Jonas standing in the middle of a rural road with a raincoat on in the series Dark.Image via Netflix
By
Kareem Gantt
Published 53 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.
Sign in to your Collider account
Summary
Generate a summary of this story
follow
Follow
followed
Followed
Like
Like
Thread
Log in
Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
Try something different:
Show me the facts
Explain it like I’m 5
Give me a lighthearted recap
Sci-fi is a genre that has attracted legions of fans with its spellbinding stories of a reality that’s based on human advancements of science and technology. While the genre has long enjoyed a run of success on the big screen, one can’t forget about the TV shows that have also helped define this engaging genre. Ever since the premiere of Rossum’s Universal Robots on the BBC in 1938, sci-fi shows have long been a staple of television, with shows ranging from taking viewers to a dimension not of our own, to exploring how artificial intelligence can be used to control the human population.
For the absolute best that sci-fi TV has to offer, you’ll be able to watch them over-and-over again, and never get tired of them. So, this is what we want to focus on for this story, the greatest sci-fi shows that you simply can’t get enough.
10 ‘The Man in the High Castle’ (2015-2019)
John Smith as Rufus Sewell in The Man In The High CastleImage via Amazon Prime Video
Imagine, if you will, if the axis powers of Germany, Japan, and Italy won World Word II instead of the allies. Well, you can actually see what this alternate reality would look like in Prime’s dystopian sci-fi hit The Man in the High Castle. Adapted from Philip K. Dick novel of the same name, the series takes a different look at what a post-World War II America would look like if America lost the war. Essentially, both Germany and Japan have invaded huge slices of the U.S., and we follow our protagonists, who form an underground resistance force looking to fight back against their invaders.
Alternate history has always been a great source for telling sci-fi tales, and The Man in the High Castle is no exception. We see the advancement of technology (especially from the Germans), such as video phones and real-time surveillance, to keep an eye on the occupied American population and keep them suppressed. It’s a chilling dystopian series, one that you will never get tired of rewatching.
9 ‘Fringe’ (2008-2013)
Mysterious technology causes a mother to deteriorate in Fringe.Image via Fox
There is always something wild and crazy going on in Fringe, one of the most underrated sci-fio series in recent memory. Created by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and J.J. Abrams, the series, which premiered on Fox in 2008, follows an FBI division that’s tasked with using fringe science to investigate unexplained occurrences happening in a parallel universe.
That was a lot to take in, wasn’t it? Well, that’s because Fringe is a sci-fi show that was made for the audience to turn their brains off, and enjoy the weirdness that was happening on th1e screen. Toward the end of its five-season run in 2013, Fringe truly went off the rails, and it was all beautiful to watch. The visual effects were great, the storylines were mostly intriguing, and you will never get bored watching this series, no matter how many times you watch it.
8 ‘Humans’ (2015-2018)
.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2)
Gemma Chan in front of a glass in 'Humans'.Image via AMC
In 2015, AMC premiered a British sci-fi series that many may not have heard about today, but is one with tremendous re-watch value. That show was Humans, a sci-fi series based on the Swedish series Real Humans. This is a true science fiction series through-and-through, with scientific technology at the forefront of the series, mostly to shocking effect.
Humans tells the story of the societal impact “synths” have had on humanity. Synths are anthropomorphic robots that look, and act, like humans. Throughout the series, we see how much of an impact these robots have had and how they have truly advanced human society, for better and for worse. Humans is often cited as one of the most underrated modern sci-fi series that many should check out, and we agree. In fact, you won’t be able to get enough of this series when you first watch it.
7 ‘The Outer Limits’ (1963-1965)
A terrifying, bug-eyed human creature in The Outer Limits.Image via ABC
When CBS landed a hit on their hands with The Twilight Zone, ABC wanted to greenlight something similar. So, they turned to creator Leslie Stevens to bring a Twilight Zone-like series that would go even further than its CBS counterpart. Enter The Outer Limits, which premiered in 1963 and clearly had more focus on science fiction than The Twilight Zone.
Narrated by Vic Perrin, the stories told in this sci-fi anthology series were heavily focused on fantasy and the supernatural, and the series was famous for its shock plot twists that often put stories on their heads. While The Outer Limits wasn’t appreciated at the time, only running for two seasons before ABC pulled the plug, the sci-fi series has since been re-appraised and is now celebrated for pushing the boundaries of where this fascinating genre can go.
6 ‘Dark' (2017-2020)
A young man wearing a yellow raincoat and standing on a vacant highway looking ahead in Dark.Image via Netflix
Netflix has opened up the West to some amazing sci-fi series that would have otherwise been missed out on. Dark is one of those shows. Premiering on the service in 2017, Dark is a German sci-fi mystery thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from the opening scene to the end credits.
The series follows four families that are in search of the truth after a child suddenly disappears. What they find is a time travel conspiracy that spanned generations, and this isn’t a harmless conspiracy, either. Dark and foreboding, you’ll be deeply invested in the plot of this series, which is considered not only one of the best sci-fi series of the modern era, but one of the best shows, period.
5 ‘Black Mirror’ (2011-Present)
Miley Cyrus as Ashley O performing with arms behind her in Black Mirror's Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too.Image via Netflix
You can easily look at Netflix’s Black Mirror and see shades of The Twilight Zone sprinkled all throughout the show. What first started out as a strictly British sci-fi anthology series, Black Mirror takes the best of both the classic CBS series and The Outer Limits to create a truly spellbinding show made for the modern era.
