After Conquering Sci-Fi, Apple TV Is Officially Taking Over Fantasy

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From 2019 to 2020, the competition among streaming services intensified. While Netflix and Amazon Prime Video had previously dominated, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, and Paramount+ all launched their own services, eager to gain viewers. Though Netflix remains a major player, Apple TV+ has arguably become known for even higher-quality shows, particularly in the science fiction genre.

In early 2026, Apple significantly entered the fantasy market by partnering with author Brandon Sanderson. This led many industry experts to believe the streaming service could dominate fantasy storytelling, much like it did with science fiction – a very promising sign for fans, considering the consistent success fantasy has brought to networks like HBO and Disney.

How Apple TV Conquered Sci-Fi TV

Look, Apple TV+ has given us some great shows – Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, Slow Horses – but for me, they’ve really made a splash with science fiction. Two series, in particular, have genuinely captured the public’s imagination, and they’re both incredibly distinctive. I’m talking about the twisty, thought-provoking Severance, brilliantly directed by Ben Stiller, and Pluribus, Vince Gilligan’s wonderfully weird next project after Breaking Bad. These aren’t just sci-fi shows; they’re something special.

Both Severance and Pluribus were very popular in 2025, even making it into the top 10 original streaming shows according to Nielsen. Considering Netflix had seven shows on the list and Prime Video had two, it’s a major achievement for an Apple show to reach number eight, surpassing other streaming services’ offerings.

The popularity of these shows highlights both their excellent quality and the fact that viewers trust Apple to deliver great science fiction. Apple has consistently produced strong sci-fi content, as seen with hits like Dark Matter, Silo, Foundation, See, Invasion, For All Mankind, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Murderbot.

Apple has become the go-to streaming service for high-quality science fiction for a key reason. While other platforms often cancel sci-fi shows quickly if they don’t immediately attract huge audiences, Apple has consistently allowed its series to grow, improve, and find their viewers over time.

The initial seasons of Invasion and Foundation weren’t instant hits, but both shows showed promise, and Apple continued to support them, allowing that potential to develop. While it didn’t draw huge viewership, is a critically acclaimed, high-quality show. This demonstrates that Apple values things beyond just ratings, which is a big draw for creative talent like writers, directors, and actors.

Apple Hasn’t Tackled Fantasy Before

It’s interesting that Apple, known for its successful science fiction shows, hasn’t ventured into fantasy—until now. This is a bit unusual, considering most other streaming services have already created their own large-scale fantasy series.

Fantasy series are thriving on streaming services. While Netflix has found success with shows like Shadow and Bone, Arcane, and The Sandman, Prime Video invested heavily in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and The Wheel of Time lasted for three seasons. Notably, Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians has impressed both critics and fans of the original books.

It’s no surprise that every streaming service is trying to make the next big fantasy hit like HBO’s Game of Thrones. The show was a massive cultural event that proved people wanted complex, mature fantasy adaptations, and it spawned several follow-up series. While no other show has quite reached Game of Thrones‘ level of success, Hollywood isn’t likely to give up on trying anytime soon.

As other companies competed to create the next big fantasy hit like Game of Thrones, Apple surprisingly stayed on the sidelines for a long time. Their only real attempt at the genre was the 2024 show Time Bandits, an updated version of the classic 1981 film, but it was a comedy, not a grand, epic fantasy. They also made a workplace comedy about a video game company that featured fantasy elements, but it was mostly for laughs. That’s why everyone was so surprised in January 2026 when Apple announced a major investment in a large-scale fantasy project.

Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere Universe Can Define Apple’s Future

Apple TV+ announced on January 28th that it will adapt two of Brandon Sanderson’s popular book series into visual media. One of these series, which features characters called Allomancers fighting against a corrupt empire in a world covered in ash, is planned as a major movie franchise.

Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy series, The Stormlight Archive, is planned to be adapted into a long-running TV show. Both the books and the show are part of Sanderson’s larger ‘Cosmere’ universe, all connected by a shared creation story. This story centers around Adolnasium, a powerful being who was killed, and whose power was shattered into sixteen pieces. These pieces spread throughout the universe, becoming the source of different magical systems on various planets.

As those descriptions indicate, both Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive are large-scale fantasy epics, similar to projects other companies have already attempted to adapt for television. However, Apple may have found something truly special in Brandon Sanderson. He’s an incredibly productive author with a devoted following – he’s sold over 50 million books in the last 21 years. Notably, he once used Kickstarter to fund four new books, raising a remarkable $41 million – the most successful publishing campaign the platform has ever seen.

Given Sanderson’s immense popularity, it’s no surprise Hollywood studios and streaming services were all vying for the chance to work with him. Apple ultimately won, making him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Sanderson received an extraordinary level of creative freedom – even more than George R.R. Martin has with Game of Thrones at HBO, or J.K. Rowling has with the Harry Potter franchise at Warner Bros., as he’ll also have final say over the work of other writers and directors.

Sanderson explained to The Hollywood Reporter that choosing Apple wasn’t just about maintaining creative control over his stories. He emphasized the strong partnership aspect, saying he appreciated Apple TV+’s approach to releasing content – a careful and deliberate process that appealed to him.

Could fantasy shows follow the same path as science fiction on streaming services? It seems likely, and the streaming service made a smart choice partnering with Brandon Sanderson. While he’s not without critics, Sanderson’s stories are clearly popular with a huge global audience. He’s also very determined to ensure his adaptations are high quality, having been openly critical of previous attempts at epic fantasy on streaming platforms. He told Polygon in February 2025 that The Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time hadn’t lived up to expectations, and that streaming services haven’t yet mastered epic fantasy, noting that truly great adaptations haven’t been seen since the early seasons of Game of Thrones. The question now is, will Sanderson be the one to finally crack the code? We’ll have to wait and see.

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2026-02-07 07:12