10 Fantasy Shows That Are Even Better the Second Time Around

Image via Prime Video Published May 16, 2026, 6:02 AM EDT Sign in to your Collider account Fantasy TV has seen a massive uptick in recent years; there's no denying that. It's been sort of a trend since the boom in the early 2010s, which has resulted in a lot of great series over the years, both live-action and animated. Most people tend to watch their favorite shows multiple times, which is a normal practice that is becoming more common with the rise of on-demand viewing. However, there are a lot of fantasy TV shows that should absolutely be rewatched at least once—in fact, they demand it. This is because they are either so complex, comedic, or subtle that there are things that can be missed the first time. Either that or they're just so good that a second viewing only makes the audience like it more. These are the best fantasy TV shows that are even better the second time around. 10 'The Dragon Prince' (2018–2024) Image via Netflix The Dragon Prince is geared more towards younger audiences, but that doesn't mean adults can't appreciate it, too. This seven-part animated series takes viewers to the world of Xadia, a vast continent that is tearing itself apart. The humans of Xadia, who are non-magical, have begun a catastrophic war with the magical elves and dragons, and it falls to a select few to bring peace to the land. One of the main reasons The Dragon Prince is even better the second time around is because Xadia is a vast, lore-heavy world that's honestly a lot to take in at first. It's a really fun and interesting place to learn about, but not everything is going to be absorbed by everybody on the first go. As such, it makes a second or even third viewing much more enjoyable, allowing audiences to immerse themselves deeper in this wondrous world. 9 'What We Do in the Shadows' (2019–2024) Image via FX Taika Waititi's What We Do in the Shadows follows the lives of a group of traditional vampires in 21st-century New York City, which is about as chaotic as it sounds. The fantasy mockumentary often follows the vampires as they clash with other fantastical creatures and beings, but not nearly as much as they clash with themselves. Seriously, it feels like they spend more time fighting each other than they do dealing with their actual problems sometimes. This absurdist dark comedy got a lot of love online, with people adoring its charming humor, ridiculous premise, and throwback to the television era of the 90s and 2000s (which frequently featured vampires in modern settings). This show gets even better the second time around, not just because of its jokes, but also because the ridiculous plot just gets funnier and funnier the more you think about it. 8 'Arcane' (2021–2024) Image via Netflix Arcane is based on the MOBA video game League of Legends, and successfully broke the curse of bad video game adaptations, thanks in no small part to some of the lead game developers also creating the show. The story follows two of the game's playable champions in a story of love and sacrifice, and incorporates elements of steampunk and sci-fi along with the fantastical setting. This show was so good that it won a whopping eight Primetime Emmy Awards, which is very impressive for a video game adaptation. To be honest, there aren't any specific aspects that make this show better on a second viewing. It's just that it's so insanely rewatchable that it never gets old, and each subsequent viewing tends to only remind people why they loved it so much in the first place. 7 'Kaos' (2024) Image via Netflix Kaos is a Netflix fantasy comedy that was unceremoniously axed after just one season, in spite of positive reviews from critics and audiences. The series follows the pantheon of Greek gods in a modern setting, who are about to be overthrown by three mortal humans. Its dark jokes and gallows humour really set it apart from other fantasy comedies, as did its A-list cast and abrasive wit. The thing about Kaos is that its punchlines are sometimes so subtle that it can be hard to catch them the first time. A lot of the jokes have multiple layers, which only get funnier once they've been heard more than once. At just a few short episodes, the show is certainly easy to rewatch multiple times, as many have done to cope with the unjustified cancellation. Ask any fan of this show, and they'll likely agree that they only noticed things the second or third time that they didn't pick up on in their initial viewing. 6 'His Dark Materials' (2019–2022) Image via HBO HBO's His Dark Materials is based on a novel trilogy of the same name by Phillip Pullman, and is the second adaptation of the work following an embarrassing movie attempt in 2008. The movie barely resembled its source material, a flaw that the show, fortunately, did not suffer from. In fact, it was pretty faithful in almost every way. Its critical scores reflect its inherent quality, with fans of the books praising it for its accuracy and its high production value. The reason this show is so great the second time around is that it was made with love by people who had deeply studied the books. This means that, for those who have seen the show or read the books prior to a second viewing, there are tons of little Easter eggs inserted into the background and foreground that fans of Pullman's will appreciate. There are so many that it can be hard to spot them all at first unless you know what to look for, which is why a lot of fans appreciate the show even more upon viewing it a second time. Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one. 