His Dark Materials: HBO's Underappreciated Three-Part Fantasy

After Game of Thrones delivered a famously dismal ending, HBO partnered with the BBC to adapt Philip Pullman's complete trilogy into the three-part series His Dark Materials. The show was quietly underappreciated despite the advantage of a planned conclusion and a story that appeals to a wide age range.

Set in an alternate Oxford where souls appear as daemons, the series follows Lyra (Dafne Keen) as she sets off to save a friend and becomes embroiled in a multidimensional conflict with the Magisterium. An elusive substance called Dust, a mystical prophecy and talking polar bears combine with steampunk towns and icy tundra to create a vividly imagined world.

On one hand the show channels a childlike wonder—Lyra’s hopeful exploration and coming-of-age arc echo classic children’s fantasies. On the other, it dives into political and theological complexity, from the rebellion against an authoritarian Magisterium to subtle questions about a child’s transition into adolescence.

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