Calling something flawless is usually asking for trouble, because someone will find the one weak episode or the one plot hole you missed. But every once in a while a miniseries comes along with such a tight grip on its own story that there really isn’t a weak link anywhere, no padding episode, no dropped subplot, no bad performance dragging things down.

That kind of control is rare even in film, and it’s almost unheard of in television, where a show usually has to stretch itself to fill a season order no matter if the story needs it or not. These eight never had that problem. Every episode earns its place and every performance holds up, in short, nothing feels wasted.

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‘Sharp Objects’ (2018)

Image via HBO

Camille Preaker (Amy Adams), a journalist with a history of self-harm, gets sent back to her hometown to cover the murder of two young girls, and the show spends most of its runtime showing you her scars in quick, disorienting flashes. Sharp Objects is based on a Gillian Flynn novel, and it keeps the same nasty, claustrophobic small-town dread that made her other books hits, except stretched across eight hours instead of two.

Adora Crellin (Patricia Clarkson) and Amma Crellin (Eliza Scanlen), Camille’s mother and half-sister, turn the family home into its own kind of crime scene. Jean-Marc Vallée directed every episode, and he uses sound and editing to put you inside Camille’s head so completely that the show feels less like a mystery and more like a slow, controlled panic attack. The final twist, once it lands, recontextualizes almost every scene that came before it.

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‘The Night Of’ (2016)

Image via HBO

Naz Khan (Riz Ahmed) borrows his dad’s cab for one night, meets a woman, and wakes up next to her dead body with no memory of what happened, and from that first hour on, The Night Of treats the entire criminal justice system like its own slow-moving villain. Detective Box (Bill Camp) builds a case against him with genuine care and thoroughness, which makes the whole thing scarier, since nobody here is cartoonishly corrupt, the system just grinds Naz down anyway.

John Stone (John Turturro), the eczema-covered lawyer nobody wanted to hire, ends up being the only person who actually fights for Naz, and Turturro plays him as scruffy and unglamorous in a way most legal dramas would never allow. Steven Zaillian and Richard Price wrote the show together, and they let Rikers Island change Naz almost as much as the trial itself does, until it’s hard to tell which version of him is real by the end. It never once tells you whether he actually did it, and that refusal is the whole point.

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‘I May Destroy You’ (2020)

Image via HBO

Arabella (Michaela Coel), a young writer riding the success of her first book, gets drugged and assaulted at a bar one night, and the rest of the show follows her trying to piece together fragments of memory while also just trying to keep living her actual life. Coel wrote, directed, and starred in nearly every episode herself, and she based large parts of it on something that actually happened to her, which gives the whole thing a rawness.

Terry (Weruche Opia) and Kwame (Paapa Essiedu), Arabella’s closest friends, get their own messy, complicated storylines about consent and identity that never feel like side plots, they’re treated with the same weight as Arabella’s own. The show refuses easy endings too, it plays out multiple possible endings for how Arabella might confront her attacker instead of picking just one, which is a strange and bold choice for a finale.

5

‘Band of Brothers’ (2001)

Image via HBO

Major Winters (Damian Lewis) leads Easy Company through D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and the eventual push into Germany, and Band of Brothers treats every one of those campaigns with the same care, nothing here feels like filler between the famous battles. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced it together, and the budget shows in every frame, but what actually holds the show together is how specific and human each soldier feels, even the ones who only get one real episode.

Captain Nixon (Ron Livingston) and Sergeant Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg) anchor two of the show’s best episodes, and the decision to interview real surviving members of Easy Company before each episode gives the fiction an unusual weight, you know these people actually existed and actually went through this. Twenty-plus years later, it’s still the standard other war shows get measured against, mostly because it never once tries to make war look exciting.

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‘When They See Us’ (2019)

Image via Netflix

Five teenagers, Antron (Caleel Harris), Kevin (Asante Blackk), Yusef (Ethan Herisse), Raymond (Marquis Rodriguez), and Korey (Jharrel Jerome), get coerced into false confessions after a jogger is attacked in Central Park in 1989, and When They See Us spends four hours making sure you understand exactly how that coercion happened, lie by lie. Ava DuVernay directed the whole thing with precision. Moreover, she refuses to let the interrogation scenes feel distant or procedural, in fact, you sit in the room with these kids the entire time.

Jerome plays Korey at every age from sixteen to adult, since Korey was the only one of the five tried and sentenced as an adult, and that single performance carries some of the heaviest material in the entire series, particularly the years spent at Rikers. The show doesn’t soften what happened to any of them afterward either, and by the time it gets to their eventual exoneration, it’s earned every bit of anger it’s asking you to feel.

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‘Unbelievable’ (2019)

Image via Netflix

Marie (Kaitlyn Dever) reports being raped, and instead of being believed, she gets pressured by police into recanting her own story, then charged for filing a false report, and Unbelievable spends its first hour making that failure almost unbearable to watch before it even introduces the two detectives who’ll eventually solve the case years later. It’s based on a real Pulitzer-winning news investigation, and that true-story thing going on here is actually the best part.

