, as she believes one of them is the reincarnation of the Dragon, an extremely powerful being responsible for the Breaking of the World. The Dragon is prophesied to either save the world from the evil known as the Dark One or break it again, and so she must find out who it is and take them on the right path. The Wheel of Time is one of the most successful fantasy shows of the decade, widely praised for its world-building, character development and depth, and performances. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022-Present) Based on the appendices of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set thousands of years before the events of the novel, thus depicting the most important events of Middle-earth’s Second Age. The Rings of Power takes place after the defeat of the Dark Lord Morgoth and his army of orcs, and follows the rise of Morgoth’s lieutenant, Sauron (Charlie Vickers), as the new Dark Lord. Despite its place in the Lord of the Rings timeline, The Rings of Power isn’t part of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie trilogies. The Rings of Power also covers the forging of the title rings, the fall of Númenor, and the last alliance between Elves and Men. Despite some criticism from Tolkien fans, The Rings of Power has been a big success, becoming the most expensive TV series ever made, as well as one of the richest fictional worlds on TV. Season 3 of The Rings of Power is set for a November 11, 2026, premiere. House of the Dragon (2022-Present) House of the Dragon is a prequel to Game of Thrones, and it’s based on parts of George R. R. Martin’s 2018 book Fire & Blood. Set around two centuries before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon chronicles the events that led to the decline of House Targaryen and the war of succession known as the “Dance of the Dragons.” House of the Dragon has been a consistent success for HBO Max and has been praised for its expansion of the world of Game of Thrones, production value, emotional depth, and writing. House of the Dragon was renewed for a fourth and final season, projected for a 2028 release. The Legend of Vox Machina (2022-Present) The Legend of Vox Machina is an adult animated fantasy TV show based on the first campaign of Critical Role. Set on the continent of Tal’Dorei, in Exandria, The Legend of Vox Machina follows a group of eight misfit mercenaries (the title Vox Machina) who end up on epic quests to defend Exandria from dark magic, ancient evils, and other threats that could destroy the world. The Legend of Vox Machina is one of the best fantasy and animated TV shows of the decade, praised for its animation, voice acting, writing, and action sequences. The Legend of Vox Machina has been renewed for a fifth and final season, which, at the time of writing, doesn’t have a projected release date yet. Release Date January 27, 2022 Network Prime Video Showrunner Brandon Auman Cast Laura Bailey Vex'ahlia (voice) Taliesin Jaffe Percy (voice) Directors Young Heller, Eugene Lee, Alicia Chan Writers Eugene Son, Travis Willingham, Chris Wyatt, Kevin Burke, Suzanne Keilly, Mae Catt, Todd Casey, Ashly Burch, May Chan, Marc Bernardin Creator(s) Chris Prynoski