Fantasy television is super popular right now, and has seen a myriad of new series pop up from all over the globe. South Korea, Japan, China, the UK, Turkey, and many other nations have gotten involved with this new and rising trend, which began in the early 2010s. It's gotten so big because fantasy is just fun — it allows people to escape to a magical world that's so much more interesting than that of our own.
However, one of the most prolific producers of original fantasy TV shows has undoubtedly been the U.S. With many major networks headquartered there, of course, a lot of them are going to try to capitalize on this trend. Many of these shows have been good, others have been pretty subpar. Today, let's discuss the better ones. These are the best American fantasy TV shows of all time. Note that for this list, only shows that are exclusively produced by U.S. networks and creators will be considered. Joint projects between countries will be excluded.
7
'Supernatural' (2005–2020)
Image via The CW
Supernaturalmight not be the best American fantasy series, but it is by far the most American fantasy series. The show features two brothers who work as paranormal investigators, and travel across the continental U.S. tackling local problems. This involves everything from alien creatures to ghosts, angels, demons, vampires, werewolves, and pretty much anything else that has ties to folklore or fantasy. This show used the "monster-of-the-week" format, meaning each episode was significantly different.
The show wasn't afraid to get experimental, either. A lot of times, the concept goes so off the rails, it's actually hilarious. There's literally an entire episode that functions as a musical, and that's just one example. It's rife with comedy, horror, adventure, and action, and features a lot of intriguing drama, too. The monsters are all interesting in their own right, and it's always exciting to imagine what the Winchester brothers are going to run into next.
6
'Xena: Warrior Princess' (1995–2001)
Image via Universal Television
Xena: Warrior Princessis actually a spin-off of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, but its popularity far exceeded that of the original show. Xena stars Lucy Lawless in the titular role, who is an original character created for the universe of the show. As the title of the original series suggests, the show's universe is effectively Ancient Greece, including a lot of heroes, monsters, and gods from Greek mythology.
This Emmy-nominated series had great action and seamlessly implemented a fresh new character into an already-beloved mythology. Not only is Xena an extremely charismatic and lovable character, but she also feels like she belongs in the world of Greek myth, and that she was there the whole time. This show became one of the most iconic series of the '90s, and still has a devoted fanbase to this day. And of course, it was produced by an American studio for an American network, so it still counts.
5
'The Wheel of Time' (2021–2025)
Image via Prime Video
The Wheel of Timeis based on a series of 15 novels by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, the latter of whom took over the series after Jordan's untimely death of a heart condition. Created for Prime Video by Rafe Judkins, the series follows Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), a sorceress known as an Aes Sedai as she travels to the remote region of the Two Rivers in search of a Chosen One called the Dragon Reborn. The Dragon is destined to either save the world or destroy it, and it falls to the Aes Sedai to guide him on the proper path.
This series was quite a departure from its source material. The major beats of the story were the same, but it took a lot of deviations, which some book fans weren't happy with. However, as a TV show, on its own, it's actually really good. Critics loved it, and audience scores were pretty high too. The first season was kind of rocky, but each subsequent season just got better and better. It's unfortunate that right when it managed to hit its stride in Season 3, Amazon cancelled it, prompting a huge fan campaign to save it. It's easily one of the most visually spectacular fantasy shows in recent years, and it's a good story with a lot of memorable characters, too.
4
'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (1997–2003)
Image via The WB
Buffy the Vampire Slayerwas created by Joss Whedon, and starred Sarah Michelle Gellar in the eponymous role. The series is set in the United States, following Buffy as she gets a job as a professional monster hunter, completely unbeknownst to everyone around her, even her own mother. By day, she's an ordinary high school student, navigating the awkwardness of adolescence, and by night, she's a cold-blooded killer.
This show resonated with a lot of people because, despite being completely fantastical in nearly every way, it still had a touching coming-of-age story at its heart. Everyone can relate to being a teenager and struggling to fit in, which is why this overarching narrative hit close to home for so many. Beyond that, this was another show that used the "monster-of-the-week" format, and in fact was one of the pioneering shows to do so. It really became a staple of the late 1990s and early 2000s for its relatability, action, romance, drama, and character development, as much of the show's teen audience felt like they grew up right alongside Buffy.
Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth QuizWhich Lord of the Rings Race Do You Belong To?Hobbit · Elf · Dwarf · Man · Orc
Middle-earth is home to many peoples — the courageous, the ancient, the stubborn, the ambitious, and the wretched. Ten questions will determine which race truly claims your soul. The answer may surprise you. Or it may confirm what you already suspected.
🌿Hobbit
🌟Elf
⚒️Dwarf
⚔️Man
💀Orc
01
What does your ideal day look like?How we rest reveals as much as how we fight.
02
How do you feel about the passing of time?Our relationship with mortality shapes everything we value.
03
Danger is approaching. Your first instinct is to:Fight, flight, or something in between — it's more revealing than you'd think.
04
You stumble upon a great treasure. What do you feel?What we desire — and what we do about it — is the true test.
05
How important is community and belonging to you?No race of Middle-earth is truly alone — but some prefer it that way.
06
How ambitious are you, honestly?Ambition is neither virtue nor vice — it depends entirely on what you want.
07
Where do you feel most at home in the natural world?Middle-earth is vast — and every race has its place within it.
08
What kind of strength do you most respect?Every race defines strength differently — and they're all at least a little right.
09
What do you want to leave behind when you're gone?Legacy is the story we tell ourselves about why any of this matters.
