From ‘Blade: The Series’ to ‘Ghost Whisperer,’ the 10 Most Underrated 2000s Fantasy Shows, Ranked
While we were thankful that the computers didn’t murder us when the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2000, we were not so lucky when it came to fantasy shows. While the genre had a renaissance in the ’90s at the box office, it was still kind of a rough go for fantasy on the small screen. Sure, we had a handful of great fantasy gems that came out in the ’90s, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but overall, it was the dark ages for this genre.
The 2000s saw a change of fortune for fantasy TV, though. Shows like Supernatural and Merlin breathed new life into the genre, and pointed the way to better days ahead for fantasy TV. However, we can’t forget about the numerous shows that could have been great, but were lost to the cruel fate of the cancellation ax. So, let’s talk about the most underrated fantasy shows of the 2000s.
10
‘Legend of the Seeker’ (2008–2010)
Sam Raimi, the man who brought us Evil Dead and the original Spider-Man trilogy, was the brains behind one of the most underrated fantasy shows of the 2000s. Legend of the Seeker is a tale that’s steeped in adventure, fantasy, and romance, all of which come together for an unforgettable viewing experience.
The series follows Richard Cypher (Craig Horner), the “Seeker of Truth,” who, along with his companions, defend the people of their home realm against evil. Based on the Terry Goodkind novel of the same name, Legend of the Seeker was simple, but enjoyable to watch. Although it ended after just two seasons and has since been forgotten, you should seek out the truth of this series and enjoy the fruits of its labor.
9
‘Hex’ (2004–2005)
Hex is a series that was extremely enjoyable, but also extremely convoluted. No one really knew how to describe this show, so we’ll try to put it in basic terms. Hex is a British supernatural fantasy series that loosely follows Cassie Hughes (Christina Cole), a young woman who can’t seem to find her footing at a remote English boarding school. Why? Because she’s actually a descendant of witches.
Each season (or “series” as it’s known here) of Hex tells a different story, each varying in quality in its story. Overall, however, Hex is an underrated gem that was pretty wild in its concept, though no one really knew how to truly define this. If you can find it, do yourself a favor and check it out.
8
‘Tru Calling’ (2003–2005)
So, imagine that you’re a medical student, and you got a great internship to get your foot in the door. All of a sudden, the internship falls through, and to pay your college bills, you take a job at the city morgue. Here, you realize something special about yourself: you can relive the deceased’s last day on Earth and prevent their death. This is what happened to Tru Davies (Eliza Dushku) in a unique, underrated supernatural fantasy series Tru Calling.
Created by Jon Jarmon Feldman, Tru Calling was certainly ahead of its time. It was a creative premise to tell the story of a person who can essentially bring the dead back to life, no matter how scientifically impossible that is. Audiences didn’t appreciate the series for what it was back in the day, and after being bounced to the Syfy Network from Fox, it was cancelled after just two seasons. Like Hex, if you can find Tru Calling, please do. It will be an hour of television that is pure comfort food.
7
‘Dead Like Me’ (2003–2004)
As much praise is heaped on HBO and Netflix, one network that has produced some timely shows, but doesn’t get enough recognition, is Showtime. One of the shows that was truly a gem of its time was Dead Like Me, a comedy-drama mixed in with family elements that, like Tru Calling, was kind of ahead of its time.
Dead Like Me tells the story of Georgia “George” Lass (Ellen Muth), who dies and becomes a grim reaper, tasked with moving souls into the afterlife before they die. Dead Like Me was much more than a story of grim reapers. It also looked at how families deal with the death of a loved one, and the relationships between the deceased and their loved ones. Dead Like Me was a great show, but it, sadly, didn’t last long, being cancelled and forgotten about after just two seasons.
6
‘Reaper’ (2007–2009)
The CW has produced a smorgasbord of shows that, because of the network it’s on, don’t get the chance to flex their true potential. Reaper is one of those shows, a fantasy comedy that, if it was on another network, would have had the chance to be a successful show.
