Sci-fi does not stay the same. One time, you chase time-travel killers; next, you doubt your smart speaker. If you like dark worlds, odd tech, or wild plots, there is a sci-fi show for you. It will play tricks on your mind in a good way. Here are 10 top picks to see, from 10 to 1:
10. Supergirl
Not all sci-fi needs to be moody and dark. Supergirl provides a needed injection of optimism amidst alien battles, supervillains, and an occasional heartfelt moment. Melissa Benoist contributes actual charm to KaraZor-Elas she navigates saving the planet alongside discovering who she is. It’s an old-school superhero tale with an updated, female-led spin—and no, there are indeed more alien invasions than Monday meetings.
9. Resident Alien
Imagine if an alien crash-landed in small-town Colorado and had to pretend to be a human doctor. Now add Alan Tudyk in the lead role, and you’ve got Resident Alien. It’s funny, weird, and surprisingly thoughtful. While our alien heroes are technically here to destroy humanity, they somehow end up befriending us instead. Think E.T. meets Fargo with some offbeat heart and hilarious culture clashes.
8. The Umbrella Academy
This is not your average superhero tale. Seven adopted siblings with weird abilities are raised under the tutelage of a quirky billionaire meet up years later to save the world from extinction. Time travel, chatty chimps, and murderous violin solos?Oh, yeah. The Umbrella Academy’s got all that and then some. It’s messy in the best sense and ideal for anyone who prefers their sci-fi drenched in emotional baggage and slow-burning apocalypse angst.
7. Black Mirror
If Twilight Zone and Silicon Valley had a very disturbing child, it would be Black Mirror. Every episode is a self-contained story that investigates our complicated relationship with technology, from AI flings to memory implants that go wrong. Some episodes are straight-up nightmare fuel, while others are stealth gutpunches. Either way, you’ll likely feel the urge to chuck your phone into a lake afterward. In a positive manner.
6. Dark
This German time-travel drama doesn’t just play with timelines—it ties them in impossible knots. Dark starts with a missing child but quickly becomes a mind-bending puzzle involving multiple generations, overlapping lives, and some pretty wild paradoxes. You’ll need to keep track of who’s who(maybe make a chart), but it’s worth the ride if you’re into deep,character-driven sci-fi with major emotional payoff.
5. Love, Death & Robots
If you’re all about the variety, this one’s for you. Love, Death & Robots is an anthology of animated short films that covers everything—dystopian futures, wayward robots, sci-fi noir, you name it. Every episode is completely different in tone and animation style, which makes it great for spurts of mind-altering weirdness. Some are brutal, some are introspective, and some are even heartbreakingly pretty.
4. 3 Body Problem
From the makers of Game of Thrones comes an epic tale that grapples with physics, alien contact, and the future of humanity. Adapted from the acclaimed novel, 3-Body Problem doesn’t flinch. It’s heavy going, brainy, and enormously ambitious—and also a visual treat. It’s the sort of science fiction that leaves you sitting back afterwards and rethinking your position in the universe.
3. Stranger Things
Few television shows have embodied the sci-fi spirit better than Stranger Things. What started as a homage to ’80s popular culture soon went on to become a global phenomenon. At its center are a bunch of children in a small town in Indiana battling beasts from the next world. The government conspiracies, otherworldly forces, and synth-laden score are fantastic, but it’s the characters and their friendships that make it work. The nostalgia’s just a nice bonus.
2. Alice in Borderland
Ever wondered what a mashup of Battle Royale, Inception, and The Matrix in a Tokyo back alley would be like? That’s roughly Alice in Borderland. Waking up one day to discover the city inexplicably vacant, a cast of survivors must play games of life and death to survive. It’s vicious, frenetic, and packed with enough surprises to spin your head. But beneath the mayhem, there’s genuine feeling and character development.
1. Lost
But long before the streaming giants, Lost was already redefining what a sci-fi mystery series could be: A plane lands on an island that appears to be deserted, but as the survivors come to discover, they are part of something much stranger. Time shifts, ancient bunkers, polar bears, smoke monsters-it’s all here. Some love the ending, others still fight about it to this day, but one thing is for sure: Lost changed television forever, and it’s still one of the most binge-watchable mysteries around.
Whether you’re up for far-out time travel, robot uprisings, or tales of humanity at the universe’s frontier, these programs have got you covered. So dive into something out-of-this-world, and let your next binge-watching adventure transport you somewhere truly off the beaten path. Happy streaming, wherever (and whenever) you are.