There are few things worse than your favorite show getting canceled, and in the age of streaming, the lifespan of TV shows seems to be shorter and shorter. If a series isn’t immediately a hit, then a renewal is hard to come by. Even shows that are immediate hits, like Netflix’s Stranger Things, five seasons can take almost a decade to premiere.
But 20 years ago, one series became one of the last massively popular fantasy series to follow the old TV formula: 20+ episodes per season, one season per year, and a classic episode structure. 15 seasons later, while Netflix was trying shows like The Umbrella Academy and The Witcher, it was still chugging along with its massive fanbase.
