It’s safe to say that we are still in the golden age of television right now, but this period of creative innovation started more than a decade ago. In the 2010s in particular, the quality of television shows went way up. That’s not to say that there aren't amazing TV shows that were created before that, but early on in Hollywood, television was arguably less respected as a medium than movies. Because of this, all the budget and big-name talent generally pursued film projects.
But the tides have been turning recently. In fact, there are quite a few well-known film actors who only recently starred in their first television series, and that has a lot to do with the fantastic stories that have been produced in the last 10 years. Very quickly, TV has suddenly become the way to go in order to have more creative freedom and support.
While all genres of television have produced standout shows in the 2010s, the science fiction genre really got a boost, with both increasing interest in television and the advancement of technology like CGI and similar filmmaking tools helping to bring lush and challenging sci-fi stories to life. So if you are looking to dive deep into the best the 2010s has to offer in sci-fi television, here are the 26 top science fiction TV series to come out within the last decade.
To note, this list pertains to any science fiction television series that began in the 2010s, not ended. So no TV shows were disqualified if they continued into the 2020s.
Orphan Black
Orphan Black, which ran from 2013 to 2017, got quite a bit of attention in its later years on air, with lead actress Tatiana Maslany winning one well-deserved Emmy for her many performances. But the show is still vastly underrated. Things begin when a woman named Sarah Manning (Maslany) sees a woman who looks exactly like her die by suicide at a train station. Running from her own problems, Sarah takes this woman Beth’s identity, only to find more trouble — not to mention the revelation that she is one of many clones located around the world. After discovering this, Sarah decides to dig further to find out exactly where her and her “sisters” come from, a group that includes a ruthless soccer mom named Alison, a brilliant PhD student named Cosima, and more, all played to perfection by Maslany. Of course, the conspiracy goes a lot deeper than initially thought, and Sarah and her sisters encounter more and more problems along the way. Seriously, most of the time while I was watching Orphan Black I legitimately forgot that it was just Maslany playing all these characters, and my brain thought that it was a whole ensemble cast of different actors. Definitely a must-watch series for those who haven’t yet, and a monumental accomplishment in television, specifically for acting.
Black Mirror
Kind of a no-brainer for this list, Black Mirror was created by Charlie Brooker for Channel 4, where the first two seasons aired before it moved to Netflix. The show is an anthology series, with each episode telling a different, complete story exploring possible futures and the disastrous things that can come out of the combination of advanced technology, a loss of empathy, and various other societal factors. Black Mirror has won quite a few Emmys and drawn in many major talents over the seasons, with folks like Daniel Kaluuya, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jodie Whittaker, Jon Hamm, Andrew Scott, and Bryce Dallas Howard just a few of the actors involved with the series so far. Intense and very dark, the series always gives you something new to think about — while it’s truly a matter of opinion, some of the most frequently praised episodes include “The Entire History of You,” “Be Right Back,” “San Junipero,” “USS Callister,” and the interactive special, “Bandersnatch.”
Utopia
This is about the original British 2013 series Utopia, and not the US remake for Amazon that came out in 2020. While the canceled remake has some bright spots, it’s nothing when compared to the original cult TV favorite. Like the obsession fans feel about the series, Utopia is about a group of people who are obsessed with a graphic novel called The Utopia Experiments that they believe foresaw major events in history like mad cow disease. At the start of the series, rumors spread about there being an unreleased sequel to The Utopia Experiments that holds further secrets of future events. While a group of friends manage to get their hands on the manuscript, they soon find their lives in danger as an organization known as “The Network” desperately wants the book. The show stars Fiona O'Shaughnessy as Jessica Hyde, a person who The Network is also chasing, while Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Alexandra Roach, Adeel Akhtar, and Oliver Wollford play the fans brought together to find the manuscript. Utopia somehow manages to be visually beautiful, funny, very violent, and thought-provoking all at the same time. Still an underrated hit series so many years later, more people definitely need to check out Utopia.
Humans
Many people will recognize the star of Humans, Gemma Chan, right now, but when Humans first premiered in 2015, she was a relatively unknown British actress — though obviously still super talented. The show also stars Katherine Parkinson, Colin Morgan, Lucy Carless, Tom Goodman-Hill, and many more, set in a possible near-future in which the new fad is the use of anthropomorphic robots, also known as “synths.” Chan’s character, introduced as Anita, is a synth purchased by a family to be a maid and nanny of sorts. The show follows the journeys of Anita and other synths as they grow to have a consciousness and feelings and desire to have the same rights and freedom as the humans they are supposed to serve. Humans presents a story that questions the development of artificial intelligence and whether or not humans might be able to construct consciousness and humanity. It then goes a step further, exploring what would happen if we reached the level of development in which robots or synths would need personal rights on the level of human rights. Overall, Humans is a brilliant, enjoyable series that had three seasons total, ending in 2018.
