These 8 Fantasy Shows Would've Thrived in the Streaming Era

These 8 Fantasy Shows Would've Thrived in the Streaming Era Cast poster for 'Once Upon a Time' Season 5.Image via ABC By  Jiminna Shillingford Published Feb 25, 2026, 7:26 PM EST Jiminna Shillingford is an avid reader and a passionate storyteller. She is obsessed with all things TV, from anime and romantic fantasy to action-packed series. With that deep affection, Jiminna longs to share her excitement with all her readers through the Collider platform as a TV author. Through her writing she has created stories and blog posts of amazing book recommendations, showcasing her love of writing. Jiminna's goal is to inspire others to discover and embrace their love of stories in all of its forms. Sign in to your Collider account Add Us On follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Alongside the steady rise of streaming, fantasy television has also beautifully evolved, allowing countless stories to go beyond the restrictions of even network television. With this new freedom, fantasy TV has been able to deliver richer character development, deeper world-building, and much more cohesive storytelling. There exists quite a stunning list of fantasy epics that, whether through tightly constructed limited-series arcs or sprawling narratives, feel specifically designed for this thriving era of streaming.

Amazing fantasy watches, such as the character-focused show Merlin, with its enthralling slow-burning arcs of wizardry and friendship, and the creature-driven series Grimm, which is thrillingly ideal for one sitting, are two perfect streaming viewing experiences. Compiled on this list of fantasy shows that embody this recent era of masterful television—series that not only see success on streaming platforms, but feel as though they were built for them from the very beginning.

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1 'Lucifer' (2016–2021)

Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar in a button-down shirt and vest in LuciferImage via Netflix

This once network television show, and now a streaming success, gradually became a true bingeworthy character study. Lucifer follows the Devil, Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis), who is bored with his position in hell, and goes to Los Angeles to run a nightclub, only to unexpectedly become a police consultant.

Lucifer may have begun as a beloved network television series, but once cancelled and picked up by Netflix, the show instantly thrived on the streaming platform. The series was able to transfer its underrated TV success and expand it, which quickly proved that its character arcs and overall story were best experienced through continuous watches. Streaming allowed the show's deeper storylines to truly shine, working so much better for on-demand watching. Lucifer also received a higher budget, fully embracing its streaming-era revival on Netflix, making it feel so much more like a cinematic experience that proved to be better suited for binge-watching.

2 'Lost Girl' (2010–2016)

Anna Silk and Ksenia Solo walking through a carnival in Lost Girl.Image via Showcase

Lost Girl is an underrated good time that deserves a lot more attention and credit for its very bingeworthy storytelling that matches this vast streaming era quite nicely. The Canadian series centers on the butt-kicking succubus Bo (Anna Silk) as she navigates life as a creature who feeds on human sexual energy while trying to discover her origins.

Lost Girl isn't the best hit fantasy series there is, but truthfully, it is one of the most addictive watches to ever exist. It's perfect for a binge bender, as its serialized narrative with season arcs featuring missing artifacts, and ending Fae wars makes it ideal for continuous viewing. Lost Girl is the perfect mesh of long-term mysteries and standalone monster installments that is capable of keeping audiences thoroughly invested even when watching multiple episodes back-to-back, cementing its place among the rest of the series that feel practically built for streaming.

3 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' (2005–2008)

Aang with glowing eyes and symbol on his forehead with moving objects in Avatar: The Last Airbender.Image via Nickelodeon

Though originally aired weekly, Avatar: The Last Airbender proves to be much more suited for the streaming shelf. The fantasy animated series is set in a world where most of the Earth's population wields one of the four elements and follows Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen)—the last Airbender—and his friends' journey to save the world from the tyrannical force known as the Fire Nation.

Avatar: The Last Airbender may have been an amazing weekly experience back when it was on air, but with it now sitting on streaming platforms, the series is thriving like never before. While streaming may not have been as prominent during its release, Avatar: The Last Airbender, so iconicly ahead of its time, feels like it was specifically built for modern-day streaming platforms. The show is much better taken in with its new bingable form. Not only does the story seem more cohesive, but it also showcases the growth of its characters and overarching narrative, making it an overall more satisfying viewing experience. Avatar: The Last Airbender's success on streaming platforms only proves that it was always meant for binge-watching during this addictive streaming era, despite its network TV origins.

4 'Merlin' (2008–2012)

Merlin (Colin Morgan) and Arthur (Bradley James) in MerlinImage via BBC

Merlin is a medieval fantasy reimagining of the Arthurian legend that hosts amazing character development that makes it feel perfectly suited for this era of streaming. The series focuses on a young Merlin's (Colin Morgan) arrival in Camelot and his sometimes awkward but always touching friendship with Prince Arthur (Bradley James). At the same time, Merlin must make sure he hides an important part of himself from Arthur, all the while discovering an enchanting destiny that demands he protect the dashing prince.

