TV is lousy with great sci-fi shows, but it can be risky to commit to a series partway through. Why? Because the network can always cancel it in the middle of the run, meaning you’ll have gotten invested and then be deprived of an ending. It’s happened way more often than it should.
But there are also plenty of series that are over and done with, so you can watch them without fear that you’ll never be able to finish.
5 sci‑fi thrillers that unravel one episode at a time
Prepare for a thrilling journey through time and space as these expertly crafted sci-fi series build tension with every episode, leading to jaw-dropping revelations.
The Expanse
Putting the science in science fiction
The Expanse is a much-lauded sci-fi show that started life on SyFy before jumping over to Amazon Prime Video. It’s set in the not-so-distant future when humanity has expanded beyond Earth to also settle on Mars and the asteroid belt, and the three groups do not always get along.
The Expanse is a space opera that keeps itself firmly grounded in reality, not only in terms of actual physics but also human behavior. There are few purely “good” and “bad” guys on this show, just people doing what they think is best, which sometimes means they come into conflict with each other. The Expanse explores that rich grey area for six terrific seasons.
The Expanse is based on a book series that the show didn’t actually get around to adapting in its entirety, so it’s possible we could get more sometime in the future. But these six seasons still tell a complete story.
- Release Date
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2015 – 2022-00-00
- Network
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SyFy, Prime Video
- Showrunner
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Naren Shankar, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby
- Directors
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Breck Eisner, Jeff Woolnough, David Grossman, Kenneth Fink, Rob Lieberman, Terry McDonough, Thor Freudenthal, Bill Johnson, David Petrarca, Jennifer Phang, Mikael Salomon, Sarah Harding, Marisol Adler, Anya Adams, Nick Gomez, Simon Cellan Jones
- Writers
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Georgia Lee, Robin Veith, Hallie Lambert, Matthew Rasmussen, Ty Franck, Naren Shankar, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Daniel Abraham, Dan Nowak
Dark
When a show dares you to understand it
Dark is a mind-bending Netflix show that requires close watching. It’s set in a small German town with a dark past. When citizens discover a wormhole in the tunnels beneath the town that allows them to travel to different points in time, the show gets complicated fast, following storylines set in multiple timelines and maybe even multiple realities. Throughout, it maintains an oppressive, thoughtful, heavy tone.
Dark can be a hard show to wrap your head around, but it’s gained masses of passionate fans for exactly that reason. Its three excellent seasons are a compelling puzzle to be solved.
- Release Date
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2017 – 2020
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Jantje Friese
- Directors
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Baran bo Odar
- Writers
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Marc O. Seng, Martin Behnke, Ronny Schalk
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Louis Hofmann
Jonas Kahnwald
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Lisa Vicari
Martha Nielsen
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Andreas Pietschmann
The Stranger
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Maja Schöne
Hannah Kahnwald
Andor
Who got politics in my Star Wars?
Star Wars: Andor may be the best thing to come out of the Star Wars universe in decades, which is ironic because it’s also very unlike most Star Wars stories. There are no Jedi, no lightsabers, and no epic battles for the fate of the galaxy. Andor is a smaller-scale story about the formation of the Rebel Alliance and the sacrifices made by the ordinary men and women who gave up their lives to be a part of it.
Andor is written like a steel drum. Everything is carefully built up to, which means it can be slow at times, but the payoffs are always worth it. It also has more to say about our current political moment than most other Star Wars movies would dare, and at only two seasons, it’s a pretty quick watch.
- Release Date
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2022 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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Disney+
- Showrunner
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Tony Gilroy
- Directors
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Susanna White
- Writers
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Dan Gilroy
-
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Stellan Skarsgård
Luthen Rael
-
-
The Leftovers
Sci-fi, HBO style
The Leftovers is about what happens after 2% of the Earth’s population suddenly vanishes without a trace. What happens to the people left behind? What meaning can they find in what’s happened? Is it possible to stay sane in a world you don’t understand?
The Leftovers is far more interested in philosophical questions like that than it is in revealing what exactly happened to everyone who vanished. For three engrossing seasons, creators Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta ask the deep questions about life, love, and happiness. The answers are left up to you.
- Release Date
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2014 – 2017-00-00
- Showrunner
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Damon Lindelof
- Writers
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Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta
The Twilight Zone (59-64)
Submitted for your approval
The Twilight Zone is a classic sci-fi series that aired from 1959-1964, producing lots of iconic episodes. There’s “To Serve Man,” when aliens who seem to come in peace are revealed to have far more sinister motives. There’s “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” where William Shatner is tormented by a monster on the wing of a plane it seems only he can see, and so on.
Not every episode of The Twilight Zone is a hit, but because each one stands alone, you’re free to skip those that don’t do it for you. This show would go on to inspire modern series like Black Mirror, which you can watch in the same way.
- Release Date
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2019 – 2020-00-00
- Network
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CBS All Access
- Directors
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Greg Yaitanes, Osgood Perkins, Richard Shepard, Christina Choe, Craig William Macneill, Jakob Verbruggen, Ana Lily Amirpour, J.D. Dillard, Owen Harris, Tayarisha Poe
- Writers
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Glen Morgan, Heather Anne Campbell, Emily C. Chang, Andrew Guest, Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, Sara Amini, Alex Rubens
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China Shavers
Air Marshal
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Eureka
The lighter side of sci-fi
Sci-fi doesn’t have to be all about political fables and existential crises. Eureka is a sci-fi dramedy about a sheriff (Colin Ferguson) chosen to police the streets of Eureka, a small town the U.S. government has populated with super-genius scientists working on cutting edge technology. The sheriff uses common sense solutions to solve extraordinary problems as he gets to know a cast of colorful characters.
Eureka was incredibly consistent for all of its five seasons and doesn’t get talked about enough today when it comes time to discuss great sci-fi shows.
- Release Date
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2006 – 2012-00-00
- Network
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SyFy
- Showrunner
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Andrew Cosby
- Directors
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Colin Ferguson
- Writers
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Andrew Cosby
-
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Salli Richardson-Whitfield
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-
Orphan Black
Success that can’t be cloned
Orphan Black starts off as a story about a woman named Sarah Manning, who witnesses the death of another woman who looks exactly like her. It ends up that Sarah is one of several genetically identical clones, all of whom are played by Tatiana Maslany in a remarkable performance. The clones were created as part of a vast-reaching conspiracy that the show will spend the next five seasons unraveling.
The plot in Orphan Black is propulsive, the dialog is witty, and the acting has to be seen to be believed. The whole thing builds up to a very satisfying conclusion.
- Release Date
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2013 – 2017
- Network
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Space, BBC America
- Showrunner
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Graeme Manson
- Directors
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Ken Girotti, T.J. Scott, David Wellington, Grant Harvey, Helen Shaver, Aaron Morton, Brett Sullivan, Chris Grismer, Peter Stebbings
- Writers
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Aubrey Nealon, Karen Walton, Tony Elliott, Peter Mohan, Sherry White, Jeremy Boxen, Kate Miles Melville, Greg Nelson, Jenn Engels, Nikolijne Troubetzkoy
Taking a chance on sci-fi
You can watch any of these sci-fi shows without worrying about whether they’ll be renewed, but there are also some great newer sci-fi series — including several with new episodes coming this year — that may be worth investing your time in even if the end is uncertain.
