10 Most Perfect Sci-Fi Shows of the Last 15 Years

Image via Netflix Published Aug 14, 2026, 6:47 AM EDT Lisa Nordin is an actress, writer, and fan of all things performing arts. Her favorite genres are Sci-Fi and Fantasy. She is a self-published author and enjoys exploring how fictional stories help define and qualify the human experience. Sign in to your Collider account The past 15 years have been brimming with fantastic sci-fi series. From genre mega-hits that spilled outside their boundaries to fresh takes on beloved franchises, there is no unconquered territory science fiction TV shows have not explored. The rich and vast genre knows no bounds, and it continues to deliver some of the most captivating and thought-provoking works ever put to the small screen. When it comes to defining excellence within a sci-fi series, these shows can be looked to as the example. They have characters audiences connect with, plotlines that leave viewers thinking, and some even seem prophetic in their storytelling. In this highly rewarding milieu, these series are the best of the best of the past 15 years. 10 'Love, Death & Robots' (2019–2025) Image via Netflix Created by Tim Miller, Love, Death & Robots is an anthology series that is as sci-fi as they come. Tackling topics ranging from android behavior to alien invasions, each episode packs a punch and brings something entirely new to the table. The animation of Love, Death & Robots is invigorating and visually engaging, employing a kaleidoscope of talent from across the world. Given its inherently varied nature, the quality of animation and narrative in each episode ranges widely. Having such dramatic differences in tone and structure from one episode to the next isn't for everyone, and it hinders the show from being completely perfect. However, the changes in setting and circumstance keep the series ever fresh and interesting, and fans of anthology series agree that Love, Death & Robots is one of the best. 9 'Night Sky' (2022) Image via Prime Video Franklin and Irene York (J.K. Simmons and Sissy Spacek, respectively) seem like an unassuming, ordinary couple. However, they are hiding an immense and precious secret. On their property, hidden underground, is a portal to another world. Night Sky is absolutely brilliant. It is exemplary of how many shades of colors there are to paint with when it comes to science fiction. The series focuses more on the human element and reveals deeper depths and truths as the show goes on. Sadly canceled after only one season, it feels like a complete narrative that could have been expanded upon, but it is fascinating in its current length. Even though it would have been very interesting to see where the storyline went next, Night Sky is perfect as it is. 8 'Timeless' (2016–2018) Image via NBC Time travel is a tricky medium to do well. Few series have pulled it off exceptionally, and one of them is Timeless. In Timeless, a trio of people travel back in time to different eras, trying to stop a madman named Garcia Flynn (Goran Višnjić) from fashioning history to his own design. The cast includes Abigail Spencer as Lucy, Matt Lanter as Wyatt, and Malcolm Barrett as Rufus. All of the characters are interesting to watch, and viewers find themselves highly invested from the very beginning. Timeless raises several thought-provoking debates about altering history to suit a particular whim. It doubles down whenever there is a chance to empathize with a historical figure or explore a situation's deeper ethos. Timeless was given a rare opportunity to tie up all the loose ends and give fans a solid finale. The two-part Christmas-special conclusion wraps the entire series up with a bow, and Timeless is perfect, from beginning to end. 7 'Lost in Space' (2018–2021) The ultimate family road trip goes awry in Netflix's Lost in Space. A revitalization of the earlier classic, the new Lost in Space was the perfect adaptation to update the material for a modern era. The story follows the Robinson family as their spaceship careens off course and leaves them stranded on an alien planet, light-years away from their intended destination. Together they must work as a team to face challenges and threats from within their camp and the hostile environment around them. Lost in Space has fantastic interpersonal drama and engaging sci-fi elements. Watching the Robinsons work together and navigate a new and unfamiliar landscape as they deal with their own internal dynamics is exciting. Lost in Space is a show that has endless rewatchability. It continues to be popular and had over 44.3 million hours viewed as recently as last year. Since Lost in Space is more family-friendly than other sci-fi options, it makes an ideal watch for younger viewers and has been a fan-favorite rewatch for several years. Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one. 🏜️Paul Atreides 🖖Capt. Kirk ✊Princess Leia 🔦Ellen Ripley 🔥Max Rockatansky FIND YOUR HERO → 01 How do you lead when the stakes couldn't be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you. AI absorb everything — every variable, every pattern — and move only when I know the path forward. BI read the room, make the call, and own the consequences. Hesitation costs more than mistakes. CI rally people. A cause needs a voice, and I refuse to let fear be louder than conviction. DI assess the threat, establish what needs doing, and get it done without waiting for permission. EI don't lead. I act. Others can follow or not — I'm already moving. NEXT QUESTION → 02 What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails. APrescience — the ability to see further ahead than anyone else and plan accordingly. BImprovisation — I'm at my best when the plan falls apart and I have to invent a new one. CConviction — I know what I'm fighting for, and that certainty doesn't waver under fire. DComposure — I stay functional when everyone around me is falling apart. Panic is a luxury. EEndurance — I outlast things. I take the hit and keep moving long after others have stopped. