Top Sci-Fi Adventures on Netflix
Science-fiction television has enjoyed a recent renaissance, with shows like Netflix’s Stranger Things and HBO’s Westworld becoming near-instant sensations. The addictive intrigue of sci-fi shows means that when you’re finished with one, you’ll be left wanting more!
Do you eat ice cream when it’s too hot outside? Or wear wool sweaters in the summertime? Netflix has a solution. When your stomach starts to rumble and all of your favourite shows are coming out, there is no need for worry: load up on science-based speculation! The recently released “Altered Carbon” will satisfy any hunger pangs with its futuristic premise that includes human cloning and robotic bodies as humans search for immortality by recreating their consciousness through technology.
Other titles like “Stranger Things” may also be satisfying, but we can’t say much more about this one without spoiling some amazing surprises from season two (which was so good!).
Fortunately, Netflix has built a robust catalogue of sci-fi.
Altered Carbon (2018–2020)
Altered Carbon is a sleek, futuristic thriller about identity and what it means to live. The show follows Joel Kinnaman, who plays mercenary Takeshi Kovacs in Season 1, Anthony Mackie as rebel soldier Vernon Elliot in Season 2 – both hired by wealthy aristocrats to solve murders intertwined with power struggles over immortality.
An interesting premise for an HBO series? You bet! In a world without death, the ensuing action boasts jaw-dropping visuals on the level of Blade Runner and thought-provoking intrigue similar to HBO’s Westworld. Though Altered Carbon’s dense story takes a few episodes to really take off, enough thought stimulating material will captivate any viewer.
Away (2020)
The recent Netflix series Away, based on the Esquire article “Space Weepy”, follows the story of a multinational crew of astronauts who leave their families behind to be part of the first human-crewed mission in history to Mars.
The show is set shortly, where it seems possible to travel through space. It’s this optimism, meshed with the earnest depiction of what life on board an interstellar ship would be like, that makes it one of the most captivating recent outer-space dramas.
Black Mirror (2011– )
Charlie Brooker’s series Black Mirror is the perfect antidote to your tech-addled world. You will be half-laughing and then horrified as you watch how social media ruins relationships with its lack of privacy features or feeds on people’s desire for fame at any cost – it may even make you want to turn off all that technology!
Each instalment of Charlie Brooker’s addictive anthology takes a current techno-social phenomenon–topics range from hashtags to five-star ratings–to its extreme to explore whether human nature can coexist with this new way life has been shaped by these phenomena. Part satire and part (unintentional) prophecy, the show presents an appropriately grim view of what future we have created together.
Dark (2017–2020)
Dark is a German time-travel thriller set in the small town of Winden. The series centres on four families whose dark pasts begin to unfurl when children start disappearing rapidly, and it’s billed as “the show that will make you think Stranger Things got too tame.”
This mesmerizing Netflix series from Germany really packs a punch, not just because of its high level of suspenseful twists! Dark follows each episode with an “Interrogation” where characters are forced to answer difficult questions about their actions which creates more tension for viewers who can’t wait until next week’s release date (not even kidding).
The 4400 (2004–2007)
Imagine if 4,400 people suddenly vanished from the face of the planet in a flash. This is exactly what “The Twilight Zone” imagines with its new series by Francis Ford Coppola that looks at what would happen when some of these missing men and women reappear decades later to reintegrate into society in 2018 America. The mystery unfolds through the eyes of Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali as a US Air Force pilot who disappeared but somehow has a daughter during his disappearance and also stars Sela Ward (“Agents Of Shield”), Steven Eckholdt (Sunset Strip), Ivar Brogger (House After Dark) among others for this underrated show worth checking out!
The Innocents (2018)
A star-crossed lovers’ tale of sci-fi and teen TV, The Innocents, is an endearing coming of age story with a twist. When Harry enlists the help of June to run away from home so they can be together despite their parents’ disapproval, he has no idea that she will turn out to have extraordinary abilities: She can shapeshift! Suddenly thrown into chaos by her father’s interest in unveiling the truth behind her powers on top of everything else going wrong along their path for romance–inclement weather conditions tearing them apart; broken down cars leaving them stranded–their naive plan starts unravelling while all around mystery grows.
A show about two young teenagers running off without permission sounds like it should only be exciting.
