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Published May 21, 2026, 6:02 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.
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Netflix’s Arcane is celebrated for many reasons, but one of its biggest accomplishments is how effectively it expanded the lore of League of Legends. Before the show premiered, many of the game’s champions were defined by scattered biographies that loosely connected fragments of worldbuilding. Arcane transformed the likes of Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell) into layered characters while making the twin cities of Piltover and Zaun feel like living, breathing locations.
With Arcane, Netflix took a pre-existing fictional universe and used it as a storytelling sandbox with great success. The creative process behind Arcane makes the streamer’s next major game adaptation even more exciting, despite coming from a very different type of franchise. Instead of a MOBA, the streamer is turning to Magic: The Gathering, the iconic trading card game that has dominated hobby stores and tournament scenes ever since it launched in 1993.
From Westeros to Middle-Earth to the Continent · Eight Questions How Well Do You Know Fantasy TV? “The night is dark and full of terrors.”
🪨Game of ThronesWinter is coming
👑Rings of PowerOne ring to rule
🗡️The WitcherToss a coin
⚢Wheel of TimeThe Pattern weaves
👻The SandmanLord of Dreams
UNROLL THE SCROLL →
01
HBO’s Game of Thrones — the pop-culture juggernaut that made fantasy TV prestige — premiered with the episode “Winter Is Coming.” Across eight seasons it picked up a record 59 Emmy wins. In which year did its first episode air?
A2009 B2011 C2013 D2014
✓ Correct! 2011 — April 17, to be exact. The unaired pilot was so notoriously poor (after a friends-and-family screening, novelist George R.R. Martin reportedly told showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss they had a real problem) that nearly all of it was reshot before broadcast. The retooled premiere immediately became HBO’s biggest hit since The Sopranos. The series ran 73 episodes across eight seasons through 2019.
✗ Wrong. The answer is 2011. 2009 is when the original pilot was filmed (and largely reshot). 2013 is when Season 3’s Red Wedding episode aired. 2014 is when Season 4’s “The Watchers on the Wall” reset what TV could do with effects. GoT debuted April 17, 2011.
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02
Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon and the upcoming A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms are all adapted from the sprawling A Song of Ice and Fire universe. Name the author whose unfinished novels (the next book has been pending since 2011) underpin every adaptation.
ABrandon Sanderson BGeorge R.R. Martin CPatrick Rothfuss DJoe Abercrombie
✓ Correct! George R.R. Martin (born 1948). The first ASOIAF novel A Game of Thrones came out in 1996; the most recent in the main sequence (A Dance with Dragons) in 2011. The Winds of Winter is now over 13 years overdue. Martin has remained heavily involved in the HBO universe through House of the Dragon, the upcoming A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2026), and an in-development Aegon’s Conquest series.
✗ Wrong. The answer is George R.R. Martin. Brandon Sanderson is the Cosmere/Stormlight Archive author (and the writer Robert Jordan’s estate hired to finish Wheel of Time). Patrick Rothfuss is the Kingkiller Chronicle author with his own infamous-publication-delay reputation. Joe Abercrombie writes the First Law series. ASOIAF is Martin’s.
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03
Netflix’s The Witcher (2019–) adapted Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels with a lead actor who’s a famously hardcore fan of the source material — he wore the white wig, did much of his own swordplay, and personally pushed back against Lauren Schmidt Hissrich’s scripts before departing after Season 3. Name him.
AHenry Cavill BLiam Hemsworth CAidan Turner DSam Heughan
✓ Correct! Henry Cavill. He played Geralt of Rivia for three seasons before exiting in 2022 over creative differences with the show’s writers’ room (the books-vs-show approach being the open wound). Liam Hemsworth was announced as his replacement and takes over from Season 4 (2025). Cavill’s exit was widely treated as a major moment of fan-vs-streamer tension and contributed to the late-2022/2023 Netflix-fantasy-slate scrutiny.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Henry Cavill. Liam Hemsworth replaces him as Geralt from Season 4 (2025) onward. Aidan Turner played Kili in The Hobbit films. Sam Heughan is Outlander’s Jamie Fraser. The Witcher’s original Geralt is Henry Cavill, through Seasons 1–3.
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04
House of the Dragon — the Game of Thrones prequel chronicling the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons — is set how long before the events of the original series?
