Television series

Robin of Sherwood

Name: Robin of Sherwood
Genre: Action, Adventure
Released: 1984
Cast: Jason Connery, Ray Winstone, Judi Trott, Clive Mantle, Phil Rose

Swashbuckler

Robin of Sherwood fuses medieval action with genuine mysticism, making the outlaw legend feel lived-in and strange. It's a British series that treats its mythology seriously—swordplay matters, injustice stings, and magic hums beneath everything. Made for people who want adventure that doesn't wink at you, with a cast of misfits you'll actually care about.

TVMaze rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a Robin Hood that mixes folklore and sorcery into the swordplay, and you don't mind a 1980s production's rougher edges for the sake of a story with real mystical weight.

Skip it if you want a tidy, self-contained adventure each week, since the mythology and a shift in its hero partway through ask for real commitment.

What it asks of you: Twenty-six episodes across three seasons, each an hour long, unfolding at an unhurried pace that rewards patience more than constant action.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Duellists1977

Two Napoleonic officers locked in a blood feud across decades. Like Robin of Sherwood, it finds genuine consequence in combat and builds entire narratives around honour, resentment, and the weight of history.

But Glacially paced, with long stretches of quiet. If you want constant action, this will feel like watching paint dry.

Ivanhoe1997

Another ITV swashbuckler set in medieval England, with Anthony Andrews as a Saxon knight caught between justice and survival. Same era, same sensibility, same gorgeous English locations.

But Early 80s television production values show their age. The pacing occasionally feels slack by modern standards.

The Witcher2019

A swords-and-sorcery ensemble where magic is woven into the fabric rather than a flourish. Complex morality, character-driven storytelling, and a band of misfits saving a world that doesn't deserve them.

But Modern television metabolism means it moves faster and darker than Robin. The tone is grittier, sometimes exhaustingly so.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Robin of Sherwood

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Box of Delights1984

Both are British fantasy adventures from 1984 that trust their mythology and use landscape as something alive rather than decorative.

Made the same year as Robin of Sherwood's premiere, this BBC serial is a different animal entirely—a Christmas fantasy about a mysterious box that lets the carrier slip through time. But both share that rare quality: they treat magic as real, consequence as inevitable, and landscape as character.

But It's a children's show, and Christmas-bound. If you're looking for swordplay and outlaws, you won't find them. It also moves through stories at a pace that rewards patience over action.

Merlin2008

BBC's Arthurian fantasy: young heroes, impossible odds, magic as salvation and curse. Same blend of legend and mysticism, same scrappy ensemble, same willingness to let characters fail and suffer.

But Shifts between genuinely moving and slightly creaky. Some episodes feel like filler in a way the best Robin of Sherwood episodes never do.

Highlander1986

A Scot learning that ancient magic and modern violence demand terrible choices. The outlaw hero mythology, the mentor figure, the sense that the world is bigger and stranger than it appears.

But The story is essentially a duel, so there's no ensemble dynamic. Also genuinely bonkers in the best way; if you want coherence, look elsewhere.

Blackadder1983

British historical comedy with the Loxsley episode as a direct Robin of Sherwood parody. If you loved the series, watching it gently mocked by writers who clearly admired it is a genuine pleasure.

But It's comedy, not drama. The tone is antithetical to what made Robin of Sherwood work.

The Tripods1984

BBC science fiction series made the same year as Robin of Sherwood's first series. Young people resisting an invasive force, filmed on location, with genuine stakes and a score by Ken Freeman that rivals Clannad.

But Only three seasons and cancelled mid-story. Watching it means committing to an unfinished epic.

Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight1984

Miles O'Keeffe as a young knight learning the cost of chivalry. Earnest medieval fantasy that treats its legend with the same seriousness Robin of Sherwood brought to the outlaw myth.

But Visibly low-budget and occasionally unintentionally funny. The pacing is sluggish, and the film doesn't quite know what it's trying to be.

Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight poster

Walkabout1971

Both centre outsiders navigating a landscape where unofficial knowledge—magic, ancient ways—matters more than law or convention.

Two children lost in the Australian outback meet an Aboriginal boy. Like Robin of Sherwood, it finds meaning in wilderness, in outsiders, in survival guided by instinct and knowledge the civilised world dismisses as primitive magic.

But An art film by Nicolas Roeg, not an action adventure. Long passages with minimal dialogue, and the story ends in a way that won't satisfy you if you want triumph.

The Pillars of the Earth2010

Both honour medieval England as a real place with real consequences, where injustice creates heroes from necessity rather than virtue.

A miniseries spanning decades in medieval England, built on the same foundation Robin of Sherwood stands on: ordinary people with extraordinary resilience surviving a brutal feudal system. Sprawling, ambiguous, genuinely moving.

But It's a sprawl. Eight hours for a story that doesn't resolve neatly. Also shifts between multiple characters and timelines, which can feel like work.