The 100
The 100 is a show that began airing on The CW in 2014 and finished its seven-season run in 2020. The series features a large cast of talented up-and-coming actors like Eliza Taylor, Bob Morley, Marie Avgeropoulos, Ricky Whittle, Alycia Debnam-Carey, and Lindsey Morgan, as well as a few more familiar faces like Paige Turco, Isaiah Washington, and Henry Ian Cusick. The 100 is set in a post-nuclear apocalypse world in which the survivors are forced to live in space until Earth was habitable again. 97 years after the catastrophic event, the space station is running out of resources, and so they decide to send 100 detained juveniles down to the ground to see if it would be possible to survive there. Well, as you might expect with 100 teenagers, it doesn’t go smoothly, but soon enough the survivors settle and form a new society while battling the many challenges the changed Earth throws at them. The 100 was commonly praised for featuring layered characters with complicated morals, in the midst of a dense, politically complex story. While the show had some issues throughout, as most long-running shows do, overall it is a fantastic series that challenged what sci-fi television shows — and specifically, teen-centric stories — can accomplish.
The Expanse
Like Black Mirror, The Expanse is another series that changed networks midway through its run. The show, which is based on the book series by James S. A. Corey, premiered on Syfy in 2015. Set in a future where Mars has been colonized and grown to rival Earth and the Moon, while other people have transitioned to live in the asteroid belt of the solar system, The Expanse is a politically charged, action-packed series that explores the rising tension between each major power as they vie for power and respect, while at the same time an ancient, extremely dangerous biohazard that comes to be known as the “protomolecule” threatens to destroy everything. To put it simply, The Expanse is kind of like Game of Thrones in space. What’s not to like? The show also has a fantastic cast of characters, with Steven Strait and Dominique Tipper leading the charge as Jim Holden and Naomi Nagata, two strangers who are thrown together with a few others as the only survivors of a destroyed ship, forced to work together to find out what happened. Shohreh Aghdashloo is also particularly great as Chrisjen Avasarala, a cunning and powerful politician who can see through everyone’s schemes.
Star Wars Rebels
The animated Star Wars television shows are a part of the ever-expanding universe that even some longtime fans of the films don’t know about, which is a real shame. Star Wars Rebels, the second 3D-animated show set in this world, following closely behind the fan-favorite series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is set five years before the events of Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope movie. The show premiered in 2014 and ran for four seasons before the story was concluded. As you might expect from the title, Star Wars Rebels follows a cast of new characters introduced just for the show — although familiar faces from the films do appear — as the rebellion starts to form against the Galactic Empire. The story is dense and emotional, despite many just assuming it's a simple show for kids, and it’s a great example of the underappreciated power of the animated medium.
12 Monkeys
Another fantastic Syfy show, 12 Monkeys is a series loosely based on the popular 1995 film of the same name. The show stars Aaron Stanford as James Cole, a scavenger with a troubled past who is sent from the year 2043 to 2015 to stop an organization known as the "Army of the 12 Monkeys" from releasing a virus that will kill billions of people, beginning the end of the human race. After finding the virologist Dr. Cassandra "Cassie" Railly, played by Amanda Schull, the two work together to stop the people responsible before the disaster happens. Although the show begins as more of a straightforward mission to fix the past, 12 Monkeys really finds its footing as the seasons go on, exploring bigger questions like predestination versus free will, while also being jam-packed with action and satisfying twists. Ending in 2018 after four seasons, 12 Monkeys definitely earned its status as one of the best sci-fi series of the decade.
Sense8
The Netflix Original series Sense8 is created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski and premiered with Season 1 in 2015. (You probably know the Wachowskis as the writers and directors of The Matrix and its sequels, while Straczynski was behind the groundbreaking 90s sci-fi drama Babylon 5.) Sense8 is the result of the Wachowskis being given full creative freedom to do whatever they want, and it’s amazing. The series follows eight individuals from around the world, all living very different lives, who are suddenly connected as “sensates,” or people who are mentally linked and can experience each other's perspectives and emotions, among other things. Through this concept and the complex cast of characters, Sense8 is able to thoroughly explore complex conversations about personal identity, sexuality, gender, and many other important aspects of everyone’s lives. At the same time, the show is extremely funny and thrilling, with the sensates being hunted by an organization that wants to use their connection for profit. After being surprisingly canceled after Season 2, the fans rallied and convinced Netflix to renew it for a final wrap-up film — one of the first instances of this fan effort happening and succeeding — and the Sense8 film perfectly completes the sci-fi show’s story and character arcs.