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What is the thing you'd sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass. AThe survival and dignity of my people — even if I have to become something frightening to ensure it. BThe safety of my crew — every single one of them. No one gets left behind. CFreedom — for my people, for every world still crushed under the weight of an empire. DThe truth — what actually happened, what's actually out there, whether anyone believes me or not. EThe one person — or the one memory — that still makes any of this worth surviving for. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are. AWith intensity and distance — I care deeply, but the weight I carry makes closeness complicated. BWith warmth and irreverence — I take the mission seriously, not myself. CWith directness and trust — I say what I mean, and I expect the people I work with to rise to it. DWith professional care but clear limits — I'll protect you, but I won't pretend we're family. EWith wariness that slowly becomes loyalty — I don't trust easily, but when I do, it holds. NEXT QUESTION → 05 You're facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you're the only one who sees it defines everything. APrepare in silence. If they won't listen, I'll be ready when they finally have to. BKeep pushing until someone listens — and if no one does, handle it myself. CBuild the case, find the allies, and make the threat impossible to ignore. DDocument everything. The truth matters even if no one believes it yet. EStop trying to convince anyone. Survive it. That's the only argument that counts. NEXT QUESTION → 06 What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they'd pay it again. AMy innocence — I've seen what I'm capable of, and I can't unsee it. BPeople I loved — the command chair has a view, but it's a lonely one. CA normal life — I gave up everything ordinary the moment I chose the cause. DMy sense of safety — I know exactly what's out there now, and I can't pretend otherwise. EAlmost everything — and I'm still not sure what I'm carrying it all for. But I keep going. NEXT QUESTION → 07 How do you feel about the rules of the world you're in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What's yours? AI understand them deeply — and I know exactly which ones must be broken, and why. BI respect the spirit of them and bend the letter when the situation demands it. CThe system is the problem. I'm not here to work within it — I'm here to dismantle it. DI follow protocol until protocol stops being useful. Then I make the call myself. EThe rules collapsed a long time ago. What's left is instinct, and mine are reliable. NEXT QUESTION → 08 When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you. ADestiny — or something that feels so much like it that the difference no longer matters. BThe people on my ship — their faces, their trust, the fact that they're counting on me. CThe belief that what we're fighting for is worth every sacrifice, including this one. DSheer refusal to let it win — whatever it is. I don't stop. That's just who I am. EI'm not sure anymore. But the road is still there, and I'm still on it. REVEAL MY HERO → Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible. Paul AtreidesYou carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you're capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become. You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you. You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn't ask for but can't escape. Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway. That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won't, is exactly you. Captain KirkYou lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you've always believed there's a third option nobody else has thought of yet. You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously. Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you've earned it. Kirk's genius isn't tactical — it's human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction. That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours. Princess LeiaYou are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you're fearless, but because giving up simply isn't something you're capable of. You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable. You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you've never looked back. Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion. That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you. Ellen RipleyYou are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone's hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters. You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself. Ripley's heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn't have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan. You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn't there. When it counts, you don't flinch. That's everything. Max RockatanskyYou have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril. You don't ask for help, don't need validation, and don't wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply. Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it's earned in silence and tested in action, not in words. Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting. That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 6 'Silo' (2023–Present) Image via Apple TV The 21st century is a good time to be dystopian. Post-apocalyptic shows are big in popularity right now, and one of the best is Apple TV's Silo. Starring Rebecca Ferguson, this chilling series involves a group of people who live underground, following a set of systems they believe are in place to protect them from an uninhabitable surface above. When Ferguson's character Juliette Nichols starts to get some of her memories back, some of the long-held beliefs of the colony start to unravel and the show tugs on each loose thread. Silo is a massive hit for Apple TV. It continues to climb streaming charts as more and more audiences discover this perfect series. Silo has already been nominated for two Primetime Emmys, and fans only expect excellence as the series moves forward. 