The landscape offantasyTV has expanded significantly sinceGame of Thronesended, and the genre boasted numerous hits even before HBO’s hit series took off. Sadly, not all fantasy shows that have the potential to become massive titles actually do. Even the ones that come with built-in audiences — whether it’s because they’re based on books or capitalizing on the star power of popular actors — aren’t guaranteed to receive mainstream attention.
This harsh reality has led to a number of fantasy shows either being canceled too soon or flying under the radarfor their entire runs. It’s surprising when this happens to even the highest-quality and most-deserving additions to the genre, and it’s even more shocking when those projects are also tied to recognizable titles or franchises.
Shadow and Boneshould have been one of thebiggest fantasy TV shows of the 2020s, as the Netflix series had multiple things going for it. For one, it was based on the Grishaversebooks by Leigh Bardugo, which boast a huge and dedicated following. BothShadow and BoneandSix of Crowsare well-known and popular fantasy novels that readers were eager to see brought to the screen.That alone should have guaranteedShadow and Bone’s success, as it only needed to deliver a faithful rendering of the source material to make viewers happy.
Why Netflix Canceling Shadow and Bone Was a Huge Mistake
Netflix canceled Shadow & Bone after season 2 despite the show’s popularity.
Even with the show’s sometimes controversial changes,Shadow and Bone’s cancelation sparked a fan campaignto save it. It was reasonablysuccessful compared to other Netflix shows, receiving 83% onRotten Tomatoesover two seasons and becoming Netflix’s 26th most-watched series or movie in the first six months of 2023. It’s obviousShadow and Bonehad the fan base to be bigger, and combined with its high production value and impressive casting, it’s surprising it never reached the heights of other fantasy projects of its time, likeHouse of the DragonorThe Rings of Power.
The Witcheris among the biggest fantasy shows to debut post-Game of Thrones.But although almost everyone has heard of the Netflix series, the excitement surrounding it fizzled out surprisingly fast, especially given the popularity of the overall franchise. WithThe Witcherbooksand video games being so beloved, season 1 was rightfully a huge deal. Sadly, the two outings that followed didn’t receive the same level of attention or enthusiasm. So,whileThe Witcheris a big fantasy title, it’s not nearly as popular or renownedas it should have been.
The surest proof thatThe Witchernever reached its true potential is the fact that it had multiple movie and TV spinoffs, and none made a splash.
In part, this was because the seriesmade controversial changes to the source material, leading to backlash from longtime fans. Therecasting of Henry Cavill forThe Witcherseason 4also dampened excitement surrounding the show’s future. And it’s not even just the main series that suffered. The surest proof thatThe Witchernever reached its true potential is the fact that it had multiple movie and TV spinoffs, and none made a splash. It’s a bummer, asI’d have loved to seeThe Witcherfranchise explode likeGame of Thronesdid.
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The AMC+ show Interview with the Vampire is based on Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles but makes a lot of changes to the story in the books.
Fortunately,Interview With the Vampirestill has time to make a bigger name for itself. I hope it manages to, as everything from the production value and acting to the writing is top-notch. It deserves to be as well-known and well-loved as Rice’s books — and given the connection, it’s somewhat surprising the show isn’t already there.
His Dark Materialswas HBO’s first fantasy follow-up toGame of Thrones.And while the three-season TV series was very different in terms of tone, it still offered a high-quality fantasy story to escape into. The production value ofHis Dark Materialswas impressive for a new and lesser-known series, and talent like Dafne Keen, James McAvoy, and Lin-Manuel Miranda should have ensured it was a hit. But whileHis Dark Materialswas relatively well-received,it never got close toGame of Thrones’level of success.
It’s barely mentioned years later, which doesn’t fit with how well-known Pullman’s series used to be.
And the underrated fantasy show did a great job of adapting Philip Pullman’s books, so much so that I was disappointed it never got attention worthy of its efforts. PerhapstheGame of Thronescomparisonsset the series up to fail, but I thought people would eventually recognize its strengths, especially during its later seasons. It’s barely mentioned years later, which doesn’t fit with how well-known Pullman’s series used to be — and how well HBO’s adaptation holds up against other modern fantasy offerings.
LikeShadow and Bone,Freeform’sShadowhunterswas based on a best-selling YA fantasy series with a massive fan base. By all rights, it should have made waves based on the popularity ofCassandra Clare’sShadowhunterbooksalone. Unfortunately,the series proved divisive among fans of Clare’s work, and it never found much of a mainstream audience outside its original base. This could be chalked up to a few things, includingShadowhunters’huge divergence from its source material and its questionable quality.
