Television

Fantasy Shows

This Short-Lived 2010s Fantasy Series Could Have Been A Comedic Classic

By Rafael Motamayor

Aug. 22, 2026 7:00 pm EST

ABC

Fantasy is going through a golden age in television, with the success of "Game of Thrones" ushering in a new era for the genre on TV. There's "The Witcher" and "The Wheel of Time," there's "Shadow and Bone" and "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." These tend to be more serious fantasy shows on an epic scale with big battles and casts. It's adult fantasy, meant to "elevate" the genre and make it part of the "Peak TV" era.

But it's a shame the genre hasn't exploded widely enough to usher different takes on fantasy (though animation has taken advantage, that's a different beast). Still, there are shows that broke the mold and dared to be different. If "Game of Thrones" and "Rings of Power" aren't your cup of tea, and you're more inclined to like comedic fantasy like "The Princess Bride," "Ella Enchanted" or "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," there's one short-lived 2010s fantasy series that's perfect for you — and it could have been a comedic classic.

The show is "Galavant," which aired on ABC from 2015 to 2016. It features a stellar crew, as the show was created by Dan Fogelman, responsible for the twisty "Paradise," as well as "This Is Us" and the script of "Tangled." It's not only a fantasy comedy show, it is also a musical, with none other than Disney legend Alan Menken ("The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin") helping with the music and lyrics to the many songs in the show.

From the jump, "Galavant" tells you exactly what it is: a glorious fairy tale cliché. It takes place in the fictional kingdom of Valencia (no, not Spain) which King Richard (Timothy Omundsen) just took over. He also stole and married the girlfriend of Valencia's greatest hero, Galavant (Joshua Sasse). The titular hero then embarks on a quest to rescue his beloved and save the kingdom.

Galavant is a fantastic musical comedy worth watching

ABC

"Galavant" is an incredible comedy musical, one that is constantly embracing and lampooning fantasy clichés and tropes. As heroic as Galavant looks, he is, well, quite the jackass. Plus, while his one true love Madalena (Mallory Jansen) may look the part, she is no fair maiden. Even the supposedly evil King Richard ends up having quite a fantastic character arc full of nuance and depth.

Created and written with deep knowledge and love of not just fantasy and fairy tales, but specifically the Disney-style of fairy tales, this is a show full of self-referential humor and even a few fourth-wall breaks. Season 1 ends with a song all about the unanswered plot lines, pokes fun at whether the singing hurts the show's ratings, and even wonders whether the cast would fully return for another season.

Then, Season 2 starts with a song about how unlikely it was that "Galavant" got renewed, how costly the many cameos of the season would cost ABC, and even spoiled most of the season in case the show got pulled off-air half-way through. Indeed, this show was not just quite funny, it was also quite the earworm, with incredibly catchy and memorable songs — a few even parody famous musicals like "Grease" and "West Side Story" with a medieval twist.

If you want the kind of romantic fantasy that the best Disney animated movies offered, but with a lot more innuendo, plenty of trope-flipping, and memorable characters, "Galavant" is for you.

Unfortunately, the show got canceled after Season 2. That being said, Alan Menken has said in the past that he wants to reimagine the show for the stage (via BroadwayWorld). Sure, that was years ago, and there hasn't been any news, but "Galavant" is all about not giving up on your hopes, after all.