A scene from the Stranger Things Season 5 trailerImage via Netflix
By
Kareem Gantt
Published 25 minutes ago
Kareem is a veteran editor and writer with over 15 years of experience covering all forms of entertainment, from music to movies. He serves as a High Trending List Writer for Collider, covering all things TV. His work has been seen in numerous online publications such as FanSided, AXS, Examiner, Narcity, HuffPost, and ScreenRant.
He first began his professional writing career in 2011 writing political columns for HubPages, gradualaly building his portfolio until he was rewarded with his first paid writing position with News Headquarters in 2013. Since then, Kareem has covered everything imaginable, from writing political news columns for Examiner, reviewing the latest albums for AXS.com, and giving a unique take on sports, food, and the entertainment industry for Fansided.com. He had another online stop at Narcity, covering travel and things to do in his native Florida, before finally bringing his uniquely immense writing talent and voice to Valnet in 2020, first as a List Writer for ScreenRant before taking his talents to Collider in 2021.
During his time at Collider, Kareem has showcased his talented writing style on a number of beats, trailer previews (DOTA: Dragon's Blood) to season premiers (Abbott Elementary), to Lists ranking everything from 80s Sitcoms (which holds a special place in his heart), to classic Disney Channel shows.
When he's not working, you can catch him bing-watching classic horror movies (he's a huge fan of Friday the 13th), hitting bike trails, and playing UNO (and losing) during game nights with friends.
He calls Orlando, FL home.
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Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
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We all have an opinion on what the greatest shows are. Some opinions often differ from others, and it'll spark up a spirited conversation as to which shows are actually worthy of being the greatest of all-time. We've all had them. This is especially true when it comes to sci-fi shows, a genre that many are passionate about, and have their own lists of which shows are the best to ever grace the genre.
So, for this particular story, we wanted to turn to a credible source that would help aid us as to which sci-fi shows should be crowned the greatest: Rotten Tomatoes. We wanted to see the shows that are often mentioned when talking about the best sci-fi shows ever, and see where their Tomatometer scores lie. With that, here are the greatest sci-fi shows that have managed to score 90% percent or above on Rotten Tomatoes.
8 'Doctor Who' (1963–1989, 2005–)
Tomatometer Score: 90%
Alex Kingston stands behind Peter Capaldi and looks worried in Doctor Who.Image via BBC
We kick things off with a classic that has been a staple on the small-screen for decades. Doctor Who, the sci-fi adventure series, first premiered on the BBC in 1963, and many of its themes have become a model for other sci-fi shows to draw inspiration from. The show follows the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called The Doctor, who comes from a species called the Time Lords.
Using a British police box, The Doctor travels through time to help save lives and liberate oppressed populations with the help of a companion. The simple nature of the story it's trying to tell, along with the many actors who have portrayed the good Doctor, are the main reasons why Doctor Who has become such an essential and beloved classic among sci-fi fans; and its longevity is something to truly marvel at.
7 'Stranger Things' (2016–)
Tomatometer Score: 92%
Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) stares ahead angrily with blood from her nose in Stranger Things Season 5.Image via Netflix
Before 2016, Netflix was just beginning to come into its own with its original programming, with Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards being the standard-bearers when it came to streaming services' programming. But in July 2016, a new series created by the Duffer brothers would premiere and dramatically change Netflix's destiny. That show was Stranger Things, a sci-fi horror series that broke new ground both with its storytelling and its stunning cinematography.
The series revolves around a group of kids in Hawkins, Indiana in the 1980s. The town seems normal enough, but after a young girl with psychokinetic abilities opens up a portal between Earth and a very hostile dimension called the Upside Down, things within the town begin to get strange very, very quickly. Stranger Things put a sci-fi twist on the typical coming-of-age story, and the characters have become quite iconic. The series paved the way for other young adult series to have success on the service, such as Ginny & Georgia and Outer Banks, and also paved the way for the sci-fi genre to expand and grow in the modern era.
6 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' (1987–1994)
Tomatometer Score: 92%
Brent Spiner as Data and Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next GenerationImage via NBC
In 1966, Gene Roddenberry took us to a place "where no man has gone before." That show would be called Star Trek, which launched the career of William Shatner and would go on to spawn a franchise that is only bested by George Lucas' Star Wars. While the original series is much-beloved, it was its modern predecessor that pulled in a new legion of Star Trek fans and is considered one of the best sci-fi shows of all-time, Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Premiering in syndication in 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation featured a crew that would go on to be iconic within the Star Trek universe, led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Next Generation successfully expanded on the lore of Star Trek, introduced new threats to the universe, and paved the way for the franchise to continue into the modern age. It was also more technologically advanced than its original predecessor, and more grounded in reality. While the original series kicked off this legendary sci-fi franchise, it was Next Generation that kicked it into the stratosphere.