Detective Duvall (Merritt Wever) and Detective Rasmussen (Toni Collette) catch a pattern of similar attacks in a different state years later, and their careful, patient investigative work is deliberately set against the dismissive way Marie’s own case got handled, the show is basically arguing that good policing exists, it’s just rare. Dever’s performance holds the whole thing together though, and watching her get disbelieved by nearly every adult in her life is some of the hardest television made in the last decade.

2

‘The Queen’s Gambit’ (2020)

Image via Netflix

The Queen’s Gambit is all about Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) who grows up in an orphanage where she gets hooked on both chess and tranquilizers at the same time, courtesy of the janitor, Mr. Shaibel (Bill Camp). He teaches her the game in the basement almost by accident. The show however turns competitive chess into something as tense and visually thrilling as any sports movie, which shouldn’t really be possible given how little actual physical action is involved.

Alma Wheatley (Marielle Heller), Beth’s adoptive mother, becomes an unexpectedly moving presence in her life despite her own addictions, and Benny Watts (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) shows up as both rival and love interest later on, neither role ever feels like it’s just there to fill space. Scott Frank adapted the Walter Tevis novel and directed every episode, and the show never punishes Beth for her addiction the way most stories like this tend to, it just lets her be brilliant and messy at the same time.

1

‘Chernobyl’ (2019)

Image via HBO

Valery Legasov (Jared Harris) is a nuclear physicist and he gets pulled into cleaning up a disaster that Soviet officials spend the first several hours actively denying even happened. Chernobyl takes the story and turns that denial into some of the most quietly terrifying television ever made, because the horror part is more than the radiation itself, it’s the bureaucracy standing in front of it. Boris Shcherbina (Stellan Skarsgård) starts out as the government minder sent to keep Legasov in line and slowly becomes his closest ally instead.

Ulana Khomyuk (Emily Watson), a fictional composite standing in for the dozens of real scientists who worked the case, gives the show a way to explain the science without ever feeling like a lecture. Craig Mazin wrote it and researched it obsessively for years, and director Johan Renck shoots the plant itself like a haunted building, all flickering lights and empty concrete corridors. It won practically every award it was eligible for, and unlike a lot of prestige TV, it earned every single one.

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Chernobyl

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Release Date

2019 – 2019

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Network

HBO

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Showrunner

Craig Mazin

Directors

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Johan Renck

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Social media users are reacting after Duane “Keffe D” Davis was found guilty of the murder of Tupac Shakur nearly 30 years later.

RELATED: Prayers Up! Assata Shakur, Activist & Tupac’s Aunt, Passes Away At 78 (PHOTO)

Duane “Keffe D” Davis Is Found Guilty Of Murder Of Tupac Shakur Nearly 30 Years Later

According to CNN, on Monday, August 31, a jury found Keffe D guilty of the first-degree murder of Tupac Shakur. Per the outlet, Keffe D is accused of plotting and providing the gun for the shooting. Furthermore, the outlet reports that the jury deliberated the decision for three hours before reaching their verdict.

In response, Shakur’s family, including his sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, was deeply affected by the news. Set reportedly cried while other family members held hands.

Per CBS News, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is 63 years old.

Social Media Reacts After Duane “Keffe D” Davis Is Found Guilty Of Murder Of Tupac Shakur Nearly 30 Years Later

Social media users reacted to Keffe D’s conviction in TSR’s comment section.

More On The Trial & Upcoming Sentencing

As The Shade Room previously reported, the defense rested its case on August 27. Per CNN, prosecutors argued that Duane “Keffe D” Davis went “hunting” for Tupac Shakur following a fight between the rap star and his nephew, Orlando Anderson, at the MGM Grand on September 7, 1996. Keffe reportedly called himself the “shot caller” of the search, alongside the now-deceased Anderson and two other men. However, Keffe’s defense argued that although he shared statements about the subsequent fatal shooting over the years, he was telling “fiction.”

Per the outlet, Keffe D will be sentenced on October 13. AP News reports that after the guilty verdict was announced, the 63-year-old said he intends to appeal.

RELATED: Next Up, Closings! Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ Trial Winds Down As Prosecution & Defense Rest In Tupac Shakur Murder Trial

Sidney Starr appeared in court in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this month following her recent arrest on aggravated child molestation, sodomy, and sexual battery allegations involving a 13-year-old boy. The Shade Room’s Justin Carter attended the hearing as Starr’s attorney requested she be released on bond.

The judge denied the request. And now, ‘TSR Investigates’ is sharing accounts from Starr’s friends, family, and managers as the case moves forward.

More On Sidney Starr Court Appearance

According to Carter, Sidney Starr’s defense attorney, Anthony Lake, pleaded with a judge to release her on bond. On August 2, police arrived at the Embassy Suites hotel. There, family members of a 13-year-old boy were reportedly highly distressed.

