Netflix Is Joining A Fantasy Franchise With 50 Million Fans

Published Jul 26, 2026, 3:14 PM EDT Tom is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, with expertise covering everything from hilarious sitcoms to jaw-dropping sci-fi epics. Initially he was an Updates writer, though before long he found his way to the TV and movies team. He now spends his days keeping Screen Rant readers informed about the TV shows of yesteryear, whether it's recommending hidden gems that may have been missed by genre fans or deep diving into ways your favorite shows have (or haven't) stood the test of time. Tom is based in the UK and when he's not writing about TV shows, he's watching them. He's also an avid horror fiction writer, gamer, and has a Dungeons and Dragons habit that he tries (and fails) to keep in check. Netflix is no stranger to turning established franchises into hit TV shows, particularly when it comes to games. Many of its most successful original sci-fi and fantasy series, such as Arcane, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and Castlevania, are adaptations of beloved videogame properties. However, its next upcoming project in this arena is switching controllers for dice rolls. It’s an interesting move, and one that’s felt like it’s been brewing for a decade. When Stranger Things debuted in 2016, Netflix tapped into more than pop culture's enduring love of sci-fi horror. The series also highlighted the appeal of the beloved tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. For many viewers, Stranger Things was the gateway to understanding why D&D is so much fun, and the streamer was legitimately pivotal in introducing a new generation to the game. Now, a decade later, Netflix is coming full circle with an actual Dungeons & Dragons series, The Forgotten Realms. Netflix’s The Forgotten Realms is expected to be a live-action series set within the iconic D&D campaign setting of the same name, with Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy among the key creative figures attached. With the show, Netflix is unlocking a franchise with an estimated 50 million players worldwide (via PR Newswire). What’s more, it’s doing so after Prime Video already proved just how successful a D&D TV series can be. Netflix Is Working On A New Dungeons & Dragons TV Show Netflix's Dungeons & Dragons series, which is being created in partnership with Hasbro, was first announced in February 2025. This is also when the project was revealed as The Forgotten Realms, carrying over the title from a previous attempt by Hasbro in partnership with Paramount+ fell through. Reportedly starting from scratch after work on the Paramount+ version was halted, Netflix’s The Forgotten Realms is still in early development, and its production journey will likely be a long one. There is no known release date for the Netflix D&D show, and viewers should not expect it to arrive imminently, as executive producer Shawn Levy explained a few months after the initial announcement. However, the lengthy development process could ultimately be a positive sign. D&D has endured several disappointing attempts at reaching the screen, so Levy's apparent determination to get the formula right suggests Netflix understands the risks involved. As he explained (via Collider): “I think that the reason it's taken so long and the reason why it is a challenging process is you're not adapting story IP. You're adapting a world and a lexicon and a spirit, but story needs to be invented largely from scratch. And it needs to be invented in a way that feels organic to everything that's great about D&D. So that one is in very active, everyday chipping-away-at-it development at Netflix." Shawn Levy’s comments are reassuring for those apprehensive about their favorite TTRPG being made into a TV show. They also reveal some key insights into the creative approach for The Forgotten Realms. The fact that a story needs to be written means Netflix is not adapting an established D&D campaign, but translating the experience of the game itself into a series. The longer wait means the creative team is working out how to capture the spirit of D&D without simply producing another generic fantasy show. This is definitely a good thing. Prime Video Already Has The 2 Best Shows In D&D History There is plenty of excitement surrounding Netflix's Dungeons & Dragons TV show, but not long ago, news of another D&D screen adaptation would have been met with considerably more apprehension. The franchise has a rocky history outside the tabletop game, with even the well-received Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves failing to become the start of a blockbuster franchise it deserved to be. Netflix hasn’t taken on an easy task, as history proves that successfully adapting D&D is a tricky undertaking. Fortunately, Prime Video has already provided an effective blueprint for how to make a Dungeons and Dragons TV show work. Debuting in 2002, Prime’s The Legend of Vox Machina adapts the first Critical Role campaign into an animated fantasy adventure, while 2025’s The Mighty Nein brings the group's second campaign to the screen. Both have not only been huge hits for Prime Video, but they’re also arguably among the first D&D adaptations to successfully capture what makes the game fun. Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein should be seen as valuable examples for Netflix of how they preserve the feeling of playing D&D rather than simply borrowing its aesthetics. While both legitimate fantasy stories, both animated Prime Video series have narratives only possible when the plot is driven by the outcome of dice rolls. They are dominated by unpredictable victories, spectacular failures, and the sense that any plan can collapse at any moment, all of which stems from them being recreations of the events of actual Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. That’s not to say that Netflix’s The Forgotten Realms also needs to adapt the events of an actual D&D campaign to succeed. However, it does need to understand that the reason The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein work so well is that they’re rooted in the gameplay experience of the TTRPG, not the fantasy worlds the game takes place in. The biggest challenge faced by Netflix's Dungeons and Dragons show will be capturing that same kind of enjoyment. Franchise Dungeons & Dragons Original Release Date 1974 Publisher TSR Inc., Wizards of the Coast Designer E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson Player Count 2-7 Players