Craft a new spell
Y are there are so many supernatural iod dramas, and why do they all look alike? witch holding a grudge somewhere?
You’ll need a time-bending spell just to keep up. On every streaming platform, it seems, is some kind of costume drama with a sprinkling of magic, superpowers, dark juju, dragons or at least a bewitched teapot, fighting for attention. Ringlets catch the breeze as an orphan heroine races through ye olde London, chasing a raven. Sideburns glow in candlelight as a hero opens a forbidden letter written in dragon blood. Or have we mixed up the shows already? Here are our least-favourite stereotypes from the genre. or interning with a coven, none of it matters until you’re part of a prophecy foretold. In The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia and Princess Ciri are linked by destiny. In Shadow and Bone, Alina Starkov isn’t just a magic-wielding Grisha, she can summon light. It also makes her the only one who can destroy the ancient Shadow Fold. As always, being the Chosen One is a blessing and also a burden. Does no one ever make it on their own though?
Megalomaniac kings are irredeemably evil. But supernatural creatures tend to be largely misunderstood. That’s what keeps the Penny Dreadful team busy. Even spirits will leave you alone once you hear them out. Immortals are only kidnapping young women because they’ve been lonely for so long. And don’t hate dragons. If you charred everything you ate, you’d be annoyed too.
Whether it’s the titular young Merlin figuring out his powers before King Arthur and his knights can make history, or Leonardo in Da Vinci’s Demons playing a swashbuckling hero as the Church and political families close in, a cult is behind it all. Secret societies are where long-missing relatives hid for five episodes. Da Vinci gets mixed up with the Sons of Mithras. Even Stranger Things, set in the 1980s, features secret government projects that unleash evil into the world.