There are plenty of classic science fiction shows that all fans of the genre should check out at least once in their lives, but if one is willing to take one's nostalgia-tinted glasses off for a while, it should become abundantly easy to find plenty of sci-fi television masterpieces being produced nowadays. There are plenty of new sci-fi shows that are virtually perfect throughout, "new" here meaning any show that released its pilot at any point during the last five years.
Of course, it's practically impossible (and mostly quite a subjective claim) for a TV show to be truly without flaws of any kind, but these modern gems of the sci-fi genre are about as close as it gets to the real deal. From animated series like Invincible to international live-action sensations like the K-drama Mouse, these shows offer nothing substantial to complain about from their first to their last (or latest) episode.
Fans of the Star Wars franchise have been going through complicated times throughout the last five years, as Disney has released very few media products from the galaxy far, far away that have genuinely been worth caring about. Maul — Shadow Lord is nothing if not an exception. It's still a pretty new show with only 10 episodes under its belt so far, but it has the potential to enshrine itself as the best animated Star Wars show since The Clone Wars.
Only one season and 10 episodes in, many fans would already very confidently say that Maul is one of the best Star Wars shows ever. It has the most stunning visuals of any animated Star Wars series, a phenomenal score by the legendary Kevin Kiner and his children Sean and Deana, and an engrossing story that further cements Maul as one of the characters who have most benefited from the Disney era of Star Wars. But what's best about Maul is how delightfully action-packed it is, full of the kind of lightsaber duels that fans had been begging for for years.
There isn't really a particularly high bar for movie and television video game adaptations. After all, the track record of both categories could very reasonably be labeled "terrible." But even still, calling Fallout one of the greatest small-screen video game adaptations of all time isn't a compliment to be taken lightly, because if the reputation of video game adaptations has been dramatically getting better over the course of the 2020s, it's largely thanks to shows as masterful as this one.
It's one of the best apocalyptic TV shows ever made, based on one of the best RPG video game franchises in history. Perfectly balancing high-stakes science fiction with the source material's signature darkly satirical tone, it's an equally rewarding experience for fans of the games and newcomers alike. Well-written, technically faultless, and with an exceptional cast, it shows why a "great video game adaptation" is no longer an oxymoron nowadays.
Created by Robert Kirkman and based on the Image Comics series he co-created with Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, Invincible is proof that superhero media still holds plenty of appeal in the post-Infinity Saga era. It's easily one of the best coming-of-age superhero shows ever, simultaneously a brilliant subversion of the genre and a phenomenal example of it in its own right.
Some may point to the show's less-than-groundbreaking animation as a factor that makes it imperfect, which is a reasonable complaint; but Invincible has such an overwhelming number of redeeming qualities that clunky visuals feel like nothing but a nitpick in the grand scheme of things. It has sky-high stakes, consistently jaw-dropping and bloody action sequences, and some exceptional writing that always knows how to balance action and emotionally riveting character moments. It's everything that every superhero show should aim to be in the modern day.
Saying that Scavengers Reign is one of the best animated shows of the last five years would almost be an understatement. Though HBO Max tragically canceled it after only one season despite its tremendous amounts of potential to run for many more years, the show was always designed and pitched as a self-contained miniseries. So, watching it today should prove to be an entirely satisfying experience capable of charming any fan of sci-fi animation.
Scavengers Reign is some of the most visually stunning and narratively captivating avant-garde science fiction that the small screen has seen in quite some time, full of surrealist elements and powerful thematic work. Combining breathtaking world-building with psychologically intense character work in ways that work remarkably well, it's a survival story full of heart the likes of which the genre deserves to get a lot more of.
It's been over the course of the late 2010s and the 2020s as a whole that K-dramas have become mainstream, and over the course of the last 5 years, we've seen several prove themselves as bona fide masterpieces. Case in point: Mouse, a show that deserves far more love than it typically gets nowadays, a blend of genetic sci-fi and police procedural elements.
It's one of those new thriller shows that are perfect from start to finish, with a labyrinthine plot that fans of mind-bending sci-fi and mystery series should find to be a blast of fun. Coupled with its philosophically profound exploration of morality and its abundance of meticulously set-up plot twists, it's undoubtedly one of the most engrossing thrillers that television has seen in years.
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things.
The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you.
You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way.
Who could have guessed that a show based on League of Legends would end up becoming the most acclaimed animated series of the 2020s? Indeed, Arcane seemed to come out of nowhere, immediately garnering a cult following comprised of both fans of the game and people who had never played it. It has perhaps the most eye-popping visuals of any animated show of the last decade, but striking animation is by no means the only thing that it has going for it.
Rather, what makes Arcane one of the best Netflix shows of the last five years is how well its visuals gel together with its magnificent voice cast, its gripping action scenes, its killer score and soundtrack, and its intricately-plotted story. It's a breathtaking narrative with unparalleled character depth and deeply complex storylines, proof that the living room is the place to be nowadays for fans of animated sci-fi television.
As a relatively young streaming service, Apple TV has been proving itself to be a force to be reckoned with in the streaming game, but none of its shows are better proof of that than Severance. A mystery box masterpiece much in the same vein as sci-fi classics like Lost, it's the type of mystery series that brings up two or three fascinating questions for every answer that it decides to provide. It's twist-filled storytelling at its very best.
Severance is one of the best thriller shows of the last 10 years, anchored by the tremendous work of its exceptional cast and the complex intricacies of its writing. Part satire that critiques corporate exploitation in the modern American workplace, part mystery sci-fi spectacle that never gets shy with making itself feel weirder and more over-the-top, it's easily one of the greatest shows currently on television. If there's any masterpiece that cements Apple TV as one of the leaders of the current streaming game, it's Severance.
It's by no means an exaggeration to say that Andor is the best that the Star Wars franchise has been since the '80s. There are no lightsabers here, no Sith or Jedi, no showstopping cameos of characters from the Skywalker Saga—and yet, it's the peak of what the galaxy far, far away has to offer. Politically complex, intricately written, and full of fascinating characters, it's 2020s sci-fi television at its most prestigious.
Andor is the kind of sci-fi show whose every episode is a masterpiece, as it remained a gripping character piece and a hard-hitting critique of fascism and authoritarian governments from its pilot until its jaw-dropping finale. The performances are phenomenal, the technical qualities are as perfect as one would expect from any Star Wars show, and the writing is top-notch throughout. Indeed, as far as new sci-fi shows go, it doesn't get more perfect than this.