Per Carter, it was in the lobby of that hotel that a 13-year-old boy allegedly approached Starr and told her she was “cute.” The 13-year-old allegedly went up to Starr’s room, where “sexual contact” occurred. Prosecutors allege the contact included oral intercourse.

Families Speak Out Amid Her Court Appearance

During Starr’s court appearance, the mother of the 13-year-old boy had a statement read on her behalf. Furthermore, the statement explained that her child suffered intense emotional and psychological harm. Ultimately, the judge did not render Sidney Starr’s bond.

“This decision was made off of speculative opinion and not evidence,” Nora, Starr’s best friend, shared in a statement read to TSR. “… Sidney Starr is disappointed by the bond decision [made] today by the judge. Sidney is still in good spirits and asks that the public try not to make a judgment about the guilt based on this decision.”

Scroll above to watch as Justin Carter speaks with Sidney Starr’s friends, family, and loved ones. Additionally, Carter asks about why the 13-year-old was present in Starr’s hotel room. Additionally, Rashard, Starr’s manager, shares his thoughts on the allegations and steps ahead.

RELATED: Ceiling Collapses On Woman At Hibachi Restaurant | TSR Investigates

The skies are clearing for Lizzo, as the “About Damn Time” singer recently scored a major victory in court. According to a new report, a federal judge ruled after reviewing a lawsuit alleging that Lizzo’s company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, treated one of her former employees unfairly. The win is a positive for Lizzo, especially since she made headlines earlier this summer after speaking candidly about her failing fifth studio album, which sold fewer than 4,000 copies in its first week.

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A California judge recently ruled in favor of Lizzo’s company and dismissed a suit filed by Asha Williams, who alleged she was the victim of sexual and racial harassment. According to TMZ, Williams sued Lizzo and her company in 2023, claiming she was forced to hear racist and fatphobic comments while employed.

At the time, Lizzo denied the claims and declared her innocence. “My character has been criticized. Usually, I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed,” she said.

Lizzo’s Lawyer Releases A Statement After A Judge Rules In Favor Of The Singer

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After the judge’s decision, Lizzo’s lawyer, Melissa Glass, issued a statement and expressed gratitude that the court sided with the “Soulmate” singer.

“The court’s ruling today granting summary judgment is a total victory for Lizzo, her touring company, and the other defendants named in Asha Daniels’ ludicrous lawsuit,” Glass said. “There was never any basis for Ms. Daniels to sue Lizzo, her touring company, her tour manager, or her wardrobe manager. Indeed, the case against Lizzo was thrown out in December 2024. We are exploring all avenues to enforce our clients’ rights after this major win.”

She Has Talked About Body Positivity

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The August 2023 lawsuit against Lizzo and her company shocked many, as the Houston native has been vocal about promoting body positivity.

“I’m not going to be able to please everyone with my outward appearance,” she said in April 2019. “Someone’s always going to have a critique, someone’s always going to have some negativity to say about me. So all that matters is what I think of it. And I had to go so deep inside myself and look in the mirror. Looking in the mirror and accepting what’s in the mirror is very, very difficult. And right now, I love it every time I look in the mirror.”

A year later, Lizzo reflected on the positive impact her music has had on different communities, including kids.

“I love the fact that kids love me because I’m making music to make us better, to make us smile, to make you love yourself and I think that children need that more than anything so that they can teach the next generation how to love themselves,” she said.

Singer On An Emotional ‘Rollercoaster’ After Album Flop

I’m weeping on the floor— nobody knows what I’ve been going through privately. Its been a roller coaster—
Sometimes I feel like my hands are tied behind my back and life is whooping my ass. But I wake up EVERY DAY and declare victory, even through the sleepless nights even… pic.twitter.com/xiwXyy6aak

— LIZZO (@lizzo) July 3, 2026

Before the recent update to her court case, Lizzo admitted to being on an emotional “rollercoaster” after her latest album flopped, according to The Blast.

“Sometimes I feel like my hands are tied behind my back and life is whooping my a**,” she wrote online. Despite that, Lizzo said she was actively choosing to “declare victory” and move forward.

Lizzo also shared that she wouldn’t stop making music, stating, “I will continue to glow and shine, because that’s what I do.”

Lizzo: The Author?

While promoting her latest album, Lizzo was also busy completing her first children’s book, “Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B Flootin,” which becomes available on September 8, 2026.

The book, which details the “Truth Hurts” singer’s love for the flute, tells the story of a “bubbly little girl” who wants nothing more than to fit in. Throughout the book, she goes on several adventures with a “smart and brassy flute who can’t find her tune.” Together, they help each other build confidence and learn that “making a true friend can fill your life with magic and help you discover who you are.”

