8 Forgotten Fantasy Shows That Have Aged Like Fine Wine

Image via BBC Published Sep 1, 2026, 3:44 PM EDT Jiminna Shillingford is an avid reader and a passionate storyteller. She is obsessed with all things TV, from anime and romantic fantasy to action-packed series. With that deep affection, Jiminna longs to share her excitement with all her readers through the Collider platform as a TV author. Through her writing she has created stories and blog posts of amazing book recommendations, showcasing her love of writing. Jiminna's goal is to inspire others to discover and embrace their love of stories in all of its forms. Sign in to your Collider account There are quite a few fantasy shows that may not have dominated the headlines as some were able to, but over the years since airing, they have found a lasting appreciation among dedicated viewers who praise them for their storytelling and charm. From heartfelt character arcs and epic world-building to rather bold creative risks, these subtle gems are proof that, even if forgotten by most, such great fantasies don’t always fade away — sometimes, they age like fine wine. Forgotten fantasy jewels like the one-season banger The Nine Lives of Chloe King, whose potential was abruptly cut short, and the fantastically captivating The Magicians are perfect examples of shows that may not be very well known or well remembered, but have still aged quite well. Compiled on this list are eight forgotten, but compellingly brilliant, fantasy series that have only gotten more enjoyable as the years have gone by. 1 'Pushing Daisies' (2007–2009) Image via ABC There will never be a time when Pushing Daisies doesn’t stand among some of the best fantasy series out there. The whimsical show follows pie maker Ned (Lee Pace), a man who can restore life to the dead with a simple touch and, with another, return them to their graves. After learning of his childhood sweetheart’s demise, Ned resurrects her, which then ensues the greatest quirky, tragic, and adorable relationship ever brought to screens. Pushing Daisies is the true definition of fairy-tale charm, as it delivers a compellingly unique concept. The underappreciated series seamlessly blends sweet romance, case-by-case mysteries, and vibrant fantasy allure, crafting a story that improves with time. It’s a one-of-a-kind series that, sadly, audiences just don’t talk about much, despite its ageless beauty. Thankfully, the series, even with its short run, garnered devoted fans, who often praise it for its vibrant wonder and whimsy. Pushing Daisies may be a forgotten fantasy series, but it definitely stands as one with inventive storytelling and a heartfelt tone that warrants a place in everyone’s hearts, no matter what the era. 2 'Atlantis' (2013–2015) Image via BBC This forgotten fantasy gem from the BBC offers fans an extremely adventurous and fresh take on Greek mythology. Atlantis centers on Jason (Jack Donnelly), a man who somehow survives a shipwreck only to end up in the mythical city of legend, Atlantis. Jason quickly realizes that there is more to his destiny as he discovers his role in a prophecy to save it. Atlantis offers a strong blend of myth and action — an intoxicating mixture for any fantasy enthusiast. The series reimagines legendary tales through a modern lens, gifting viewers a genuinely entertaining fantasy show that still holds up pretty well. Fans often praise Atlantis for its earnest tone and great chemistry between its leads. Even with many critics finding the series fantastically charming, reviews remain pretty uneven, while the show has gone, unfortunately, unremembered. Atlantis may not be as gritty as most modern fantasies are, but its sincerity, mythos, and overall lighthearted tone mark it as an enchanting hidden gem for fantasy fans. 3 'The Magicians' (2015–2020) Image via SYFY The Magicians is an epic Syfy TV show that presents a mature and enticingly dark take on magic and wonder. Based on Lev Grossman’s novels, the series focuses on grad student Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph) as he discovers magic is real and that he is able to wield it at a secret university of magic known as Brakebills. The Magicians is one of the most underrated fantasy series of all time. Its layered storytelling, which mixes real-world struggles with magic, makes it a uniquely entertaining watch. The Magicians may not have garnered much mainstream attention during its time on air, and even less now, but it remains one of the best in the vast landscape of fantasy and has honestly only gotten better with time. Its emotional depth and complexity aged fantastically well. Though The Magicians is terribly underappreciated and stands mostly unremembered, it is a cult sensation that has matured rather beautifully with a great number of hardcore devoted fans. 