‘Lord of the Rings’ Gets a Dark Twist in 2026’s Best Fantasy Epic That’s Taking Over Streaming

September 24, 2026

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The best dark fantasy series of 2026 continues to dominate on streaming. Since The Lord of the Rings, almost every fantasy story involves a group of heroes setting off to defeat the Big Bad Evil Guy (that’s literally what they’re called in games like Dungeons & Dragons). But the best fantasy show of 2026 puts a dark spin on that. What if the party of heroes failed? Not only that, what if one of them was forced to become a minion for the evil lord as they try to understand the human race? it’s dark, violent, and philosophical, and it’s one of the biggest shows on streaming right now.

After a successful debut season last year, Clevatess is back for Season 2 on Crunchyroll, and it’s a similar hit the second time around. Season 2 debuted at the start of the Summer 2026 anime season and ran for 12 episodes. Its final episode was simulcast on Crunchyroll on Sept. 23. With Season 2 now concluded, many people are still re-watching the series, as it’s one of the biggest anime on Crunchyroll, even as we head into the Fall 2026 season. At the time of writing, Clevatess is the second most popular series on the platform. The incredibly controversial Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation holds the #1 spot.

‘Clevatess’ Blends ‘Berserk’ With ‘Lord of the Rings’

Obviously, Clevatess isn’t a one-for-one copy of The Lord of the Rings. There’s no Mount Doom, and its lead character, Alicia Glenfall, looks nothing like Elijah Wood. But its fantasy setting, one filled with various kingdoms and races, and a terrifying grand evil was directly inspired by LotR. Then there’s the other major influence, Kentaro Miura’s seminal Berserk. The dark fantasy story, which inspired Dark Souls, is one of the most lauded manga of all time and has influenced countless other writers and shows; Clevatess among them. In this case, it’s the grey morality; the BBEG not being so evil after all and, more than anything else, the insanely brutal violence. Alicia doesn’t carry the Dragon Slayer, but she might as well.

The actual plot follows Alicia Grenfall, a warrior who sets out to slay the evil monster Clevatess. In a bid to understand why humans seek to kill it in the first place, Clevatess adopts an orphaned baby from a city it just decimated and resurrects Alicia’s corpse to care for it.

‘Clevatess’ Season 3 Could Be Years Away

Lay-duce

Bad news for Clevatess fans; despite Seasons 1 and 2 being major hits, the third season might take years to be released. Season 3 hasn’t officially been confirmed by Studio Lay-duce, as Season 2 only recently wrapped up. Expect a Season 3 announcement in the coming days. But, even then, the anime has quickly caught up to the manga. Unless the anime pulls a Game of Thrones and goes beyond the source material (and we all know how that played out), we might have to wait for several more chapters to be released before the anime has enough material for another season.