The best fantasy tv series with myths and legends on Netflix, HBO and Amazon Prime Video
The Witcher, Supernatural, Siren, American Gods... If you are a fan of these genres, these fictions are named after you.
Platforms like Netflix, HBO, and Amazon Prime Video have numerous titles in their catalog. On this occasion, we wanted to rescue the best fantasy series with myths and legends that you can find in them. Whether it's through characters from Greek mythology like Circe in Sabrina's Chilling Adventures, from events like the end of the world according to Norse mythology in Ragnarök, from the fight between the old and new gods in American Gods or the appearance of creatures in The Witcher; In this selection, you can find fictions that deal with this subject that arouses so much interest in human beings.
Fairies, fauns, mermaids, references to the Crusades and the Templars, or even characters from Christianity such as Lilith or Satan. The warrior nun, Carnival Row, Siren ... Dive into these stories and ancestral beings with these series that we offer you and in which their creators, many times, have modernized the mythology that we all know.
THE WITCHER
Inspired by the series of novels created by the Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski -which has also been adapted in a video game format-, The Witcher narrates the adventures of Geralt de Rivia, a sorcerer who performs work for hire. Belonging to a strange breed of mutants created to destroy monsters and demons, the witcher lives as a kind of soldier of fortune crossing the world in search of dangers that plague the different towns that populate it. All this developed in a fantastic universe populated by beings of European mythology. Incarnated by actor Henry Cavill, Geralt is not alone in his adventures and he is backed by characters like Ciri, his beloved Yennefer, and the tongue-tied poet Jaskier. The series, which has been one of the greatest hits of the year on Netflix, consists of a total of eight episodes and the producer of the same is already working on a new season that, predictably, will hit the platform next the year 2021.
You can watch it on Netflix.
SIREN
Mermaids are one of the most popular creatures within mythology, either Greek or Egyptian. This species, half-human and half fish, has been the source of inspiration for numerous films such as the different versions of The Little Mermaid, based -not all- on the story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, and series such as H2O and The Mermaids of Mako. Unlike previous television titles, Siren, the fiction starring Eline Powell, does not focus on naughty teenage girls with magical powers. The series follows Ben, played by Alex Roe, a marine biologist who lives in Bristol Cove, a coastal town famous for being known as the home of mermaids. One day, the legend comes true and the young man meets Ryn, a mysterious young woman who comes out of the deep sea to find her sister, who has been kidnapped by the local military to experiment with her. During the three seasons of the fiction, all available on HBO, the serial delves into topics such as the effect of the siren's song on men, on the god of the oceans, Triton, and his powerful weapon, as well as other mysteries from the seabed that have not yet been discovered.
You can watch it on HBO.
SUPERNATURAL
With seven episodes to say goodbye forever to the brother's Dean and Sam Winchester, you have available in the Amazon Prime Video catalog the first 14 seasons of Supernatural, the dark fantasy series with elements of horror created by Eric Kripke back in 2005. And we put it on this list because it is one of the television titles that most own mythology or 'lore' has generated. If it were not for it, or at least if it had not become so popular, we would not know exactly how the Enochian is pronounced - the artificial language supposedly spoken by angels - or how they are used and what they are used by The Colt, The First Sheet or Solomon's seal, among others. Nor did the four horsemen of the Apocalypse drive a red 1965 Mustang Fastback, a black 2010 Cadillac Escalade, a green 1972 AMC Hornet, and a whitish 1959 Cadillac Coupe DeVille... But there is still more! Angels, archangels, alternative realities, various deities, demonology and witchcraft, creatures such as vampires, werewolves, ghosts or leviathans, symbols and rituals, God himself, mystical weapons and artifacts, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory ... AND all this with sources of inspiration as diverse as Christianity, Buddhism, Chinese, Japanese or Peruvian folklore, Greek and Norse mythology, fairy tales, or popular culture.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
HILDA
Hilda is the great hidden gem of Netflix. The original streaming platform animation series is based on the eponymous graphic novel by Luke Pearson and follows the story of Hilda, a girl who leaves her life behind in the country surrounded by supernatural creatures from the enchanted forest to move into town. Stolberg. There she meets a series of adventures with her new friends in which mythological creatures are not lacking. For this reason, Hilda could not be missing from this list, since she tells stories from Scandinavian mythology such as the famous and enormous Trolls, the Vaettir, the Mare and the Nisse. The second season is expected to premiere in the fall of this year with the return of Bella Ramsey putting the original voice to the protagonist.
You can watch it on Netflix.