A~50 years B~100 years C~200 years D~500 years
✓ Correct! Approximately 200 years before A Game of Thrones (172 years before Robert’s Rebellion, more precisely). The series adapts material from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood (2018), a fictionalised in-universe history of the Targaryen dynasty. House of the Dragon premiered in August 2022, drew 9.99 million viewers across HBO’s simultaneous-platform debut and Season 2 followed in 2024 with the Battle of Rook’s Rest as its climactic setpiece.
✗ Wrong. The answer is ~200 years. The Targaryen kings featured (Viserys I, Aegon II, Rhaenyra) reign during the Dance of the Dragons (129–131 AC), which is roughly 172 years before Robert’s Rebellion in the original series. Martin’s Fire & Blood is the in-universe history that the show mines for source material.
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05
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — reportedly the most expensive TV series ever made, with a five-season commitment from its streamer at well over $1 billion total budget — is set in Middle-earth’s Second Age, thousands of years before The Hobbit. Which streaming service is it on?
ANetflix BHBO Max CAmazon Prime Video DApple TV+
✓ Correct! Amazon Prime Video. Amazon paid $250 million just for the rights from the Tolkien Estate in 2017, then committed to a five-season run with reported per-season budgets of $400–$465 million on Season 1 alone. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay were given access to the appendices of The Lord of the Rings (specifically the Second Age material) but not The Silmarillion proper, leading to many adaptation choices that have divided Tolkien purists.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Amazon Prime Video. Netflix has The Witcher and Sandman. HBO Max has Game of Thrones and HotD. Apple TV+ has Foundation. Rings of Power is Amazon’s flagship original drama and reportedly its single biggest production-budget bet.
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06
Amazon’s The Wheel of Time (2021–) is adapted from a 14-novel epic fantasy series running from 1990 to 2013. The series’ original author died in 2007 after completing only 11 of the planned books; Brandon Sanderson was hired by the estate to finish the final three. Who was the original author?
ARobert Jordan BTerry Brooks CRaymond E. Feist DTerry Pratchett
✓ Correct! Robert Jordan — pen name of James Oliver Rigney Jr. He started The Wheel of Time in 1990 with The Eye of the World and worked on the series for 17 years before dying of cardiac amyloidosis in 2007 with three books left to go. His widow Harriet McDougal hired Brandon Sanderson, then a young Mistborn-era novelist, on the strength of a eulogy he wrote for Jordan; Sanderson finished the series across The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Robert Jordan (James Oliver Rigney Jr.). Terry Brooks wrote the Shannara saga. Raymond E. Feist wrote the Riftwar Saga. Terry Pratchett wrote the Discworld series. The Wheel of Time is Jordan’s, with Brandon Sanderson finishing the last three books from his notes.
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07
Netflix’s The Sandman (2022–) adapts a beloved 75-issue DC/Vertigo comic that ran 1989–96 about Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, and his troubled siblings — the Endless. Whose comics is the show based on?
AAlan Moore BGrant Morrison CNeil Gaiman DMike Mignola
✓ Correct! Neil Gaiman. The 75-issue Sandman ran at DC’s mature-readers Vertigo imprint from 1989 to 1996 (with later spinoffs Sandman: Overture, etc.) and is widely cited alongside Watchmen and Maus as proof of comics’ literary potential. Gaiman’s direct involvement was central to the Netflix show’s development. Note that ongoing public controversies around Gaiman from 2024 onward have shaped the show’s future and Season 2’s framing.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Neil Gaiman. Alan Moore wrote Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. Grant Morrison wrote Doom Patrol, The Invisibles and All-Star Superman. Mike Mignola is the creator of Hellboy. Sandman is Gaiman’s.
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08
Netflix’s Shadow and Bone (2021–23) wove together the Shadow and Bone trilogy (Alina Starkov, the Sun Summoner) with the Six of Crows duology (Kaz Brekker’s Crows heist crew). Both source novel series are set in the same imagined Tsarist-Russia-coded fantasy world. Whose books are they?
ASarah J. Maas BLeigh Bardugo CCassandra Clare DMarie Lu
✓ Correct! Leigh Bardugo. Her Grishaverse spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy (2012–14), the Six of Crows duology (2015–16), the King of Scars duology (2019–21) and various short fiction. Netflix’s adaptation merged plotlines from the two main series simultaneously and was cancelled after two seasons in 2023, with a Six of Crows-focused spinoff that had been in development at one point also abandoned.
