The Witcher is one of Netflix's crown jewels, a fantasy behemoth with a fanbase that can rival any show on screens at the moment.
Led by Henry Cavill and based on author Andrzej Sapkowski's hugely successful series of novels, The Witcher follows Cavill's Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter for hire to struggles to find his place in a wicked world where humanity is just as awful as the monsters who Geralt is tasked with hunting.
Production on the third season of The Witcher is ongoing right now, but, given this is a show with lots of large monsters and fantastical offerings, there will be a fair bit to do in post-production after the physical shoot wraps. So, with that in mind, we'll be waiting until 2023 at least to see the new season, probably towards the end of that year too, given both prior seasons of The Witcher launched in December.
That means you'll be needing some alternatives to tide you over, so allow us to recommend five bloody fantasies until we see Geralt again...
The Wheel of Time
We're just under a month away from Amazon's launch of The Rings Of Power, its colossal and hugely expensive new take on Lord of The Rings, but last year it warmed us up nicely with epic fantasy series, The Wheel Of Time an adaptation of Robert Jordan’s vast series of books.
Rosamund Pike is front and center here as Moiraine, who, in a world full of magic, is one of the few who can access it. As the show begins, she is dispatched by her order, the Aes Sedai, to find the “Dragon Reborn,” a prophesied reincarnation of a powerful individual who could either save the world… or destroy it.
Her eyes are set on five young villagers, one of whom she is sure is the one, she just doesn’t know which one.
A real high-fantasy tale full of magic, mythical beasts and wonder, the show is already booked for season two and three on Prime Video.
Where can I stream it?
Prime Video (Worldwide)
Britannia
Britannia is the brainchild of Jez Butterworth, playwright extraordinaire, and writer of Spectre and Edge of Tomorrow, and there are three seasons to enjoy.
Set in AD 43, the series follows ancient Rome's conquest of the Celts in the British Isles and their battle with warrior women and powerful druids to do so.
With an all-star cast that includes David Morrissey, Kelly Reilly, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Mackenzie Crook, Zoë Wanamaker, Ian McDiarmid, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Hugo Speer, the show has slightly unhinged, madcap feel to it, but it's very addictive once you it gets under your skin.
Where can I stream it?
NOW (UK), Epix (US), BiNGE (AU)
His Dark Materials
This is more family-friendly than The Witcher, but it's just as wondrous and captivating.
Based on Philip Pullman’s groundbreaking young adult series, those books were mangled when they first appeared on the big screen back in 2007, despite a star-studded cast that included Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman and Ian McKellen, but a team-up between HBO and the BBC has set that right.
The story follows Lyra, an orphan who has grown up around the scholars at Jordan College in Oxford. The world she lives in is governed by the Magisterium, a strict religious and political body. After her friend mysteriously disappears, she finds herself entangled in a sinister plot involving stolen children and a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust, something the Magisterium is desperate to suppress.
With James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda among the cast, this series captures the wonder and splendor of Pullman’s trilogy of books superbly. A third and final series is due later this year.
Where can I stream it?
HBO Max (US), BBC iPlayer (UK), BiNGE (AU)
The Shannara Chronicles
A little lighter in tone than The Witcher, but this is pure escapist fantasy, with all the spells and sorcery that comes with it.
An adaptation of Terry Brooks' bestselling book series The Sword of Shannara Trilogy, The Shannara Chronicls is set in a post apocalyptic world where an Elvin princess, human-elf hybrid and Eretria, a human who raised by a band of thieves, are forced together to defend Earth from demonic forces.
These demons have begun to force their way back after being banished from this world to a place known as the Forbidding as a result of a spell performed on an ancient tree called the Ellcrys.
To stop their return, Wil, Amberle and Eretria, guided by Allanon, the last druid, must go on a quest to protect the Ellcrys from dying and releasing all the banished demons back into the world.
Austin Butler, who some of you might have seen leading the way in Baz Luhrmann’s lavish new biopic of Elvis Presley this summer, plays Wil, with British actress Poppy Drayon and Ivana Baquero, who you may remember from her performance as a child in Guillermo Del Toro’s breathtaking fantasy Pan’s Labyrinth, playing Amberle and Eretria.
If you've after pure escapism, this will definitely be your bag.
Where can I stream it?
Tubi (US, AU), Netflix (UK, AU)
Game Of Thrones
An obvious pick and we can't imagine that there are that many fans of The Witcher who've yet to take in Game Of Thrones, but on the tiniest chance that some of you ignored HBO's megahit when it was on, or you're just getting into this sort of thing, it's an absolute must-watch.
Based on the book series by George R. R. Martin, Game Of Thrones is set in the land of Westeros, where warring families fight for control over the Iron Throne with immense battles and unlawful romances everywhere to be seen.
It's violent, wickedly funny, bloody, wince-inducing and decidedly NSFW, and, if you've not indulged, do it.
Where can I stream it?
HBO Max (US), NOW (UK), BiNGE (AU)