Legion
Technically also a superhero show (though it’s a stretch) as it focuses on the Marvel character David Haller (Dan Stevens), Legion is one of the most unique science-fiction series out there. Created by Noah Hawley, the story follows David, who is the powerful son of Professor X in the comics and has multiple personalities existing inside his head, as he tries to control his powers while also being chased by an organization that wants to use him. At the start of Season 1, David is in a mental hospital having been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and even he believes that assessment. But once he meets a woman named Sydney "Syd" Barrett (Rachel Keller), a fellow mutant, his whole world is turned upside down. Unfortunately, the brightness of this relationship also comes with a lot of trouble, with David battling an internal persona known as “Lenny,” played by Aubrey Plaza. Legion is one of those shows that is so unique that you have trouble describing it to anyone who hasn't seen it. The show received critical acclaim for its unique production design, music, and narrative style, and in particular, Plaza’s performance is astounding and Emmy-deserving. Definitely a must-see series for sci-fi and superhero fans alike.
Killjoys
Set in an action-packed future, Killjoys, which ran for five seasons from 2015 to 2019, focuses on a trio of bounty hunters as they galavant across the galaxy. The show stars Hannah John-Kamen as Dutch, the beautiful, charming, and deadly leader of the group who hides a dark past, while Aaron Ashmore and Luke Macfarlane star as brothers Johnny and D'avin Jaqobis who are reunited in Season 1 after quite a while apart. The show goes many places throughout its five seasons, but it always showcases the main trio and their deep love for one another, even as they face personal and more otherworldly problems. Killjoys has a well-defined, individual style, and it’s matched by the dazzling, layered characters. It’s another underrated hit from Syfy, and a great show to watch if you are looking for something funny, emotional, and all-around entertaining.
Counterpart
Canceled way too soon, Counterpart ran for two seasons from 2017 to 2019 on Starz. The series stars J. K. Simmons as Howard Silk, a quiet, ordinary worker at a United Nations agency in Berlin who is shocked to meet another version of himself from a parallel Earth, created in 1987 accidentally during a scientific experiment done in Germany. The original world is called Alpha, while the parallel is called Prime. Although initially the two worlds continue on very similar paths, this all changes in the late 1990s after a pandemic kills many people in the Prime world, altering it completely. Prime suspects Alpha as being behind the pandemic, leading to a cold war standoff with tense interactions between the two and many spies passing back and forth. Just a normal man, Howard is drawn right into the middle of the conflict due to his counterpart’s involvement, as they work together to try to stop Alpha and Prime from moving to total war.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the first television to be set within the overarching Marvel Cinematic Universe, premiering on ABC in 2013. While most of the first season feels like a normal procedural, the show really gets going and finds its identity in the episode "Turn, Turn, Turn," which focuses on the agents discovering the presence of Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D., aligning with the plot of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. After that, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. hits its stride, establishing its core cast of characters and allowing them to have full, emotionally rich storylines over the course of the seven total seasons. On top of that, the many different story arcs, of which the show covered a few a season, are entertaining and intriguing, with a couple of the best being “Agents of Hydra” and “Uprising,” though all of them have standout moments. A brilliant series on its own, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. also set the stage for shows like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to follow after.
Voltron: Legendary Defender
The only other animated series on the list (although there are plenty more than could be mentioned), Voltron: Legendary Defender initially seems like another simple kids show, but it’s anything but. A combination of both the older Voltron franchise and the Japanese series Beast King GoLion, Voltron: Legendary Defender is set in a fictional universe in which various races from all over the galaxy face trouble as one group, the Galra Empire, attempts to conquer the universe. In order to get more power, the Galra are looking for the legendary "Defender of the Universe" Voltron, a huge robot formed from five smaller ships piloted by individuals known as “Paladins.” The series follows five people as they discover that they are the new Paladins and must gather together to protect the galaxy. While Voltron: Legendary Defender is generally a bright, fun series, it also portrays the profound relationships that develop between the Paladins and their struggles of identity and purpose. The show has its issues, as does any, but it really pushes the barriers of what can be done with animated storytelling.
Stranger Things
One of Netflix’s most popular original series, Stranger Things takes place in the early 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. The town’s relative peace is destroyed when a boy named Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) goes missing, and his mother Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) will do whatever is necessary to find hi and bring him home, even if it means going to another dimension. Millie Bobby Brown also stars as Eleven, a young, supernaturally gifted girl who escapes the Hawkins National Laboratory where they perform strange experiments, the same experiments that led to the creation of a dark dimension called the “Upside Down.” The show also stars David Harbour as Police Chief Jim Hopper, while Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, and Caleb McLaughlin play Will’s friends who encounter Eleven while looking for him. As most know, Stranger Things is a huge, worldwide hit for Netflix, with three seasons so far and more to come.