TheShadowhunterbooks have been hugely successful and spun out into multiple different series and spinoffs.
Shadowhuntersfailed to do Clare’s series justice, just like thefailedMortal Instrumentsmovie, raising questions about whether these books would ever get a proper adaptation. Had the Freeform series done a better job of bringing Clare’s world to life, it likely would have been much bigger. After all, theShadowhunterbooks have been hugely successful and spun out into multiple different series and spinoffs. That wasn’t in the cards for Freeform’s take on the story.
Netflix’sWarrior Nunwas another great fantasy series with a dedicated fan basethat just didn’t grow as much as it should have. The hugepetition to saveWarrior Nunafter its cancelationspeaks volumes about how committed its existing audience was. And with a unique premise, great cast, and generally positive reception (the series has an 84% critic score and 97% audience score onRotten Tomatoes), it deserved more attention and a longer run. Unfortunately,Warrior Nunwas canceled after season 2instead.
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These fantasy TV shows were canceled before they could get proper resolutions, leaving viewers on frustrating cliffhangers with their final episodes.
A lot of enthusiasm post-season 1 declined in the two-year wait between seasons, making it difficult to maintain the momentum that the Netflix show’s first outing had gained. And the marketing forWarrior Nunseason 2 could have done a better job of drawing bigger crowds. Instead, this great TV series flew under the radar far more than it should have. It’s a shame because the potential for it to be bigger was already there.
Anotherfantasy TV show canceled too soon,My Lady Janehad all the ingredients to be a much bigger hit— and it’s hard to say why it wasn’t. While its source material didn’t have the same massive following as some of the other adaptations on this list, Amazon’sMy Lady Janetook viewers on an incredibly fun ride. (Thehistorical fantasy series even caught George R.R. Martin’sattention, and theGame of Thronescreator had good things to say about it.)
3 Reasons Prime Video Canceling My Lady Jane Was a Big Mistake
Prime Video canceled My Lady Jane after just one season consisting of eight episodes.
Like many other fantasy series,My Lady Janemight have benefited from better marketing. It also could have been given more time to find its footing and audience, as it hadn’t reached its full potential, with several storylines left open at the end of season 1. Sadly,My Lady Jane’s cancelationensured thatit wouldn’t be able to become the romantasy hit it should have been.
For a Netflix series that ran for seven seasons,The Dragon Princenever received a ton of mainstream attention; it was surprisingly underrated all the way through.The Dragon Princeclearly had enough of an audience to continue as long as it did, and its 100%Rotten Tomatoesscore proved it was a critical success for Netflix. Given its long run and positive reception, it’s shocking that it didn’t become as widely known as other big animated fantasy shows, likeAvatar: The Last AirbenderorShe-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
This could be partially becauseThe Dragon Princewas aimed at a younger audience, though that hasn’t stopped other animated series from reaching a larger base. It could also be chalked up to the later seasons of the show dropping with little marketing. Whatever the reason for it,The Dragon Princefailed to become as big as you’d expect from a lengthy and successful fantasy series. Since it’s now finished, there’s still time for viewers to check it out though.
The Shannara Chroniclesshould have been an easy success, as the series was based on Terry Brooks' best-selling books. However, the 2016 fantasy adaptation hardly made a splash when it debuted — and it was canceled after just two seasons on air. The fact that the show aired on MTV and then Spike TV certainly didn’t help its chances at becoming a hit. Neither network is known for producing fantasy projects, so it was always going to be difficult for the show to build a big audience there.
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Of course,The Shannara Chroniclesalso didn’t stick closely enough to the source material, disincentivizing book readers from picking it up. And it received criticism for its storytelling choices, with all of these issues ultimately leading to its cancelation. It’s a shame, asThe Shannara Chroniclescould have been a bigger deal if it had been picked up by another network or streamer, or if it had adapted the books with a bit more care. It came out at the perfect time to capitalize on the popularity of the fantasy genre, but it didn’t manage to.
With Jeff Goldblum attached to the Netflix series,Kaosshould have been one of the streamer’s biggest releases of 2024. Its clever and entertaining approach to Greek mythology added to its appeal, and it’s genuinely surprising thatKaosdidn’t reach a bigger audience. The 2024 series had so much potential, and its ending even left the door open for a thrilling season 2. Sadly,Kaoswas canceled, so it won’t get to deliver on that setup.
Kaoswas another tragic example of afantasyseries that wasn’t given the time or resources to excel, even though its quality should have enabled it to. Netflix could have done more to market the show, especially with Goldblum playing Zeus. It also could have been given more time to draw viewers, though that’s an issue that many streaming shows face, even in other genres.
