In an age where studios and streamers are leaning on recognizable franchises more than ever, Netflix is one of the most experimental outlets left for creators. The streaming service has given a home to some unique sci-fi shows over the last decade or so, and even if they don’t reach the length of a network season, they get produced when they might otherwise have died in development. They get their due clout, as well — the top 10 sci-fi Netflix original series all have over 91% positive feedback on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. Read on to see these highly-rated shows and maybe find your new favorite.
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It’s worth noting that the shows below just narrowly beat out the likes of Raising Dion — the superpower drama featuring Michael B. Jordan — and Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege — a CGI-animated Transformers show produced by Netflix. Both of these are worth your time as well, and as you’ll see below, there are a lot of unique reasons their Tomatometer scores might not have measured up. With that out of the way, here are Netflix’s top 10 sci-fi TV shows according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Stranger Things
Yes, believe it or not, the global juggernaut Stranger Things is only the tenth-most beloved show on this list, at least according to critics. The series typically gets lumped into the horror and nostalgia categories, but there is more than enough science fiction to place it on this list — and likely more to come in the final season.
Stranger Things has a 91% positive score on the Tomatometer, with an average rating of 7.9 out of 10 among over 500 reviews from trusted critics. Keep in mind that this show’s popularity may actually be a hindrance to its score here, since it has more reviews than other shows and is more likely to have outliers.
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Tribes of Europa
Set in the near future, Tribes of Europa is about a world in which a catastrophic technological failure cast the world into a dystopia. The three Origine siblings live simply and peacefully in a European forest, but they are pulled into the growing conflict between “microstates” vying for dominance. They hope to use their peaceful worldview and the mysterious technology they discovered to help salvage the fallen world they were born into.
Tribes of Europa debuted in 2021, and sadly, it got just one season with six episodes. Be warned that the ending is generally considered cliffhanger, and fans are still sad that it will never be resolved. Still, it makes for a quick binge-watch and leaves room open for speculation. As of this writing, Tribes of Europa sits at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Osmosis
Another near-future European drama, Osmosis is about a dating app that mines data from deep in the subconscious to match users with their true soulmate. As you might expect, the results do not always make these users happy, and giving an algorithm access to their brains turns out to cause some issues.
Osmosis has a perfect 100% Tomatometer score, and starting here, all of the other titles do as well. However, Osmosis only has five trusted reviews on the site, and you can imagine how that might skew the numbers. For comparison, the feedback is only 65% positive on the user-submitted “Popcornmeter.”
Biohackers
Biohackers takes us back into binge-watch territory with two seasons — one released in 2020 and the other in 2021. This still only adds up to 12 episodes in total, but it’s more than we had above. This series is about medical students engaging in illegal genetic experimentation, but the results get very personal very fast.
The Hollow
At number six on this list, we get our first animated title — The Hollow, a sci-fi mystery adventure that debuted in 2018. It has two seasons, the second of which premiered in 2020 before the how was canceled. The Hollow begins with three teenagers waking up in a room with no memories of who they are or how they got there, and trying to find their ways home.
This show teases out its worldbuilding in a way that many fans love, even if its “sci-fi” elements might air more on the side of fantasy than science. The show was also lauded for its diversity, particularly its LGBTQ+ representation. It’s a great binge-watch for those looking for some light scares.
Katla
Katla was made in Iceland and set there as well, taking place near the real-life Katla volcano. In the show, villages near the volcano are struggling to weather an eruption that has been filling the air with ash for about a year when a mysterious woman comes stumbling out of the fog. She is recognized as a villager who went missing about 20 years ago, but she looks like she hasn’t aged a day since then. This leads to a resurgence in local folklore and superstition to that threatens to overshadow the most pragmatic science behind volcano response. The show’s 100% rating dips into double digits at least, with 11 confirmed reviews.
Parasyte: The Grey
Though it premiered just last year, Parasyte: The Grey has wormed its way up this list and it seems poised to go on even further. This South Korean series is based on a manga called Parasyte, though it is a spin-off following its own characters and story. It’s about an extraterrestrial invasion by a parasitic species of shapeshifters that kill their human hosts.
There are only six episodes of Parasyte: The Grey so far, and despite generally positive reviews, the series hasn’t been officially renewed for a second season yet. However, the reception among fans and Netflix’s promising viewership metrics have fans hoping for more out of this series or this franchise.
Supacell
Supacell is set in present-day London, following a group of Black characters who all develop mysterious superpowers around the same time. The only thing they know they have in common is a family history of sickle cell disease, and they find themselves pursued by a mysterious organization that aims to control them. The show was beloved by critics and fans when it debuted last year, and it has been renewed for a second season. We don’t know yet when that might premiere. Supacell‘s 100% rating even has a “Certified Fresh” distinction, with 26 confirmed reviews.
Pluto
Netflix has invested a lot into its anime productions, so it’s no surprise to see Pluto near the top of this list. Based on the manga series Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka by Naoki Urasawa, this show draws a lot of inspiration from the original Astro Boy. It follows a robot detective investigating a string of murders around the world, and his growing suspicion that he is on the trail of a plot that could could involve weapons of mass destruction.
Pluto is a limited series with eight episodes, and no more are on the way. The series pleased just about everyone, with a 100% positive Tomatometer score and a 95% positive Popcornmeter score. It’s streaming now on Netflix in the U.S.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Finally, another major franchise book-ends this list with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners — a spinoff of the video game Cyberpunk 2077. This show is a prequel to the game’s events, and it adds a lot to the worldbuilding that fans appreciate. It was advertised as a miniseries with no plans for future installments, but after its breakout success, Netflix announced another Cyberpunk anime in the works. There’s no word on when that might be coming.
The series above are all available to stream now on Netflix in the U.S., along with many other great sci-fi titles.
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