Lost in Space (2018– )
The robots in Lost In Space are not nearly as weird or fun. They have been sterilized; even the iconic catchphrase “Danger Will Robinson!” has lost its cheeky flavour. But don’t let that deter you from watching this Netflix remake of a classic ’60s sci-fi TV series because it’s still worth checking out for at least some quality entertainment value and nostalgia. The film’s premise is about a family among the first colonists in space as they try to survive off course. The story becomes more intriguing with an unknown backstory involving robots and solid performances by Molly Parker and Parker Posey, who will bring you comfort when other series overwhelm your sci-fi expectations.
Love, Death + Robots (2019– )
The Netflix show Love, Death + Robots creators know what it takes to make an entertaining and engaging short film. Each episode has elements from all three categories: love (read: the sex-the show is rated R), death, robots, or any combination thereof. You don’t have to be a sci-fi fan either; they’re just really crazy stories with these common denominators! The horrors of a post-apocalyptic world are hinted at in this collection. The reader will be taken on adventures that traverse the Earth, from tourist parties to fighting rings and beyond!
The Magicians (2015–2020)
Who can blame us for dreaming of a world where we’ve been whisked away to some supernatural academy and are told that our abilities make us special? Who wouldn’t want the opportunity to hone their skills in this fantastical new world they never knew was real.
The Magicians is a SyFy drama that follows the adventures of Quentin, a young man who enrols in Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy. The show documents all sorts of dangerous conflicts as he learns about magic and life at college.
In “The Magicians,” yet another one of these universes becomes a reality when an aspiring magician named Quentin (played by Jason Ralph) enters Brakebills University to study magical pedagogy with other magicians-in-training – or Misfits, like him, who were unable to find their way into this fantastical world until now because they are not born into it but have discovered its existence on their own.
Maniac (2018)
In a world where clinical drug trials exist where participants can swallow pills to resolve past traumas, Jonah Hill and Emma Stone’s characters find their lives taking an interesting turn. The show follows the challenges of living with mental illness as it tackles how quickly one’s life can change when faced with psychological trauma at work or home.
You will be in for a treat if you look to try something different with your Netflix viewing. Maniac is the perfect blend of creativity, heart, and science fiction that has never been seen on television before.
The show was created by two masters- True Detective‘s Cary Joji Fukunaga and The Leftover’s Patrick Somerville- making it worth checking out alone right there! Justin Theroux plays a scientist who suffers from overwhelming mommy issues and killer ’80’s video game aesthetics, all within this sci-fi dreamscape adventure featuring lemurs too!
The OA (2016–2019)
You know how sometimes you watch TV and it is just too normal? You want something that takes more risks, has a little less predictability. Luckily for all of us with this problem sitting in front of the television right now, The OA premiered on Netflix in December 2016, created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, who are co-creators along with director Tommy Perman.
Prairie (played wonderfully by the one and only Rachel) returns to society after years of being held captive as an experimenter’s subject from Russia during World War II when she was knocked out under anaesthesia while performing surgery on her cleft palate at age 8; obviously, crazy stuff happened, or else they would have never let such a young girl operate. Yes, there is interpretive dance. Yes, there are weird flashbacks to Russia, but the show will leave you scratching your head and searching for clues because it was cancelled too soon.
The 100 (2014–2020)
The 100 is a show about teens sent down to earth after being bombed out in some war. It has all the post-apocalyptic requirements: rebels, love triangles and death. The creators are trying to make this dark material palatable for teenagers by featuring attractive young people who attend high school on the space station orbiting Earth’s orbit and having plenty of soap opera moments that will have anyone hooked from day one!
Osmosis (2019)
The show Osmosis is a twisty, high-concept French sci-fi series like Black Mirror expanded into an entire television season. The story follows Paul and Esther Vanhove, a tech company claiming invented technology to find everyone’s definitive soulmate. But when beta testing begins on what they call “the implant”, things start going wrong, relationships dissolve, and artificial intelligence becomes dangerously sentient as well.
Outlander (2014– )
The appeal of Outlander, a long-running sci-fi series adapted from Diana Bagaldon’s book series about an affair set in Scotland during WWII and 1743, is that it manages to be both hot and heavy. It follows the story of Claire (a nurse) who finds herself transported through a time where she meets Jamie Fraser, a daring Highland rebel with quite a personality different from any man she’s met before. These two very different individuals struggle between their own desires but eventually fall for each other completely as they work together to change history.