The OA
Created by the dream team of Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, The OA is a series that’s very hard to describe, aside from saying that it’s extraordinary and not one to miss. The show stars Marling as a woman named Prairie Johnson, who returns home after having been missing for seven years with a strange story and her eyesight restored. Before going missing, Prairie was fully blind, caused by an incident when she was a child. Prairie, who now goes by “The OA,” gathers together a group of seemingly random strangers to tell her story to, asking for help traveling to a different dimension to rescue her love and others who went missing just like her. The OA is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, with the mystifying central story anchored by beautiful visuals and superb acting. Alongside Marling, the show also stars Jason Isaacs, Emory Cohen, Phyllis Smith, Patrick Gibson, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and many more great actors, running for two seasons before being abruptly canceled by Netflix. The loyal fans of the show hope that one day Marling and Batmanglij will return and finish The OA’s story, which they revealed was originally planned to take place over five seasons.
The Mandalorian
As the first live-action Star Wars series for Disney+, there was a lot riding on The Mandalorian's success, but the series certainly delivered. The show stars Pedro Pascal as the title character, whose real name is Din Djarin, a bounty hunter who receives a mission to retrieve a high profile target — Grogu, or as he is referred to by many, “Baby Yoda.” But instead of completing the job, Djarin starts to develop a fatherly relationship with Grogu and goes on the run to protect him. The Mandalorian takes place five years after Return of the Jedi, after the Galactic Empire falls to the Rebel Alliance. The show introduces new and interesting characters like the villainous Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), the leader of the bounty hunter guild Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), and "The Armorer" (Emily Swallow), while also featuring familiar characters like Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison). While the story of The Mandalorian is interesting and expands on the Star Wars universe, the show really stands out for its cinematography, directing, and acting, and like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it represents the start of a new stage in Star Wars history. The Mandalorian’s first season premiered in 2019, so it just barely makes the cut for this list, but it will likely continue for a few more seasons at least.
Altered Carbon
Based on the book of the same name by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon is created by Laeta Kalogridis for Netflix, with Season 1 premiering in 2018. The future-based story is set in a world where technology has advanced so much that people with power and money can essentially live forever, with their consciousness immortalized in a piece of technology called a “stack.” While some make clones so that they may look the same, others may live in many different bodies throughout their lifetime. Joel Kinnaman stars in Altered Carbon’s first season as the main character, Takeshi "Tak" Kovacs, an elite soldier who is brought back after more than 200 years in order to help a rich, privileged man solve his own murder. Luckily for Tak, this presents an opportunity for him to look for his lost love, Quellcrist "Quell" Falconer, played by Renée Elise Goldsberry, the leader of the revolution in which Tak is originally killed. With the show’s concept, the creators were able to change actors portraying Tak, with Anthony Mackie taking on the role in Season 2. While Altered Carbon unfortunately got canceled after two seasons, the unique, cyberpunk series definitely carved a spot for itself in the history of sci-fi television.
Dark
As the first German-language Netflix Original, Dark was a unique venture for the streaming platform, one that greatly paid off in the end. The series is co-created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, told as a complete story through three seasons released from 2017 to 2020. Dark is another complicated show on this list, but in an attempt to explain the story, it’s about a fictional small, rainy town in Germany called Winden, in which two boys suddenly go missing, repeating events that happened 33 years earlier. As many people in town begin to investigate, including a teenage boy named Jonas Kahnwald (Louis Hofmann), a mystery of patterns and sinister forces unravels, with a time travel paradox at the center. If you have never heard of this show, do not look it up before watching, as it’s best to go in with no previous knowledge and try to figure it out as you go. Dark just gets more and more complicated as the seasons go on, but overall it’s an emotional story about family and relationships that will leave you contemplating destiny, our purpose in the world (if there is one), and many other worldly questions after it’s done. Arguably one of the best sci-fi shows ever made — so far — Dark is a series fans of the science fiction genre need to see.
Star Trek: Discovery
Created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman for the streaming service CBS All Access — now Paramount+ — Star Trek: Discovery is the first new Star Trek television series since Star Trek: Enterprise finished its run in 2005, initially set a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series. The series stars Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, a specialist in science on-board the USS Discovery who later becomes captain. Also starring Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman and more as fellow members of the crew, Star Trek: Discovery follows Michael and the others as a war breaks out between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. While the show perfectly fits into the overarching Star Trek universe, Star Trek: Discovery makes bold choices that reform and modernize the familiar landscape. In particular, many people praised Martin-Green’s acting and the main character’s story arc. While Star Trek: Picard is also great, Star Trek: Discovery was the first to drag the futuristic franchise out of the past and revitalize it, welcoming new fans at the same time.