10 Addictive Sci-Fi Shows That Are Impossible To Stop Watching

Image via Apple TV Published Aug 29, 2026, 1:04 PM EDT Diego Pineda has been a devout storyteller his whole life. He has self-published a fantasy novel and a book of short stories, and is actively working on publishing his second novel. A lifelong fan of watching movies and talking about them endlessly, he writes reviews and analyses on his Instagram page dedicated to cinema, and occasionally on his blog. His favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin. He loves modern Mexican cinema and thinks it's tragically underappreciated. Other interests of Diego's include reading, gaming, roller coasters, writing reviews on his Letterboxd account (username: DPP_reviews), and going down rabbit holes of whatever topic he's interested in at any given point. Sign in to your Collider account There's nothing quite like a truly addictive science fiction TV show, a story so imaginative and so full of compelling characters, plot lines, and mysteries that it's impossible to stop watching. These are the sort of immensely binge-worthy series which prove why sci-fi has remained one of television's most popular and prolific genres for as long as it has. It can be a mystery box gem like Lost showing just how well sci-fi gets along with the mystery genre, or a classic like Farscape which successfully blends episodic elements with more serialized storylines. Regardless, the most addictive sci-fi series in history are the sort of show capable of getting any fan of the genre to sit down for hours on end and fully immerse themselves in these fascinating worlds. 10 'Travelers' (2016–2018) Image via Netflix Time travel sci-fi is hard to get right, with the subgenre often being prone to all sorts of contrivances and plot holes that tend to make it difficult to follow, or altogether impossible to binge-watch. Not Travelers. This Canadian-American co-production is the sort of sci-fi show that gets better on rewatch, purely because it's one of the best-written time travel series the small screen has ever seen. With its well-earned 100% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, Travelers is a must-see even for those who don't typically love time travel sci-fi. It combines those cleverly constructed sci-fi elements with surprisingly deep and heartfelt character drama, delivering a televisual experience whose fast pace and unpredictable narrative make it a little too tempting to click on "next episode" every time. 9 'Silo' (2023–Present) Image via Apple TV Apple TV joined the streaming game relatively late, but they've already proven to be some of the best creatives in the sci-fi television space. Perfect proof of that is Silo, based on the trilogy of novels of the same name by Hugh Howey. It's one of the best Apple TV shows with no weak episodes, as well as one of the greatest dystopian series the world has seen in several years. Much like the novels themselves, the show develops at a satisfyingly slow-burning pace that makes its myriad mysteries all the more addictive to follow. That sort of mystery box narrative style already worked perfectly well back in the days of cable television, but Silo proves that it works every bit as well, if not perhaps even better, in the age of streaming. 8 'Babylon 5' (1994–1998) Image via PTEN In the history of science fiction television, there's a "before Babylon 5" era and an "after Babylon 5" era. Unusually for American broadcast television at the time, the show was designed as a sort of novel for television, whose every season would serve as a new chapter in that story. The show's clever serialization would end up completely revolutionizing the way networks made sci-fi shows going forward. Almost three decades after its conclusion, Babylon 5 still feels just as fresh as it did back in its day, with even its cheesier and more "dated" elements adding an awful lot of retro charm to its aesthetics. It's the sort of classic sci-fi show better than most new series, making it incredibly addictive for anyone who tends to enjoy old-school sci-fi with more modern twists. 7 'Dark Matter' (2015–2017) Image via Syfy Based on a concept created by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie while they were working on the Stargate franchise (itself also the source of some of the most addictive sci-fi shows ever), Dark Matter was originally published as a comic book series in 2012. Three years later came the show, and it ended up becoming one of the best space operas the small screen ever saw throughout the 2010s. Indeed, this is one of the most near-perfect space opera shows that nobody remembers anymore, one in desperate need of more love and recognition. Shows about people recovering from amnesia always have the potential to be hugely addictive, and the way Dark Matter blends that premise with fun space opera elements makes the story all the more impossible to stop watching. 6 'Lost' (2004–2010) Image via ABC It's generally agreed upon that Lost didn't invent the mystery box formula, but it sure did popularize it to the point that it has become a sci-fi subgenre all of its own throughout the 21st century. Back during its run, it felt like everyone and their grandmother was watching Lost, talking about it, and coming up with theories to explain its many looming mysteries. It is, without a doubt, one of the most culturally impactful sci-fi series of the past 26 years. It's also one of the most ambitious TV shows of all time, and even though die-hard fans tend to agree that it jumped the shark a bit toward its final season, even Lost's most ludicrous plot elements add an awful lot to how addictive it is. For every question that it decides to answer, it brings up at least two more to keep thinking and theorizing about, and that's what makes it so impossible to stop watching. Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive. 💊The Matrix 🔥Mad Max 🌧️Blade Runner 🏜️Dune 🚀Star Wars TEST YOUR SURVIVAL → 01 You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one. APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone. NEXT QUESTION → 02 In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires. AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of. AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything. ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen. NEXT QUESTION → 05 Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are. AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches. NEXT QUESTION → 06 Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are. AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of. AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another. AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot. REVEAL MY WORLD → Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…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. The MatrixYou 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. You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it. You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare. You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it. The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door. Mad MaxThe 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 don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon. You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three. You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider. In the wasteland, that distinction is everything. Blade RunnerYou'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely. You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer. In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional. You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either. In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything. DuneArrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards. Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools. You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory. Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect. In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it. Star WarsThe 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. You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion. You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken. You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of. In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 5 'The Expanse' (2015–2022) Image via Amazon Prime Video The Expanse series of novels (written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the pen name of James S. A. Corey) is one of the best since 2010. Fittingly, so too is the television adaptation one of the best sci-fi shows of the last two decades. The show was canceled by Syfy after only three seasons, only to be picked back up by Prime Video for another three, resulting in one of the best six-season TV shows the world has ever seen. What's not to love about The Expanse and everything that makes it incredibly binge-worthy? After a somewhat slow first season, things kick into high gear and never let up again. It's one of the sci-fi shows with the best world-building, the best writing and directing, the best character development, and the best re-watchability value. It simply doesn't get old at all. 4 'Severance' (2022–Present) Image via Apple TV As if any more proof were needed that Apple TV has become masters of sci-fi television, there's also Severance, one of those Apple TV shows perfect for a weekend binge. Part workplace satire, part character drama, part surrealist comedy, it's one of the most tonally and narratively complex TV shows of the 2020s so far. Much like the mystery box predecessors whose influences it proudly wears on its sleeve, such as The Prisoner or Lost, Severance loves to create several new mysteries for every one that it clears up. The way that mystery blends perfectly with the series' biting sense of humor and deeply character-driven drama is nothing short of perfect, resulting in a binge-worthy masterpiece whose third season can't come soon enough. 3 'Dark' (2017–2020) Image via Netflix It's always delightful to binge-watch a hugely addictive sci-fi show that's pure fun and games, but now and then, every true fan of the genre craves a sci-fi gem that will put their mind to work. In that category, there is perhaps no show more noteworthy than Dark, Netflix's first-ever German-language original series. It's immensely entertaining, but it's also one of the most intellectually challenging sci-fi shows streaming has ever been treated to. One of the most perfect sci-fi shows shorter than five seasons, Dark is proof of just how perfectly a time travel and parallel universe story can turn out when planned and written with enough patience, intelligence, and passion. This is the television version of an intricate puzzle that you simply can't put down until it's been solved, a mystery box masterpiece that may very well be the single most addictive example of the genre. 2 'Farscape' (1999–2003) Image via SYFY Farscape is one of the most essential sci-fi classics of the '90s and 2000s, created by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by The Jim Henson Company, which contributed to the prosthetic makeup and animatronic puppets that make the show still look impressive 23 years after it ended. Farscape is about as timeless as science fiction shows come, and a must-see for anyone who loves the genre. One of those classic sci-fi shows worth binge-watching today, Farscape flawlessly blends perfect production values with subversive twists and tropes, compelling character development, and a phenomenal mixture of serialization and more episodic elements. It feels like the sort of show so addictive that it seems like it was designed for the age of streaming well before it came into the picture. 1 'Battlestar Galactica' (2004–2009) Image via SYFY More often than not, science fiction fans are opposed to remakes of classic series, but 1978's outdated version of Battlestar Galactica was practically begging for one. After the incredible 2003 miniseries of the same name came 2004's Battlestar Galactica. Today, it's widely remembered not just as the definitive version of the story, but as one of the greatest sci-fi TV masterpieces of the 21st century, if not even of all time. The series perfectly captured the politics and general mood of the United States' post-9/11 days, offering an immensely powerful sci-fi story about survival, faith, and the heavy consequences of war. The result is arguably the most addictive sci-fi TV show in history, a technically impressive and incredibly written masterpiece whose paranoid atmosphere, tight plotting, and gritty realism make it impossible to stop watching.