Everyday enchantments: TV's best use of magical realism

Apple TV's British import Small Prophets is an exceptional series that exemplifies the effective use of magical realism in storytelling. The six-episode first season follows the narrative of Michael, a hardware clerk who has been searching for a girlfriend missing for seven years. Michael turns to medieval alchemy in his quest to find answers.

The series introduces a magical element to the otherwise straightforward world, using the supernatural to explore the theme of a life half lived. Small Prophets is currently streaming on Apple TV through November 4, but if you're interested in other series utilizing elements of magical realism, this guide has you covered.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, a seminal work in the magical realism genre, was written by Gabriel García Márquez. The novel, a blend of romance, history, war, family, superstition, and faith, follows seven generations of the Buendía family in the fictional village of Macondo. While Netflix's Spanish-language adaptation of the novel is a wild and striking rendition, its faithfulness to the source material is questionable due to its dense plot and large cast of characters.

Despite this, the show is undoubtedly worth watching for its vivid and haunting portrayal of a family, a city, and perhaps even humanity itself.

HBO's Carnivale is another exceptional example of a series using magical realism to create a unique and captivating story. Set in 1930s Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl, the series revolves around a traveling circus led by an elusive, all-knowing figure known as Management. The series expertly interweaves the mundane with the supernatural, using occult symbolism, religious iconography, shared dreamscapes, prophecies, and miracles to explore questions of destiny and fate in the context of flawed and human characters.

Though the second season ended on a cliffhanger after only two seasons, the show's imaginative and thought-provoking narrative is well worth the watch.