5 'The Twilight Zone' (1959–1964)
Tomatometer Score: 92%
Anthony Fremont (Billy Mumy) looking out the window in 'The Twilight Zone's "It's A Good Life"Image via CBS
"There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man." That opening line from Rod Serling sets the stage for what you are about to witness when you turn on an episode of The Twilight Zone. Premiering on CBS in 1959, The Twilight Zone, which was also created by Serling, pretty much invented the sci-fi anthology series. The show tells numerous stories that often are intertwined with the paranormal or Kafkaesque events, which are often described to the audience as being in the Twilight Zone.
Running for five seasons, The Twilight Zone was one of CBS’ biggest hits, and pointed the way for sci-fi, as a genre, to find success on the small-screen. While the initial series ended in 1964, its legacy has continued to loom large, with a film and a modern reboot, as well as a similar show, Netflix's Black Mirror, being a spiritual successor of the series, expanding on the themes that were explored in the series that started it all.
4 'The Expanse' (2015–2022)
Tomatometer Score: 95%
The cast of the main ship in The Expanse standing in the space ship looking off camera.Image via Prime Video
While we have, so far, talked about well-known sci-fi shows that have been bestowed the title of greatest in the genre based on their Rotten Tomatoes score, there is one that has a very high rating, but is often considered an underrated classic. The Expanse, created by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, is one of the best modern sci-fi shows of all-time, yet doesn't really get the same recognition as its peers.
The Expanse is set in a future where humanity has finally learned how to colonize the solar system, and the series follows a crew that, unknowingly, find themselves caught in the middle of a conspiracy that threatens the peace of the Solar System’s colonies. The cinematography and story of The Expanse is simply stunning, and it's no wonder it's often gotten high ratings from Rotten Tomatoes' experts and audiences. This is a very bingeable, very good sci-fi show, one that deserves all the praise it receives.
3 'Battlestar Galactica' (2004–2009)
Tomatometer Score: 95%
Some of the cast stand together and look in the same direction with tense energy in Battlestar Galactica.Image via SYFY
First premiering on ABC in 1978, Battlestar Galactica has become a well-known franchise within the sci-fi universe. After trying to spin off the original series in 1980, a highly successful miniseries in 2003 gave developer and showrunner Ronald D. Moore much-needed reasoning to reboot Battlestar Galactica into a full-fledged series. The rebooted Battlestar Galactica premiered on SyFy in 2004 (with the 2003 miniseries rolled into this series), and it instantly became a hit with sci-fi audiences.
The modern Battlestar Galactica follows the eponymous ship as it leads a small group of survivors from a devastating war to search for ter thirteenth colony of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. That colony, if you already know, was Earth. The rebooted Battlestar Galactica was not only a hit with sci-fi fans, but also with critics, often being mentioned as one of the best of all-time, and rightfully so, thanks to its memorable characters, visual effects, and engaging storyline.
2 'Andor' (2022–2025)
Tomatometer Score: 96%
Much like Star Trek, the Star Wars franchise, created by George Lucas, is one of the most legendary franchises in sci-fi history. While best known for its movies, Star Wars has also produced some great television shows as well, which expand on the lore and introduced new characters to the Star Wars fandom. One of the best is Andor, which premiered on Disney+ in 2022, and acts as a prequel to 2016's Rogue One.
The series follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a thief who becomes a rebel spy during the formative years of the Galactic Empire's reign over the universe. While some may have seen Andor as drier compared to the franchise's more action-heavy shows, Andor tells its story in a gritty and dark manner, one that is more grounded in reality than previous shows and movies. By the end of the series, you'll be left spellbound by the sheer dark nature of Andor, and everything will make perfect sense when it comes to the prequel films. Andor is one of the best modern sci-fi shows of all time, and its Rotten Tomatoes score seems to back us on this assertion.
1 'Counterpart' (2017–2019)
Tomatometer Score: 100%
JK Simmons and Olivia William walking arm in arm down a street at night in Counterparts.Image via Starz
In 2017, Starz premiered one of the best modern-day sci-fi shows of all-time. Created by Justin Marks, Counterpart was a sci-fi thriller that was simply unlike any other during its run, one in which a great story and great visual effects came together to create a series that is often praised as one of the best of all-time.
Counterpart stars J. K. Simmons as Howard Silk, an officer worker based out of the Berlin office of the United Nations, working in the Office of Interchange. For years, he didn't know what his work truly involved, but he soon learns that the Office of Interchange acts as a checkpoint between two parallel Earths, the "Alpha" and the "Prime," with a Cold War brewing between the two. Counterpart was an engaging series from the opening scene, pulling audiences into this strange dimension and had us questioning if there really is an alternative Earth out there. As fantastical as the premise may seem, Counterpart plays its story straight, and we were truly sad when it came to an end in 2019. The 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes isn't a typo, Counterpart truly deserves it.
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