Apple TV’s Highly Ambitious Sci-Fi Show Is Becoming As Good As Netflix’s Dark

Published Sep 3, 2026, 10:58 PM EDT Dhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns. Before Screen Rant, he was a Senior Writer for The Cinemaholic, covering everything from anime to television, from reality TV to movies. After high school, he was on his way to become a Civil Engineer. However, he soon realized that writing was his true calling. As a result, he took a leap and never looked back. Netflix's Dark remains one of the most compelling and complete sci-fi shows from recent years. Its depiction of time travel is still considered a masterclass and many viewers cannot help but rewatch and appreciate its brilliantly constructed 3-season story. Not many sci-fi shows come close to being as good as dark, but Apple TV's Dark Matter is starting to show immense potential. Based on Blake Crouch's book of the same name, Dark Matter is a rare sci-fi adaptation that has its source material author as its showrunner. What makes it even more unique is that despite exhausting its original book's story in season 1, Dark Matter has returned with another season. Expanding a book's established lore and well-rounded story is always a risky endeavor. However, after just one episode, Dark Matter season 2 seems to have proven that it deserves to exist. It may be a little too soon to draw any conclusions about the entire season, but the show's early promise in season 2 is setting it up to become even better after its successful season 1 run. Apple TV’s Dark Matter Season 2 Already Seems Better Than Season 1 Dark Matter season 1 took some time to find its feat. Its early episodes were a little too slow as they struggled to give viewers a worthy and compelling conflict to invest themselves in. However, after a slow start, Dark Matter finally gained some momentum by episode 3. By the time season 1 reached its penultimate episode, it was evident that the Apple TV sci-fi show had found its footing and audience. Despite being a fun exploration of the multiverse, however, Dark Matter season 1 did not exactly stand out among the vast array of shows and movies that explore parallel worlds. Fortunately, it looks like the show's season 2 is finally taking a more distinct path. Instead of narrowing its vision, Dark Matter season 2 establishes that season 1 was merely the surface of all the stories and parallel timelines it could explore with its wild multiversal explorations. The opening scene of episode 1 is enough to establish this, as it shows multiple dead alternate versions of the main character. In season 2, Dark Matter is also not shying away from expanding its roster and focusing on the multiversal adventures (and misadventures) of many characters. While its focus remains on the central Dessen family, it is seemingly taking the same approach as Netflix's Dark and tying the stories of many characters and timelines into one sprawling multiversal storyline. Dark Matter Is Becoming As Mind-Boggling & Ambitious As Netflix’s Dark Up until its last few episodes, Dark Matter season 1 seemed relatively linear with its storytelling. Its story was primarily driven by its main character's desire to return home after being trapped in the central "Box." Towards the end, though, the series' season 1 became more and more mind-boggling and chaotic as it introduced alternate versions of the same characters. Dark Matter season 2 already seems to be building on these foundational aspects from season 1, giving viewers several new rootable characters. After episode 1, it also seems like it has also overcome season 1's pacing issues. While only time will tell how Dark Matter season 2 will turn out and what the future will hold for the series beyond season 2, it is gradually entering the same league as iconic sci-fi shows like Netflix's Dark. Dark Matter 9/10 Release Date May 7, 2024 Network Apple TV+ Directors Jakob Verbruggen, Alik Sakharov, Roxann Dawson, Logan George Writers Blake Crouch Cast Joel Edgerton Jason Dessen / Jason2 Based on his novel of the same name, Dark Matter is a sci-fi drama-thriller television series created for Apple TV+ by Blake Crouch. The series follows a physicist who is kidnapped and thrown into an alternate reality where he witnesses one potential path his life could have taken. However, he learns that the lives of his family are in jeopardy by an alternate version of himself. Main Genre Sci-Fi Creator(s) Blake Crouch Seasons 2 Dark Release Date 2017 - 2020-00-00 Network Netflix Dark is a German science fiction thriller focusing on four families in a small town impacted by the disappearance of a child. As they search for answers, they uncover a web of interconnected secrets, revealing complex temporal and familial relationships spanning multiple generations. Cast Louis Hofmann, Lisa Vicari, Andreas Pietschmann, Maja Schöne, Stephan Kampwirth, Paul Lux, Jördis Triebel, Karoline Eichhorn, Axel Werner, Barbara Philipp, Christian Pätzold, Deborah Kaufmann, Hans Diehl, Julika Jenkins, Natascha Paulick, Nina Kronjäger, Nina Weniger, Oliver Masucci, Werner Wölbern, Eric Bouwer, Felix Kramer, Katharina Spiering, Anna König, Jakob Diehl, Lena Dörrie, Moritz Jahn, Nele Trebs, Sammy Scheuritzel, Tom Jahn Directors Baran bo Odar Writers Marc O. Seng, Martin Behnke, Ronny Schalk Main Genre Crime Creator(s) Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese Seasons 3