🏜️Paul Atreides 🖖Capt. Kirk ✊Princess Leia 🔦Ellen Ripley 🔥Max Rockatansky FIND YOUR HERO → 01 How do you lead when the stakes couldn't be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you. AI absorb everything — every variable, every pattern — and move only when I know the path forward. BI read the room, make the call, and own the consequences. Hesitation costs more than mistakes. CI rally people. A cause needs a voice, and I refuse to let fear be louder than conviction. DI assess the threat, establish what needs doing, and get it done without waiting for permission. EI don't lead. I act. Others can follow or not — I'm already moving. NEXT QUESTION → 02 What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails. APrescience — the ability to see further ahead than anyone else and plan accordingly. BImprovisation — I'm at my best when the plan falls apart and I have to invent a new one. CConviction — I know what I'm fighting for, and that certainty doesn't waver under fire. DComposure — I stay functional when everyone around me is falling apart. Panic is a luxury. EEndurance — I outlast things. I take the hit and keep moving long after others have stopped. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What is the thing you'd sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass. AThe survival and dignity of my people — even if I have to become something frightening to ensure it. BThe safety of my crew — every single one of them. No one gets left behind. CFreedom — for my people, for every world still crushed under the weight of an empire. DThe truth — what actually happened, what's actually out there, whether anyone believes me or not. EThe one person — or the one memory — that still makes any of this worth surviving for. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are. AWith intensity and distance — I care deeply, but the weight I carry makes closeness complicated. BWith warmth and irreverence — I take the mission seriously, not myself. CWith directness and trust — I say what I mean, and I expect the people I work with to rise to it. DWith professional care but clear limits — I'll protect you, but I won't pretend we're family. EWith wariness that slowly becomes loyalty — I don't trust easily, but when I do, it holds. NEXT QUESTION → 05 You're facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you're the only one who sees it defines everything. APrepare in silence. If they won't listen, I'll be ready when they finally have to. BKeep pushing until someone listens — and if no one does, handle it myself. CBuild the case, find the allies, and make the threat impossible to ignore. DDocument everything. The truth matters even if no one believes it yet. EStop trying to convince anyone. Survive it. That's the only argument that counts. NEXT QUESTION → 06 What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they'd pay it again. AMy innocence — I've seen what I'm capable of, and I can't unsee it. BPeople I loved — the command chair has a view, but it's a lonely one. CA normal life — I gave up everything ordinary the moment I chose the cause. DMy sense of safety — I know exactly what's out there now, and I can't pretend otherwise. EAlmost everything — and I'm still not sure what I'm carrying it all for. But I keep going. NEXT QUESTION → 07 How do you feel about the rules of the world you're in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What's yours? AI understand them deeply — and I know exactly which ones must be broken, and why. BI respect the spirit of them and bend the letter when the situation demands it. CThe system is the problem. I'm not here to work within it — I'm here to dismantle it. DI follow protocol until protocol stops being useful. Then I make the call myself. EThe rules collapsed a long time ago. What's left is instinct, and mine are reliable. NEXT QUESTION → 08 When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you. ADestiny — or something that feels so much like it that the difference no longer matters. BThe people on my ship — their faces, their trust, the fact that they're counting on me. CThe belief that what we're fighting for is worth every sacrifice, including this one. DSheer refusal to let it win — whatever it is. I don't stop. That's just who I am. EI'm not sure anymore. But the road is still there, and I'm still on it. REVEAL MY HERO → Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible. Paul AtreidesYou carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you're capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become. You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you. You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn't ask for but can't escape. Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway. That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won't, is exactly you. Captain KirkYou lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you've always believed there's a third option nobody else has thought of yet. You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously. Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you've earned it. Kirk's genius isn't tactical — it's human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction. That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours. Princess LeiaYou are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you're fearless, but because giving up simply isn't something you're capable of. You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable. You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you've never looked back. Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion. That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you. Ellen RipleyYou are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone's hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters. You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself. Ripley's heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn't have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan. You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn't there. When it counts, you don't flinch. That's everything. Max RockatanskyYou have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril. You don't ask for help, don't need validation, and don't wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply. Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it's earned in silence and tested in action, not in words. Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting. That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 5 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (1997–2003) 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved. /Courtesy Everett Collection. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the defining teen fantasy series of the late '90s and early 2000s, which defined an entire generation and became a good piece of nostalgia for millions. The reason why it was so successful is that it's not just about hunting monsters, but it also explores the difficulties of adolescence and navigating life whilst coming of age, something that everyone can relate to. This show used the "monster of the week" format, coming in as part horror, part fantasy, and part teen dramedy. It's a role that defined star Sarah Michelle Gellar's career, and which became an instant classic in the world of television. Almost three decades after its release, it still makes for a good bit of nostalgia, which fans will only appreciate more upon rewatching it. It's really a shame that the Buffy reboot never happened. 4 'The Good Place' (2016–2020) Image via NBC The Good Place starts out like a basic sitcom, taking place in an alternate dimension that functions as an afterlife for those who lived their lives virtuously. What the show quickly proved is that, despite being a comedy at heart, it can still tackle some pretty heavy concepts and make viewers emotional and giggly all at once. With a monumental and iconic plot twist at the end of its first season, this show really showed what it was made of. There are a couple of reasons why it's even better when you rewatch it. For one, there are a lot of layers to it, and not just in its story. Some of the punchlines and jokes fly under the radar a bit, which not everyone will catch the first time around. Secondly, as people age, the moral wisdom at the heart of the show starts to become more and more relatable, as they talk about the finality of death and how it is nothing to be feared, because death gives life meaning. It's not just funny, it's profound too, and it definitely benefits from multiple rewatches. 3 'Over the Garden Wall' (2014) Image via Cartoon Network Over the Garden Wall was sort of a passion project for its creators, and it really shows. The Cartoon Network original miniseries comes with a star-studded cast and follows two brothers as they get lost in a deep, dark forest called "the Unknown." On their journey home, they make friends, enemies, and revelations, finding things out about themselves that were completely unknown, even to the audience. The show drops a huge plot twist at the end, one that completely changes the plot and the energy of the series. If one already knows what it is, rewatching the series will be an entirely new adventure. The prior knowledge frames the episodes and the story in a whole new light, allowing audiences to pick up on subtle hints and such that they might not have caught on to before. The best part is that this show is really short, so a rewatch isn't just necessary, but also easy. 2 'Kingdom' (2019–2021) Image via AStory Kingdom is a criminally underrated Netflix series set at the very end of the Middle Ages. In the historic kingdom of Joseon, a noble family makes a bold move for the throne by using a mythical resurrection plant to raise the dead, which results in the accidental release of a zombie horde. But these are no standard zombies. By day, there are just corpses. By night, they come alive to feast. This fantasy/horror series definitely does a good job at making some scary zombies, it should be noted. The show itself is full of political intrigue, horror, gruesome violence, and family drama, and has a cast of lovable and unique characters. While it's unfortunately been soft-canceled by Netflix, it received stellar reviews from critics and audiences. Infuriatingly, it ends on a cliffhanger, but it's still fun to watch more than once. The plot is quite complex, so there are probably a few things you'll miss on the first watch, making a second one much more interesting. 1 'The Wheel of Time' (2021–2025) Image via Amazon/MGM Studios/ Courtesy Everett Collection The Wheel of Time got off to a bit of a rocky start with its first season. Every season after that, though, only improved upon the one prior. By the time the third season rolled around, the show had really hit its stride and was doing better than it ever had, which is why it's confusing that Amazon Prime Video decided to axe the show at that point. Based on the novels by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, the show is set in a future Earth, where a saviour is born, known as the Dragon Reborn. The Dragon is destined to either save the world or destroy it, with the characters in the show trying to guide him on a specific path. The Wheel of Time had a massive fanbase and got a lot of support, and it gets even better when it's binged in rapid succession rather than waiting between seasons. The Wheel of Time Release Date 2021 - 2025-00-00 Network Prime Video Cast Daniel Henney al'Lan Mandragoran