Twenty shows to watch while waiting for Game of Thrones season 8

5) Robin Hood (BBC series, 2006-2009)

You can’t do a medieval TV show list without including Robin of Locksley, and this BBC Robin Hood production is a lovely potential addition to your viewing docket. It’s pure family fare: adventurous, fast-paced and not too over-the-top-corny.

Story-wise, this version sticks within the parameters of the traditional legend, with Robin returning home to England after five years in the Crusades and forming a merry band of outlaws to mess with the nasty Norman Sheriff of Nottingham.

This series has received generally favorable reviews. Will Hodgkinson of The Guardian says: “It’s exciting, well-paced, witty primetime family entertainment, and it has survived a tough time in television drama, due to a winning combination of likable heroes, camp villains and against-all-odds happy endings.” The Christian Science Monitor‘s Gloria Goodale raves: “This really is a Robin of Locksley for the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon generation…”

Yes, the story of Robin Hood is a tale many times told, but that is what happens with the great myths. This one is fresh and youthful and may be the perfect way to get your pre-teens interested in the classic stories. It did get an 88% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and they’re pretty hip over there.