Stranger Things Season 4 cast gather around an open book.
There's nothing like a great, bingeable sci-fi series that proves itself timeless with the passage of time. However, even the greats falter. The last season of Star Trek: The Original Series suffered greatly from budget cuts, Doctor Who has had its fair share of dud seasons, and the latest season of Rick and Morty holds the approval of only 51% of audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
All is not lost, though. There are most definitely a few sci-fi television gems here and there that have admirably succeeded at never disappointing their fans with a single bad season. From modern cult classics that are still airing to classics that have been staples of the genre for decades, these noteworthy sci-fi series without a single bad season are more than worthy of praise and admiration. They're proof that, with a consistent enough team of writers at the top of their game, you can deliver a TV series that's about as close as possible to real perfection. For the sake of fairness, only shows with two or more seasons to their name will be considered for this list. 7 'Severance' One of the latest pop-cultural sensations to grace Apple TV+'s already-legendary catalog, Severance is a mystery show whose loose ends only keep piling up with every new episode. That's precisely what the magic of this brilliant sci-fi dramedy is, though: Despite its refusal to provide viewers with answers without raising at least a couple more questions, it has remained one of the most gripping and well-made genre shows currently streaming throughout its exceptional two-season run. There's still plenty of runway left, and it's not impossible to imagine that something might go wrong along the way, but judging from the series' quality so far, that doesn't seem the least bit likely. Severance is so phenomenal, in fact, that it goes beyond having no bad seasons: the sci-fi show actually doesn't have a single bad episode. Throughout the entire thing, its layered character arcs have remained enthralling, its offbeat sense of humor has remained delightful, and its many pathos-filled mysteries and twists have maintained their edge-of-your-seat entertainment value. When or how the ginormous story that Severance has built might end is something that no fan seems to have a convincing theory about, but that only contributes to the show's fascinating mystique. 6 'Andor' Andor, the kind of sci-fi show so good it demands a rewatch, is the best that Star Wars has been since the 1980s' The Empire Strikes Back. It's that good—and fans and critics alike seem to agree. A scathing critique of fascism and authoritarianism as much as it is a rousing celebration of resistance in the face of oppression, it's everything that the franchise has always been meant to represent, built on the foundation of some masterful writing, sharp direction, and standout performances. Star Wars television had never been this prestigious and acclaimed. But Andor isn't just thematically profound and politically charged: It's also emotionally engaging and a blast of fun from beginning to end. Coming to care deeply for these characters is inevitable and immediate, and their journeys throughout the five years that the show's story covers are nothing short of enthralling. Andor only had two seasons , but these two seasons are about as close to perfection as the space opera genre can ever hope to get on the small screen. 5 'The Twilight Zone' Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone was an undeniable hit from the moment it started airing, but it took years for it to become what people remember it as today: One of the most groundbreaking and influential TV shows ever made, science fiction or otherwise. A pioneer of the anthology format and always with the perfect blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and supernatural horror, it has aged like fine wine in pretty much every sense imaginable. Though it certainly had some weaker episodes , it never had a single bad season. Although the show's fourth and penultimate season is generally agreed to be the weakest of the five, it is by no stretch of the imagination a"bad" season—it's still filled with plenty of iconic moments and creepy Twilight Zone episodes perfect for Halloween. There's some repetitiveness here and there, but overall, The Twilight Zone remained one of the freshest and most original shows on television across its entire admirable run. As the foundational slice of pop culture that it is, it's no wonder that it's still held in such high regard over sixty years after its conclusion. 4 'Stranger Things' An homage to the likes of Steven Spielberg, The Goonies, and the rest of '80s American pop culture, the surprise smash hit Stranger Things proved that Netflix was capable of delivering teen shows that were as high-quality as their productions aimed at adults. As it nears its final season, looking back at this sci-fi/fantasy gem reveals not just some of the most cinematic production values that the small screen has ever seen, but also a gripping story that has managed to stay fresh after a number of seasons that would have led most similar shows to jump the shark already. This genre-bending series seems, on paper, like it shouldn't work, but not only does it work: It's absolutely magical in every sense imaginable. Whether it's the endearing ensemble of heroes, the intimidating roster of antagonists, the many sci-fi mysteries that the narrative has set up and solved over the years, or the tremendous chemistry between all the cast members, there's something in Stranger Things that every fan of the genre is bound to find compelling. Stranger Things has had less than a handful of episodes that could be considered somewhat mediocre; a bad season? That's not even in its vocabulary. 3 'The Expanse' Often hailed as one of the most scientifically accurate sci-fi shows ever, The Expanse was Syfy's strongest show for three phenomenal seasons, until the network canceled it due to contractual and budgetary reasons. In one of the most rousing stories of fan influence of 21st-century science fiction entertainment, though, fans' campaign to get the series a new home led Amazon to pick up the show for another great three seasons. The Expanse could have gone on for even longer, but the fact that all of its whopping six seasons are at least very good is admirable, to say the least. The show's first season, usually agreed to be"the one you have to get through before it really kicks off," is rather slow and mostly dedicated to world-building, but even that is a phenomenal, absolutely gripping season of science fiction. The sense of scale is massive, the visuals are gorgeous, and the writing is top-notch, which is precisely what has kept the series' cult following going strong all the way until the present day. 2 'Dark' One of Netflix's most successful international shows, Dark is time travel and parallel universe sci-fi done right—something that happens with remarkable rarity. This masterpiece of a show, though, is virtually beyond reproach. It's definitely a challenging watch , but it's entirely worth every bit of mental effort. Its themes of love, sacrifice, and determinism are something you don't often see explored with such philosophical depth in sci-fi television. This is the kind of sci-fi show so good that it's better than most sci-fi movies. Mind-bending but never gratuitously so, it's deeply engaging and often downright genius in its approach to the complicated narrative and character arcs. At no point during its three seasons did this German show lose the plot. It remained consistently entertaining and thought-provoking throughout, to the point that there isn't a single episode from the show that has a rating of less than 8/10 on IMDb. Needless to say, that amounts to three equally incredible seasons of television. 1 'The Leftovers' HBO has produced some of the greatest and most prestigious dramas in television history, across a wide variety of different genres. Its sci-fi elements may be subtle, but The Leftovers is undeniably the best sci-fi show that HBO has ever produced. Though not particularly fast-paced, this masterpiece proves that good slow burns are always worth it, thanks to some of the most incredible performances and some of the most consistent writing that sci-fi television has seen in the modern era. Somehow, The Leftovers' quality and thought-provoking narrative only kept getting better with every season, until concluding with one of the best third seasons of any show in history. Dark and artful, intense and immersive, thoughtful and profound, it's been praised by many critics and viewers as one of the best TV shows of the 21st century. It's hard to blame them. If there's any sci-fi show whose every season remained fantastic from start to finish, it's certainly The Leftovers. 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 Leftovers TV-MA Drama Mystery Supernatural Thriller 9.0/10 Release Date 2014 - 2017-00-00 Showrunner Damon Lindelof Writers Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta Cast See All
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