15 Years Ago Today: ABC Turned Classic Fairy Tales Into A Hit Fantasy Series

15 years ago today, ABC debuted "Once Upon a Time," a hit fantasy show that put a unique spin on fairytale lore. Created by "Lost" alumni Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, "Once Upon a Time" follows a group of fairytale characters from the Enchanted Forest who've been cursed by the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) to be trapped as their alter egos in Storybrooke, Maine.

The pilot episode revolves around Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), who, on her 28th birthday, gets visited by the son she gave up for adoption, Henry Mills (Jared Gilmore). But it's no ordinary reunion. Not only does he already know that he's been living amongst fairy tale characters, he's also hip to the fact that the Evil Queen is his adoptive mother, Regina Mills. Oh, and Emma — who doesn't know that she's the daughter that Prince Charming/David Nolan (Josh Dallas) and Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard (Ginnifer Goodwin) sent to our world to escape the curse — is the only one who can break it!

Of course, that's only the edge of a complicated web, one that forces an ever-expanding cast of fairytale characters to embrace (or reject) magic, love, heroism, family, destiny, and more. The show, which also starred Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold alongside many more great characters — premiered to a whopping 12.8 million viewers — notably, beating out all non-sports programming that aired on the same night. 

"Once Upon a Time" ran for seven total seasons, but Season 7 featured a dramatically different cast, as Jennifer Morrison, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Emilie de Ravin, Jared Gilmore, and Rebecca Mader departed the series at the close of Season 6. This left Lana Parrilla, Robert Carlyle, and Colin O'Donoghue to lead a reboot of sorts, which invited in a cast of new characters (and alter egos) in a new setting and time period. Even though all the main characters returned for the series finale, the rest of Season 7 was poorly received among both audiences and critics. 

As of now, there is no official "OUAT" reboot or revival in the works. However, the topic has been periodically floated to cast members over the years. And while the question has prompted a variety of responses, it would likely never look like the original — as one of the central stars, Morrison, doesn't want to reprise her role. "If they want me to come direct it, I'd be happy to," she told the NY Post in February 2025. "It would be very cool. "I think there is definitely a place in the world for it, but I think it would just need to be a new group of characters."