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 FIND YOUR HOUSE → 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. ACall it out, openly and on the record. If honour means anything, it has to mean something when it's costly. BUse it. Information about someone else's dishonour is leverage — and leverage is power. CAct decisively to correct it — with or without the approval of those around me. DChallenge them directly. Strength settles disputes more honestly than courtroom manoeuvring. ENavigate carefully — build alliances, apply quiet pressure, and create a situation where the right outcome becomes inevitable. NEXT QUESTION → 02 What is the source of your power? Every house endures because of something. What is it for yours? AThe loyalty of people who trust me — earned over generations, not bought with gold. BWealth, intelligence, and the willingness to use both without sentiment. CA legacy so fearsome and a vision so total that opposition becomes unthinkable. DPhysical strength, military force, and the respect that comes from being the kind of person nobody wants to fight. ECharm, connection, and the ability to make powerful people feel that my success is also theirs. NEXT QUESTION → 03 Who do you truly fight for? Strip away the banners and the words. The honest answer tells you everything. AMy family and my people — those who depend on me and have kept faith with me through everything. BMy family — the ones who share my blood, even when they exhaust me, even when they disappoint me. CMy cause — a vision larger than any single person, including me. DMyself, and those few who've proven themselves worth fighting beside. EMy house — its name, its future, the position I intend to leave it in when I'm gone. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you deal with your enemies? A house's method reveals its character as clearly as its words ever could. AHonestly — I face them directly, and I give quarter when it's warranted. BThoroughly — I don't leave loose ends, and I don't make the same enemy twice. CDecisively — fire answers questions that diplomacy only delays. DHead-on — I'd rather meet a threat on the battlefield than behind closed doors. EElegantly — I prefer to make former enemies into allies, or at least into people who owe me something. NEXT QUESTION → 05 What kind of ruler do you believe in? Westeros is full of answers to this question. Most of them end badly. AA just one — someone who serves the realm rather than using it, who leads by example rather than fear. BA capable one — someone smart enough to navigate the game, ruthless enough to win it, and realistic about what winning costs. CA transformative one — someone who doesn't just rule what exists but reshapes what's possible. DA strong one — someone whose authority is beyond question because the alternative is obviously worse. EA wise one — someone who understands that the realm is fed by more than armies, and that a full stomach keeps more peace than a sharp sword. NEXT QUESTION → 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. AWe grieve, properly and together — and then we endure, because endurance is what we do. BWe adapt. We reassess. And we ensure that whoever caused this loss comes to regret it completely. CWe burn hotter. Setbacks don't soften us — they clarify what needs to happen next. DWe hit back. Grief and revenge are the same motion in our house. EWe regroup quietly, rebuild our position, and return when we're ready — on our terms, not theirs. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Which of these truths about Westeros do you most believe? Every house has a philosophy. This is yours. AThe lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Nothing matters more than the people you protect. BA Lannister always pays their debts — in gold or in kind. Reputation is built on consistency. CI am the blood of the dragon. Some destinies are written before the person who carries them is born. DOurs is the fury. When we move, we move completely — and we don't stop until it's done. EGrowing strong means knowing when to bloom and when to wait. Patience is its own kind of power. NEXT QUESTION → 08 The Iron Throne is within reach. What do you do? The answer reveals not just your ambition — but your character. AClaim it only if the realm needs me to — and rule in a way that makes it worth having. BEnsure someone who owes us sits in it. The power behind the throne is safer than the throne itself. CTake it. It was always meant to be mine — I feel that in my bones and in my blood. DSeize it — with both hands, without hesitation. Opportunity in Westeros does not wait to be asked. EPosition my house to be indispensable to whoever sits there — influence outlasts any single reign. REVEAL MY HOUSE → 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. 🐺 House StarkWinter 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. 🦁 House LannisterYou 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. 🐉 House TargaryenYou 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. 🦌 House BaratheonYou 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. 🌹 House TyrellYou 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. