The starship Enterprise boldly went where no one has gone before, but TV shows have gone to the final frontier (and beyond!) many times. There are tons of great sci-fi shows on the small screen. Whether they’re space operas or more grounded stories with subtle premises, TV sci-fi has entertained and expanded the minds of countless viewers.
We’ve collected 25 of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time for your viewing pleasure. For variety’s sake, we’re not including every single Star Trek series, even though many of them are very good, and we’re similarly leaving off most of the Star Wars TV shows, too, especially as they’re so tied to the movie franchise. This list also doesn’t feature any superhero TV shows, as while many superhero stories have major sci-fi elements, costumed crime-fighting is really its own genre. With all that in mind, read on to learn more about 25 of the best sci-fi shows ever made.
RELATED: 21 Cult TV Shows With the Most Passionate Fans.
David Benioff and D. B. Weiss followed up Game of Thrones with 3 Body Problem, an adaptation of Chinese author Liu Cixin’s seminal sci-fi trilogy. The series, which looks very expensive (because it was), follows a group of scientists in the wake of a discovery that aliens are going to invade the Earth in 400 year’s time. Our would-be conquerors are watching humanity’s every move, meaning mounting a counterattack is going to be difficult—but maybe not impossible. Full of heady ideas and epic setpieces, the series, which was renewed for additional seasons to cover the other two books in the trilogy, is a feat of adaptation.
There are many Star Wars TV shows, both animated and live-action, and while some of them are good, many of them are not, and most of the ones that are worthwhile are best understood as extensions of the film franchise, such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Andor, however, basically works as a standalone series. Created by Tony Gilroy, the show is an exceptionally well-made and thought-provoking exploration how oppression breeds rebellion, that just so happens to take place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Though now it’s commonplace for TV shows to have a long-term narrative, when Babylon 5 premiered in 1993, it was unusual. The series, which takes place on a crucially located space station in the aftermath of a galactic war, had a distinct beginning, middle, and end all planned out, whereas most television before this was purely episodic in nature. This means that anybody going back to experience Babylon 5 for the first time is in for more than 100 episodes of one great ongoing sci-fi story.
To call the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series a remake of the 1978 show is technically accurate, but while the original is a short-lived, episodic space romp, Ronald D. Moore’s take on the material is an intense epic. The show follows the last remnants of humanity fleeing on the titular spaceship in the wake of a devastating war with the robotic Cylons that destroyed their home world. With tons of action, twists, and politics that are a sharp reflection of the then-ongoing War on Terror, Battlestar Galactica is a masterful work of television.
The Starz show Counterpart is a high-stakes espionage series with one killer sci-fi twist. Instead of spies working against each other on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall, Counterpart features an alternate dimension, one which originally was exactly the same as our own but has had decades of its own history since the parallel universe first emerged. The two realities are engaged in a cold war with each other, and J.K. Simmons stars as both a meek agent in our reality and as his hard-edged counterpart in the other reality, who have to work together to stop the conflict from spilling over—or becoming public knowledge.
RELATED: The 25 Best Animated TV Shows Ever Made.
The premise of the iconic space-western anime Cowboy Bebop isn’t unique among sci-fi series. Set in the future, the show follows a ragtag crew of bounty hunters in space. But, no other show is as cool or as stylish as this one, which features an unforgettable intro and killer jazzy soundtrack.
Alex Garland, the writer-director behind films such as Ex Machina and Civil War, focused on the dark side of Silicon Valley for his 2020 limited series Devs. The show follows a young software engineer working at a cutting-edge company who stumbles onto a conspiracy with grave implications for the world and the nature of free will. Nick Offerman plays the CEO of the company.
The Doctor’s adventures began on TV way back in 1963, but like the titular Time Lord, Doctor Who keeps reinventing itself and finding ways to stay relevant and exciting. Ncuti Gatwa currently stars as the Fifteenth Doctor, who like his 14 predecessors is traveling through time and space in the TARDIS going on all sorts of strange sci-fi adventures and helping those in need.
Set in the future—but not the far future—The Expanse takes place in a solar system that’s begun to be colonized by humanity, but tensions are high between the residents of Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt (known as Belters). Think of it as Game of Thrones in space, as it has similar ambitions, tons of characters, complex plots, and action setpieces, only set in the sci-fi genre rather than fantasy.
Based on the popular video game series, Fallout imagines an alternate history where the Americana and space-age aesthetics of the ’50s never faded away, even as technology advanced in strange ways. Then, World War III destroys the world in nuclear hellfire, leaving the fortunate to hide inside vast underground Vaults for generations. When one such Vaulter, played by Yellowjackets‘ Ella Purnell, emerges to the surface world, she finds a crazy post-apocalyptic landscape filled with mutants, mechs, and all sorts of strangeness.
RELATED: 20 Best TV Shows Based on True Stories.
A cult classic if there ever was one, Joss Whedon’s short-lived space Western has a legacy that far outlasts the mere 14 episodes the series aired in 2002. Nathan Fillion stars as the captain of the Serenity, who together with his motley crew of companions must find their way through the stars in the year 2517. A movie, Serenity, continued the story of Firefly after it was canceled far too soon.
Ronald D. Moore, creator of the Battlestar Galactica remake, also created this Apple TV+ series that has a simple premise: What if the Soviet Union landed on the moon first rather than the United States? From this one change, For All Mankind spins out decades of alternate history in a world where the Space Race never ended and humanity’s drive to make it to the stars only got stronger. Fans of the series will be quick to tell you that it’s one of the best shows on TV right now, and that it doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.
