Stranger Things Season 4 cast gather around an open book.
Remarkably often, science fiction creatives—including those who like exploring the genre on the small screen—like to take their stories to outer space. Whether it's a story set in a Martian colony, a galaxy-hopping adventure, or a tale in a certain galaxy far, far away, it's pretty common to encounter sci-fi shows set in space.
Earth is fascinating and vast enough as it is, though, and as such, it's rather unsurprising that many other creators of sci-fi shows have decided to base their stories on our own home planet. They could be dystopian stories set in the far future, superhero tales set on some parallel version of Earth, or even just another version of our current world with some interesting sci-fi twist thrown in. There's something that these series never fail to be: absolutely exceptional examples of their genre. 10 'Utopia' Though they were once nearly inaccessible to the U.S. market, both the British cult classic Utopia and its American remake are now available on Prime Video. The original is a conspiracy thriller about a group of people who, after meeting online, discover a bizarre graphic novel which seems to hold mysterious answers, and which then finds them being hunted down by a merciless organization.One of themost underrated thriller showswith a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, Utopia benefits from some incredible visuals, a dark and dystopian sci-fi atmosphere, and violence that will certainly not be fit for every viewer's palate. It's a grim, almost nightmarish show, but for people who like their sci-fi with a side of bleakness, it's a must-see. 9 'Invincible' One of the best superhero shows of the last five years, Invincible was created by Robert Kirkman, based on his own series of comics of the same name. Stories about young men struggling to balance their personal lives with their superhero duties are aplenty, but few are as fun, mature, and bloody as Invincible. That alone makes it obligatory viewing for superhero fans. There are extensive space travel stories and multiversal elements in the series, but, for the most part, it keeps its feet grounded on Earth. The animation may not always be the best, but the character writing, voice acting, and plots are always a blast of fun. There isn't a single episode of Invincible that's downright bad, and that alone is proof of how great sci-fi can be when telling its stories from home. 8 'Black Mirror' Black Mirror is clearly very much inspired by other great sci-fi anthology shows of the past, but it has always been very distinctly its own thing. Like any anthology series, it's had its ups and downs; but when a Black Mirror episode hits, it hits hard. Of course, a show that so strongly deals with themes of the dangers of modern technology and the dark sides of human nature wouldn't work nearly as well if set in any place other than Earth; so, Black Mirror has wisely very rarely departed from this planet. Full of extraordinary actors and top-tier scripts , Black Mirror is a one-of-a-kind sci-fi experience that's impossible to watch without coming out of every episode with tons of food for thought. Fun, creative, colorful, and dark, it's a modern masterpiece through and through. 7 'Futurama' Not only one of the greatest sci-fi series of the '90s, but also one of the greatest animated sitcoms ever made, Futurama is one of the extremely rare decades-spanning animated shows that have remained surprisingly consistent in quality throughout. It's not easy to keep a series going for over two decades without ever running out of steam, but then again, Futurama has never been your typical sci-fi show. Instead, this is one of the best-ever shows set in the future—in the city of New New York at the turn of the 31st century, to be more precise. The characters frequently venture off-world, but they typically have most of their adventures and misadventures in their beloved city. It's a refreshing change of pace for a show that could just as easily take its story to a different planet every single episode, and part of what makes Futurama so special. 6 'Stranger Things' When Netflix put out Stranger Things in 2016, it's quite likely that they weren't able to envision the magnitude of the pop culture phenomenon they had just released into the world. Indeed, this nostalgia-infused throwback to '80s media and pop culture was an instant hit, and as it approaches its final season, fans have never fallen out of love with it. Part fantasy, part thriller, part horror, part sci-fi—such a wild blend of genres seems on paper like it shouldn't work, yet it does; and wonderfully, too. The cast is amazing, the writing has remained consistently strong, and the many winks to classic movies and shows are always a treat. Stranger Things has never needed other planets to be interesting. 