His Dark Materials (2019)
The truth lies beyond the world we know.
Lyra is an orphan who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. She is later joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As she learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds.
| Type | TV series |
|---|---|
| First aired | 3 November 2019 |
| Status | Ended, last episode 5 February 2023 |
| Genre | Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama, Action & Adventure |
| Created by | Jack Thorne |
| Starring | Dafne Keen, Amir Wilson and Ruth Wilson |
| Seasons | 3 seasons, 23 episodes |
| Episode length | about 59 min |
| Time to watch it all | about 23 hours |
| Rated | TV-14 |
| Scores | TMDB users 7.8/10 |
Where to watch His Dark Materials
His Dark Materials is streaming on Max ($18.49 a month) in the US. At ten hours a week, all of the series takes about 1 month of Max, or $18.49 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 12 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
What kind of watch this is
Jack Thorne’s 2019 adaptation takes Philip Pullman’s trilogy and strips away the cozy fantasy trappings to reveal a hard sci-fi engine. Daemons, Dust, and inter-dimensional travel are treated with the same dry, analytical respect as physics or theology. The tone is bleak and intellectual, trading whimsical wonder for a cold, systemic dread. You get 23 episodes across 3 seasons, which clocks in at roughly 23 hours of screen time. It demands patience. The payoff is not a simple hero’s journey, but a deconstruction of faith itself.
How it did with audiences
No box office figures appear in the record. The only hard number is a 7.8 TMDB user score, which sits comfortably above the median without screaming for attention. Viewers seemed to find it worth their time, even if the studio never gave them a ticket price to justify the spend.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched His Dark Materials.
Sources
- His Dark Materials on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q56195117 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “His Dark Materials (TV series)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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