Netflix's 3 Body Problem is a heady sci-fi show based on the Chinese novel series Remembrance of Earth's Past by Liu Cixin. The series follows a diverse group of scientists from around the world who respond to an impending global threat after establishing communication with extraterrestrials.
Critics praised season one of 3 Body Problem for its dazzling special effects and a story that puts actual scientific principles and theoretical physics in the forefront. Netflix renewed the series for two more seasons in May 2024.
While fans wait for 3 Body Problem to return, they can find plenty of other sci-fi shows that emphasize the “science” in science fiction. Whether or not the following thinking-person's sci-fi series remain in production, they warrant checking out on their respective streaming services or on disc.
Black Mirror
Black Mirror is an anthology series inspired by The Twilight Zone with an emphasis on futuristic stories that question human reliance on technology and AI. The British series created by Charlie Brooker debuted on Netflix in 2016 and to date has six seasons and one interactive movie special.
The best episodes of Black Mirror hold up a mirror to our current society. In “Nosedive,” Bryce Dallas Howard plays a woman living in a hellish near-future dystopia in which every minor social interaction is rated and one's position in society is based upon said ratings.
In “Joan Is Awful,” Annie Murphy plays the titular character who becomes the unwilling participant in her own reality-TV series after failing to read the fine print of her Streamberry streaming service terms and conditions. In “Beyond the Sea,” Josh Hartnett plays an astronaut whose consciousness is transferred to an avatar on Earth that looks just like him so he can interact with his family and friends.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Paramount+'s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds follows Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and the crew of the USS Enterprise in the decade before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. The popular prequel series stars Ethan Peck as Spock, Jess Bush as Christine Chapel, Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura, and Rebecca Romijn as Una Chin-Riley/Number One.
Not only did Paramount+ report that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds became the most-watched original Star Trek series on the service during its first 90 days, critics praised its episodic structure similar to that of Star Trek: The Original Series. Season two's lauded “Subspace Rhapsody” is the first musical episode in the history of Star Trek.
Paramount+ renewed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for a third and fourth season.
Fallout
Prime Video's postapocalyptic sci-fi drama Fallout adapts the video game series of the same name. The TV series imagines an alternate history following WWII, during which groups of scientists and other select civilians retreated underground in “Vaults” while nuclear war altered the surface world forever. Fallout stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Xelia Mendes-Jones, and Walton Goggins.
Walton Goggins is charismatic and mesmerizing to watch as the disfigured, mutated Ghoul — a former Hollywood actor named Cooper Howard who became a bounty hunter after the Great War of 2077. Critics praised the series' top-notch special effects and fascinating exploration of morality and culture of groups isolated from the rest of the world.
Amazon renewed the hit show for a second season.
The Expanse
The sci-fi series The Expanse began its run on Syfy before getting picked up by Prime Video for its three final seasons. Set hundreds of years in the future when humans have colonized the Solar System, The Expanse focuses on dueling groups of Earth dwellers, Martians, and Belters who grapple with sociopolitical and existential crises brought upon by the discovery of a powerful alien technology.
The Expanse shares some DNA with 3 Body Problem in that both sci-fi shows explore how humans deal with the discovery of extraterrestrial technology. Lauren Davis of io9 wrote that she felt “blown away” by The Expanse and its “deeply thought-out future world that reflects on our present one, with high production values and characters who speak and act like real people.” Other critics commented on the series' “bold and unique cinematography” and the episodes being “a very dense hour of television.”
All six seasons of The Expanse are on Prime Video.
The Boys
Prime Video's The Boys is a satirical superhero sci-fi series about a group of vigilantes who battle a bunch of “supes” whose extraordinary abilities are exploited by the corrupt company Vought International.
The brilliant aspect of The Boys lies in how it tackles hot-button issues dividing our country within the structure of a superhero story. In many ways, The Boys faces topics that our politicians steer clear of, which makes the series a more thought-provoking and engaging work of fiction for adults who have outgrown watered-down Marvel and DC movies and TV shows targeting younger audiences.
Amazon renewed The Boys for a fifth and final season.
The Acolyte
This Disney+ series set in the Star Wars universe takes place approximately a century before the rise of the Galactic Empire as a group of Jedis investigate crimes against their order.
If The Matrix‘s Carrie-Anne Moss signs on to a sci-fi story, fans should know it's going to feature some impressive hand-to-hand combat scenes and a heavy narrative. This window to the earliest point (so far) on the Star Wars timeline will interest fans who find some of the other Star Wars series a wee bit too “junior.”
Season one of The Acolyte premiered in June 2024 on Disney+ with other seasons reportedly in development.
The X-Files
This seminal sci-fi series promised viewers that “the truth is out there” as we watched FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigate paranormal activity, UFOs, and a government conspiracy about aliens. The X-Files‘ first nine seasons aired on Fox between 1993 and 2002, followed by a 10th season in 2016 and an 11th season in 2018. There are also two big-screen X-Files movies: 1998's The X-Files and 2008's The X-Files: I Want To Believe.
