Merlin Still Reigns as the 2000s' Definitive Fantasy Adventure
Fifteen years after its finale, Merlin still casts a spell—it's time to hail it as one of the century's standout fantasy adventures.
Missed Merlin during the 2000s fantasy wave? Here is your do-over: the entire series is now streaming for free on Tubi. It is a British fantasy-adventure riff on Arthurian legend that mixes magic, quests, and a healthy amount of mischief — and it quietly became one of the most purely fun shows of that era.
How it rolled out the first time
Merlin premiered in the U.K. on September 20, 2008. The first season crossed the Atlantic the next year and aired on NBC, making it the first British drama to hit a U.S. broadcast network in more than three decades; before that, the last was The New Avengers on CBS back in the 1970s. From season 2 on, it shifted to Syfy and stayed there until the series wrapped in 2013.
What kind of show is Merlin?
Tonally, it keeps things breezy — which is a big part of the charm — but the story underneath swings for the fences. It is a tale about destiny, control, and identity masquerading as a weekly adventure.
Colin Morgan leads as Merlin, with Bradley James as Arthur, plus Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, Richard Wilson, Anthony Head, and John Hurt rounding out a stacked cast. The chemistry between Morgan and James is so strong the fandom basically named it: 'Merthur.'
The setup: Merlin, sent to Camelot by his mother, is the most powerful warlock alive. He cannot use magic openly because King Uther Pendragon has outlawed it. The Great Dragon, Kilgharrah, sets Merlin on a path to protect Arthur at all costs so Arthur can become the kind of king who brings magic back to Camelot. That mission gets a lot harder with Morgana scheming from the shadows.
The secret superhero show hiding in Camelot
'Smallville meets Camelot.'
The shorthand has always fit. Strip away the chainmail and you have a classic masked-hero setup where the powers must stay hidden, the rescues happen off the books, and the credit goes elsewhere.
- Merlin constantly conceals his abilities — even from Arthur — turning most episodes into a tightrope act of near-reveals.
- He saves the realm from the shadows and cannot take a bow for it, which piles on the burden in a very Batman/Gotham way.
- He is both the unstoppable force and the awkward farmboy in one package, which keeps the show light on its feet even when the stakes spike.
Where to watch
All five seasons of Merlin are streaming for free on Tubi right now. If you have never watched it, this is a perfect weekend sinkhole. If you have, you already know it goes down easy and hits harder than it looks.