Some excellent fantasy TV shows from decades past might be considered classics, but they would never get made today. Fantasy has been a staple of TV and movies since the invention of the medium, but the landscape has changed drastically over time. While network TV used to be the primary source of shows, streaming has taken over.
Streamers have become more cautious of new ideas, only taking a chance on something experimental or expensive if they are certain it will succeed. Additionally, they’re quicker to pull the plug.
On top of that, streaming sites demand a very different format, which includes fewer episodes featuring fewer main characters. The stories have shifted from sitcoms and stories of the week to season-long narratives. Ultimately, some of the best fantasy TV shows from the past wouldn’t get greenlit or exist in the same format nowadays.
10
Supernatural
Available To Stream On Netflix
The hit fantasy show Supernatural is widely considered one of the best fantasy TV shows of the 2000s, but it most likely wouldn’t get made today. Although Supernatural’s premise still holds up almost 19 years after its debut, the show would absolutely never exist in the format that it did.
The seasons ran for an average of 22 episodes each, and the show ran for 15 seasons. As of 2023, the average number of TV episodes in a season is 10.2 for network TV and 9.6 for streaming TV (via Parrot Analytics).
While I could see them making a show about two brothers fighting monsters and demons, there is pretty much no chance it would run for nearly as long.
9
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Available To Stream On Hulu, Disney+, And Sling TV
Like many Millennial fantasy fans, I absolutely adore Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, when I look at it with a critical eye, I recognize that the first season of this beloved show was, admittedly, not very good. The story and characters were pretty shaky, and it didn’t come into its own until the sophomore season.
Unfortunately, in today’s TV landscape, streamers and networks are quick to pull the plug on anything that doesn’t immediately strike gold. If Buffy the Vampire Slayer were made today with comparable visuals and the same story, it would have gotten canceled by almost any streamer before it had the opportunity to become a cult classic.
8
The Shannara Chronicles
Available To Purchase Or Rent On YouTube, Fandango, Prime Video, And Apple TV
The Shannara Chronicles is a TV show that could only have been made the way it did on MTV in 2016 and 2017. The series blends together MTV’s teen soap actors and tone with the high fantasy tropes and stories. If the series had been on another network or produced in a different year, it would have looked entirely different.
On top of that, The Shannara Chronicles is a high-fantasy show that requires ridiculously good VFX for TV. It would be too much of an investment for a network to take a chance on it if they weren’t sure it would succeed.
7
The Vampire Diaries
Available To Stream On Peacock And HBO Max
Because of the existing franchise, I could easily see other shows set in The Vampire Diaries’ universe being made today. However, the OG show wouldn’t get made if it were offered up as a concept today.
Besides the toxic relationship storylines that wouldn’t fly in 2025, The Vampire Diaries falls into the soapy teen genre, which was wildly popular in the late 2000s but isn’t really popular right now. On top of that, it isn’t as common for TV shows to focus on 8 to 10 main characters at once.
Even if it was greenlit, The Vampire Diaries wouldn’t look the same way it does. There are too many seasons for a modern fantasy show. Plus, unless the TV show is The Witcher, it’s not going to survive the lead actor leaving.
6
Forever Knight
Available To Stream On Tubi And The Roku Channel
The fantasy TV show Forever Knight is extremely entertaining, but it admittedly had a strange format even for its time. The A-plot is Nick Knight trying to solve a detective case in real time, and the B-plot happens centuries earlier. The only modern fantasy TV show that has dabbled in that kind of timeline is Interview with A Vampire, and even that looks vastly different.
While the story still holds up, I cannot imagine a network or streaming platform taking a chance on this style of show. Unfortunately, the show wouldn’t work without its weird format, so it would probably get scrapped as an idea.
5
The Booth at the End
Available To Stream On Tubi, Roku Channel, And Prime Video
The 2010 TV show The Booth at the End is fantasy in concept, rather than in visuals. The basic premise is that The Man grants the wishes of his clients but at a cost to their morals. It’s a common monkey’s paw premise that we’ve all seen in fantasy and horror for years.
The problem is that they don’t show the vast majority of the action onscreen. Instead, it focuses on the psychology of the characters. By today’s standards, this idea would be too minimalist and character-driven. They would have to completely rework the format, which would change the fundamental traits that define The Booth at the End.
4
Charmed
Available To Stream On Pluto TV, Peacock, And Prime Video
As much as I love the original Charmed, the fantasy TV show likely would not be made today because of the sheer number of episodes and seasons. Like many other shows on this list, Charmed came out at a time when networks wouldn’t bat an eye at a show getting 20-plus episodes per season. Moreover, fantasy shows ran for much longer back when the original came out.
Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine that any Network would be willing to give the show the 20-episode seasons that many of the character and narrative arcs need. On top of that, the show would have ended with season 3 because a main character’s death and replacement wouldn’t be as accepted nowadays. It was even controversial then.
3
I Dream Of Jeannie
Available To Stream On Tubi & Roku Channel
The basic premise of I Dream of Jeannie would not be acceptable these days. A woman is captive to a man whose every wish she has to grant, and then she falls in love with her captor. It worked for the time period, but it’s outdated now.
However, the concept isn’t the only reason I Dream of Jeannie wouldn’t get made today. TV overall, but especially fantasy, has moved away from the sitcom, story-of-the-week format, in favor of season-long storylines.
The fusion of sitcom and magic isn’t really getting made nowadays, unless you count the intentionally meta series WandaVision and Agatha All Along. Even that had an overarching narrative, though, and it got away with a more experimental style because it’s attached to the MCU.
2
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Available To Stream On Prime Video
As much as they are considered classics, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spinoff, Xena: Warrior Princess, would probably not get made if it were offered up as an idea today. The dialogue and storylines often fell into the category of “cheesy,” which wouldn’t work in a Game of Thrones and Rings of Power world.
On top of that, the visuals would need a massive overhaul if they were made today. The visual effects looked cheap, even for the 90s. This is part of its campy charm, but it wouldn’t look that way if it came out nowadays. A modern version of the show would probably lean heavily into CGI.
Ultimately, even if they kept the basic characters and storylines, any version of Hercules made today would look unrecognizable. It would be similar only in name, leaning into a heavily edited style and much more serious tone.
1
She-Wolf of London
Available To Stream On The Roku Channel
The dark fantasy TV show She-Wolf of London ran from 1990 to 1991 and was canceled after a single season. The story follows an American grad student who gets bitten by a werewolf while in London. After becoming a werewolf, she teams up with an English professor to become a supernatural crime-solving duo.
Unfortunately, She-Wolf of London wouldn’t get made today, despite it being a cult classic. Urban fantasy isn’t being made very often anymore. What’s more, this isn’t just a typical urban fantasy. It’s an urban fantasy with a monster-of-the-week format and a rom-com subplot, which seems unimaginable nowadays.