All the episodes in Black Mirror focus on the advance of technology, and how that can actually be harmful for us. Not only that, but this sinister advancement in technology is rooted in our present, from an app that gives you rights based on your social score, to using CGI to ruin someone’s life in real-time. Black Mirror is a surreal dystopian sci-fi thriller that is just as good as the anthology series that have come before it, one that you will want to binge again and again.
4 ‘Westworld’ (2016-2022)
Image via HBO
In 1973, director Michael Crichton brought the terrifying vision of Westworld to life. In the film, which has gained a cult following, the story centers on a high-tech vacation resort where androids play host to human travelers. However, things begin to go wrong when the androids malfunction and turn on its guests. 43 years later, creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy expanded on this world created with the HBO adaptation of Westworld.
Based loosely on Westworld’s 1976 sequel, Futureworld, the TV adaptation smartly expands the world created in the film series, looking at how artificial intelligence can be used to control the lives of people outside a theme park resort. With its engaging story, superb visual effects, and great acting, Westworld was a success for HBO, and is one of the best sci-fi series of the 2010s. You will definitely not get bored watching this show, not one bit.
3 ‘Battlestar Galactica’ (2003-2009)
Ever since it first premiered on ABC in 1978, Battlestar Galactica has been a sci-fi series that, although growing an audience, had long struggled to get off the ground. But after a very successful miniseries in 2003, developer Ronald D. Moore and executive producer David Eick “re-imagined” the classic series and turned it into a full-fledge series that finally got the success it deserved.
The re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, which premiered in 2003 on the SyFy Network, follows the crew of the eponymous ship as they go searching for the thirteenth colony of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol after a devastating sneak attack on the original 12 colonies by the Cylons. The visuals of Battlestar Galactica were feature film quality, and the storyline was intriguing. Put them both together, and you have one of the best sci-fi shows of the 2000s, and one of the best of all-time with tremendous re-watch value.
2 ‘The Twilight Zone’ (1959-1964)
Several people wearing masks in The Twilight Zone.Image via CBS
While the BBC’s Rossum’s Universal Robots was the first ever sci-fi show, it was The Twilight Zone that became the first true big sci-fi hit in the West. A groundbreaking series, The Twilight Zone premiered in 1959 on CBS and was an immediate hit for the network. Created by Rod Serling, the series is an anthology show that features a different story every episode, one that’s more shocking than the one that proceeded it.
While it dabbled more in the paranormal and Kafkaesque events than sci-fi, The Twilight Zone, no less, paved the way for future sci-fi shows to take off with its engaging stories and its visuals, which, at the time, were pretty groundbreaking for television. Although the original series has been gone for over 60 years, the legacy of The Twilight Zone continues to loom large, and has been a great influence for other series looking to take its viewers to places never before witnessed.
1 ‘Rick & Morty’ (2013-Present)
Rick, Morty, Summer, Beth, and Space Beth all surround each other in the family living room in a scene from 'Rick and Morty.'Image via Adult Swim
Over the past 12 years, there has been no other sci-fi series quite like Rick and Morty. Premiering on Adult Swim in 2013, the animated series created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon focuses on the misadventures of grandfather and grandson as they navigate multiple dimensions.
While a comedy at its heart, over the past few seasons, Rick and Morty has proven to also be adept at giving viewers storylines that carry emotional weight. This has led to Rick and Morty being an acclaimed hit with both critics and audiences for its writing, humor, and creativity, and it’s a show that doesn't have a boring, skippable episode in its arsenal.
Like
Follow
Followed
Rick and Morty
TV-14
Animation
Comedy
Adventure
Science Fiction
Release Date
December 2, 2013
Network
Adult Swim
Showrunner
Dan Harmon
Directors
Bryan Newton, Dominic Polcino, Anthony Chun, John Rice, Stephen Sandoval, Jeff Myers
Cast
See All-
Spencer Grammer
Summer Smith (voice)
-
Justin Roiland
Rick Sanchez / Morty Smith
The fractured domestic lives of a nihilistic mad scientist and his anxious grandson are further complicated by their inter-dimensional misadventures.
Main Genre Animation Genres Animation, Comedy, Adventure, Science Fiction Seasons 8 Producers J. Michael Mendel, Lee Harting, Sydney Ryan, Nick Rutherford, Anne Lane, Jonathan Roig Creator(s) Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon Powered by
Expand
Collapse
-
Black Mirror
We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.
Be the first to post Images Attachment(s) Please respect our community guidelines. No links, inappropriate language, or spam.Your comment has not been saved
Send confirmation emailThis thread is open for discussion.
Be the first to post your thoughts.
- Terms
- Privacy
- Feedback
Nov 3, 2024
The 28 Best Sci-Fi Shows on Amazon Prime Video Right Now (November 2024)
4 days ago
The 8 Greatest '80s Shows Nobody Remembers
5 days ago
8 Series Finales That Can Be Called Masterpieces
3 days ago
8 Animated Sitcoms That Are Almost As Good as 'The Simpsons'
More from our brands
37 Shows on Netflix That Couples Can Binge-Watch Together
The 25 Best Shows on Crave to Watch Right Now
25 Best R-Rated TV Shows of All Time, Ranked
The 40 Best TV Shows Of The 2000s, Ranked
20 Best Sci-Fi Shows Of All Time
35 Best Sci-Fi TV Shows, Ranked
9 Sci-Fi TV Shows Better Than Any Blockbuster Sci-Fi Movie
What To Watch
July 20, 2025
The 72 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now
Trending Now
George Clooney’s Star-Studded WWII Movie Is Leaving This Free Streamer Very Soon
Love It or Hate It, This Divisive Fantasy Film Franchise Is Free to Watch and Dominating the Streaming Charts
Ridley Scott's Controversial Biblical Epic Joins a New Streamer
