Binge Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere: A 30-Year-Old Urban Fantasy Gem

If you're looking for a quick binge, Neverwhere is just the thing. With only six episodes at about a half-hour each, this 1996 urban fantasy series is an absolute breeze to get through. More importantly, Neverwhere is highly entertaining. It might not be as refined as modern fantasy shows like House of the Dragon, but that only makes it more charming.

Neverwhere is created by Neil Gaiman, the author behind massively popular projects like The Sandman, Good Omens, American Gods, and Coraline. It's one of the few of Gaiman's series not based on his books, though he later wrote a novelisation. Neverwhere holds a 7.2 score on IMDb, and though it's a bit more niche, it's something that fantasy fans can't miss.

What Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere Is About

Neverwhere follows Richard Mayhew, a Scottish businessman living in London with his fiancée. His world is turned almost literally upside down when he comes across a mysterious girl called Door on the street, and brings her home to help. When Richard does this, he suddenly stops existing on Earth. He is entirely invisible to those he knows, and can only truly exist in the parallel world of "London Below."

London Below is more or less like London Above, though all the major landmarks of the former are shifted into magical significance. For example, the Knightsbridge is called the "Night's Bridge" in London Below and can sap a human's essence. The inhabitants of this urban fantasy landscape are, like Richard, invisible to the world above. Many of them are fantastical creatures, or else figures from distant times and places (like Atlantis or Rome).

Upon becoming a person of London Below, Richard loses everything from his previous life. It becomes his mission to return home, but this is only possible if he can protect Door from those who hunt her and accept the help of a whole host of mysterious Longdon Belowers.

Neverwhere Doesn't Get Nearly Enough Attention

Neverwhere is something of a hidden gem. Since it's only a six-episode miniseries, it didn't have a long enough runtime to garner a significant viewership. It wasn't until the novelisation and DVD release that Neverwhere developed a niche cult following.

This series is available to stream in the US for free on Pluto TV or for purchase on Prime Video. In select regions, Neverwhere is also available on Netflix. If you love urban fantasy, you're unlikely to regret the three-hour investment that it would take to binge this series. After all, 30 years later, they really don't make them like Neverwhere.