Best tv shows like His Dark Materials
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Lyra is an orphan who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Lyra's search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children, and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. She is later joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As Lyra learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 83000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, enigmatic, suspense, exciting, sad, apocalyptic, crying, costume drama, juvenile, dark fantasy
Best tv shows and movies like His Dark Materials (2019):
Similar in 79%
The Odyssey (1992)
Plot Summary:
The Odyssey is a Canadian-produced half-hour adventure-fantasy television series for children, originally broadcast 1992-94 on CBC Television. It starred Illya Woloshyn as Jay Ziegler, Ashleigh Aston Moore as Donna/Alpha, Tony Sampson as Keith/Flash, Andrea Nemeth as Medea/Sierra Jones, Mark Hildreth as Finger, Ryan Reynolds as Macro, Janet Hodgkinson as Val Ziegler, and Devon Sawa as Yudo.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 802
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Canada
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, feel good, serious, captivating
Similar in 79%
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Plot Summary:
Return to the world of Thra, where three Gelfling discover the horrifying secret behind the Skeksis' power and set out to ignite the fires of rebellion and save their world.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: computer animated, atmospheric, exciting, captivating, colorful, touching, anime, children's program, epic fantasy, confusing
Similar in 76%
The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself (2022)
Plot Summary:
Caught between two warring clans, the son of a notorious witch responsible for a deadly massacre tries to find his place in the world — and his powers.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: supernatural thriller, spooky, homoerotic, queer cinema
Similar in 89%
Earthsea (2004)
Plot Summary:
A reckless youth is destined to become the greatest sorcerer that the mystical land of Earthsea has ever known.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Fantasy, Drama, Adventure
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: captivating, serious, stylized, epic, historical drama, epic fantasy, vintage
Similar in 83%
The Shannara Chronicles (2016)
Plot Summary:
A young Healer armed with an unpredictable magic guides a runaway Elf in her perilous quest to save the peoples of the Four Lands from an age-old Demon scourge.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, serious, suspense, apocalyptic, entertaining, sexy, costume drama, cliffhanger
Similar in 86%
Shadow and Bone (2021)
Plot Summary:
A teenage orphan who grows up in the land of Ravka. Her entire life changes after unexpectedly harnessing a power she never knew she had to save her best friend.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 111000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspense, captivating, mysterious, disturbing, unusual plot structure, apocalyptic, anime, mystical, beautiful
Similar in 90%
The Magicians (2015)
Plot Summary:
Brakebills University is a secret institution specializing in magic. There, amidst an unorthodox education of spellcasting, a group of twenty-something friends soon discover that a magical fantasy world they read about as children is all too real— and poses grave danger to humanity.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 55000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, disturbing, fairy tale, suspenseful, suspense, erotic, funny, spiritual, costume drama
Similar in 80%
A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017)
Plot Summary:
The orphaned Baudelaire children face trials, tribulations and the evil Count Olaf, all in their quest to uncover the secret of their parents' death.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 65000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: captivating, ironic, suspense, melancholic, funny, thought provoking, offbeat, saga, costume drama, children's program
Similar in 87%
The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe (1988)
Plot Summary:
Four kids travel to the magical land of Narnia where they must battle an evil queen with the direction of the Lion, Aslan.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 171 min
Plot tags: exciting, offbeat, serious, mystical, mythical, cult classic, stylized
Similar in 87%
Inkheart (2008)
Plot Summary:
The adventures of a father and his young daughter, in their search for a long lost book that will help reunite a missing, close relative.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Germany, UK, USA, Italy
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, touching, exciting, dark fantasy, serious, entertaining, tense, mystical, captivating, sentimental
Similar in 78%
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Plot Summary:
Harry starts his fourth year at Hogwarts, competes in the treacherous Triwizard Tournament and faces the evil Lord Voldemort. Ron and Hermione help Harry manage the pressure – but Voldemort lurks, awaiting his chance to destroy Harry and all that he stands for.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 666000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, entertaining, exciting, atmospheric, saga, action packed, teen, fantasy adventure, action adventure, mystic
Similar in 89%
The Golden Compass (2007)
Plot Summary:
After overhearing a shocking secret, precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua trades her carefree existence roaming the halls of Jordan College for an otherworldly adventure in the far North, unaware that it's part of her destiny.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 195000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, epic, visual, visually stunning, aesthetic, dark fantasy, mystical, spiritual, exciting, atmospheric
Similar in 85%
Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)
Plot Summary:
In the sequel to Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland", Alice Kingsleigh returns to Underland and faces a new adventure in saving the Mad Hatter.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 119000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: USA, Thailand, UK, India, Canada
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, dark fantasy, entertaining, surreal, visual, psychotronic, funny, atmospheric, psychedelic, mysterious
Similar in 81%
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
Plot Summary:
Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus illusionist and con-artist, is whisked from Kansas to the Land of Oz where the inhabitants assume he's the great wizard of prophecy, there to save Oz from the clutches of evil.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 213000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, colorful, light, entertaining, visually appealing, exciting, mystical, fantasy adventure, mysterious, mystic
Similar in 83%
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
Plot Summary:
A teenager finds himself transported to an island where he must help protect a group of orphans with special powers from creatures intent on destroying them.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 185000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, Belgium, Canada
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: dark fantasy, fairy tale, gothic, entertaining, exciting, atmospheric, stylized, serious, mystical, touching
Similar in 87%
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Plot Summary:
Alice, an unpretentious and individual 19-year-old, is betrothed to a dunce of an English nobleman. At her engagement party, she escapes the crowd to consider whether to go through with the marriage and falls down a hole in the garden after spotting an unusual rabbit. Arriving in a strange and surreal place called 'Underland,' she finds herself in a world that resembles the nightmares she had as a child, filled with talking animals, villainous queens and knights, and frumious bandersnatches. Alice realizes that she is there for a reason – to conquer the horrific Jabberwocky and restore the rightful queen to her throne.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 435000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: USA, Italy, Canada, Japan, UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, atmospheric, surreal, gothic, visually appealing, exciting, colorful, captivating, visual, stylized
