Television series

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Name: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Genre: Adventure, Children, Fantasy
Released: 2018
Cast: Aimee Carrero, Karen Fukuhara, Amanda Michalka, Marcus Scribner, Reshma Shetty

A gender-swapped, queered-up reboot of the '80s toy cartoon that turns 'chosen one gets a magic sword' into a genuinely moving story about identity, trauma and found family. The animation is bold and candy-bright, the humour is quick, and the emotional arcs — especially Catra and Adora's — go somewhere real. Kids' show on the surface, devastating in the finale stretch.

TVMaze rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love animated fantasy that treats its young heroes' friendships and divided loyalties with real seriousness, and you don't mind a show that's openly playful about its own sparkle and swordplay.

Skip it if you need every episode to stand alone, since the story builds across five seasons and a slow middle stretch can feel like setup before the payoff arrives.

What it asks of you: Each episode runs about twenty-six minutes, so you can binge in an evening, but the arc rewards patience and sticking with it across all fifty-two.

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

If you liked this

Avatar: The Last Airbender2005

The gold standard for 'all-ages' animation that doesn't condescend: a serialized epic about war, found family and growing into power, with jokes that land for adults too.

But Slower burn than She-Ra's tighter seasons — the first season takes a while to show its hand.

Steven Universe2013

Magical warriors made of light, a found family raising a confused kid, and one of the most openly queer romances ever put on Cartoon Network. Tender in the same way She-Ra is tender.

But More song-driven and whimsical; the emotional payoffs take even longer to arrive.

The Dragon Prince2018

Another Netflix fantasy from ex-Avatar writers: elves, dragons, a slow-build redemption arc, and a similar interest in enemies who could become friends.

But Earlier seasons' animation is stiffer, and the politics-of-war plotting is denser than She-Ra's.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Revolutionary Girl Utena1997

Same basic engine — a sword-wielding transformation heroine and a queer love story disguised as children's fantasy — run through 90s shoujo anime instead of Western cartoon, and pushed into much stranger, more adult territory.

A teenage girl who dresses as a prince duels for the hand of a princess in surreal, rose-strewn sword fights that pick apart fairy-tale gender roles with real menace underneath the beauty.

But Deliberately confusing, repetitive-by-design, and far more psychologically brutal than anything She-Ra attempts.

Voltron: Legendary Defender2016

Same Netflix-era DNA: a ragtag team learning to function as a family while piloting giant magic robots against an empire. Big, colourful, unashamedly earnest.

But Uneven later seasons and a queer relationship handled with far less courage than She-Ra's.

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts2020

A post-apocalyptic surface world full of mutant animals, a hopeful pink-haired lead, and the same warm insistence that found family beats blood. Underseen and a genuine joy.

But Cancelled after three seasons, so the ending arrives a little compressed.

The Owl House2020

A witch-in-training falls in with a found family of misfits and monsters. Disney's queerest, weirdest show, with the same instinct for turning a kids' cartoon into something sneakily profound.

But Disney cut it short too, so later seasons rush what should've breathed.

The Legend of Korra2012

A darker, angrier successor to Avatar with a bisexual protagonist, real trauma, and villains who actually have a point. If you want She-Ra's emotional stakes with a rougher edge.

But Choppy production across seasons, and the tone shift from its predecessor can feel jarring.

Gravity Falls2012

Not about princesses, but the same trick of hiding real feeling — here, sibling love — inside a fast, funny mystery-adventure. Tight, complete, and beautifully plotted.

But No magical-girl transformation sequences or romance arc if that's what you came for.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon1992

The magical-girl-team blueprint She-Ra descends from: a group of ordinary girls transforming into cosmic warriors to save the world, with genuine heart under the sparkle.

But Slower, more repetitive monster-of-the-week structure and dated animation by modern standards.

Pose2018

She-Ra's Rebellion is a found family built by outcasts; Pose is that same idea stripped of magic swords and set in the real world, showing what chosen family costs and means when the fantasy armour comes off.

A live-action drama about New York's ballroom scene in the 80s and 90s, where queer kids rejected by their families build new ones out of love, rivalry and fierce devotion.

But Adult content, real historical grief around the AIDS crisis — nothing cartoonish about the stakes here.

Wonder Woman2017

Same mythic shape — a sheltered warrior-princess origin story about earning a legendary title — but told once, in two hours, as a live-action tentpole rather than a season-by-season animated coming-of-age.

An Amazon warrior princess leaves her hidden homeland to fight a war she doesn't fully understand, discovering what her power is actually for along the way.

But Standard blockbuster machinery in the back half, and none of She-Ra's interest in queer romance or ensemble found family.