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Korean beauty products are showing up everywhere, from major U.S. store shelves to TikTok feeds, as K-beauty moves from a niche trend to a mainstream beauty phenomenon in 2026. With Korean skincare products, ingredients and routines becoming increasingly popular among American shoppers, here’s a closer look at what’s driving the K-beauty boom and why it’s having such a major moment right now.

What Is K-Beauty and Why Is Korean Beauty Going Mainstream in the U.S.?

K-beauty refers to Korean skin care and cosmetics products that emphasize glowing, healthy skin over heavy makeup coverage. The category took off in the U.S. after pandemic lockdowns gave shoppers time to explore multi-step routines and ingredient-focused formulas.

Anna Mayo, a NielsenIQ beauty thought leader, told CNBC that time at home reshaped skin care habits. “People were home. They had time to kind of learn about a 10-step skin care routine. They learned about what specific ingredients did, how to layer products together. We saw the rise of this ‘glass skin’ look, and this real emphasis on healthy and glowing skin that looks great every day versus the need to kind of cover it up with cosmetics,” Mayo said.

How Much Has the K-Beauty Market Grown in 2026?

U.S. K-beauty sales reached $2.8 billion in early 2026, a roughly 48 percent jump from a year earlier, according to NielsenIQ data reported by CNBC. That pace outstripped the nearly 45 percent growth rate seen in the prior-year period, which Mayo described as an unusual acceleration.

The surge reflects how quickly Korean skin care has moved from niche online communities into mainstream American shopping carts. Social media has driven much of the momentum. Products launched in Seoul appear on TikTok and Instagram feeds in the U.S., U.K., India and Australia almost instantly, BBC reporter Suranjana Tewari writes in a recent report on K-beauty’s global rise.

Why U.S. Shoppers Are Choosing Korean Beauty Products

Shoppers are gravitating to Korean beauty products because of the focus on natural ingredients, transparency about sourcing and results-driven formulations.

Beauty influencer Mia Chen told the BBC that shoppers care about what is inside the bottle. “We’re not just buying from the big brands now. We’re actually talking about ingredients, where it’s sourced, what it does,” Chen said. “A lot of Korean skincare derives from natural ingredients, and we all want that on our skin without side effects.”

Tewari writes that innovation is central to the category’s rise, with new formulations appearing every few months, often designed to spark the next online obsession. Products once seen as niche, such as overnight water sleeping masks and headline-grabbing ingredients like salmon sperm, are now staples in bathroom cabinets around the world, she writes.

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The Most Popular K-Beauty Products Shoppers Are Buying Right Now

The K-beauty category covers cleansers, treatments and layering products built to work together in a full routine. Sheet masks and pimple patches have become entry points for many new shoppers, while dedicated users add essences, serums and ampoules to target specific concerns.

Popular K-beauty product categories include the following.

• Cleansing oils and cleansing balms
• Water-based cleansers
• Toners
• Essences
• Serums
• Ampoules
• Toner pads
• Sheet masks
• Wash-off masks
• Overnight and sleeping masks
• Eye patches
• Pimple patches

Many of these formulas belong to the 10-step skin care routine Mayo pointed to as a driver of the K-beauty boom in the U.S. Overnight water sleeping masks are among the products Tewari says have moved from niche to mainstream in bathrooms around the world.

The past few years have seen a boom for the horror genre, with new innovative films taking on unique concepts and giving audiences a reason to really pay attention. Horror stories most often connect with audiences when they change up the standard formula, when they mix it up a bit, or when they find something so simple that it makes you recoil in terror and ask how nobody ever thought of that before. That’s exactly what made one of the biggest horror success stories of 2022, transforming a relatively simple supernatural premise into the beginning of a new franchise for Paramount.

Smile was a global sensation when it released, and then two years later, director Parker Finn returned with an even bigger sequel, this time putting a global pop star at the center of the nightmare. Audiences responded, and the movie ultimately became another substantial theatrical hit. Now, 2024’s Smile 2 will officially find a new streaming home in just two days, with the $138 million horror sequel joining Netflix on September 3. The sequel follows global pop sensation Skye Riley as she prepares to embark on a major world tour. After witnessing a disturbing tragedy, however, Skye has found herself tormented by increasingly horrifying events and the same sinister smiling entity introduced in the original movie. Spoiler alert: there are a lot of teeth on display, and it’s not exactly a welcome sight.

The smash hit sequel stars Naomi Scott (Aladdin) as Skye Riley, with Rosemarie DeWitt (Poltergeist) as Elizabeth Riley, Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling) returning as Joel, Lukas Gage (The White Lotus) as Lewis, Miles Gutierrez-Riley (Agatha All Along) as Joshua, Peter Jacobson (House) as Morris, Raúl Castillo (Looking) as Darius, and Dylan Gelula (Hacks) as Gemma.

Was ‘Smile 2’ a Success?

