An Irish-Canadian co-production, the series is based on the Arthurian legend, and stars an ensemble cast led by Joseph Fiennes, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Eva Green.

The series debuted to strong ratings[3] and subsequently earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music nomination.

On 30 June 2011, Starz announced it was not going to order additional episodes of Camelot, citing scheduling conflicts with some members of the cast, including Fiennes, Campbell Bower and Green, as the main reason.

The sorcerer Merlin has visions of a dark future and installs the young and impetuous Arthur, Uther's unknown son and heir who has been raised as a commoner, as the new king.

[16] King called the series "a perfect choice as GK-TV's maiden project," given the company's mandate for "producing compelling cinematic quality programming for television.

However, despite several scripts being written, BBC Head of Drama Jane Tranter eventually decided not to green-light the project,[18] although it later emerged, without Chibnall's involvement, as Merlin (2008–2012).

The series was engineered by executive producers Morgan O'Sullivan of Octagon in Ireland and John Weber of Take 5 Productions in Canada.

[22] The cast assembled at Ardmore Studios in Ireland in June–July 2010 to begin principal photography for the series, which was created as an Irish-Canadian international co-production.

[22] The series aired on Channel 4 in the UK, RTÉ in Ireland, CBC in Canada, Nine Network in Australia, RTL in The Netherlands, and VIER in Belgium.

[41] Critic James Hibberd refers to both shows as "swords 'n' sorcery epics", with a "quest for the kingship as the central storyline" – but adds the comment that there is no reason to choose one over the other, implying that viewers might be able to enjoy both.

"[42] A critic for the Daily Inquirer wrote, "I watched the sneak preview and it looks like Starz has another hit on their hands",[43] and The New York Times called the series "An Arthur worthy of the modern ages.

"[44] On the KFOG morning show Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter's Chief Television Critic, called Camelot "a lightweight version of Game of Thrones" and "almost more like a guilty pleasure".

Negative reviews included Time magazine saying, "Even on the level of it's-just-entertainment, Camelot is exceedingly silly",[47] and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette saying, "it's a lot less graphic than Starz's ultra-sexy, ultra-violent Spartacus franchise.