10 Shows That Could Be the Next Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is coming to an end this year, which means deep-pocketed cable networks and streaming services are hard at work trying to come up with the next Game of Thrones; that is, a big-budget fantasy series that will court obsessive fandom from viewers all over the world.

It’s unlikely any of these shows will ever be as culturally dominant as Game of Thrones; TV has changed so much since 2011 that there just isn’t a way to be that big for that long anymore. Netflix shows drop all at once and capture the conversation for a weekend and are quickly forgotten, and the sheer number of shows being made means audiences are more spread out among niches than ever before. That being said, everyone knows The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, and Amazon and Netflix, respectively, are gonna do what they can to get as many people watching their takes on those iconic franchises as they can. Plus, HBO is literally making another Game of Thrones.

All those and more are here in this handy compendium of 10 shows that could maybe, possibly, someday become something approximating the next Game of Thrones.

Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Photo: New Line, WireImage

1. The Chronicles of Narnia (Netflix)
The next Game of Thrones, family edition. Netflix is planning an expansive world based on C.S. Lewis’ iconic fantasy series that will include multiple movies and TV series. It’ll be much more wholesome and family-friendly than Game of Thrones, and what that really means is that even more people will be able to watch it. This one’s going to be very big. (In development; no premiere date)

2. Game of Thrones spin-offs (HBO)
Only one next Game of Thrones can actually claim to be the next Game of Thrones. HBO has a number of spin-offs in development, with one in the pilot stage. That one, which George R.R. Martin insists on calling The Long Night even though HBO has asked him not to, is a prequel set thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones and tells the story of the end of the Age of Heroes as the world descends into darkness. Naomi Watts and a whole bunch of young folks have been cast in the pilot, which is soon to go into production. It will have a budget comparable to Game of Thrones Season 3, which means it will be expensive but not “Battle of the Bastards” expensive. (In pre-production; no premiere date)

3. His Dark Materials (HBO)
Recently-knighted author Sir Philip Pullman’s phenomenal young adult series got a film adaptation in 2007 that failed to materialize into a franchise. The BBC and HBO are teaming up to keep that from happening again (the complexity of the story makes it a better fit for a TV series anyway). This is another show that maybe won’t have enough sex and violence to satisfy certain Thrones fans, but it will have a sophisticated story about religion and family acted out by a top-notch cast that includes James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Logan‘s Dafne Keen as Lyra, the headstrong orphan at the center of the tale. It’s already been picked up for a second season. (In post-production; no premiere date but probably 2019)

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4. The Kingkiller Chronicle (Showtime)
The other Lin-Manuel Miranda production on this list, and the one on which he’s an executive producer and composer. Yes, this is the Hamilton version of the next Game of Thrones. It’s a co-production between Lionsgate and Showtime with franchise designs: a Sam Raimi-directed movie as well as a TV series executive-produced by The Librarians‘ John Rogers. Based on a high fantasy trilogy by Patrick Rothfuss, The Kingkiller Chronicle tells the story of Kvothe, a wizard/musician/adventurer who’s narrating his long tale of revenge to a scribe known as the Chronicler. The final novel of the trilogy has yet to be released; unlike The Winds of Winter, it probably will come out. (In development; no premiere date)

5. Lazarus (Amazon)
This one could be the next Game of Thrones meets the next Walking Dead meets the next Hunger Games. A sprawling dystopian sci-fi series based on an ongoing comic series by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark, Lazarus tells the story of a world controlled by 16 families, each of whom run their territories in a feudal system. Each family has a “Lazarus” who represents them in combat; for the Carlyles, who control what used to be Western North America, that’s Forever, a young woman who’s questioning her place in the world. It has real things to say about wealth inequality. It’s still in development, but this has a lot of potential should it come to fruition, and the fact that it’s a co-production of Legendary Entertainment and Amazon means it could have a serious budget. It’s not exactly a fantasy series, but it’s not not a fantasy series, either. (In development; no premiere date)

6. The Lord of the Rings (Amazon)
This is the best bet for the actual next Game of Thrones. Jeff Bezos told Amazon’s TV division, “Find me the next Game of Thrones,” and it spent $250 million just for the right to make a show based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy series (the cumulative price tag for the multiple seasons Amazon has committed to producing could top $1 billion). Amazon knows this is going to be big, and it is not playing around. It’s also definitely happening, which is more than we can say about some of the other in-development projects on this list. Tolkien’s works, of course, have already been made into a six-film franchise directed by Peter Jackson. The showrunners for the Amazon series are Star Trek 4 screenwriters John D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and the story is rumored to be about young Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen in the movies). (In development; projected to premiere in 2021)

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7. Watchmen (HBO)
This won’t be the next Game of Thrones in the sense of being a world-conquering fantasy hit, but it might be the next series to use genre-transcending source material to tell a thematically rich, hyper-violent story about a large ensemble of complex characters that’s more about people than it is about fantasy. Alan Moore’s Watchmen comic was as revolutionary for superhero comics as A Song of Ice and Fire was for fantasy novels (and The Sopranos was for crime TV shows, for that matter). Plus, it has a cast of actors capable of working wonders with weaker material than what showrunner Damon Lindelof is probably writing for them, like Jeremy Irons, Regina King and Jean Smart. It probably won’t get a Game of Thrones-sized audience, but it may very well get Game of Thrones-level Metacritic scores. (Coming in 2019)

8. Wild Cards (Hulu)
Hulu’s big gambit in the next Game of Thrones sweepstakes has two big things going for it: One, a plan for an expansive universe that already includes two series; and two, the involvement of George R.R. Martin himself, who co-edits the sprawling, multi-authored Wild Cards book series. Wild Cards is too complicated to explain in a blurb, so for our purposes it’s a sort of superhero series set in an alternate universe post-World War II America where an alien virus infects people and turns them into “Wild Cards,” which can either manifest as grotesque deformity or superhuman ability. It’s more sci-fi than fantasy, but it might be fantastical enough to make the cut. Martin and series co-editor Melinda Snodgrass are executive producers, and it’s to be written by The Secret Circle‘s Andrew Miller. (In development; no premiere date)

9. The Wheel of Time (Amazon)
If you like fantasy to be traditional good vs. evil without all the moral complexity of Game of Thrones, Amazon’s take on Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series may be your pick for next Game of Thrones. The Wheel of Time is an enormous 14-part series with numerous storylines, and showrunner Rafe Judkins’ TV show is going to focus in on the story of a woman named Moiraine as she embarks on a dangerous journey with five young men and women, one of whom she suspects might be the reincarnation of an incredibly powerful individual whose prophecies say will either save humanity or destroy it. An interesting twist is that in this world only women can use magic. The Wheel of Time is the best-selling fantasy series since The Lord of The Rings, but it’s not super well-known outside of the fantasy bubble, so it will be interesting to see if Amazon can make it a hit. (In development; no premiere date)

10. The Witcher (Netflix)
The multi-platform mythology of Andrzej Sapkowski’s series of books, graphic novels and video games is intimidating to outsiders, but you don’t need to know it all for the show. All you really need to know is that once and future(?) Man of Steel Henry Cavill will play Geralt of Rivia, a lone wolf monster hunter who is forced to travel with a powerful sorceress and a princess who harbors a dangerous secret across a fantastical realm. Yoked-ass Henry Cavill was born to wield two swords, you know? He looks like a video game character in real life, especially with his white hair. (In production; no premiere date)