Following its release, Smile 2 earned an 86% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, improving upon the original movie’s 79% score on the review aggregator. Critics particularly praised Scott’s central performance and the increased scale of the scares. The sequel has also received an 81% verified audience score on the Popcornmeter. That acclaim was accompanied by another strong theatrical performance. Smile 2 has grossed $138.1 million worldwide, split almost evenly between its $69 million at the domestic box office and $69.1 million from international markets.

Now the film is landing on Netflix, which will give it the perfect opportunity to lure in another audience nearly two years after its release. Smile 2 will begin streaming on Netflix on September 3. Stay tuned at Collider for more.

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Release Date

October 16, 2024

Runtime

127 minutes

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Director

Parker Finn

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Writers

Parker Finn

Producers

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Robert Salerno, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Isaac Klausner, Parker Finn

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There are quite a few fantasy shows that may not have dominated the headlines as some were able to, but over the years since airing, they have found a lasting appreciation among dedicated viewers who praise them for their storytelling and charm. From heartfelt character arcs and epic world-building to rather bold creative risks, these subtle gems are proof that, even if forgotten by most, such great fantasies don’t always fade away — sometimes, they age like fine wine.

Forgotten fantasy jewels like the one-season banger The Nine Lives of Chloe King, whose potential was abruptly cut short, and the fantastically captivating The Magicians are perfect examples of shows that may not be very well known or well remembered, but have still aged quite well. Compiled on this list are eight forgotten, but compellingly brilliant, fantasy series that have only gotten more enjoyable as the years have gone by.

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‘Pushing Daisies’ (2007–2009)

Image via ABC

There will never be a time when Pushing Daisies doesn’t stand among some of the best fantasy series out there. The whimsical show follows pie maker Ned (Lee Pace), a man who can restore life to the dead with a simple touch and, with another, return them to their graves. After learning of his childhood sweetheart’s demise, Ned resurrects her, which then ensues the greatest quirky, tragic, and adorable relationship ever brought to screens.

Pushing Daisies is the true definition of fairy-tale charm, as it delivers a compellingly unique concept. The underappreciated series seamlessly blends sweet romance, case-by-case mysteries, and vibrant fantasy allure, crafting a story that improves with time. It’s a one-of-a-kind series that, sadly, audiences just don’t talk about much, despite its ageless beauty. Thankfully, the series, even with its short run, garnered devoted fans, who often praise it for its vibrant wonder and whimsy. Pushing Daisies may be a forgotten fantasy series, but it definitely stands as one with inventive storytelling and a heartfelt tone that warrants a place in everyone’s hearts, no matter what the era.

2

‘Atlantis’ (2013–2015)

Image via BBC

This forgotten fantasy gem from the BBC offers fans an extremely adventurous and fresh take on Greek mythology. Atlantis centers on Jason (Jack Donnelly), a man who somehow survives a shipwreck only to end up in the mythical city of legend, Atlantis. Jason quickly realizes that there is more to his destiny as he discovers his role in a prophecy to save it.

Atlantis offers a strong blend of myth and action — an intoxicating mixture for any fantasy enthusiast. The series reimagines legendary tales through a modern lens, gifting viewers a genuinely entertaining fantasy show that still holds up pretty well. Fans often praise Atlantis for its earnest tone and great chemistry between its leads. Even with many critics finding the series fantastically charming, reviews remain pretty uneven, while the show has gone, unfortunately, unremembered. Atlantis may not be as gritty as most modern fantasies are, but its sincerity, mythos, and overall lighthearted tone mark it as an enchanting hidden gem for fantasy fans.

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‘The Magicians’ (2015–2020)

Image via SYFY

The Magicians is an epic Syfy TV show that presents a mature and enticingly dark take on magic and wonder. Based on Lev Grossman’s novels, the series focuses on grad student Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph) as he discovers magic is real and that he is able to wield it at a secret university of magic known as Brakebills.

The Magicians is one of the most underrated fantasy series of all time. Its layered storytelling, which mixes real-world struggles with magic, makes it a uniquely entertaining watch. The Magicians may not have garnered much mainstream attention during its time on air, and even less now, but it remains one of the best in the vast landscape of fantasy and has honestly only gotten better with time. Its emotional depth and complexity aged fantastically well. Though The Magicians is terribly underappreciated and stands mostly unremembered, it is a cult sensation that has matured rather beautifully with a great number of hardcore devoted fans.

4

‘Lost Girl’ (2010–2015)

Image via Showcase/SyFy

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This underrated Canadian supernatural drama is lowkey fantasy gold. Lost Girl follows the succubus Bo (Anna Silk), who joins a shapeshifter named Dyson (Kris Holden-Ried) and a human doctor named Lauren (Zoie Palmer) to solve mysteries while navigating Fae politics and attempting to discover her origins.

Lost Girl may not be the best-written fantasy series ever created, but it stands as one of the greatest guilty pleasures to exist, and over time, it has only grown even more so. The series, with its supernatural edge and spicy drama, explores a hidden world of fae and supernatural beings. Even decades later, Lost Girl’s world-building and characters remain pretty engaging. The series attracted quite a fandom, who may all see the show’s flaws but find it extremely worth it as they take to rewatching the intoxicatingly addictive show over and over again. Lost Girl remains an overlooked fantasy great that has continued to age beautifully.

