There’s something magical about combining growing pains with a dash of the strange. Teen coming-of-age tales are already potent, but add aliens, ghosts, time travel, or parallel universes, and you have series that are half-thriller, half-emotional punch. These shows don’t merely depict teens learning to become themselves; they put them against impossible odds, where survival, camaraderie, and identity crash together. Here’s a top 10 countdown of the greatest sci-fi and supernatural coming-of-age shows you can bask in today:
10. FLCL Alternative
The FLCL franchise is famous for being wild, crazy energy, but Alternative gets gentler and more introspective. Rather than middle school shenanigans, it tracks Kana Kuomoto and her friends as they struggle with becoming adults. Sure, the giant robots and interdimensional craziness are still around (thanks, Haruko), but the real magic is in the familiar fears, relationships, insecurities, and dread of what comes next. It’s heartfelt, bizarre, and impossible to forget.
9. Lockwood & Co.
A teen-run paranormal detective agency? Absolutely. Lockwood & Co. delivers ghost-hunting suspense with a very British twist, as a ragtag group of teenagers battles deadly ghosts that grown-ups are too afraid to touch. The whodunits are snappy, the afterlife is richly detailed, and the camaraderie among the characters makes it just as much about friendship as ghosts.
8. The OA
One of the streaming service’s boldest cult successes, The OA integrates supernatural intrigue, trauma, and the quest for belonging. Prairie Johnson’s return after seven years missing ignites a bond with a pack of outsider teens, who assemble to listen to her odd tale of captivity and interdimensional abilities. It’s complicated, layered, and emotionally wrenching, a coming-of-age tale like nothing else.
7. Alice in Borderland
When Tokyo mysteriously depopulates overnight, Arisu and his friends become stuck in a dark universe of lethal games. What begins as a sci-fi survival tale soon becomes a study of determination, bravery, and seeking purpose when it all seems lost. Alice in Borderland is intense, violent, and strangely uplifting, seeing normal kids become heroes amidst impossible odds.
6. Paper Girls
Four girls on their paper route in 1988 suddenly get pulled into a war across time. That’s the hook of Paper Girls, and it delivers with both heartfelt character arcs and trippy sci-fi stakes. The show nails the awkwardness and humor of growing up, while tossing its characters through paradoxes, future tech, and alternate realities. It’s a nostalgic ride with a futuristic edge.
5. Bodies
Imagine crime drama, but with a sci-fi spin. In Bodies, detectives from four eras all try to solve the same enigmatic corpse that keeps appearing in the same spot, centuries on, centuries off. The series combines murder mystery, supernatural suspense, and time travel into a puzzle as emotional as it is mind-twisting.
4. Dark
This German show is sometimes likened to Stranger Things, but Dark is its own thing. A kid goes missing and sparks an epic story of time loops, family trauma, and family secrets in a small town. It’s slow-burning, atmospheric, and heavy on the emotions, repaying fans who enjoy a complex, interconnected narrative about fate and identity.
3. Stranger Things
You can’t discuss teen sci-fi without Stranger Things. The combination of ’80s nostalgia, supernatural horror, and charming misfit kids created a global phenomenon. From fighting Demogorgons to confronting the horrors of adolescence, the show blends thrills with touching friendships, explaining why it remains Netflix’s crown jewel.
2. Avatar: The Last Airbender
More fantasy than science fiction, Avatar deserves its place here for one reason: few series do coming-of-age better. Aang is only 12 when he must save the world, but as they journey, he and his friends encounter grief, redemption, and the burdensome nature of destiny. It’s hopeful, emotional, and ageless, a series that grows up with you.
1. Serial Experiments Lain
Back before the internet dominated our existence, Serial Experiments Lain questioned what occurs when virtual reality and individual identity converge. Lain is a gangly teenager who finds herself in “the Wired” and learns disturbing things about herself and life itself. Half creepy and half profound, it’s a cult favorite that makes even greater sense now.
Adulthood never comes easily, but when you toss in ghosts, robots, and other dimensions, you get some of the most unforgettable television on earth. These programs demonstrate that becoming an adult isn’t necessarily mundane; it can be extraordinary, bizarre, and totally life-changing.