If there is one genre that was often relegated to the realm of cult classics, it is the fantasy television genre. Before Game of Thrones, the world of fantasy television shows was either left to the urban fantasy series on network television like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural, or it was shows that were relegated to the Sci Fi Channel, and often seen as lesser shows by mainstream audiences, but beloved cult classics by the genre faithful. Even many fantasy shows on regular networks like Fox, ABC, and CBS often went through life always on the bubble, despite an audience of diehards who wanted it back season after season.
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Here is a look at seven older cult fantasy TV shows that deserve a reboot, either to rectify the fact that they didn’t get a fair shot to begin with or because they were good enough to deserve more of their story to be told to a new generation.
7) The Dresden Files
The Dresden Files is a fantasy show that should have been huge, but thanks to its existence on the Sci Fi Channel and some strange changes from the source material, it failed to leave a mark. Years before he joined the cast of Arrow as Quentin Lance, Paul Blackthorne starred in The Dresden Files as Harry Dresden, a Chicago wizard private investigator with his name in the Yellow Pages.
However, the series seemed a little scattershot, and while it had a fanbase, mostly from author Jim Butcher’s fans, it didn’t do what it should have to become a successful series. If the show had taken the books and adapted them one season at a time, similar to Reacher on Prime Video, it could have been hugely successful. This is a book series that is prime for a fantasy reboot if anyone takes a chance on it.
6) Galavant
Galavant was made to be a cult fantasy television show because it was that different from anything else on TV. Created by Dan Fogelman, Galavant is a musical fantasy comedy TV series, and at least one review compared it to Monty Python meeting The Princess Bride, which is all that fantasy fans should need to hear. However, this wasn’t enough to keep it going for more than two seasons, as it aired from 2015 to 2016.
Galavant is a dashing knight who wants to rebuild his reputation by trying to take down King Richard, who ruined his life when he kidnapped Galavant’s true love, Madelana. This series had Weird Al Yankovic as a Head Monk, which reveals how unique this series is. The show was hilarious with great characters and wonderful writing that was ahead of its time, and this is a show that deserves a revival.
5) Grimm
Grimm was a fantastic fantasy television show that had six seasons and 123 episodes, making it a success even though it never got the legacy that a similar show, Once Upon a Time, received. Once Upon a Time was heavily promoted by ABC, but Grimm was on NBC and ended up placed on Friday nights, where most people didn’t even notice it. However, those who did watch loved it.
The best thing about Grimm is that it was more adult-oriented than the more network drama story in Once Upon a Time. Based on the Grimm Fairy Tales, this saw a police detective in Portland investigating murders that separate humans from the mythological creatures of the world. Grimm was similar to Supernatural, but stuck in one location and had some incredible fairy tale monsters along the way. Grimm deserved better than NBC gave it.
4) Forever Knight
Forever Knight was a fantastically underappreciated fantasy series from the 1990s that could be an incredible series today if anyone wanted to reboot it. Forever Knight stars Geraint Wyn Davies as Nick Knight, a Toronto police detective who works the graveyard shift. What no one knows is that he is an 800-year-old vampire who is remorseful about his past actions and is making up for it as a cop.
Forever Knight is similar to Angel, years before that show was on network television, but it was more of a police procedural at the same time. With the popularity of police procedurals and the love for urban fantasy television, bringing back Forever Knight for a reboot with the same basic plot could work even better today than it did when it ran for three seasons in the 1990s.
3) Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies is one cult fantasy series that actually might get a reboot. The series creator, Bryan Fuller, said he has plans for a third season, and he has interest from the network, although it is in development, but hasn’t been actually greenlit yet. The plot was ingenious, following Ned (Lee Pace) as a man who has the power to bring someone back from the dead by touching them.
However, if he doesn’t touch them again in one minute, they stay alive, and someone else dies. That said, if he ever touches them again, they will die anyway, and when he brings the love of his life back from the dead, it puts him in a tough spot. The show ended after two seasons because Fuller wants a lot of money to put into his seasons, but he has proven to be one of today’s best TV creators, and Pushing Daisies deserves a reboot.
2) Xena: Warrior Princess
There is a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot coming with Sarah Michelle Gellar returning as Buffy Summers, but she is training the new Slayer who replaces her as the Chosen One. A show that could use a reboot in a similar fashion was from a few years before, and that is Xena: Warrior Princess.
This series was a spinoff of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, which doesn’t really deserve a reboot, but bringing back Lucy Lawless as an older Xena working with a new young warrior could be incredible. Not only is Xena: Warrior Princess a cult favorite, but Lucy Lawless remains a beloved cult actress, and seeing her back in the role could be a monster success.
1) Sliders
To understand how big a cult classic favorite that Sliders was, understand that it had so many fans that a comic book series was released with more stories in 1996, while the show was still airing. Not only that, but the show’s star, Jerry O’Connell, actually wrote one of the issues called Narcotica.
The show starred O’Connell as Quinn Mallory, part of a group of travelers who use a wormhole to travel between parallel universes as they try to find their way back home. This was a fun mix of fantasy and science fiction, and it had a nice run, lasting five seasons. Fox actually canceled the show after three seasons, and the Sci Fi Channel picked it up for two more seasons. After 26 years, it might be time to reboot the series for a new generation of fans.
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