Starring Bret Harrison, Reaper follows a college dropout who takes a job at a home-repair store. However, on his 21st birthday, his dad reveals a secret long kept from him. In return for giving him a healthy life, his dad promised his firstborn son to the Devil (Ray Wise), and he made Sam his bounty hunter, or “Reaper.” This show had all the ingredients needed to be a great show, but it never grew an audience, and was canned after just two seasons. An opportunity absolutely wasted.
5
‘Blade: The Series’ (2006)
In the early 2000s, there was no bigger superhero out there than Blade. So, after the Blade movie trilogy wrapped up with Blade: Trinity, there had to be a way to keep this train going. Enter Blade: The Series, which is actually a continuation from the movies with a different actor portraying the slayer of vampires, Eric Brooks.
That was crucial, and not in a good way as far as fans were concerned. Wesley Snipes was the embodiment of the character, and seeing someone else as Blade was downright strange. That should not have been a turnoff, however, as the series was pretty solid. Alas, fans could not get over Brooks being Blade, and this series was gone after just one season.
4
‘Witchblade’ (2001–2002)
The 2000s was a grand time to be in the fantasy genre. There were so many ways to explore this genre, some tried-and-true, others that were completely out-of-the-box. Witchblade was a combination of both, in a sense. The supernatural superhero series follows NYPD detective Sara Pezzini (Yancy Butler), who discovers a magical weapon that gives her abilities to fight the evildoers of the world.
Witchblade is an early example of the fantasy police procedural, one that would be better popularized with NBC’s Grimm in the 2010s, but here is where its origins lay. Maybe it was too much ahead of its time, and viewers didn’t really get the premise of Witchblade. But, whatever the case, this gem of a show didn’t gain a following, and was cancelled after two seasons.
3
‘Vampire High’ (2001–2002)
While it may seem that Twilight and The Vampire Diaries ushered in the era of teen vampires, they were not the first titles to popularize the idea of teen witches in high school. Vampire High was actually one of the pioneers of the subgenre, and this fantasy deserves to be explored as some of the same themes that made Twilight and The Vampire Diaries popular are evident here.
Vampire High follows a group of young vampires with whom the “Elders” have tasked for an experiment. They will be enrolled in a boarding school for normal teens with the goal of making them “civilized.” Although this fantasy teen drama was short-lived (it only had one season), there was something noble and interesting about trying to see if vampires could be “civil” with mortals. It was a very interesting concept that, at the time, just didn’t catch on.
2
‘Blood Ties’ (2007)
In the 2000s, Canadians really loved their vampire TV shows. First, there was Vampire High, which came out at a time when vampire fantasy wasn’t really catching on. Next up was Blood Ties, which was released in 2007 and was a cross between fantasy and crime drama. So, one can reasonably call this show an early example of a fantasy police procedural.
Blood Ties is actually based on a series of Blood Books written by Tanya Huff, and follows Henry Firzroy (Kyle Schmid), a long-living vampire who teams up with a private investigator, Vicki Nelson (Christina Cox) as they solve paranormal crime in Toronto. Blood Ties doesn’t break any new ground, but it was very interesting to see how a vampire and private investigator could work together to rid the city of paranormal evil. After a promising start, Blood Ties fizzled out and was cancelled after just two seasons of paranormal crime fighting.
1
‘Ghost Whisperer’ (2005–2010)
If you could talk to ghosts, what would you do? Well, if you were Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt), maybe you would try to help them find peace and cross over into the afterlife. That’s the central premise of Ghost Whisperer, the most underrated fantasy series of the 2000s that deserves to get more love than what it got during its initial run.
Here, Gordon discovers that she has the ability to talk to ghosts, and she uses this power to help them get to the afterlife. Of course, there were some ghosts who were reluctant to cross over, and she used her problem-solving skills to understand and help those holdouts. Ghost Whisperer was more than a ghost-talking show. It was full of heart and emotion, and this series is great for cozying up on a crisp fall day, and binge-watching this underrated classic.