5 'Andor' (2022–2025) Image via Disney+ When Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, fans knew that the market was soon going to be inundated with Star Wars-related content, and they were not wrong. Disney's proclivity for being prolific with IPs ensured that a flood of new Star Wars TV shows and movies was going to emerge. While some of Disney's Star Wars projects have earned their fair share of disillusionment and criticism, one that has earned universal acclaim is the TV show Andor. Andor is a standalone series that takes place in the world of Star Wars, but it doesn't center around characters involved in the Skywalker saga. This shift in focus made Andor refreshing, original, and highly entertaining to watch. Focusing on the protagonist Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), who first appeared in the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the show picks up on the political drama and doubles down on excellent writing and nuanced storylines. Though Disney's catalog of Star Wars projects has been largely hit-or-miss, Andor is undeniably a hit. It is one of the best iterations of the lore in the entire Star Wars canon, before or since. 4 'Severance' (2022–Present) Image via Apple TV Lumon Industries has solved the tenuous work/life balance that many career-minded adults struggle with in Severance. At Lumon, employees agree to undergo a procedure that separates their personality into two distinct personas, their work "innie" and their personal, outside of work, "outie." This radical concept provides endless opportunities for shocking reveals as one person can literally think, act, and be two different entities depending on the setting. Severance is one of the most perfect sci-fi thrillers of all time. In only two seasons, it has already won 10 Primetime Emmys. The series taps into some primal human fears like manipulation, mind control, trust, and quality of life. With almost every person on the planet working at a job in some form or another, Severance's target audience is massive. Everything from the writing to the acting to the set design and wardrobe, which always feels sterile and awash with melancholy, is done superbly well. 3 'Stranger Things' (2016–2025) Image via Netflix Stranger Things is a Netflix original sci-fi series that exploded into a cultural phenomenon. It overflowed its confines and touched every aspect of popular culture, from fashion to music to hairstyles. Stranger Things not only became the gold standard for new sci-fi series; it seamlessly blended horror and coming-of-age elements into its motivation, creating a powerful cocktail of thrills. Stranger Things was immediately different when it arrived on the scene in 2016. It had a group of young kids as the protagonists and was set in the 1980s. This focus would generate an entire wave of public interest in all things '80s and a resurgence in RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons. In an instance of mimesis, the cast literally grew with the show. Watching the young actors go through adolescence on screen and in real life made the journey resonate all the more with fans. Stranger Things launched an entire franchise of entertainment and has become a subgenre in and of itself. The series has won 12 Primetime Emmys and continues to impact TV and film projects of the future. 2 'Black Mirror' (2011–Present) Image via Netflix A defining masterpiece of the 21st century, Black Mirror is an anthology series for a new generation. The show follows in the footsteps of classic sci-fi staples like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits and plucks a string that resonates with modern viewers. Each episode is as gripping as the last and every story is a soliloquy about humanity's relationship with technology. Black Mirror's episodes vary in their main themes and plots, but the dedication to quality writing and committed acting remains consistent throughout. Episodes like "USS Callister" feel more like a short film than a TV show episode and have earned massive acclaim all on their own. As many sci-fi works before it, Black Mirror seems to be eerily accurate when it comes to critiquing constructs like consumer tech and social media. As society continues to move forward, only time will tell how truly prophetic some of Black Mirror's Emmy-winning episodes are. 1 'Travelers' (2016–2018) Image via Netflix When it comes to being a perfect sci-fi show, Travelers actually is. Earning a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, this hidden gem series is not one of the most talked about, but it definitely should be. Like some of the best sci-fi projects in history, Travelers is underappreciated when it comes to buzz but completely over the top when it comes to quality. At only three seasons long, Travelers weaves an intricate, engrossing tale that stays with viewers long after the credits roll. The plot involves a group of people who volunteer to have their consciousness sent back through time and into the minds of human beings who lived in the past. The motivation for the Travelers' blast into the past is to alter the course of events and hopefully give humanity a better future than the one they came from. Travelers is like a rich layered cake of intrigue, and it's impossible to summarize all that is contained within the series in a single paragraph. Travelers is absolutely flawless from beginning to end, and its rankings, ratings, and all other qualifications as perfect are warranted. Travelers Release Date 2016 - 2018-00-00 Network showcase, Netflix Cast MacKenzie Porter Marcy Warton Directors Andy Mikita, amanda tapping, William Waring, Helen Shaver, Martin Wood Writers Ashley Park, Pat Smith, Jason Whiting, Ken Kabatoff, S.B. Edwards, Mika Collins, Amanda Smith-Kolic, Tara Armstrong Seasons 3 Producers Brad Wright, Eric McCormack, Jim O'Grady, John G. Lenic