Isaac Asimov’s seminal sci-fi work Foundation was long thought to be un-filmable, and while the Apple TV+ series has had to make some adaptational changes (such as giving the centuries-spanning epic a more traditional narrative and consistent characters), it’s safe to say the show has proved the doubters wrong. Jared Harris stars as genius mathematician Hariton “Hari” Seldon, who discovers that a galactic dynasty is destined to fall but by following his plan, humanity will be able to mitigate the dark age and lay a “foundation” for a new era. The Empire, led by Lee Pace’s Emperor, does not take kindly to Hari’s predictions, setting the stage for an epic conflict.
Fringe was basically The X-Files of its era, though The X-Files was a smashing success, while Fringe struggled on the air. But now, the latter enjoys richly deserved cult classic status. From 2008 to 2013, Anna Torv starred as an FBI agent tasked with investigating the paranormal, especially the possibility of parallel universes and alternate timelines, alongside a scientist played by John Noble and his son, played by Joshua Jackson.
Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, also created this animated sci-fi comedy, which follows Fry, a pizza delivery boy who falls into a cryogenic freezing tube on New Year’s Eve in 1999 and wakes up in the year 3000. Along with his best friend, an alcoholic robot named Bender, and his crush, a one-eyed alien named Leela, Fry experiences all that New New York has to offer in this series which is extremely clever, funny, and sometimes quite heartfelt. Futurama has been canceled and revived several times; the most recent revival is on Hulu.
RELATED: The 25 Best TV Theme Songs Ever Written.
One of the greatest anime series ever made, Neon Genesis Evangelion follows a teenage boy who must pilot a giant mecha to fight against kaiju-sized entities known as Angels which threaten the world. Giant mecha-vs-monster anime are commonplace, but what sets NGE apart is its ambition, as the series is deconstructionist and heavily interested in philosophy. (And, yes, it also features tons of incredible action sequences.)
Tatiana Maslany plays Sarah Manning, Alison Hendrix, Cosima Niehaus, Helena, Rachel Duncan, and a bunch of other clones who discover that they’re all the result of a shadowy human cloning experiment—and that they are in danger. The series, which ran for five seasons in the mid-’10s, is full of twists, turns, and conspiracies, and it’s an absolute masterclass in acting from Maslany.
Seth MacFarlane’s show The Orville was originally billed as a comedy spoof of Star Trek, but it’s much more than just a parody. While there are plenty of jokes, The Orville is surprisingly earnest and became beloved by fans as a fun space story on its own terms, as the crew of the USS Orville go on all sorts of interplanetary adventures.
What began as a spoof on Back to the Future has turned into an interdimensional smash hit, as Rick and Morty is one of the most popular adult animation shows on the air right now. Co-created by Community showrunner Dan Harmon, Rick and Morty is an extremely meta, extremely crass, and extremely funny series about a cynical alcoholic mad scientist (Rick) and his grandson (Morty), who go on adventures around the multiverse. Rick and Morty got a reputation for having a toxic fandom, but that seems to have subsided a bit, and it’s now easier to enjoy the show for what it is: a madcap sci-fi comedy.
Fans of Scavengers Reign are hoping that the critically acclaimed animated sci-fi series will be a big hit now that it’s on Netflix. The show debuted on Max only to be canceled after one season, though there’s a chance Netflix might renew it should enough people watch. Here’s hoping they do, because Scavengers Reign, which follows a group of survivors of a spaceship that crash-landed on an alien planet filled with beautiful—and terrifying—wildlife, is like nothing else on TV.
RELATED: 27 Movies With Shocking Twist Endings You Won’t Recover From.
Stargate SG-1 was the first of many TV spin-offs of the 1994 sci-fi movie Stargate, which features a portal to the stars and aliens inspired by the aesthetic of ancient Egypt. (Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe would follow, plus some web-only and direct-to-DVD installments.) A fun, pulpy adventure series, Stargate SG-1 blends sci-fi and mythology in a delightfully geeky way.
Deep Space 9 is probably the consensus “cool” pick for the best Star Trek series among Trekkies. The fourth installment in the franchise, DS9 boldly goes where other shows hadn’t, setting the action on the titular space station rather than on a voyaging starship, putting much more focus on character-based conflicts and boasting an ongoing, heavily serialized narrative rather than one-off adventures. It’s among the most complex entries in all of Star Trek media, and it’s a must-watch for sci-fi fans.
The Original Series is a great TV show and deserves all the credit in the galaxy for establishing Star Trek as an enduring franchise, but it’s The Next Generation that stands as one of the great TV shows—sci-fi or otherwise. Released two decades after TOS and set a century later, TNG stars Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, the captain of the starship Enterprise who leads his crew on exciting, intellectual, and fun voyages through space. (The Season 2 episode “The Inner Light” is an all-time classic hour of TV.)
Exactly how sci-fi this acclaimed Apple TV+ series is going to get remains to be seen, but the core premise, as introduced in the first season, is a brilliant bit of high-tech workplace dystopia. Adam Scott and his fellow coworkers are “severed,” meaning they have gone through a process that splits their personalities in two so that they don’t remember anything they do while at work—and their 9-5 personas are basically slaves who don’t have any memory of the outside world. The company that they’re working for seems like it’s up to even more eerie sci-fi stuff, and the highly anticipated sophomore season should prove revealing.
They just don’t make ’em like The X-Files anymore; a long-running series composed of monster-of-the-week standalone episodes and a broader serialized narrative. Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully’s (Gillian Anderson) investigations into the paranormal belong in the horror genre as often as they do sci-fi, but the core mythology behind the show—an extraterrestrial conspiracy that the shadowiest levels of government (and beyond) are trying to keep hidden—is very much the latter.
