10 best fantasy and science fiction shows of 2023

2. The Wheel of Time

If 2023 was a banner year for fantasy TV, a big part of why was Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time. Based on the massively popular book series by Robert Jordan (and finished after Jordan’s death by Brandon Sanderson), The Wheel of Time is classic fantasy at its finest. There are huge magical clashes, there are monsters, there are deep-running conspiracies and political intrigue and more prophecies than you can fit inside a library of tomes. The Wheel of Time captures the wonder of the fantasy genre, while still infusing it with a big, twisty story that kept both fans of the books and newcomers alike glued to the screen.

The Wheel of Time had a tall order to fill for its second season. The first season had a notoriously rocky production due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a key role being recast. That cascaded into season 2, necessitating a full rewrite of the season to accommodate the fact that several major players were now in very different places than their book counterparts. Could The Wheel of Time right the ship?

The answer from where I’m sitting is a resounding yes. While it got off to a little bit of a slow start, The Wheel of Time season 2 grew into the sort of appointment fantasy viewing that’s hard to find outside of Westeros. The back half of the season contained some absolutely standout episodes, especially “Eyes Without Pity,” which focused on the torture of Egwene al’Vere (Madeleine Madden) at the hands of Seanchan invaders.

The Wheel of Time still has plenty of room to grow. There are 15 books total in Jordan and Sanderson’s series, and the show is clearly setting up for the long haul. After season 2, there’s no doubt that it can go the distance if Amazon keeps backing it. And if there was this huge a leap in quality between its first two seasons, I can only imagine how much better it’s going to get by the time the Last Battle rolls around.