Lord of the Rings and House of the Dragon will not start their 2nd seasons until 2024. Until then, however, 20 exciting series and seasons will be released to quench your fantasy thirst and shorten the wait.
House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings have made fantasy hearts beat faster this year. Now, however, two years without Westeros intrigue and Middle Earth opulence are upon us. Is the big fantasy slump looming now? Fortunately not!
Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Co. are launching 20 exciting new series and seasons from the fantasy genre between now and the sequels to the year’s two biggest fantasy hits, which could fill the Dragon to Balrog-sized hole in our series hearts.
Fantasy series update: Anansi Boys (Amazon)
Anansi Boys
Neil Gaiman fans can look forward to the next adaptation of one of his literary works after Sandman. Amazon is adapting the novel Anansi Boys as a 6-part miniseries. In it, Charlie Nancy learns that his recently deceased father was actually an incarnation of the trickster god Anansi and that he has a brother. His newly discovered brother Spider soon brings chaos to Charlie’s orderly life.
Fantasy series update: Avatar (Netflix)
The cast of Avatar
- Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender
No other upcoming Netflix series is as eagerly anticipated as the live-action adaptation of the animated series Avatar – The Lord of the Elements. In it, we can expect an exciting fantasy epic about tamers of the natural elements and a legendary Avatar who is supposed to keep the world in balance. Avatar could be the biggest fantasy hit of 2023 – or the biggest fantasy disappointment since the first live-action adaptation of Avatar.
Fantasy Series Supply: The Gryphon (Amazon)
The Gryphon
Fantasy from Germany is available on Amazon in 2023 with the adaptation of the novel Der Greif by Wolfgang Holbein. Three young outsiders end up one day in the fantastic world of the Black Tower. Here, the Griffin rules over his nightmarish realm with dark magic and has subjugated all living creatures for centuries. The three youngsters embark on a terrifying journey to end the Griffin’s reign.
Fantasy series update: Hagen (RTL+)
The cast of Hagen
Another major German fantasy project to watch in the coming year is Hagen. The adaptation of Wolfgang Holbein’s novel Hagen von Tronje is being made both as a feature film and as a 6-part event series for RTL+ and turns the Nibelungen saga on its head. For it has the evil knight Hagen (Gijs Naber) become a hero whose life is turned upside down by the dragon slayer Siegfried (Jannis Niewöhner).
Fantasy series update: Kaos (Netflix)
Jeff Goldblum (Thor 3)
Gods are only human. At least in the fantasy spectacle of Kaos, the black-humoured reinterpretation of Greek mythology. In it, Zeus (Jeff Goldblum), the father of the gods, discovers a wrinkle on his forehead in the present. He falls into an existential crisis full of paranoia and mistrust, which throws the lives of the other narcissistic deities into chaos as well. The Netflix project, which has been in development for over 4 years, also boasts a fantastic cast.
Fantasy series update: Mayfair Witches (AMC)
With Interview With the Vampire, the AMC network recently launched the Immortal Universe, a series franchise based on the novel world of Anne Rice. The fantasy horror series Mayfair Witches adapts the Mayfair Witches trilogy and follows a young neurosurgeon (Alexandra Daddario) who discovers that she is the descendant of an ancient witch family.
Fantasy series update: Percy Jackson (Disney+)
What if Greek deities were real? This is the question addressed by Rick Riordan’s fantasy young adult novels about Poseidon’s son who, along with his friends from Camp Halfblood, must defeat monsters and stop the foul titan Kronos. Many fans were disappointed by the previous two feature film adaptations, as much of the books was changed. The Disney+ series aims to avoid this mistake by dedicating an entire season to each volume of the multi-part book series.
Fantasy series update: The Spiderwick Chronicles – Disney+
The Spiderwick Chronicles
The popular children’s books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi were made into a film back in 2008 with the feature film The Spiderwick Chronicles. Now the adventurous journey of siblings Jared, Simon and Mallory is being adapted as a series that takes us into a world full of goblins and other magical creatures. The cast of the 6-episode first season includes Christian Slater, who plays the evil ogre Mulgarath.
Fantasy series update: Time Bandits (Apple TV+)
The original Time Bandits
With Time Bandits, Terry Gilliam’s film of the same name is being reinterpreted as a series on Apple TV+. The fantasy-comedy series follows 11-year-old history nerd Kevin, who joins a group of thieving dwarves travelling through different ages. The first two episodes are directed by Taika Waititi, who is also co-writing the scripts.
Fantasy series update: Willow – Disney+
Disney+ has its own Lord of the Rings in the wings later this year. After 34 years, it’s back to the fantasy world of Willow imagined by George Lucas. In this sequel series with familiar and many new characters, a young prince is kidnapped at the beginning. Now an epic adventure begins for his sister, which leads her and her fellow contestants through the magical world full of fairies, wizards and monsters.
Fantasy series update: The Witcher Blood Origin (Netflix)
The Witcher season 3 doesn’t launch until summer 2023, but Netflix is bridging the wait with a prequel series that delves deep into the continent’s past and mythology. The 4-part miniseries Blood Origin is set 1200 years before Geralt and Ciri’s adventures and explores the mysteries of the Sphere Conjunction and the origins of the first Witcher ancestor. Among others, it features action goddess Michelle Yeoh as a dangerous sword elf.