10
Be honest — what do you actually want most out of life?The truest question always comes last.
Middle-earth Has SpokenYou Belong To…
The race that claimed the most of your answers is your true kin. If two tied, both are shown — you walk between worlds.
◆ A TIE — YOU WALK BETWEEN TWO RACES ◆
🌿
Your Race
The Hobbits
You are, at your core, a creature of comfort, community, and quiet joy — and there is nothing small about that. Hobbits are proof that heroism does not require ambition, that the bravest heart can beat inside the most unassuming chest. You value good food, warm hearths, close friends, and a world that stays largely untroubled by dark lords and quests. When adventure does find you — and it will — you rise to it not because you sought it, but because the people you love needed you to. That is not ordinary. That is the rarest kind of courage in all of Middle-earth.
🌟
Your Race
The Elves
Ancient, graceful, and carrying a weight of memory most mortals cannot fathom, you are one of the Elves. You see the world in its fullness — its beauty, its impermanence, the unbearable ache of watching everything you love eventually fade. You pursue perfection not from pride, but because excellence is how you honour the time you have been given. Others may see you as remote or melancholy. They are not wrong, exactly. But they mistake depth for distance. You feel everything — which is precisely why you have learned to carry it so quietly.
⚒️
Your Race
The Dwarves
Stubborn, proud, fiercely loyal, and possessed of a work ethic that would exhaust most other races before breakfast — you are Dwarf-kind through and through. You do not ask for approval and you do not offer it cheaply. Your loyalty, once given, is given for life. Your grudges last longer. You love deeply and defend ferociously, and the things you build — with your hands, with your sweat, with generations of accumulated craft — are made to last. Not for glory. Because anything worth doing is worth doing properly, and you have never once done anything by half measures.
⚔️
Your Race
The Race of Men
Mortal, ambitious, flawed, and magnificent — you belong to the most complicated race in Middle-earth, and that complexity is your greatest strength. Men are capable of cowardice and extraordinary bravery, of cruelty and breathtaking sacrifice, sometimes within the same breath. You feel the urgency of your finite years, and it drives you. You want to matter. You want to leave something behind. You fall, and you rise, and the rising is what defines you. Tolkien called mortality the Gift of Men — not a curse, but a fire that burns bright precisely because it does not burn forever. That fire is you.
💀
Your Race
The Orcs
Brutal, survivalist, and contemptuous of anything that can't defend itself — you answered with the instincts of an Orc, and there is a certain savage honesty in that. You do not dress up your desires in polite language or pretend you want things you don't. You want power, survival, and to never be at the bottom of any hierarchy ever again. Orcs are not evil by nature — they were made from something that was once good, and broken into this shape by forces they did not choose. What remains is fierce, territorial, and deeply aware that the world is not kind. You've made your peace with that. The question is what you do with it.
3
'Castlevania' (2017–2021)
Image via Netflix
Let's be real, when it comes to video game adaptations, they've historically been really bad. Horrible, even. Castlevaniawas able to successfully break that curse, proving to be an absolutely excellent series. This show is based on the Japanese video game series of the same name, and thus took inspiration from Japanese anime in artstyle. However, since this show is entirely American, it's considered "Americanime" if anything.
The games took a lot of inspiration from Gothic horror stories, involving werewolves, vampires, and ghosts. Naturally, the show follows suit, including all the familiar faces from the games and bringing the gloomy environments to life. If you like looming castles, dark and stormy nights, blood-sucking fiends and lycanthropy, Castlevania is a series you should absolutely check out, because it really feels like a love letter to the classic video games.
2
'Avatar: The Last Airbender' (2005–2008)
There's just not a lot that can be said about Avatar: The Last Airbenderthat hasn't been said already. This is another show clearly inspired by the anime artstyle, but that doesn't quite fit the bill since it was made in the States. In fact, it was actually made by Nickelodeon, but took a different approach to things. Nick shows are typically comedies with little continuity between episodes, that can be picked up or dropped at any point in the series, but not Avatar. Avatar has an actual, overarching narrative that needs to be viewed from beginning to end in order to be understood.
The series is about a continent at war with itself, awaiting the return of a Chosen One called the Avatar, who will master the elements of air, fire, earth, and water, and bring peace and prosperity to the four nations. While it is pretty comedic, true to it being a Nicktoon, it's also really moving at times. When it's not moving, it often presents some profound moral wisdom which has resonated with both kids and adults. That's just one of the many, many reasons why, even after two decades, this show hasn't aged a day.
1
'Game of Thrones' (2011–2019)
Image via HBO
While it's true that Game of Thronessaw significant development in Ireland and the UK, and includes a lot of British and Irish actors, the production studio handling it and the showrunners were exclusively American, so it still counts. This was the series that started it all, that began a massive surge of fantasy TV shows that began popping up on nearly every streaming service known to humanity. It was an enormous cultural phenomenon that broke barriers and attracted millions upon millions of fans.
The series, as many know, follows a group of feuding royal families as they squabble over a throne, completely oblivious to the fact that a world-ending calamity is building up strength far to the North. Say what you will about the last season of this series, but it undoubtedly became a massive hit, and was one of the largest television events in human history. For the sheer amount of cultural impact it had, it definitely deserves the spot of being the best American fantasy show by a mile.
Image via The CW
Image via The CW
Image via Universal Television
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Image via The WB
Image via Netflix
Image via HBO
English (US) ·