Similar in 90%
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Plot Summary:
In 1926, Newt Scamander arrives at the Magical Congress of the United States of America with a magically expanded briefcase, which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats. When the creatures escape from the briefcase, it sends the American wizarding authorities after Newt, and threatens to strain even further the state of magical and non-magical relations.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 499000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, light, exciting, dark fantasy, entertaining, cliffhanger, absurd, psychotronic, saga, semi serious
Similar in 90%
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Plot Summary:
Ignoring threats to his life, Harry returns to Hogwarts to investigate – aided by Ron and Hermione – a mysterious series of attacks.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 677000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 161 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, entertaining, exciting, dark fantasy, suspense, saga, scenic, stylized, action packed, teen
Similar in 85%
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Plot Summary:
Returning for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts, Harry is stunned to find that his warnings about the return of Lord Voldemort have been ignored. Left with no choice, Harry takes matters into his own hands, training a small group of students – dubbed 'Dumbledore's Army' – to defend themselves against the dark arts.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 619000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: exciting, saga, scenic, tense, fairy tale, entertaining, action packed, teen, fantasy adventure, action adventure
Similar in 84%
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Plot Summary:
Harry, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts for another magic-filled year. Harry comes face to face with danger yet again, this time in the form of escaped convict, Sirius Black – and turns to sympathetic Professor Lupin for help.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 676000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: gothic, fairy tale, dark fantasy, entertaining, atmospheric, exciting, saga, stylized, serious, visually appealing
Similar in 77%
The Wheel of Time (2021)
Plot Summary:
Follow Moiraine, a member of the shadowy and influential all-female organization called the “Aes Sedai” as she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women. Moiraine believes one of them might be the reincarnation of an incredibly powerful individual, whom prophecies say will either save humanity or destroy it.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 132000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: dark fantasy, exciting, captivating, suspenseful, atmospheric, sad, epic fantasy, queer cinema
Similar in 88%
The NeverEnding Story (1984)
Plot Summary:
While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a young warrior who, with the help of a luck dragon named Falkor, must save Fantasia from the destruction of The Nothing.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 154000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: West Germany, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, feel good, light, surreal, touching, scenic, offbeat, atmospheric, epic, melancholic
Similar in 86%
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
Plot Summary:
Beginning in a time of relative peace, we follow an ensemble cast of characters as they confront the re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 343000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: atmospheric, fairy tale, exciting, epic fantasy
Similar in 77%
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Plot Summary:
Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard -- with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he learns to harness his newfound powers with the help of the school's kindly headmaster, Harry uncovers the truth about his parents' deaths -- and about the villain who's to blame.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 837000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 152 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, entertaining, exciting, touching, scenic, teen, saga, mystic, visually appealing, fantasy adventure
Similar in 86%
Merlin (2008)
Plot Summary:
The unlikely friendship between Merlin, a young man gifted with extraordinary magical powers, and Prince Arthur, heir to the crown of Camelot.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 86000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: epic, exciting, arthurian, humorous, fairy tale, captivating, mythical, stylized, mystical, funny
Similar in 81%
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
Plot Summary:
This time around Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their pesky cousin Eustace Scrubb find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to a fantastic Narnian ship headed for the very edges of the world.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 164000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: visually appealing, captivating, fairy tale, epic, entertaining, scenic, exciting, serious, christian film, spiritual
Similar in 82%
Legend of the Seeker (2008)
Plot Summary:
The adventures of woodsman Richard Cypher, who discovers that he was born to fulfill a prophecy of becoming a guardian hero to oppressed people. With the help of a mysterious woman named Kahlan and a wise old wizard named Zedd, he must stop a ruthless and bloodthirsty tyrant from unleashing an ancient evil and enslaving the world.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA, New Zealand
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, heroic, dark fantasy, feel good, entertaining, humorous, captivating, sweet, mythical
Similar in 81%
The Witcher (2019)
Plot Summary:
The witcher Geralt, a mutated monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. Based on Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher Saga.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 558000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: Poland, Hungary, USA, UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: dark fantasy, exciting, atmospheric, captivating, brutal, epic, serious, suspenseful, bleak, erotic
Similar in 82%
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Plot Summary:
Siblings Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter step through a magical wardrobe and find the land of Narnia. There, the they discover a charming, once peaceful kingdom that has been plunged into eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Aided by the wise and magnificent lion, Aslan, the children lead Narnia into a spectacular, climactic battle to be free of the Witch's glacial powers forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 420000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, atmospheric, exciting, epic, scenic, christian film, entertaining, visually stunning, action adventure, fantasy adventure
Similar in 86%
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Plot Summary:
Harry, Ron and Hermione walk away from their last year at Hogwarts to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, putting an end to Voldemort's bid for immortality. But with Harry's beloved Dumbledore dead and Voldemort's unscrupulous Death Eaters on the loose, the world is more dangerous than ever.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 585000
Genere: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 146 min
Plot tags: dark fantasy, epic, scenic, saga, suspenseful, fairy tale, action packed, teen, sad, fantasy adventure