Science fiction is an extremely popular TV genre, ranging from shows about artificial intelligence to post-apocalyptic series that focus on human survival. Sci-Fi has a little bit of something for just about everyone, which makes it a versatile genre bound to draw in a wide array of people. One of the best Sci-Fi shows ever created is Lost (2004-2010).
Lost is one of those shows that captivates people from all walks of life. At the height of the show’s popularity, if you weren’t watching the series, you missed out on plenty of friendly conversation about it because that’s all anyone wanted to talk about. Lost is an incredible science fiction mystery about a group of survivors who crash-land on a mysterious island and find themselves trapped there. While Lost is an incredible series, there are plenty of Sci-Fi shows that can go toe-to-toe with it. This list will cover 10 of the best Sci-Fi series that rival Lost.
10 Firefly was a Short-Lived Show
But it Gained a Massive Cult Following
- Rotten Tomatoes gives Firefly a 77% Tomatometer and a 96% Popcornmeter
- IMDb gives the series 8. out of 10
Firefly (2002-2003) only ran for one season but became infamous for being robbed of more content. Almost every person who watched Season 1 felt that Firefly had what it took to go on for seasons, but that never happened. The series had so much potential that was cut short. Mix that with an incredible ensemble cast starring Nathan Fillion as protagonist Malcolm «Mal» Reynolds, and you’ve got yourself an upset fan base that never got to see Firefly bloom into something spectacular.
Season 1 takes place 500 years into the future and is set in a distant star system called The Verse. The series follows Mal and the crew of Serenity, a «Firefly-class» spaceship, as they work to make ends meet in the new star system. While the setting and technology of the series are futuristic, human politics have remained the same, emphasizing how humanity is constantly doomed to repeat its mistakes as it desperately grabs for power.
9 The Twilight Zone is One of the Oldest Sci-Fi Shows
& Still One of the Most Iconic Sci-Fi Shows Ever Made
- Rotten Tomatoes gives The Twilight Zone a 92% Tomatometer and a 96% Popcornmeter
- IMDb gives the series out of 10
The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) is an anthology Sci-Fi series that also dips into the fantasy and horror genres. The original series ran for five seasons with a total of 156 episodes. Every episode is a standalone story that focuses on characters «entering the Twilight Zone,» where they experience bizarre and seemingly impossible things. Most episodes feature a twist ending and try to leave an impression on the viewer. Each episode teaches the audience a moral lesson.
The Twilight Zone has become so popular that the phrase «twilight zone» has become a common saying that means experiencing something surreal. Interestingly enough, while the series is heavily considered to be a science fiction show, it leans into fantasy and supernatural elements far more often than Sci-Fi. Still, it is an example of one of the most influential Sci-Fi shows of all time.
8 Westworld is an Ambitious Sci-Fi Western
Things Go Wrong When Humans Abuse Technology for Their Own Pleasure
- Rotten Tomatoes gives Westworld an 80% Tomatometer and a 75% Popcornmeter
- IMDb gives the series 8. out of 10
Westworld (2016-2022) is a dystopian Sci-Fi series crossed with a Western. The series starts in a technologically advanced theme park based on the Wild West. The park is run by android hosts who do everything for the guests. Wealthy clients pay good money to interact with the androids in every way that they can. Nothing is off-limits. As long as they pay, they’re allowed to do whatever they want with the androids.
One thing leads to another and, eventually, artificial intelligence fights back. Like many other Sci-Fi series, Westworld is a cautionary tale about the dangers of advanced technology and how human cruelty will inevitably be their downfall. While some reviews of this series claim that it went off the rails, Westworld is a fun and imaginative twist on a popular science fiction trope.
7 Fringe Mixes Real-World Problems Solving with Alternate Realities
A Story of Humanity Attempting to Understand a Parallel Universe
- Rotten Tomatoes gives Fringe a 90% Tomatometer and an 80% Popcornmeter
- IMDb gives the series 8. out of 10
Fringe (2008-2013) follows FBI agent Olivia Dunham and a small team in the formation of the FBI’s Fringe Division. This small team is created to investigate and deal with strange and seemingly unexplainable occurrences that relate to the existence of a parallel universe. The series’ title comes from the idea of fringe science, which usually revolves around theories and methods that are highly speculative or have already been refuted by modern science.
Since Agent Dunham and her team are dealing with occurrences that exist beyond the realms of their understanding, fringe science is the only method they can actually rely on. In this way, Fringe is quite similar to Lost. Both feature a cast of normal individuals thrown into an unrealistic scenario that they have no hope of grasping. These are real people in extraordinary circumstances, not space travelers and people from distant futures.
6 Black Mirror Showcases the Dangers of Technology
Each Episode Sticks with Viewers Long After They End
- Rotten Tomatoes gives Black Mirror an 83% Tomatometer and an 80% Popcornmeter
- IMDb gives the series 8. out of 10
Like The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror (2011-Present) is a Sci-Fi anthology series that tells a different story every episode. While the overarching genre is science fiction, Black Mirror dips into multiple genres, with a common horror theme prevailing in most of them. The main goal of this series is to highlight the discomforts of the modern world and how technological advancements have created unintended and often harmful consequences.
Black Mirror is so similar to The Twilight Zone because it is heavily inspired by the original Twilight Zone and frames itself as a modernized spiritual successor. Black Mirror is not for the faint of heart. Many episodes will leave viewers feeling uneasy and maybe even paranoid. That said, the emotional impact of each episode is well worth watching for those who can stomach it. Many fans consider it to be one of the best series of the 2010s and its seventh season finally aired on Netflix in April 2025.
