The 17 best science fiction TV shows of all time – according to New Scientist writers

Television hasn’t always been kind to science fiction, with smaller budgets to throw at special effects and epic, universe-spanning narratives that were canceled before their time. But despite all the obstacles, countless series have proven that long-form storytelling on the small screen is the perfect way to explore the complex ideas and philosophies that make this genre so compelling.

With so much gold to choose from New Scientist team found it a difficult task to choose their favorite sci-fi series – not everyone could narrow it down to one. While this is far from a definitive list (and presented in no particular order), we hope our selection has something for everyone, no matter what kind of sci-fi fan you are.

Rebooted from an ill-fated 1978 series, Battlestar Galactica begins with a nuclear holocaust and the remnants of humanity crowding aboard battered starships to escape sentient machines. But its most compelling moments involve the survivors struggling to balance societal and ethical norms against the cold calculus of survival. Jeremy Hsu

The rest is not just the best sci-fi series I’ve seen, it might be the best TV show ever made. Big claim, I know. The premise is strange: What if one day, out of nowhere, 2 percent of the population disappeared? Don’t expect answers as to why it happened – the series offers none. Instead, it explores the raw outcome of so much inexplicable grief and loss. Chelsea Whyte

My family wasn’t there Doctor Whoso this show was, I think, my introduction to science fiction (if you count time travel as science fiction, which I absolutely do). It follows physicist Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) who has invented a way to travel through time, although it’s not quite what he expected. Sam has disappeared from his own reality, but his consciousness jumps into the bodies of other people, whose lives he must fix before he can move on – and hopefully return home. The series was revived in 2022 – and whenever I get a minute to myself that isn’t filled with kids or books or the need to sleep, I have to watch it. Alison Flood

Two parts sci-fi, one part noir, the richly detailed universe of The expansion has attracted me like no other. Set in a future where humanity has colonized the solar system, it follows the crew of a deep-space ice hauler and a hard-boiled detective investigating the disappearance of a wealthy heir. Before long, they are embroiled in conspiracies and a rebellion by the exploited, asteroid-dwelling Belters. Long live the Outer Planets Alliance! Bethan Ackerley

Black mirror operates in a strange twilight zone of science fiction, not quite imaginative enough to feel truly invented, but a little too futuristic to feel like a real-world drama. Each episode delves into the way technology distorts human experience, jumping genres from romcom to slasher horror. The earliest series are the most arresting – the first episode, featuring the British Prime Minister and a pig, will be burned into your brain – but throughout Black mirror is thought provoking, disturbing and often darkly funny. Madeleine Cuff

How many stories start with someone opening a door and stepping into the unknown? The joy of Doctor Whoand one of the two reasons for its longevity is that the titular Doctor’s spacecraft is a portal to anywhere in time and space. You can set a story in Victorian London or a billion years in the future. The other reason the show has lasted over 60 years is that the Doctor can regenerate into a new body – handy when you want a new lead. Rowan Hooper

I began to see The X-Files about 9 years old – way too young! I thought Mulder was the epitome of cool, I would think, and I was fascinated and horrified by the monsters he and Scully encountered each week. Rewatching the series as an adult, I identified more with the skeptical Scully and was drawn to the long-running narrative of an alien conspiracy. It’s this structure of weaving self-contained plots with ongoing stories that does The X-Files so good. Let’s just pretend the 2010s revival never happened. Jacob Aaron

Set in New York at the turn of the 31st century, this animated series is basically your classic workplace sitcom, with all the main characters working at the interplanetary delivery company Planet Express (including Philip J. Fry, which was cryogenically frozen in 1999 and wakes up 1000 years later). Futurama has an absurdly high gags-per-minute ratio, but there are also deeply poignant moments—even the mother thinking about Fry’s dog makes me sob—and frequent, satisfying homages to science fiction. Tim Boddy

Imagine Han Solo from Star Wars walk into a Wild West saloon. A mash-up of westerns and sci-fi, Firefly sees a crew of lovable misfits on the spaceship Serenity trying to survive and make a difference in a space empire ruled by the Alliance. The series has become a cult classic thanks to its idiosyncratic characters, compelling cast, inventive storylines and clever dialogue. Chris Simms

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At first glance, Fringes may seem like a sequel to The X-Files: it features a somewhat antagonistic duo of strange investigators and quickly dives into both the supernatural and the personal. But it is so much more than that. Where The X-Files had aliens and government conspiracies, Fringes features parallel universes, family secrets, psychedelics and sensory deprivation – plus an incredibly strong cast of supporting characters. Expect Leonard Nimoy as a multiversal villain, doppelgangers and men turned giant hedgehogs. Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

I’m reluctant to admit that sci-fi isn’t my favorite choice of entertainment – ​​stories about robots and aliens just don’t do it for me. Aim Outlander offers an alternative take on the genre with lots of romance and an overwhelming heroine. It follows Claire Beauchamp, who accidentally travels back in time from 1945 to 1743. After accepting her fate (and meeting the love of her life, Jamie), Claire, a nurse, confounds her contemporaries with her 20^thcentury’s knowledge of anatomy and pathogens – not to mention her feminist stance. Alexandra Thompson

Tea Star Wars franchise started as a straightforward space opera: the Empire is evil because its agents look like fascists; the rebels are good because they are not. But recent installations have come a long way in complicating that narrative. Andor explores what an “ordered” space empire would look like – colonialist, banal, dehumanizing – and why these conditions make heroes out of thieves. Linda Rodriguez-McRobbie

There is something about Altered carbon it’s horrible and depressing, but also incredibly appealing. Who wouldn’t want to try on a smorgasbord of different bodies, or “sleeves” as they’re called on the show? Epic cities, gross inequality, loving AIs and a questionable story – this cyberpunk series has it all! Finn Grant

I’m terrible at watching TV in the evening after work/kids/life is in the bag for the day – I generally just fall asleep. Not when it comes to the adventures of Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Michonne (Danai Gurira) and their ragtag crew. I have watched every episode The Walking Deadfrom Rick’s awakening in the hospital to discover a world ravaged by a virus that has turned everyone into “walkers” to the various horrific societies they keep stumbling upon. It’s shocking, well-acted and, especially in the earlier series, full of surprises. Alison Flood

The original Star Trek is an aspirational model of a society led by science, one of true equality and peaceful exploration. It’s a pretty pure means of escapism in today’s tumultuous world, perhaps even more so than it would have been in the 1960s. It’s a great show to dip in and out of, and the lavish Technicolor, terrible special effects and wooden acting only add to its appeal. The series spawned a bewildering array of spin-offs of varying quality, but in my opinion, you can’t beat the original. Matthew Sparkes

How different would your life be if you had made different decisions on important points? And what would you do if you could visit the other multiverses that arose at these points, with different you? That’s the exciting premise Dark matteradapted for television by Blake Crouch from his own book. The first few episodes can be a bit slow at times, but it gets better and better after that. Michael Le Page

Recent bias: despite only debuting in 2022, Resignation has already earned its place among the greatest sci-fi TV of all time. Imagine if you could separate your memories of work from the rest of your life. At first it may seem like an unmanageable outsourcing of the daily work – but what horrors can your body unconsciously experience in the office, and what misery can the alternative version of yourself endure? Bethan Ackerley

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