5

‘Samurai Jack’ (2001–2017)

Image via Cartoon Network

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Samurai Jack is a sci-fi/fantasy blend that delivers not only visually striking animation but also a truly stylistic fantasy journey. The Cartoon Network animated series focuses on the samurai dubbed Jack (Phil LaMarr) as he travels through time to defeat the evil shape-shifting demon Aku (Mako Iwamatsu), who is reigning over the world in the distant future.

Samurai Jack is peak fantasy television, and although it stands now as a mostly forgotten cartoon, dedicated fans continue to praise its timeless feel and artistry. Even after all these years, the series has grown into a true cult classic that has only become all the more impressive with time. Samurai Jack’s blend of sci-fi time travel and fantasy wonder made it a unique standout during the early 2000s, but even now, the series’ artistic brilliance and minimalistic storytelling feel just as — and often even more — impressive, cementing its place on this list of fantasy shows that have aged like fine wine.

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‘Merlin’ (2008–2012)

Image via BBC

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This reimagining of a legendary tale takes a more youthful approach to an ancient story. Merlin centers around the young wizard Merlin (Colin Morgan), who arrives in Camelot, where magic is outlawed, and somehow finds himself becoming the servant of Prince Arthur (Bradley James).

With forbidden magic, drama, and adventure, Merlin is an all-around fantasy standout. The series is quite old, but it honestly still feels ageless. From characters to relationships, much of Merlin still resonates beautifully with fans. It’s a beloved gem that doesn’t get much shine these days, but remains a truly timeless take on the Arthurian legend, marking it as a well-aged fantasy that explores the origins of one of the most iconic stories ever made. Merlin may be forgotten by almost everyone other than its diehard fans, but the show stands as a perfect treat for those in need of hopeful storytelling and legendary mythos.

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‘The Nine Lives of Chloe King’ (2011)

Image via Alloy Entertainment

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The Nine Lives of Chloe King may have only lasted a single season, but its impact — however small — is lasting. The creative fantasy series based on the novels by Liz Braswell focuses on San Francisco teen Chloe King (Skyler Samuels), who, on her sixteenth birthday, experiences multiple transformations that prove that she is a part of an ancient cat-like race called the Mai.

The fantasy drama came to screens in a burst of teenage angst, fantastical lore, and epic love triangle antics, then left quite abruptly. It wasn’t long before viewers forgot the show even existed, even as its heartfelt drama and fantastically unique premise have stood the test of time. Fans who remember The Nine Lives of Chloe King continue to praise it for its enduring appeal, dubbing the fantasy series a binge-worthy mix of supernatural elements and high school coming-of-age fun.

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‘Legend of the Seeker’ (2008–2010)

Image via ABC Studios

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This 2008 fantasy adventure brilliantly immerses its viewers in a sword-and-sorcery world. Based on Terry Goodkind’s novels, Legend of the Seeker follows the humble woods guide, Richard Cypher (Craig Horner), who discovers he is actually the Seeker, a person destined to fight dark magic.

Most have forgotten about the epic fantasy Legend of the Seeker, but its small fanbase has ensured that the series continues to be appreciated for its subtle brilliance that added much to fantasy television during its time on air. The series’ memorable characters, classic high-fantasy appeal, and adventurous storytelling are often praised by fans, and despite its camp, most of the show’s aspects, like special effects and sword fights, still hold up pretty well. Standing strong as a venerable cult classic, Legend of the Seeker is a fantasy epic that has definitely stood the test of time.

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Legend of the Seeker

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Release Date

2008 – 2010-00-00

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• 

  Craig Horner

  Richard Cypher

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  Bridget Regan

  Kahlan Amnell

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Ana Montana shared photographs of her baby with LaMelo Ball on Monday, August 31. The couple announced that they’d welcomed their son, LaOne Ball, back in May, and fans still can’t get over the infant’s name.

RELATED: Congrats! LaMelo Ball And Ana Montana Reveal They Welcomed Their Son LaOne Back In January (PHOTOS)

Ana Montana Shares Summer Pics With Baby LaOne Ball

Ana Montana shared photographs of her baby with LaMelo Ball on Instagram, and they are adorable! The 36-year-old model, whose real name is Analicia Chaves, and the 25-year-old NBA star announced they’d welcomed their son, LaOne, in May, and he is a cutie patootie.

The photos include several shots of LaOne with his mom on the beach, and there’s also a snap of the baby with his NBA-star dad. The post is captioned:

“My favorite August🧡🙏🏾.”

Fan Reactions Are Undefeated As Folks Cut Up Over Baby’s Name

After the photos were shared on TSR’s Instagram page, fans went gaga over the cute pics. However, several fans cut up over the couple’s choice of baby names, and the remarks have folks La-howling.