✗ Wrong. The answer is Leigh Bardugo. Sarah J. Maas writes the Throne of Glass and ACOTAR series (the latter has a Hulu show in development). Cassandra Clare writes the Shadowhunters Chronicles (which also got a TV adaptation, on Freeform 2016–19). Marie Lu writes Legend and Warcross. The Grishaverse is Leigh Bardugo’s.
REVEAL MY RATING →
The Maester’s Verdict · Final Tally Your Realm Standing
🪨
/ 8
Lord of the Realm — or smallfolk in the keep?
⤴ ANOTHER RAVEN
If League of Legends gave Netflix a sandbox to experiment in, Magic: The Gathering is offering an entire desert. The card game’s lore has been expanding continuously for more than three decades. It’s one of the richest fantasy universes out there, yet much of its storytelling potential remains untapped. If Netflix can successfully tap into MTG's narrative wellspring like they did with LoL’s for Arcane, they’ll have a show that could never run out of stories to tell.
Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering TV Show Has Three Decades Of Lore To Play With
One of the biggest advantages Netflix’s animated Magic: The Gathering TV show has is that the franchise’s worldbuilding has already been evolving for over 30 years. Since the card game debuted in 1993, Wizards of the Coast has steadily expanded its mythology through cards, novels, comics, trailers, and online fiction. Over time, Magic: The Gathering has quietly built one of the deepest fantasy universes in gaming.
At the center of Magic: The Gathering’s mythology are the Planeswalkers, immensely powerful mages capable of traveling between dimensions (known in the lore as planes). These characters function as the connective tissue of the franchise, carrying stories across wildly different settings that range from gothic horror realms to cyberpunk cities and ancient mythological kingdoms. The concept alone gives Netflix nearly limitless creative freedom, because every new plane can feel like a completely different fantasy series while still existing inside the same continuity.
The upcoming MTG animated series already appears to be leaning heavily into fan-favorite Planeswalkers. An early teaser image prominently featured the silhouettes of Chandra Nalaar and Ajani Goldmane (via TUDUM), two of the Magic: The Gathering’s most recognizable characters. Chandra, a fire-wielding pyromancer known for her impulsive personality, has long been one of the faces of MTG. Ajani, meanwhile, brings a very different energy as a wise and compassionate warrior. Their contrasting personalities already give the Netflix MTG series a strong emotional core.
That is what makes the project so potentially massive. Unlike many fantasy adaptations that must condense or simplify sprawling lore, Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering series can pick and choose from decades of interconnected storytelling. It already has wars, betrayals, legendary villains, magical civilizations, and universe-spanning conflicts ready to adapt. In terms of sheer narrative scale, it could eventually make even Arcane feel small.
There’s Limitless Source Material For Netflix’s Magic Series
Having three decades of existing lore already puts Netflix’s Magic: The Gathering TV show in an incredibly strong position, but the true secret weapon for longevity is that the source material never stops expanding. Unlike completed fantasy epics with fixed endings, Magic: The Gathering continuously evolves through its ongoing card releases. Every new expansion set introduces fresh characters, locations, and conflicts, all of which add more layers to the universe’s overarching story.
One year, Magic: The Gathering’s lore might explore a plane inspired by gothic horror traditions, while the next could focus on science-fantasy warfare or ancient dynasties. These settings aren’t disconnected, either. They’re tied through Planeswalkers and larger multiversal threats, meaning Netflix has access to an almost endless pipeline of future story arcs.
If their animated Magic: The Gathering TV show succeeds, Netflix could shift between entirely different worlds while maintaining continuity through recurring characters. Few fictional universes possess this combination of longevity, adaptability, and ongoing narrative growth. Arcane proved that game-inspired storytelling can become prestige television when creators fully embrace the depth of the source material. However, Magic: The Gathering arguably offers an even bigger canvas. With new lore constantly being added and decades of stories already available, the franchise may never truly run out of worlds to explore.
Created by Richard Garfield
Main Genre Fantasy
Release Date August 5, 1993
Character(s) Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, Liliana Vess, Garruk Wildspeaker, Nissa Revane, Ajani Goldmane, Nicol Bolas, Teferi, Gideon Jura, Sorin Markov, Ral Zarek
English (US) ·