Although the original run of the series got bogged down with contract disputes and an unsatisfying conclusion, many of the earlier episodes represent some of the best sci-fi moments in TV history. Publications such as Empire, Entertainment Weekly, Time, and The Hollywood Reporter list The X-Files near the top of their “Best of” TV lists.
All 11 seasons of The X-Files stream on Hulu to binge-watch.
Raised by Wolves
Alien director Ridley Scott directed the first two episodes of this sci-fi drama created by Aaron Guzikowski that ran for two seasons on HBO Max. The series follows two androids, Father and Mother, tasked with raising human children on a distant colony after Earth's destruction.
Raised by Wolves has a Prometheus vibe and builds tension by pitting religious zealotry against science and technology. Despite critical acclaim, HBO canceled the stylish show with gorgeous cinematography after two seasons and removed all episodes from its service in 2022. Although currently unavailable for streaming on any service, both seasons of Raised by Wolves are available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Snowpiercer
This postapocalyptic thriller series is based on the same graphic novel series that insipried the 2013 film (the film and TV series are not related). Snowpiercer follows a train named Snowpiercer carrying the last remnants of humanity on a loop around the planet after Earth becomes an inhospitable frozen wasteland. The ensemble cast includes Jennifer Connelly, Daveed Diggs, Mickey Sumner, Alison Wright, Iddo Goldberg, Susan Park, and Sean Bean.
Like the movie, Snowpiercer the TV series fascinates because it addresses humanity's social-class and existential struggles in the confines of a single train. The acclaimed show ran for three seasons on TNT before COVID-19 delayed production of the fourth and final season, set to air on AMC on July 21, 2024.
Beacon 23
This sci-fi psychological thriller set in a remote “lighthouse” space station during the 23rd century stars Lena Headey, Stephan James, Marnie McPhail, Daniel Malik, and Carolina Bartczak. To date, two seasons of Beacon 23 have aired on MGM+.
This imaginative world-building series fascinates as the characters, played by Heady and James, struggle to trust each other at the lonely edge of space. It's also a treat for sci-fi fans to see Game of Thrones, Dredd, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles star Headey back in a dramatic, futuristic setting.
Star Trek: Picard
The eighth Star Trek series is set late in the 24th century and stars Patrick Stewart reprising his role as the now-retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. In the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard, several Next Generation cast members — including LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis — return for a final adventure.
Stewart, who won a Saturn Award for his performance on Star Trek: Picard, has expressed interest in a follow-up film with several members of the Next Generation cast now that Picard‘s run has ended on Paramount+.
Upload
On the Prime Video series Upload set in the year 2033, humans can upload their consciousnesses to an afterlife of their choosing…for a price.
Comedy and sci-fi can prove an uneasy mixture if viewers want to take the “sci-fi” part seriously, but Upload delivers humor while challenging viewers to imagine a near-future option of uploading our minds to the cloud and what ethical and moral concerns that would create. Three seasons of Upload are available on Prime Video, with a fourth and final season green-lit by Amazon.
12 Monkeys
This sci-fi series, loosely based on the 1995 film of the same name, chronicles a group of people who time-travel to points in history in an attempt to stop the world-ending plans of the Army of the 12 Monkeys.
In many ways, 12 Monkeys is superior to the 1995 movie because the Syfy series had more wiggle room over four seasons to explore the ramifications of going back in time and changing history. IGN writes, “What started as a simple ‘let's go back and fix this' story soon blossomed into a deep philosophical mediation on the concept of predestination versus free will.” All four seasons are available for purchase on services such as Prime Video and Fandango at Home.
Dark
This German sci-fi series follows four estranged families connected to a time-travel conspiracy involving several generations. Netflix's first German-language original series stars Louis Hofmann as the teen Jonas Kahnwald — Dark‘s primary protagonist and future time traveler known as “The Stranger.”
Like all great sci-fi stories, Dark explores the existential dilemmas presented by advanced technology such as time machines. Some critics have not only dubbed Dark Netflix's best original series, but also one of the top sci-fi series of all time. Unless they are allergic to subtitles, fans of 3 Body Problem will want to binge-watch all three seasons of this Netflix gem.
Battlestar Galactica
This reimagining of the 1970s TV series of the same name follows a group of humans living in colonies on several planets whose existence comes under threat when the Cylons — a race of synthetic beings created by humans — return from exile to destroy their creators. The Battlestar Galactica appears to be the only military ship to survive the attack in this riveting series.
Unlike most series, Battlestar Galactica got a definitive, satisfying ending after four seasons on Syfy. The addictive show tackled modern-day political, legal, and military issues in a futuristic setting.
All four seasons of Battlestar Galactica are available to stream on Prime Video.