User @jayleanaaa wrote, “LaOne? chile…”

User @fouloutky_ wrote, “Yall laplayed w tht baby name 😂.”

@flaminjadaa added, “LaWho ?😂😂😂.“

User @ennycredittokeys asked, “LaHell kinda name is this 😭.”

@thisnotjaydennnn joked, “don’t LaFry me real shit😂😂😂😂😂.”

User @soraxtyib added, “Lahell be wrong with y’all😂😂.”

User @merrsachii replied, “LaShame😂😂😂 yall played with LaBaby.”

@jaylinnn added, “man that kid name really laone I thought it was a joke 😂.”

User @1chxyaa._ asked, “LaWhy they name him that?🌚.”

@alayianaantionette added, “LaHell 😐😐😐.”

User @becky_thequeenmommy81 noted, “LaComments Lmfao 🤣🤣🤣.”

Montana Shared Her IVF Journey And Is Helping Others

Montana and Ball welcomed LaOne after she went through IVF treatments, and she told PEOPLE that she and Ball founded the nonprofit I Am Fertility. The platform is a safe space supporting women as they navigate IVF and fertility.

“At one point during my IVF journey, I felt overwhelmed, emotional, isolated and unsure where to turn,” she said. “That experience inspired me to create I Am Fertility as a safe space where women don’t have to face this journey alone.”

The duo also told the outlet that becoming parents has shown them a “new perspective on love.”

“Welcoming LaOne into the world has changed our hearts in the best way,” the couple said back in May. “Family has always meant everything to us, but becoming parents has given us an entirely new perspective on love, purpose, legacy and what truly matters most.”

Earlier in August, Montana shared additional footage of her summer vacation with LaMelo and their baby on Instagram with the caption:

“The sweetest summer 🤎.”

RELATED: Miley Cyrus Reveals Disney Banned Her From Performing ‘Hannah Montana’ Songs After Leaving The Show

Dancing With the Stars fans, get ready to see some familiar faces in the ballroom for season 35.

Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli were on hand to usher in the new season during the Tuesday, September 1, episode of Good Morning America, along with cohosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro, all of whom will be back when DWTS returns this fall.

“You can expect what you know and love about Dancing With the Stars, but also an energized show … It’s going to be an incredible season,” Derek teased. “I cannot wait.”

As for themes throughout the competition, Julianne hinted there will be one night in particular with “really fun” fashion — but didn’t spill any other details.

GMA will also reveal the full cast of celebs and pros on Wednesday, September 2.

Related: What to Know About Season 35 of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ So Far: Cast and More

The Dancing With the Stars ballroom is filling up fast for season 35. While simultaneously confirming the reality competition’s renewal, Hulu shared during the Get Real House event in April that Summer House’s Ciara Miller and Love Island star Maura Higgins would be lacing up their dancing shoes. The following month, Savannah Bananas second baseman Jackson […]

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Summer House star Ciara Miller and Traitors alum Maura Higgins were previously announced as two members of the sure-to-be star-studded season 35 cast, along with Savannah Bananas athlete Jackson Olson and Jimmy Kimmel Live! sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, 55, will compete alongside pro Witney Carson, who took home the season 34 mirrorball trophy with Robert Irwin last fall.

While confirming her return to the ballroom earlier this month, Carson, 32, also revealed that she is pregnant with her third baby. (The choreographer shares two sons with husband Carson McAllister.)

“I was telling Guillermo, like, I feel exactly the same physically,” Carson exclusively told Us while reflecting on her early days in rehearsal with Rodriguez. “I’m just more out of breath … but I really feel physically, like, I don’t feel like I’m pregnant at all. I feel like I can do all the same things, which is such a blessing.”

Carson added that she’s “starting to have a little bit more energy” now that her nausea is subsiding.

Related: ‘DWTS’ Pro Sharna Burgess Is Officially Returning for Season 35

Dancing With the Stars’ Sharna Burgess is making her pro cast comeback. Burgess, 41, is officially joining season 35 of the reality TV dancing competition, her first time competing as a pro since season 30 in 2021. “A little birdie told us an absolute firecracker is back in the ballroom 💥 Please give @sharnaburgess a warm […]

“I know [it will] start to get a little bit harder once I get a little bit bigger, but you know, I can still lift Guillermo. I can still toss him up in the air,” she quipped. “No, but I suspect that it should go pretty smoothly, and obviously, the health of the baby is the most important thing. And Guillermo understands that, as well. But we’re just gonna try and have fun.”

Also bringing her signature style back to the ballroom is Sharna Burgess, who will compete as a pro for the first time in five years.

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“I’m back!” she gushed on GMA earlier this month. “Some of you guys guessed it … I’m back on Dancing With the Stars, baby. I’m gonna be competing for that Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. I can’t wait to be back in the ballroom with my dancing family. And mostly, it feels so good to be coming home. I’ll see you all soon.”