5 'Batman: The Animated Series' Nowadays, the Caped Crusader needs no introduction; but back in the '90s, he was a significantly less culturally ubiquitous character than he is today. All of that started to change when Tim Burton first proved just how seriously superheroes deserved to be taken with 1989's Batman, and Batman: The Animated Series only sealed the deal. ` Batman: TAS is easily one of the most groundbreaking superhero shows ever. It reinvented many characters, introduced the world to Harley Quinn, offered in Kevin Conroy's Batman and Mark Hamill's Joker two of the best voice acting performances of all time, and reinforced the idea that the Dark Knight was a complex and nuanced character worthy of leading his own small-and big-screen outings. 4 'Dark' Yet another massive and unexpected Netflix hit, the German show Dark is one of the biggest mind-benders the streaming giant has ever produced. It's a show that demands one's full attention; not the kind that you'd want to play as background noise while you vacuum the living room, that's for sure. But for people who love thought-provoking sci-fi and time travel stories, it's a must-watch. Dark, which proves that slow-burning sci-fi is always worth it, is a deeply compelling portrayal of existentialism, determinism, love, and family. Layered and beautifully artsy, it's an absolute masterclass in Earthbound sci-fi storytelling full of fascinating genre elements and equally fascinating characters. Sure, it leaves you disoriented after just a few episodes, but it's always worth it. 3 'Severance' Proof that few streaming platforms are playing the sci-fi television game with as much excellence as Apple TV, Severance is by far one of the best shows that the genre has offered in quite a while. Striking the perfect balance between theme-driven storytelling and engrossing world-building, it's the kind of mystery show that keeps giving fans at least two questions for every puzzle it decides to solve. As mysterious and impenetrable as it is, though, Severance is nothing short of masterful—as proved by the fact that the sci-fi show doesn't have a single bad episode. Everything, from its visuals to its lore, to its complicated character arcs, to its complicated narrative, is riveting at all points. It's always fun to watch a sci-fi show that has you saying"I have zero clue where this could go next" constantly, and Severance definitely is that kind of show. 2 'The X-Files' Not just an icon of sci-fi television, but also one of the most popular and groundbreaking TV shows of all time, The X-Files' legendary status cannot be overstated. It spawned the original online fandom, and to this day, its loyal viewers still like to re-watch it several times. After all, there aren't many sci-fi or horror series this entertaining out there. The kind of '90s show that gets better with every new season, The X-Files always exploited the dynamism between Scully's skepticism and Mulder's strong belief in the supernatural in ways that never failed to delight audiences. And though there certainly were some aliens in the show, Scully and Mulder themselves never needed to depart Earth in order to keep audiences engaged. 1 'The Twilight Zone' There are those who might refer to The Twilight Zone as the most groundbreaking and influential sci-fi show in history—if not even the very best—, and it would be hard to argue against those people. This is the quintessential sci-fi anthology series, the pioneer of the format and medium, which has aged like fine wine over sixty years after its conclusion. There have been multiple attempts to replicate the magic of The Twilight Zone, virtually all of them futile. There's no matching the level of magic and charm that a show like this had—and still has. With not a single bad season and with dozens upon dozens upon dozens of phenomenally scary, creative, and freshly original episodes, The Twilight Zone is fully deserving of its legendary status. Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Your comment has not been saved Like Follow Followed The Twilight Zone TV-14 Mystery Drama Science Fiction Supernatural 10 9.8/10 Release Date 1959 - 1964 Network CBS Showrunner Rod Serling Directors John Brahm, Buzz Kulik, Douglas Heyes, Lamont Johnson, Richard L. Bare, James Sheldon, Richard Donner, Don Medford, Montgomery Pittman, Abner Biberman, Alan Crosland, Jr., Alvin Ganzer, Elliot Silverstein, Jack Smight, Joseph M. Newman, Ted Post, William Claxton, Jus Addiss, Mitchell Leisen, Perry Lafferty, Robert Florey, Robert Parrish, Ron Winston, Stuart Rosenberg Cast See All
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