Have any of these 15 shows become “the next Game of Thrones”?

12. The Shannara Chronicles

The Shannara Chronicles was MTV’s attempt at hopping on the Game of Thrones fantasy bandwagon, and the effort was probably doomed from the start. The show was based on the Shannara book series by Terry Brooks, which is one of the largest fantasy book series of all time. The first novel, The Sword of Shannara, was the first fantasy novel to top The New York Times bestseller list back in 1977, and the series has been incredibly influential on the genre as a whole. (My favorite comparison is that if J.R.R. Tolkien is the grandfather of modern fantasy, Shannara author Terry Brooks is its quirky uncle.)

But that doesn’t necessarily equal a great show, and Shannara had a few things working against it. The biggest is that many of the Shannara books focus on different generations of protagonists. The MTV series adapted the second book, The Elfstones of Shannara, most likely because the first is extremely similar to The Lord of the Rings. Elfstones is where Brooks’ novels start to find their own footing. However, the following book mixes things up with new characters. This works a lot better in books than on TV, and so when it came time for The Shannara Chronicles season 2, the show made all sorts of deviations and weird choices that just didn’t quite work. Add in the fact that Shannara changed networks to Spike TV for season 2, and it was messy all around.

Shannara’s best quality was that it leaned into the fact that the series is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, and emphasized it more than the novels did; there are metal ruins of skyscrapers, for example. But for all that, the show never quite caught on. It felt like a show that wanted to get in on the Game of Thrones hype but focused so narrowly on a teenage audience (who would have likely been unfamiliar with Brooks’ books, since they started coming out in the ’70s) that it never quite found its niche despite some solid performances from the lead actors. – Daniel

13. Cursed

Speaking of fantasy shows that tried to hone in on a teen audience but failed to grab anyone’s attention, let’s talk about Cursed. Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Thomas Wheeler, this 2020 Netflix series is a reimagining of the Arthurian Legend from the point of view of Nimue. Except Nimue is a badass mage who also happens to wield the mythical sword Excalibur on her own adventures long before Arthur ever puts his grubby hands on it, Merlin is a drunk, and Arthur is an ineffectual sellsword.

Now, aside from some odd questions about the basic premise (did we really need a drunkard Merlin?), the show in general just didn’t quite work. Netflix unceremoniously canceled Cursed after a single season, so whatever plans it might have had for Nimue and company, we’ll never know. (Unless we read the novel, of course.)

Cursed is a good reminder of what can happen when fantasy shows are given fairly large budgets but rush the production. The costumes look like they were picked off the laundry lines at the nearest latest Renaissance Faire, and many of the special effects are borderline ridiculous. My favorite example is the end of the series premiere, where Nimue slays some wolves with Excalibur and the blood splatter gradually covers the camera lens. Perhaps it was an intentional nod to the graphic novel, but in the show it just looks silly.

It’s clear Cursed was influenced by the Game of Thrones craze; the book itself only released in 2019 and goes for a darker, grittier take on classic Arthurian Legacy characters. We can’t comment on the novel, but the show died the death that awaits all unworthy usurpers to the throne. – Daniel