The sci-fi genre has given audiences many great stories over the years, though many of them are often complex in concept or presentation. The sheer scope of sci-fi makes it one of the most creative and thought-provoking genres in modern media, and its continued popularity speaks to the global appeal of science fiction stories. The very best sci-fi TV shows are often considered iconic in their own right, though there are also many other lesser-known entries into the genre that are utterly exceptional. Moreover, the intersection of science and fiction often results in mind-bending stories that are sometimes incredibly cerebral.
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Many great sci-fi TV shows are not just incredibly entertaining, but also uniquely clever. When a show makes such intelligent use of its sci-fi premise, it can completely transform its story, often prompting audiences to revisit it. After delivering a story or a twist so deliciously well-crafted, some sci-fi shows simply beg to be watched twice for the viewer to be able to properly savor just how clever it truly is.
7) Maniac (2018)
Maniac is one of Netflix’s great sci-fi shows, but it is often criminally overlooked. Starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill, Maniac follows two strangers who connect during a pharmaceutical trial. While bonding over their respective trauma and loneliness, the boundaries between main characters Annie and Owen begin to blur in a way that’s both incredibly profound and decidedly mind-bending. Maniac is an emotional and intelligent look at the depth of human connection that uses its trippy sci-fi ideas to warrant watching more than once.
6) Utopia (2013-2014)
Many sci-fi TV shows deserve another season, but few stand out as starkly as Utopia. The original British show, which later inspired an American remake, remains one of the most underrated sci-fi shows of the 21st century. Its plot layers a sci-fi conspiracy on top of bleak comedy, and the result is an expertly crafted show packed with minor details that add to its complexity. It’s a show whose depth cannot be adequately explored on a single viewing, forcing the audience to go back and rewatch to fully pick its narrative apart.
5) Dark Matter (2024)
An example of just one incredibly exciting Apple TV sci-fi series — there are many — is Dark Matter, starring Joel Egerton and Jennifer Connelly. It follows a physicist who is abducted and transported to an alternate reality by another version of himself, and must fight to return to his family. Its story is every bit as mind-bending as its premise suggests, thanks in part to the excellent delivery of its sci-fi ideas. Watching Dark Matter back helps the viewer to make sense of its multiple realities, which make for a clever but complex narrative.
4) Russian Doll (2019-2022)
Russian Doll takes the time loop sci-fi trope and spins a comedy-drama story within it, leading to a truly great sci-fi TV show featuring time travel, body-swapping, and gripping elements of mystery. Russian Doll follows Nadia (Natasha Lyonne), who finds herself trapped in a time loop in which she repeatedly dies, working out that her predicament is tied to her connection with a young man she finds is also trapped in a loop. The time-bending nature of its story, combined with the season 2 follow-up set in 1984, makes Russian Doll a sci-fi show worth watching twice to fully take in its multiple twists and turns.
3) The OA (2016-2019)
Widely hailed as one of the best original sci-fi shows of the modern age, The OA is more often remembered as a sci-fi show cancelled in its prime than as a fascinatingly complex entry into the genre. Its story concerned the return of Prairie Johnson, a missing blind woman who resurfaces after seven years with her sight mysteriously restored. Threads of mind-bending mystery run all through The OA, and while its cliffhanger ending will likely never be resolved, the show itself needs to be watched more than once just to fully appreciate its complexity.
2) Dark (2017-2020)
Another great but overlooked Netflix sci-fi show is Dark, the three-season German thriller that has been hailed as one of the streaming platform’s best original series. Its narrative is a complex, twist-filled journey through multiple generations of residents of a small town to unravel a maddening conspiracy. It’s an example of just how clever small-screen sci-fi can be when written with care and commitment, and many viewers feel the need to watch Dark more than once just to fully understand the implications of its many twists and revelations.
1) Severance (2022-Present)
Severance is one of the most popular sci-fi shows still on the air. The thought-provoking series follows the employees of a biotech corporation who have undergone a severance procedure that splits their memories and consciousness between their work and personal lives. Its philosophical examination of existentialism through the lens of modern wage slavery is both fascinating and unsettling, and Severance‘s often complex presentation of its gripping sci-fi story means that many viewers feel it necessary to watch it more than once.
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