If you’re looking for something speculative yet steamy like Outlander, then this show will really hit your spot! The drama centres around unlikely lovers – Nurse Clare Randall sent back 200 years into 18.
Outlander is a sci-fi show set in the 18th century. It’s produced by acclaimed director Ronald D. Moore (Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica). The show manages to balance high concepts with strong character portrayals of women and their relationships through scenes that are both intimate and complexly rendered—making it more than just an indulgent romance novel turned into TV series for viewers to escape from reality with.
The Rain (2018–2020)
The eco-apocalypse will come via rain, spreading its zombie infection within seconds of a person being hit by droplets. That’s the future Netflix’s The Rain posits, anyway. In one of the platform’s best original foreign series to date, two Danish teenage siblings emerge from the shelter for the first time after six years worth of viral rainfall and set out in search of their father, who they hope is still alive somewhere outside with other young survivors along their way encountering different obstacles that could potentially destroy them all but never give up on finding each other again no matter what it takes because family always comes before anything else!
Focusing on teens after the apocalyptic event, this Scandinavian drama is an emotional adventure with some sci-fi elements.
Raising Dion (2019– )
Netflix has become a staple in the homes of families and individuals who are looking for entertainment. With films, TV shows to stream on-demand, documentaries, comedy specials, and many other genres, you can find something that fits your mood at any given time. Recently Netflix released Raising Dion-a a superhero origin story children will love but also an edgier exploration of grief and greed with some adult content mixed in for good measure, which is perfect if you’re not interested in family-friendly viewing this holiday season!
The story is largely seen through Nicole’s eyes, who still feel the heavyweight of her husband Mark’s death. It turns out there was a lot more to this story than she originally thought, with not only an other-worldly incident leading up to his mysterious passing but also surprising twists and unexpected genre tropes that come from fresh perspectives. With shocking revelations at every turn for both viewers and characters alike, it wasn’t long before audiences were hooked on what turned out to be one hell of a supernatural tale!
Sense8 (2015–2018)
When your consciousness is woven with someone from around the world, you can’t imagine how weird it would be. These eight strangers are part of a Netflix original series called Sense8, and they experience all sorts of otherworldly oddities after learning that their connection means something more than just being friends on Facebook or Instagram. Will these “sensate” figure out what this whole thing really means before they’re hunted down? The show comes from those Wachowski sisters who wrote storylines revolving around identity politics rarely represented in sci-fi into script making for one dynamic genre series!
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)
The Next Generation was the first Star Trek TV series to be a major success for CBS, and in 1995, it spawns four movies. Patrick Stewart leads it as Captain Jean-Luc Picard with an iconic supporting cast including Jonathan Frakes (Commander William T. Riker), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt Commander Data), among others who followed were no concept had gone before with Gene Rodenberry’s vision of The Original Series – speculating about social issues of their day while remaining true sci-fi fans at heart all wrapped up into one adventure!
Stranger Things (2016– )
If you haven’t caught Netflix’s ’80s paranormal throwback Stranger Things yet, what gives? It was all your friends talked about when the show made its debut in 2016. This program has everything: another dimension, insane monsters and Russian conspiracy plots! If you’ve already done your time in the Upside Down, bide your time with The Traveler, which is a sci-fi thriller following travellers from an alternate timeline who are trying to fix their world by stopping ours or Colony, which follows humans fighting back against aliens living on Earth that they’re still unaware of through oblivious means.
The Umbrella Academy (2019– )
A Netflix series based on an edgy comic written by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way about a bunch of masked superheroes with weird powers who all grew up in a mansion and hate their dad sounds like the kind of thing someone would make us a part joke. It’s real, but there are some kinks to work out; it takes time to get good.
Stephen King’s newest novel, The Dark Tower, is addictive and entertaining from the first page. There are explosions, time travel to another dimension where a chimpanzee has become an influential figure in society (What??), and many more twists that will have you turning pages until the final chapter. But what really makes this book worth reading is how it explores sibling relationships through powerfully detailed descriptions of two brothers’ journey as they grow up together- sometimes for better or worse.
