15 best sci-fi TV shows: great sci-fi series to binge-watch today
Fancy a sci-fi TV binge? Here are the shows to start with…
We are currently in another golden age of science fiction on the small screen, which makes picking a handful of shows for this best sci-fi series list rather tricky.
The contemporary explosion in science fiction television, aided by no shortage of available boxsets (most of which reside on streaming services rather than in physical boxes, but let’s not get picky), is staggering for those who were left in the '70s and '80s clawing at the few morsels being offered.
But as movie special effects pathfinding work has trickled down, and television has allowed writers to go to darker places, the result is a selection that’s seen television firmly wrestle the sci-fi mantle from the big screen.
Here are 15 to get you started...
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15. Blake’s 7
From the brain of Dalek’s creator Terry Nation, Blake’s 7 ran for 52 episodes between 1978 and 1981, and was a notable counterpoint to the lighter sci-fi coating pop culture at the time. You can see the very tight budget stretch before your eyes, but Blake 7 is a dark, compelling story of a bunch of rebels fighting against a tyrannical array of rulers. To its immense credit, Blake’s 7 also looks like a focus group has been nowhere near it.
14. The Leftovers
The Leftovers isn't just one of the best sci-fi shows ever made, but one of the best shows made. Writers/creator Damon Lindelof took all the best mystery bits of Lost and made everything a little more adult. The premise is slight: a rapture-like event has made sections of the world's population disappear - we see what happens to the leftovers. It's just three seasons long but by the end, things are wrapped up perfectly in an awe-inspiring ambitious conclusion.
13. Devs
From the brilliant mind of James Garland (Ex Machina, Sunshine) comes Devs. This smart science-fiction show is all about secretive goings-on in a tech company in Silicon Valley. It's full of conspiracy, weird-tech and it looks damn good too.
12. The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian is old-school event television that's just a joy to watch. It's episodic with a new-ish adventure every week - the only real bit of connective tissue is The Child, a Yoda-like figure that The Mandalorian feels obliged to protect. Each episode looks (and is) expensive and it really feels like another area of the world of Star Wars that hasn't been explored yet, as well as some familiar bits too.
11. Black Mirror
If the aim of all good science fiction is to take life and technology now, and reflect where it could head in the future, few do it to as chilling effect as Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror. Brooker wove in things he learned from his zombie Big Brother drama Dead Set, with the approach of the classic anthology series The Twilight Zone. Technology is the thematic glue holding it all together. Robert Downey Jr was amongst the many soon hooked: he optioned the episode The Entire History Of You for a (thus far unmade) movie adaptation.