If You Miss Spielberg-Style Wonder, This Free-to-Stream Fantasy Miniseries Feels Like a Comfort Classic

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John Larroquette as Tony on a snowy mountain looking ahead in The 10th Kingdom.

Published Jan 25, 2026, 10:06 AM EST

Mauricio is a Mexican guy who gets attached to cancelled TV shows, likes to read Marvel comics about underdog teams, and has been told one-too-many times he looks like Penn Badgley, specifically in his stalker-y roles. He discovered his passion for pop culture with Power Rangers and the Star Wars Special Edition re-releases. Professionally, he's got a degree in International Finance and has been in the real estate business for almost 10 years now (yikes!). Magically, he's 83% Ravenclaw and 17% Slytherin. Musically, he thinks Jack Antonoff is a multiversal being with the key to create bop after bop.

He specializes in over-analyzing his favorite shows like Glee, Lost, Community, Ugly Betty, and Grey's Anatomy; as well as his favorite actors' performances, like Olivia Colman, Olivia Colman, and Olivia Colman. Just kidding, other faves include Anna Kendrick, Rachel Bloom, Lee Pace, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth Olsen, and Olivia Colman.

The 2000s were a weird transitional period to the futurism that many sci-fi franchises, like Blade Runner and Back to the Future, foreshadowed. When expectations met reality, it turned out the decade was only a continuation of the 1990s, with Star Wars, cheesy parody films, and ABC dramas perpetuating their domination over pop culture. Among the avalanche of films and shows that the decade brought, there was a much lesser-known addition to its lore that should be more representative of the time.

Simon Moore’s The 10th Kingdom was a fantasy-filled event miniseries that comprised five episodes – airing over five consecutive weeks on NBC. The series is a rare mix of Steven Spielberg’s soft sci-fi and Once Upon a Time’s modern reinterpretation of classic tales. If you’ve got a craving of any, or both, this show will satisfy it. By combining real-world characters with fantastic creatures from another realm, The 10th Kingdom achieves a unique mix that was ahead of its time. Upon rewatching today, it might seem a typical, cheesy 2000s product, but its story and characters make for one of the most entertaining binge-watching experiences.

Multiple Fairy Tales Come Together in ‘The 10th Kingdom’

Scott Cohen's Wolf standing with Kimberly Williams-Paisley's Virginia in The 10th Kingdom

The 10th Kingdom is an extravaganza of fairy tales coming together as one, but reinventing them in a clever way. In this land, nine kingdoms exist based on the preceding classics. Characters like Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty are essential, but not part of the central storyline. A great deal of focus goes to Snow White’s (Camryn Manheim) lineage through her grandson, Prince Wendell (Daniel Lapaine). When his coronation is botched by the Evil Queen (Dianne Wiest), he embarks on a journey that teaches him about humility, while also putting him in contact with the real world – a.k.a. The 10th Kingdom.

The meshing of storylines occurs by exploring what comes after the happily ever after. Fairy tales have shaped the kingdoms’ laws and politics, making glass slippers and family trees essential in their evolution. Other themes and motifs come into play in The 10th Kingdom’s reinvention of the classics. The one that takes the spotlight is the reinterpretation of the Beast’s journey in Beauty and the Beast. The soul-searching and transformation process of the series’ own Wolf (Scott Cohen) is only one example of how the show makes its characters an interesting addition to the endless fairy tale lore.

‘The 10th Kingdom’ Meshes Reality and Fantasy Through Memorable Characters

The 10th Kingdom throws a curveball to make it seem Prince Wendell is its main focus, but he ends up being a cautionary side-tale mixed with comic relief. It’s Wolf who ends up becoming the main character by making his road to redemption the central focus. This is achieved when he meets Virginia (Kimberly Williams), a human from New York City. When she and her father, Tony (John Larroquette) are accidentally sucked into this fantastical land, they turn all the kingdoms’ fates upside down. Between Williams and Cohen’s romantic tension, and Williams and Larroquette’s father-daughter relationship, the leading trio displays great chemistry that carries the miniseries.

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This unlikely mix of characters is complemented by other brief but memorable performances scattered through The 10th Kingdom’s five episodes. Ed O’Neill as the troll Relish brings gravitas to a role that could’ve been sidelined as comic relief. He is a king in search of a worthy place for his people, who also cares – in a harsh way – for his kin. Lucy Punch’s Sally Peep, a seemingly enchanting shepherdess, serves as a reminder that looks are deceiving, and that wickedness can also hide behind beauty. Last but not least, Rutger Hauer as the Huntsman makes the menace feel extremely real. Together, Hauer's Huntsman and Wiest’s Evil Queen, bring ruthlessness that adds maturity to this seemingly childish retelling.

While The 10th Kingdom is proof that these classic stories can still be reinvented, it also goes to show the longing for more magic in our everyday lives. This fairy tale mash-up balances many Spielbergian wonder-filled elements – making the unreal feel real, fantastical allegories of grief, and morally driven fables – and rolls them up into one. While it might pale in comparison to the ever-expanding lore of Once Upon a Time, it still stands as a worthy precedent – that’s also free to watch!