Top 6 Best TV Shows Like Once Upon a Time (Ranked & Where to Stream)

Lev Grossman's universe arrives on screen with jagged teeth, chronic depression, and an unapologetic adult edge. When graduate student Quentin Coldwater passes an entrance exam for Brakebills University, he discovers that magic is real, perilous, and entirely incapable of curing his neuroses. Showrunners Sera Gamble and John McNamara craft a witty, brutal subversion of classic portal fantasies, sending broken misfits across both New York City and the whimsical, dangerous land of Fillory. It is essential viewing for anyone tracking down tv shows like Once Upon a Time, trading Storybrooke's family-friendly gloss for a mature, razor-sharp deconstruction of legendary storybooks where fairy-tale whimsy conceals lethal consequences and thorny antihero alliances.

Sprawling across Middle-earth's Second Age, this lavish production anchors its massive narrative scale in the agonizing, creeping return of ancient darkness. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay juggle multiple divergent kingdoms—from the subterranean grandeur of Khazad-dûm to the glittering coastal courts of Númenor—while following Galadriel's obsessive crusade against an elusive evil. The multi-threaded plot thrives on political maneuvering, grand prophecies, and ancestral legacies hanging by a thread. Viewers drawn to the grand dynastic curses and sprawling mythical geography of Once Upon a Time will relish how the series treats folklore as living history, complete with hidden identities, corrupting relics, and legendary figures wrestling against seemingly inescapable fates.

What happens after the grand quest ends and the triumphant heroes disband? Directed by Keiichirō Saitō, this contemplative anime follows an immortal elven mage who realizes, decades too late, how fleeting and fragile her mortal comrades were. Embarking on a quiet pilgrimage across an era of peace, Frieren collects mundane spells while piecing together human connection through grief, regret, and patient wonder. The series redefines high fantasy through reflective pacing and understated character milestones. If you adored the way Once Upon a Time deconstructed the tidy myth of happily ever after to explore decades of emotional fallout, Frieren delivers an exquisite, bittersweet reckoning with fairy-tale aftermaths.

Running on earnest emotion and runaway comic-book science, this CW tentpole transformed Central City into a vibrant hub of metahuman crises and temporal paradoxes. Grant Gustin anchors the series as Barry Allen, balancing everyday crime-scene investigation with the burden of protecting his found family from speed-obsessed adversaries. The show's core strength lies in its unabashed sentimentality, where love and forgiveness repeatedly outmatch raw physical power across multiple tangled timelines. That unapologetic, heart-on-sleeve melodrama directly mirrors the appeal of Once Upon a Time, offering long-form serialized mysteries, alternate versions of beloved figures, and a central protagonist fighting tenaciously for family against reality-bending curses.

Chaos reigns supreme when a reckless, wand-wielding magical princess gets banished to suburban California to live with a mild-mannered high schooler. Daron Nefcy's animated adventure starts as an anarchic, bubblegum monster-of-the-week comedy before quietly blooming into a serialized critique of systemic prejudice, royal corruption, and ancestral crimes. Star Butterfly's journey balances dimensional scissors with heavy geopolitical unrest in the kingdom of Mewni. Fans craving the clash of everyday suburban mundane life with enchanted royal destiny found in Once Upon a Time will instantly appreciate how effortlessly this series bridges parallel realms while interrogating the squeaky-clean mythology of traditional fairy-tale monarchies.

High school is excruciating enough without your sixteenth birthday coming packaged with generational witchcraft, a talking sarcastic familiar, and a portal to the Other Realm hidden in the upstairs linen closet. Melissa Joan Hart brings buoyant comic timing to Sabrina Spellman, wrestling with the tricky ethics of spellcasting while keeping mortal boyfriends and suspicious principals entirely in the dark. The series excels at situational domestic comedy grounded in strict supernatural bureaucracy. For audiences who fell hard for the dual-life frictions and town-level sorcery of Once Upon a Time, this remains comfort-food television celebrating the chaotic balancing act between everyday civilian life and bizarre magical obligations.