It has to be said that the fantasy genre is not everyone's cup of magical tea, but even if you are someone who rolls your eyes at knights or sighs at sorcerers or cringes whenever a mystical creature comes on screen, watch these six shows before you give up on the genre for good. Fantasy is a surprisingly difficult genre to define, and though everyone probably knows it when they see it, it's a bit harder to define. Fantasy is a large umbrella that covers everything from folklore to high fantasy to historical fantasy to much more.

Though it's often distinguished from horror and science fiction as three subgenres of the even larger "speculative fiction" category, scares and sci-fi can certainly be found in fantasy TV shows, and vice versa. Rod Serling defined fantasy in season 3, episode 25 of The Twilight Zone as, "...science fiction, the improbable made possible; fantasy, the impossible made probable." With so many shows depicting the impossible made probable, it's a bit ironic that so many people are fantasy-averse. For those who claim to have no appetite for fantasy TV, watch these six shows first before swearing it off completely.

6 Game Of Thrones (2011-2019)

A Fantasy Television Phenomenon

A phenomenon like few other shows before it, and no shows since, Game of Thrones had the pop-culture-interested and TV-loving world in a chokehold for 8 seasons. While Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy showed the world that a fantasy project could earn widespread critical and audience acclaim, Game of Thrones revealed that there was an even greater cohort of people who would be willing to turn out for fantasy if it was well-made enough and contained enough modern storytelling conventions for fantasy novices to hold on to.

Few shows have captured people's imagination like Game of Thrones. Despite ending on a low note, there's no denying the impact the series made. It is just worth watching to see why everyone was talking about it for so many years. Targaryens, Mad Kings, and White Walkers are still words thrown around in conversation, and if you want to know where those things began, Game of Thrones is a must-watch. Even the lower-rated seasons are worth watching to see why everyone was so mad.

5 What We Do In The Shadows (2019-2024)

A Laugh-A-Minute Fantasy Series

The TV adaptation of Taika Waititi's 2014 movie of the same name, What We Do in the Shadows, is a mockumentary comedy horror fantasy about vampires in the modern world. Unlike Dracula, Nosferatu, or Edward Cullen, the vampires in What We Do in the Shadows are not brooding killers, trapped in immortality; they are obnoxious, oddball, bitter, and hilarious creatures of the night who live together in a home on Staten Island.

The series follows the roommates' lives as they try to get along in a modern world despite being centuries old and constantly needing to feast on the blood of humans. It's incredibly funny, and though it introduces plenty of fantastical elements and characters, it never feels too beholden to some type of overarching fantasy lore, making it good for people who love the odd parts of fantasy and those who just want to laugh and watch a great show.

4 Samurai Jack (2001-2017)

A Colorful, Delightful Fantasy Series

Genndy Tartakovsky's epic adventure, Samurai Jack, blends science fiction, history, and fantasy together to create something totally unique and wonderful. The series ran from 2001 to 2004, then was revived for one more season in 2017, for a total of five seasons. Samurai Jack follows the titular character, a Japanese samurai prince who is sent forward into a dystopian alternate future by a shapeshifting demon lord named Aku. There, Jack meets a Scottish cyborg man, cat people, a lava monster, and more.

It's a bounty of colorful and creative characters, and offers an insight into Tartakovsky's expansive and endless imagination.

It's a bounty of colorful and creative characters, and offers an insight into Tartakovsky's expansive and endless imagination. Samurai Jack revels in how absurd its fantastical setting is, and never takes itself too seriously, a problem with some fantasy TV shows, even when things are getting grim. There's humor, romance, and action, all told with Tartakovsky's distinct visual style and second-to-none animation skills.

3 Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008)

A Beautifully Animated Show With A Moving Story

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a fantasy show that is worth checking out not only for its unique visual flavor and pop culture longevity, but also because of how classic and tightly written the story is. If you are worried that fantasy TV shows may be too complex or lore-heavy to understand, Avatar: The Last Airbender is a great show to try out. Everything you need to know is told within the show, and because it was marketed to kids, it's a friendly entryway for those new to the genre.

The Legend of Korra is a sequel series to Avatar: The Last Airbender and is also worth checking out.

That's not to say it's a childish show. There are major themes about colonialism, xenophobia, totalitarianism, corruption, and indoctrination, alongside all the requisite themes of comion, friendship, and love. Everyone can relate to at least one character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and for every fiery battle sequence, there's a softer, more relatable sequence of an old man reminiscing about his son.

2 Once Upon A Time (2011-2018)

A Litmus Test For Those Who Claim They Dislike Fantasy

Let's say you've never tried peanut butter in your life. You've never been interested, and no one's ever made you, and there are plenty of other things to eat. Then let's say a friend simply insists you give it a try, and because you're a good sport, you reluctantly agree. You could try peanut butter on an apple, peanut butter and jelly, or peanut butter ice cream. Or you could cut to the chase and try a scoop of peanut butter. That's what Once Upon a Time is to people who have never seen a single fantasy TV show.

Once Upon a Time has got everything a fantasy fan could want: princesses, wizards, witches, folklore, magic, and more. It even has classic characters from Disney movies, so at least if you saw them as a child, you'll immediately find something to connect with. Set in the fictional town of Storybrooke, Maine, Once Upon a Time takes place in a world where people from fairy tales are real and have lost their memories of their fictional lives. Mysterious, fun, and ambitious in scope, it's a fantasy TV show to help determine if you really dislike the genre or not.

1 Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

A Horror-Fantasy Hybrid With A Lot To Love

​​​​​​​

Buffy the Vampire Slayer straddles the line between horror and fantasy, but with witches, spells, prophecies, and enough creatures from folklore to fill a six-season procedural series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a series that anyone curious about fantasy should really check out. The best summary of the show comes from its title. Sarah Michelle Gellar is Buffy Summers, a vampire slayer, one in a long line of "Slayers" who are granted increased strength and athleticism to combat evil forces.

A monster-of-the-week story with larger, over-arching plots for the season and the series, there's a lot to learn about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which may be intimidating to fantasy novices. However, what really makes Buffy a wonderful story is the characters. Villains become allies, friends become foes, and people change dramatically, but naturally, over the seasons. This is a series that could convince fantasy haters that fantasy TV shows can be anything, and there are plenty worth watching.