The creators of Merlin position their hero as the original Harry Potter: a headstrong young wizard with mixed feelings about–and sometimes outright hostility toward – the destiny that’s been thrust upon him.
Like Smallville did for Superman, Merlin is a series that updates the story of the infamous sorcerer of Arthurian legend for a new audience. In a time before history began, the mythical city of Camelot was a fantastical realm and a dangerous world in which magic has been banned by the ruthless tyrant Uther Pendragon. When Merlin, a young man gifted with extraordinary magical powers, arrives in the kingdom, he discovers his destiny and that of the kingdom’s young leader in waiting, Arthur, are inextricably linked.