Fairy-tale fanatics ‘Once Upon a Time’

By Kyla Brewer TV Media

All is not well in Storybrooke, Maine. A hero has become a villain, and it looks as if someone is about to lose their life. Or are they? Fans who want to know have to tune in to the midseason finale of “Once Upon a Time,” airing Sunday, Dec. 6, on ABC.

Set simultaneously in a small Maine town and an enchanted realm, the fantasy drama follows familiar fairy-tale characters who also exist in present day. The series began when Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison, “House”) was reunited with the son (Jared Gilmore, “Mad Men”) she gave up for adoption. He led her to Storybrooke, where she learned she’s really the daughter of Snow White/Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin, “Big Love”) and Prince Charming/David (Josh Dallas, “Thor,” 2011), and that she held the key to breaking a powerful curse cast by the Evil Queen/ Regina (Lana Parrilla, “24”).

Mixing fairy-tale characters with the modern world was a big gamble, but the show was a hit when it first premiered in October 2011, despite many predictions that it would be the first series canceled that season. Now in its fifth season, the series is still chugging along — “Once Upon a Time” has had its ups and downs when it comes to ratings, but the network knows the show has millions of fans who are as loyal as they come.

The premise is an unusual one for prime-time network television, but co-creator and executive producer Edward Kitsis offered some insight into why it has connected with viewers when he spoke at a panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

“I think that this is a show for believers and people who want to believe, and I think that it united a lot of people that were tired of cynicism and believe in magic,” he said. “I think the reason that we created this show was to add a little hope to the world in any way we could.”

It was Kitsis’ fellow creator and executive producer, Adam Horowitz, who sparked a fan frenzy in