5 Stranger Things is One of Netflix's Most Successful Series Ever
The Final Season is Coming Later This Year
- Rotten Tomatoes gives Stranger Things a 91% Tomatometer and a 90% Popcornmeter
- IMDb gives the series 8. out of 10
Stranger Things (2016-Present) took the world by storm when it first hit Netflix in 2016. Despite some slow production times, especially with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Stranger Things has still maintained its popularity and loyal fan base. There are a lot of factors that go into the show’s success, from the incredible cast of both the adult and child actors to the creative, Dungeons & Dragons-inspired world of the Upside Down bleeding into Small Town USA.
Stranger Things is a perfect blend of Sci-Fi and horror that features unique monsters that reference D&D monsters, kids who received superpowers from experimentation, and an overarching story that weaves each plot point together seamlessly. Some may think that this series is too over-hyped, but it is one of the best modern shows available on any streaming service. Fans eagerly await the final season, but they’ll be sad to see the series finally come to a conclusion.
4 Battlestar Galactica is Considered By Many to Be One of Hollywood's Best Sci-Fi Shows
A Story About a War that Nearly Destroys Humanity
- Rotten Tomatoes gives Battlestar Galactica a 95% Tomatometer and a 94% Popcornmeter
- IMDb gives the series 8. out of 10
Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009) is a military science fiction series based on Battlestar Galactica, a 1978 TV series that ran for one season. The 2003 series is meant to be a re-imagining of the 1978 version, and it surpassed the original in every conceivable way. The series takes place in a distant galaxy where humans have settled on a group of planets known as the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. At one point, humanity was at war with the Cylons, a group of sentient robots designed by the Colonists.
This war wiped out billions of humans, leaving only about 50,000 survivors. The Battlestar Galactica is an old ship about to be decommissioned, but it’s the only military capital ship that survived the war with the Cylons. The series follows Galactica on a journey through space to search for Earth, the 13th colony that most humans believe is nothing more than myth and legend.
3 Star Trek is the Go-To Science Fiction Franchise
& It All Started With the Original Star Trek
- Rotten Tomatoes gives Star Trek: The Original Series an 80% Tomatometer and an 89% Popcornmeter
- IMDb gives the series 8. out of 10
Star Trek (1966-1969), also known as Star Trek: The Original Series, may not be the oldest entry on this list, but it is definitely one of the most famous. Star Trek set a lot of groundwork for what modern science fiction looks like, so any list of amazing Sci-Fi shows would be remiss not to include this legendary series. Star Trek is one of the most influential science fiction series and franchises of all time.
The original Star Trek follows the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) through its many adventures through the Milky Way Galaxy. The series focuses on Captain James T. Kirk, First Officer Spock, and Chief Medical Officer Leonard H. «Bones» McCoy. Each episode tells a different story of a new adventure or conflict the USS Enterprise crosses during its five-year mission through space. This series is also the first time fans hear this iconic line:
«Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.»
2 One Star Trek Series Stands Above the Rest
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
- Rotten Tomatoes gives Star Trek: The Next Generation a 92% Tomatometer and a 90% Popcornmeter
- IMDb gives the series 8. out of 10
It may seem like a waste of space to include a second Star Trek entry on this list, but it would be doing a disservice to what many consider to be the best Star Trek series. Star Trek: The Original Series helped birth a massive franchise that’s still ongoing today, but it sadly isn’t the best the franchise has to offer. Star Trek: The Next Generation surpasses the original series in just about every way. Some of the characters, like Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard, have become even more recognizable than the original cast.
The Next Generation takes place 100 years after the original series and, instead of a 5-year-long mission, the USS Enterprise’s (NCC-1701-D) mission extends beyond that. The opening even refers to the Enterprise’s voyage as a «continuing mission.» Like the original series, The Next Generation follows the adventures of the Enterprise and her crew, but many fans would argue that the series features better and more well-rounded characters. The crew feels like a family and that helped the series thrive in ways the original didn’t.
1 Doctor Who is a Beloved British Sci-Fi Series with a Lot of History
The Adventures of a Time & Space Traveler Who Never Dies
- Rotten Tomatoes gives Doctor Who a 94% Tomatometer
- IMDb gives the series 8. out of 10
Doctor Who is an ongoing British science fiction series that first originated in 1963. The original series ran for 26 seasons and features the Doctor’s first eight regenerations. In 2005, the series got a reboot/continuation that picked up with the Ninth Doctor. Currently, the series is on the Doctor’s 15th regeneration. The Fifteenth Doctor is played by Ncuti Gatwa, who also happens to be the first black man to ever play the role.
With all the seasons tallied up, there are over 40 seasons of this incredible series and almost 900 episodes. The Doctor, a humanoid extraterrestrial known as a Time Lord, travels through time and space in his TARDIS, a ship that can look like anything to blend into the environment, but has been stuck as a police box for the duration of the series. The series follows the Doctor and his chosen companion(s) on adventures through time and space that inevitably lead to dangerous endeavors to save one world or another. Doctor Who doesn’t shy away from experimental takes on popular Sci-Fi tropes, nor is it afraid to get dark and gritty when the plot calls for it. With so much history, it’s hard to deny that Doctor Who is one of the best science fiction shows ever made.
