Top 10 Overlooked Sci-Fi Genre Shows to Stream
Orphan Black, Doom Patrol, and more sci-fi shows you can stream now.
Doom Patrol
Where to stream: Max
Sure, if you're a superhero fan, you've probably at least heard of Doom Patrol. But hearing about the show and experiencing it are two completely different things. Inspired by the DC comic of the same name, Doom Patrol follows a group of superhero misfits who bond — and maybe save the world — in the process.
The show is jam-packed with DC ephemera, making you chuckle at Flex Mentallo at one moment, and cry over the characters' poignant journeys the next. As we wait for the show's final episodes to eventually debut on Max, now is a good time to catch up.
prevnextLegion
Where to stream: Hulu
While Doom Patrol might be DC's weirdest live-action adaptation in recent memory, Legion definitely fits that label for the Marvel Universe. Led by Dan Stevens as the fan-favorite X-Men David Haller / Legion, the show navigates his mutant powers and his mental state in a bizarre and beautiful way.
Across three seasons, Legion dips its toe into X-Men lore, but also ascends to something beyond that — and it needs to be seen to be believed.
prevnextSense8
Where to stream: Netflix
Airing from 2015 to 2018, Sense8 was unlike anything else in the early crop of Netflix originals. The series, which was brought to life by The Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski, followed eight strangers across the world who discover they have a shared psychic link. Sense8 takes that premise and transforms it into something beautiful, with the help of a talented ensemble cast, a globe-trotting production, and plenty of twists and turns.
prevnextPaper Girls
Where to stream: Prime Video
Prime Video might be best known for buzzier genre offerings like The Boys and Invincible, but its recent adaptation of Paper Girls is something special. Based on Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang's beloved comic of the same name, Paper Girls follows a quartet of newspaper delivery girls in the 1980s who get thrown into an unlikely time-traveling adventure.
With a talented cast of newcomers and fan-favorite actors (including the always-welcome Jason Mantzoukas) and some incredibly-compelling storylines, the first (and unfortunately, only) season of Paper Girls is worthy of your time.
prevnextBrave New World
Where to stream: Peacock
Aldous Huxley's Brave New World has persisted in the pop culture lexicon, but there's still debate over its live-action adaptations. The best one yet is arguably Peacock's television series, which debuted its single season on the day the entire platform launched.
Brave New World chronicles a trio's love, loss, and self-discovery in a seemingly-utopian world, which has outlawed aspects like monogamy, privacy, money, family and history. Even if you've read the book, you can't predict where Peacock's version of the story goes. And either way, Alden Ehrenreich's performance as John the Savage is worth the proverbial price of admission.
prevnextFringe
Where to stream: Max
Airing on Fox from 2008 through 2013, Fringe remains something of a modern day cult classic. Originally starting as a procedural drama involving FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) and a father and son with ties to eccentric science (John Noble and Joshua Jackson), the show utilized its central premise to become so much more.
Parallel universes, time-traveling, and countless Easter eggs can be found within Fringe's 100 episodes — as well as career-defining performances from many of its ensemble cast members.
prevnextExtant
Where to stream: Paramount+
On the topic of character-driven sci-fi hits, CBS' Extant needs to be part of the conversation. Airing for two seasons from 2014 through 2015, Extant starred Halle Berry as Molly Woods, an astronaut who returns home from a lengthy solo space mission... to discover she's pregnant.
With an ensemble cast that includes Berry, Goran Visnjic, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Extant's two seasons deliver plenty of twists and heady moments. It doesn't hurt that Steven Spielberg executive-produced the show, too.
prevnextUndone
Where to stream: Prime Video
There is nothing in the TV landscape quite like Undone, which uses rotoscoping technology to turn its live-action performances into stunning animation. The series revolves around Alma (Rosa Salazar), who discovers her ability to time-travel after getting into a tragic car accident.
Undone defies expectations beautifully, blurring the lines between a sci-fi adventure and a heartfelt take on trauma, loss, and the Mexican-American immigrant experience.
prevnextDevs
Where to stream: Hulu
The first foray into TV from Ex Machina and Annihilation director Alex Garland, Devs premiered relatively under-the-radar in the spring of 2020 — but it absolutely deserves your attention. The eight-episode miniseries follows Lily Chan (Sonoya Mizuno), a software engineer for a high-tech company whose personal and professional life is put through the proverbial wringer.
Mizuno, as well as co-stars Nick Offerman, Alison Pill, and Cailee Spaeny all inject a haunting pathos into their Devs characters, which will stick with you long after you finish watching the series.
prevnextOrphan Black
Where to stream: AMC+
Whether or not you've watched Tatiana Maslany's starring performance in Marvel's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, you owe it to yourself to watch Orphan Black. Airing on BBC America from 2013 through 2017, Orphan Black stars Maslany as an ever-growing number of genetically-identical clones, who get thrown into a conspiracy about their origins and agency in a changing world.
There's a reason why Maslany won the Best Actress Emmy for her various performances on the twisty, unapologetically-feminist, and thoroughly entertaining show. Plus, there's a spinoff series, Orphan Black: Echoes, on the horizon.
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