Ahead of the official cast reveal, Us reported that Bachelor Nation’s Tyler Cameron and Step Up star Jenna Dewan are expected to appear on season 35. Whitney Leavitt‘s husband, Connor Leavitt, and Brooks Nader‘s sister Sarah Jane Nader are also in the mix.

Dancing With the Stars premieres with a two-night event on ABC and Disney+ starting Tuesday, September 15, at 8 p.m. ET.

Dolly Parton’s longtime creative director, Steve Summers, is opening up about the special bond he shared with the country music icon for over three decades.

Summers worked closely with the legendary singer until her recent death at age 80. He recalled how an interesting encounter at a Christmas festival helped shape the next 35 years of his life.

The creative director also shared a touching glimpse into Parton’s personality, away from the spotlight, including one particular memory involving the superstar and his young son.

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In a new interview with People, Summers took a trip down memory lane, reflecting on the time he spent with Dolly Parton. He revealed that his first meeting with the singer happened under fairly unusual circumstances.

The pair met back in 1991 at a Christmas festival. At the event, Parton had to deliver a speech while standing on top of a six-foot drum, so she needed help maintaining her balance. Summers, 26 at the time and standing at a good height, fit the role perfectly.

“I can remember her taking to me as we were walking up there,” Summers recalled. According to him, Parton repeatedly looked at him and asked, “You’re not gonna let me fall, are you?”

Although it may have been a simple question at the time, Summers said it took on a much deeper meaning for him. He remembered thinking for the rest of his career, “I will not let you fall. No matter what it is, I will not let you fall.”

The creative director added that he spent his entire adult life “making sure that she always felt supported.”

Dolly Parton’s Creative Director Lost A Friend, Mentor And ‘Muse’

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Summers’ relationship with Parton eventually extended far beyond simply deciding what the “Jolene” crooner would wear. He became the creative director at Dolly Parton Enterprises in 2006 and designed a plethora of looks for the singer each year.

In the interview, Summers admitted that processing the loss has involved some conflicting emotions. He described it as a “Juxtaposition between pain and joy” because he is grieving someone who occupied several important roles in his life.

“It hurts. I lost my friend. I lost my coworker. I lost my mentor. I lost my muse,” he reportedly said. However, Summers also said witnessing the reaction to Parton’s passing has also reminded him of just how huge an impact she had on the world.

For him, the legacy is not primarily about her awards, hit records, businesses or other accomplishments. “It’s about her soul. What a miraculous legacy to leave for any human, her heart, her soul, her ability to love and spread joy and compassion; not just her accomplishments,” he said.

Dolly Parton Helped Steve Summers Build His Career

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Long before Summers became the person behind hundreds of Parton’s outfits, he had been fascinated by her distinctive appearance. He recalled first noticing the singer in 1974 when he was just 10 years old. He saw her face on record covers that his grandfather had displayed.

“I can remember being fascinated by her,” he told the outlet. Years later, after entering her orbit through his work at Dollywood, his responsibilities gradually expanded.

On her part, Parton apparently recognizes Summers’ potential and invested in his development directly. She sent him to study fashion at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

That investment eventually paid off as Summers went on to oversee the elaborate wardrobe that became inseparable from Parton’s public persona. Speaking on their work together in an interview revisited by Vogue, Summers explained that Parton’s many different roles made dressing her particularly interesting.

“Designing for Dolly is great, because there are so many [Dollys],” he said. “I’ve got the philanthropist, the singer, the actress, the theme park owner. The canvas is always very broad.”

Summers Once Found Dolly Parton Playing With His Young Son

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Some of Summers’ fondest memories of Parton have little to do with clothing or celebrity. During the interview, he recalled one moment in particular that occurred after he moved to Nashville.

Parton had helped Summers get settled into a new apartment and was showing him around when he realized he didn’t know where his son was. He began searching the apartment before eventually looking outside.

“And we look outside,” he recalled. “And him and Dolly are running around in the backyard around the fountain playing with each other.”

That experience made him look at the 11-time Grammy winner in a different light. “I went, ‘Man, she doesn’t care if the room’s full or if there’s one person. She’s gonna take care of them and entertain them.’ And she did,” he said.

Steve Summers Wants Fans To Carry on Dolly Parton‘s Legacy

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Parton’s death on August 25 has sparked an enormous outpouring from fans, friends and fellow entertainers. For Summers, however, the lesson worth preserving isn’t simply about her success.

After spending more than three decades alongside her, he believed people can learn from the way she remained true to who she was and used that to connect with others.

“It’s unbelievable how she touched the world through her being her authentic self and not by what she did, because one person can make a difference. One person can change the way that the world sees love, and she did,” Summers said.

He argued that adopting even a fraction of Parton’s approach to compassion could have a very meaningful impact. “If all of us would do that, can you imagine if we would take one tenth of what she offers and apply it? We would change the whole world.”