Let’s face it, we’re in a golden age of sci-fi. Between the endless content on Netflix, Apple TV+, and beyond, there’s never been a better time to dive into strange new worlds, question reality, and watch humanity collide with the future. Whether you’ve been a genre nut for decades or you’re just wading in the uncharted waters, here are 15 science fiction titles you absolutely shouldn’t miss, and we’re counting down from 15 to 1, because suspense is the best.
15. Resident Alien
Who knew aliens can’t be endearing? Alan Tudyk shines as an extraterrestrial assassin stranded on Earth who finds himself pretending to be a small-town physician. What begins as an assignment to wipe out humanity is transformed into a humorously, strangely affecting tale about what it is to be human. It’s witty, wise, and brimming with strange charm, just the sort of sci-fi comedy that gets up on you.
14. The Wild Robot
Cast Away + AI, but as an animated film. The Wild Robot chronicles Roz, a developing AI who crash-lands on an uninhabited island and adapts to survive by making friends with the creatures. It’s an emotional, family-friendly journey that explores empathy, development, and the purpose of life in a manner that will have both children and adults feel it in their circuits (and hearts).
13. Alice in Borderland
Wake up in a deserted Tokyo. Survive by winning deadly games. That is the concept of this fast-paced Japanese show based on the popular manga. What you get is a high-stakes mix of survival thriller, sci-fi mystery, and psychological drama that will leave you guessing until the last round.
12. See
In this Apple TV+ saga, the power of sight has been lost to humanity, and vision is the greatest taboo. Jason Momoa plays Baba Voss, a formidable guardian of his children, who were born with vision in a world that is terrified of it. The series brings stunning action, dense world-building, and an evocative tale of family and survival.
11. The Umbrella Academy
A dysfunctional superhero family, time-traveling, apocalypse-stopping? Count us in. The Umbrella Academy is as crazy, funny, and emotional as it is heart and comic-book-mad, all of which are served with killer soundtracks. Weird and witty sci-fi fans, rejoice.
10. Foundation
Isaac Asimov’s beloved epic at last receives the sweeping treatment it merits on Apple TV+. Foundation is a grand space epic about the development and decline of civilizations and the battle to maintain knowledge amidst collapse. It’s breathtaking, intelligent, and as ambitious as science fiction comes.
9. Silo
Inspired by Hugh Howey’s Wool books, Silo isolates the audience in a massive underground silo in which what lies “outside” could be the greatest deception of all. Rebecca Ferguson stars in this slow-burning thriller of paranoia, lies, and uprising. It’s claustrophobic science fiction at its finest.
8. Black Mirror
Technology, but horror-fied. Each episode of Black Mirror is a bleak little universe, contemplating how our technology, social media addiction, and fascination with AI can kill us. It’s incisive, eerie, and uncomfortably plausible.
7. The Creator
What if humans conclude AI has moved too far? The Creator tracks down a soldier (John David Washington) who has been ordered to obliterate sophisticated AI until he meets a childlike robot who may be the key to peace. It’s an action-packed, emotional exploration of empathy and the thin line between man and machine.
6. 3 Body Problem
From the makers of Game of Thrones comes Netflix’s most ambitious sci-fi series so far. Based on Liu Cixin’s novel, The 3 Body Problem is a group of scientists who discover a chilling extraterrestrial threat that might destroy reality itself. It’s cerebral, gritty, and downright riveting.
5. Ghost in the Shell
The crown jewel of cyberpunk anime, Ghost in the Shell, is a must-watch for anyone interested in technology, consciousness, and identity. Major Motoko Kusanagi’s hunt for a mysterious hacker raises big questions about what it means to be human, all wrapped in stunning, hand-drawn visuals that still hold up today.
4. Stranger Things
Half ’80s nostalgia, half sci-fi horror, Stranger Things is a phenomenon for a reason. When a kid goes missing in small-town Indiana, his friends stumble upon a government cover-up and a portal to a frightening alternate dimension. It’s adorable, creepy, and rewatchable ad infinitum.
3. Ex Machina
A lean, intelligent thriller that poses the question: if a robot can think and feel, is it then not a machine? Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and Oscar Isaac give powerhouse performances in this haunting tale of manipulation, creation, and control. It’s minimalist sci-fi with maximum effect.
2. Interstellar
Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar moves us from withering farmland to outer galaxies in the quest for the next human home. It’s a cinematic trip across space and time anchored by Matthew McConaughey’s performance. The visuals are stunning, and the narrative touches on love, loss, and survival in the way only Nolan can manage.
1. Her
Number one is Her, he least noisy, most human sci-fi movie on this list. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Theodore, a solitary writer who is smitten with his AI operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. The result is an intimate study of connection, isolation, and what love appears to be in a world of computers. It’s bittersweet, melancholic, and unforgettable.
Whether you’re after something profound, pulse-pounding, or just beautifully weird, these sci-fi stories prove the genre is as alive as ever. So grab your snacks, dim the lights, and get ready to question everything in your own reflection in the screen.