AMERICAN GODS
The adaptation of Bryan Fuller and Michael Green of Neil Gaiman's eponymous novel that came out in 2007 was eagerly awaited by fans of the genre. And it is not for less, because the plot focuses on a war between the ancient gods, such as Odin and Anubis, and the new ones, personifying the Internet or money, nothing more and nothing less! American Gods revolve around Shadow, a man who is released from prison a few days before serving a three-year sentence. The protagonist, who was eager to reunite with his wife, discovers that she died a few days ago in a car accident. On the way to the funeral, she meets an enigmatic man, Mr. Wednesday who, in addition to knowing a lot about his past, offers him a job offer. Thus, he begins a journey through the United States in which he will discover both ancient gods of various mythologies and new gods of contemporary worship. An adventure in which Shadow will realize that the confrontation between the old and new gods is imminent and inevitable. A series that mixes drama and fantasy, very visually striking and with a great narrative that, without a doubt, will cover your craving for mythological content.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
WARRIOR NUN
A sacred halo, cruciform swords, references to the Crusades, and the Templars... Who would have thought that all these elements typical of the Catholic imagination were going to succeed in a youth series on Netflix, but they are all part of the DNA of The Warrior Nun, fiction which adapts the Ben Dunne comic and translates them, in addition, to the coordinates of the Mediterranean: Malaga, Cordoba, Seville, Rome. The story of The Warrior Nun, developed by Simon Barry, follows Ava when she has resurrected in the morgue thanks to the unexpected help of an ecclesiastical order, which implants a divine halo with superhuman powers on her back. Little by little, Ava will discover that wearing the halo is a responsibility that involves fighting demons and balancing the forces of the world in the role of warrior nun. Apart from elements of the Christian creed, new creatures also appear, such as the Tasks And weapons from other cultures, such as katanas, which not only fill Netflix's fiction with questions but reinterpret it in a fantasy key knowledge of the Catholic religion to date. With Alba Baptista in the lead role, Toya Turner and Tristan Ulloa, The Warrior Nun has her entire first season available on Netflix.
You can watch it on Netflix.
CARNIVAL ROW
Fairies, fauns, werewolves, and more fantastic creatures populate the Amazon Prime Video Carnival Row series. The fiction, created by René Echevarria and Travis Beacham, draws from Irish mythology and uses the different races that move through their universe to relate to marginalization, class struggle, and the situation of refugees. The protagonist is Rycroft Philostrate, who is played by Orlando Bloom, an inspector in charge of a case that will lead him to discover the truth about his past. The other key role is played by Cara Delevingne: the refugee fairy Vignette Stonemoss. Irish mythology is very evident with this last character, who uses an Irish accent in her performance. "I learned about fairies, the word 'fae' is Gaelic and I was always very sure that the mythology of fairies was created in Ireland," said the interpreter in an interview. The fiction, which only has the first season, for now, has been renewed by a second installment in which we will discover more creatures. As for its history, it is kept under lock and key. However, the outcome of the first round of episodes ended with Vignette locked inside Carnival Row, a place that became a camp for all those who are not human.
You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
RAGNARÖK
Its title already makes it quite clear what this Netflix series is about. Ragnarök, created by Adam Price, is inspired by Norse mythology. According to these legends, Ragnarok is a series of events - a great battle, the death of important deities such as Odin and Loki, natural disasters and the immersion of the world in water - that will make the world be reborn, will bring back the gods and the Earth will repopulate from two surviving humans. In this fiction, the story changes a little. The title is set in Edda, a fictional city in which its inhabitants are not what they seem. Climate change and pollution make the characters think that the dreaded Ragnarok is just around the corner unless someone is able to stop him. It is then when Magne appears, a teenager with the same powers as Thor, the god of thunder. The fiction has a season consisting of six episodes and its cast is led by actors such as David Stakston, Jonas Strand Gravli, and Herman Tømmeraas.
You can watch it on Netflix.
THE CHILLY ADVENTURES OF SABRINA
The chilling adventures of Sabrina will put the finishing touch to the story of the young witch with her fourth season, but some beings belonging to well-known legends and myths have wandered through her previous installments. Fiction not only drinks from Christianity with figures such as Satan, Lilith, and Hell; Well, fans have also come across characters like Circe, the famous sorceress of Greek mythology. Also with the god Pan, represented as a faun and companion of the nymphs. There has even been mention of Pandora, the woman who opened the box in which all the evils that plagued humanity were kept. And, as we have already mentioned, there is still a batch of more episodes of the fiction that stars Kiernan Shipka on the way. So it is possible that as many mythological characters appear in them. The series, created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, has Ross Lynch, Lucy Davis, Michelle Gomez, and Miranda Otto in its cast; among other actors.
You can watch it on Netflix.
DARK
Perhaps reading the plot of the successful Netflix series Dark, which refers to time travel and mysterious disappearances, it is hard to believe that it is full of references to characters from different mythologies in the history of humanity. In German fiction, created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, mythological creatures do not appear, but several details related to Greek mythology, specifically, the famous myth of Theseus and the Ariadne thread. A myth, in which the daughter of King Minos, in Dark represented by Martha, tries to prevent her beloved Theseus, or Jonas in fiction, from being trapped in the labyrinth and being devoured by the ruthless Minotaur... The mythology that as the series progresses gives way to that of the origin of humanity, represented by Adam and Eve. As if that were not enough, the series, which has just released its third and final season, also winks at Celtic mythology with the briquette that represents the Sic Mundus organization. A symbol that refers to life, death, and reincarnation. All this, to explain the origin of everything, and make it clear that "the end is the beginning and the beginning is the end."
You can watch it on Netflix.