Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...

'' is an American

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

drama television series created by

Edward Kitsis Edward Lawrence Kitsis (born February 4, 1971) is an American television writer and producer, best known for his work with his writing partner Adam Horowitz on the popular ABC drama series ''Lost'' and ''Once Upon a Time''. Early life and educa ...

and

Adam Horowitz Adam Horowitz (born December 4, 1971) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is known for co-creating the ABC fairy tale drama series ''Once Upon a Time'' with his writing partner Edward Kitsis. Days after the show ended its seven-year r ...

, who also serve as executive producers alongside

Steve Pearlman Steve Pearlman is a Canadian television producer and director. He is well known for his work on the ABC series '' V'' and ''Once Upon a Time''. Career Pearlman began his career on the 2005 drama ''Related'', as an executive producer. He would ...

. The series begins by introducing a bail bondswoman,

Emma Swan Emma Swan is a fictional character in ABC's television series ''Once Upon a Time'' and the protagonist of seasons 1-6. She is portrayed by Jennifer Morrison as an adult, by Abby Ross as a teenager, and by Mckenna Grace as a child. Emma appears ...

(

Jennifer Morrison Jennifer Marie Morrison is an American actress, director, producer, and former child model. She is mainly known for her roles as Dr. Allison Cameron in the medical-drama series ''House'' (2004–2012) and Emma Swan in the ABC adventure-fantasy s ...

) and her birth-son, Henry Mills (

Jared S. Gilmore Jared Scott Gilmore (born May 30, 2000) is an American actor, voice actor and Twitch streamer. He is best known for his role in the series ''Once Upon a Time'' as Henry Mills. Early life Jared Scott Gilmore was born on May 30, 2000, in San Dieg ...

), who discover that a town named Storybrooke in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

is a remnant of a parallel

fantasy world A fantasy world is a world created for/from fictional media, such as literature, film or games. Typical fantasy worlds involve magic or magical abilities, nonexistent technology and, sometimes, either a historical or futuristic theme. Some wor ...

that was cursed by Henry's adoptive mother, the

Evil Queen The Evil Queen, also called the Wicked Queen, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of "Snow White", a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm; similar stories exist worldwide. Other versions of the Queen appear in subsequent ...

/Mayor

Regina Mills The characters of ABC's '' Once Upon a Time'' and its spin-off '' Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'' are related to classic fairy tale and fantasy characters, and often tie-in with other Disney media properties. Cast Main cast : = Main cast (c ...

(

Lana Parrilla Lana Parrilla (born July 15, 1977) is an American actress. She was a regular cast member in the fifth season of the ABC sitcom ''Spin City'' (2000–2001) and in the fourth season of '' 24'' (2005), and starred in ''Boomtown'' (2002–2003), '' ...

), and that all the characters from the fairy tales have no memories of who they were, including Emma's parents,

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

Mary Margaret Blanchard The characters of ABC's '' Once Upon a Time'' and its spin-off '' Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'' are related to classic fairy tale and fantasy characters, and often tie-in with other Disney media properties. Cast Main cast : = Main cast ( ...

(

Ginnifer Goodwin Jennifer Michelle "Ginnifer" Goodwin (born May 22, 1978) is an American actress. She is known for her starring role as Margene Heffman in the HBO drama series ''Big Love'' (2006–2011) and Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard in the ABC fanta ...

) and

Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, incl ...

David Nolan David Nolan may refer to: * David Nolan (politician) (1943–2010), co-founder of the United States Libertarian Party * David Nolan (American author) David Nolan is an American author, civil rights activist, and historian. Biography Nolan was b ...

(

Josh Dallas Joshua Paul Dallas (born December 18, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Prince Charming/David Nolan in the ABC television series ''Once Upon a Time'' and as Ben Stone in the NBC/Netflix sci-fi drama series ''Manifest'' ...

), who sent her to the real world to save their world and break the curse.

Series overview

Episodes

Season 1 (2011–12)

Season 2 (2012–13)

Season 3 (2013–14)

Season 4 (2014–15)

Season 5 (2015–16)

Season 6 (2016–17)

Season 7 (2017–18)

Specials

Home media releases

Ratings

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Once Upon a Time episodes Lists of American drama television series episodes Lists of American fantasy television series episodes