Merlin is a truly magical watch. Despite its 2008 debut, the series' exploration of friendship and destiny through a complex bond between a forbidden sorcerer and a prince makes for addictive TV no matter the year. The show has quite a few streaming-friendly aspects to it that inspire viewers to watch continuously. With intensely building episodes and high-stakes cliffhangers, Merlin is a steady encouragement for binge-watching. The show's consistent tone of adventure and humor makes it easy to watch multiple episodes back-to-back, making Merlin the perfect fantasy great for this list of series built for streaming.

5 'Once Upon a Time' (2011–2018)

This modern twist on fairytales is often hailed as a fantasy gem that sparked an entire new era for network television. Once Upon a Time centers on bail bondswoman Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), who finds herself in the town of Storybrooke, where fairy tale characters unknowingly live as simple, ordinary citizens of modern time without knowing their true identities due to a powerful curse.

Once Upon a Time's serialized nature, featuring family heritage reveals and ongoing curse mysteries, makes it the ideal binge-watch. Its interconnected stories and layered timelines make it downright perfect for back-to-back viewing. The story itself was designed as an ongoing epic, with each season introducing new worlds and more dastardly villains. Each episode frequently ends on an extremely dramatic note, prompting viewers to addictively search for more. While the series debuted on network television, Once Upon a Time's complex story threads that pick up in subsequent episodes without requiring any breaks make it perfect for streaming consumption.

6 'Grimm' (2011–2017)

Russell Hornsby (Hank), David Giuntoli (Nick), and Jacqueline Toboni (Theresa) in GrimmImage via NBC

Grimm is a dark crime drama with a fantasy twist that explores folklore and fairytales in an extremely captivating way. The show follows Detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli), who discovers that he is a "Grimm," an individual destined to keep the balance between humanity and the mythological creatures known as Wesen.

With a blend of ongoing mythology and case-of-the-week TV good times, Grimm delivers a watch that truly thrives in a binge format. The show's deeper lore and character arcs are free to fully unfold in a way that perfectly aligns with what is often seen in modern streaming storytelling. Grimm's hybrid approach to its storytelling allows for both casual viewership of individual episodes and also rewards marathon fans following the big picture, solidifying the series as a consistently dark and serialized fantasy gem that is perfect for consecutive episode viewing on demand platforms.

7 'Charmed' (1998–2006)

Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, and Holly Marie Combs looking at a spellbook in CharmedImage via The WB

This defining witchy series fantastically blends growing supernatural mythology with captivating episodic storytelling. The '90s fantasy series icon, Charmed, focuses on three sisters—Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) Halliwell—as they make the discovery that they're powerful good witches who are destined to fight the forces of evil as "The Charmed Ones."

The supernatural hit series, Charmed, is a classic that is a seamless fit for modern streaming platforms. The series' balance of overarching plots and standalone episodes makes for some pretty bingeworthy TV. Continuous viewing of the iconic drama is only rewarded, as viewers are able to fully experience the story's evolving power-ups and interesting lore that aligns quite well with today's streaming-friendly format. Charmed may have had network beginnings, but it stands as a fantasy series that truly feels as if it were built perfectly for on-demand success.

8 'Sleepy Hollow' (2013–2017)

Tom Mison's Ichabod and Nicole Beharie's Abbie in 'Sleepy Hollow.'Image via FOX

Sleepy Hollow is the reimagining of a classic legend that mixes mythology and history, delivering to viewers a truly captivating supernatural thriller. The time-bending fantasy follows Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison), a Revolutionary War soldier, who awakens in present-day Sleepy Hollow, NY, after mysteriously surviving execution centuries ago.

With evolving mythologies and serialized mysteries, Sleepy Hollow feels so much more than its network roots; in fact, it feels quite ideal for streaming platforms. Even with a network-level budget, the show's gothic style and action sequences of magic fights and creature effects were still realized quite nicely. During its time on air on Fox, Sleepy Hollow would sometimes use mid-season breaks, which in the streaming era translates into a continuous flow that makes it easy to invest in watching multiple episodes, marking it as a fantasy watch ideal for streaming audiences.

Like Sleepy Hollow TV-14 Horror Mystery Thriller Release Date 2013 - 2017-00-00 Network FOX Showrunner Mark Goffman, Clifton Campbell Writers Phillip Iscove, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Len Wiseman

Cast

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• Tom Mison
• Nicole Beharie

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• Avatar: The Last Airbender
• Charmed

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