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 4 'Lost Girl' (2010–2015) Image via Showcase/SyFy This underrated Canadian supernatural drama is lowkey fantasy gold. Lost Girl follows the succubus Bo (Anna Silk), who joins a shapeshifter named Dyson (Kris Holden-Ried) and a human doctor named Lauren (Zoie Palmer) to solve mysteries while navigating Fae politics and attempting to discover her origins. Lost Girl may not be the best-written fantasy series ever created, but it stands as one of the greatest guilty pleasures to exist, and over time, it has only grown even more so. The series, with its supernatural edge and spicy drama, explores a hidden world of fae and supernatural beings. Even decades later, Lost Girl’s world-building and characters remain pretty engaging. The series attracted quite a fandom, who may all see the show’s flaws but find it extremely worth it as they take to rewatching the intoxicatingly addictive show over and over again. Lost Girl remains an overlooked fantasy great that has continued to age beautifully. 5 'Samurai Jack' (2001–2017) Image via Cartoon Network Samurai Jack is a sci-fi/fantasy blend that delivers not only visually striking animation but also a truly stylistic fantasy journey. The Cartoon Network animated series focuses on the samurai dubbed Jack (Phil LaMarr) as he travels through time to defeat the evil shape-shifting demon Aku (Mako Iwamatsu), who is reigning over the world in the distant future. Samurai Jack is peak fantasy television, and although it stands now as a mostly forgotten cartoon, dedicated fans continue to praise its timeless feel and artistry. Even after all these years, the series has grown into a true cult classic that has only become all the more impressive with time. Samurai Jack’s blend of sci-fi time travel and fantasy wonder made it a unique standout during the early 2000s, but even now, the series’ artistic brilliance and minimalistic storytelling feel just as — and often even more — impressive, cementing its place on this list of fantasy shows that have aged like fine wine. 6 'Merlin' (2008–2012) Image via BBC This reimagining of a legendary tale takes a more youthful approach to an ancient story. Merlin centers around the young wizard Merlin (Colin Morgan), who arrives in Camelot, where magic is outlawed, and somehow finds himself becoming the servant of Prince Arthur (Bradley James). With forbidden magic, drama, and adventure, Merlin is an all-around fantasy standout. The series is quite old, but it honestly still feels ageless. From characters to relationships, much of Merlin still resonates beautifully with fans. It’s a beloved gem that doesn’t get much shine these days, but remains a truly timeless take on the Arthurian legend, marking it as a well-aged fantasy that explores the origins of one of the most iconic stories ever made. Merlin may be forgotten by almost everyone other than its diehard fans, but the show stands as a perfect treat for those in need of hopeful storytelling and legendary mythos. 7 'The Nine Lives of Chloe King' (2011) Image via Alloy Entertainment The Nine Lives of Chloe King may have only lasted a single season, but its impact — however small — is lasting. The creative fantasy series based on the novels by Liz Braswell focuses on San Francisco teen Chloe King (Skyler Samuels), who, on her sixteenth birthday, experiences multiple transformations that prove that she is a part of an ancient cat-like race called the Mai. The fantasy drama came to screens in a burst of teenage angst, fantastical lore, and epic love triangle antics, then left quite abruptly. It wasn’t long before viewers forgot the show even existed, even as its heartfelt drama and fantastically unique premise have stood the test of time. Fans who remember The Nine Lives of Chloe King continue to praise it for its enduring appeal, dubbing the fantasy series a binge-worthy mix of supernatural elements and high school coming-of-age fun. 8 'Legend of the Seeker' (2008–2010) Image via ABC Studios This 2008 fantasy adventure brilliantly immerses its viewers in a sword-and-sorcery world. Based on Terry Goodkind’s novels, Legend of the Seeker follows the humble woods guide, Richard Cypher (Craig Horner), who discovers he is actually the Seeker, a person destined to fight dark magic. Most have forgotten about the epic fantasy Legend of the Seeker, but its small fanbase has ensured that the series continues to be appreciated for its subtle brilliance that added much to fantasy television during its time on air. The series’ memorable characters, classic high-fantasy appeal, and adventurous storytelling are often praised by fans, and despite its camp, most of the show's aspects, like special effects and sword fights, still hold up pretty well. Standing strong as a venerable cult classic, Legend of the Seeker is a fantasy epic that has definitely stood the test of time. Legend of the Seeker Release Date 2008 - 2010-00-00 Cast Craig Horner Richard Cypher Bridget Regan Kahlan Amnell