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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

Tags Search My ratings Sign in

Best Sci-Fi TV Series

Top 500 most popular Sci-Fi series, ranked by votes

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Genres

Genres as assigned by IMDb. Selecting several means a show must match all of them.

Action 450 Adult 8 Adventure 256 Animation 553 Biography 3 Comedy 503 Crime 56 Documentary 60 Drama 580 Family 160 Fantasy 136 Game-Show 3 History 21 Horror 171 Music 7 Musical 3 Mystery 187 News 7 Reality-TV 20 Romance 63 Sci-Fi 2564 Short 61 Sport 4 Talk-Show 22 Thriller 175 War 6 Western 3

Decades

By first-air year. Several selections widen the range; a specific year narrows within its decade.

2020s 594 2010s 1017 2000s 393 1990s 206 1980s 148 1970s 112 1960s 66 1950s 24 1940s 2 1930s 0 1920s 0 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 21 2025 64 2024 86 2023 93 2022 120 2021 101 2020 109 2019 119 2018 102 2017 123 2016 112 2015 107 2014 89 2013 124 2012 99 2011 71 2010 71 2009 58 2008 56 2007 50 2006 36 2005 36 2004 31 2003 31 2002 26 2001 38 2000 31 1999 24 1998 28 1997 21 1996 18 1995 21 1994 22 1993 22 1992 18 1991 18 1990 14 1989 23 1988 15 1987 14 1986 14 1985 16 1984 16 1983 13 1982 9 1981 14 1980 14 1979 11 1978 17 1977 16 1976 13 1975 16 1974 9 1973 12 1972 8 1971 3 1970 7 1969 5 1968 7 1967 7 1966 13 1965 8 1964 4 1963 6 1962 6 1961 4 1960 6 1959 5 1958 2 1957 1 1956 3 1955 2 1954 2 1953 6 1951 1 1950 2 1946 1 1944 1

Tags

Rating patterns, computed from IMDb episode-rating trajectories. Deliberately strict: only shows with an unmistakable pattern carry one, so expect small numbers.

Rating patterns

Fumbled the Finale 6 Stuck the Landing 0 Grew the Beard 1 Rock Solid 1 Past Its Prime 0 Roller Coaster 1

Taste tags, judged by our AI taste model. They cover the 5,000 most-rated shows.

Tone & mood

Bleak 14 Gritty 3 Dark tone 40 Feel-good 3 Cozy 0 Wholesome 3 Melancholic 8 Tense 54 Unsettling 27 Whimsical 10 Campy 10 Cynical 8 Hopeful 11 Sentimental 3 Nostalgic 6 Bittersweet 7 Chaotic energy 9 Deadpan cool 6

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 15 Fast-paced 4 Episodic 32 Serialized 74 Procedural 3 Mystery box 53 Anthology 6 Cliffhanger-driven 17 Sprawling saga 6 Tight limited run 38 Puzzle plot 19 Vignette style 3

Humor style

Dry humor 9 Absurdist 19 Satirical 9 Cringe comedy 0 Slapstick 2 Witty banter 10 Dark comedy 8 Warm humor 8 Raunchy 2 Parody 5 Ironic & meta 5

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 1 Detective mystery 4 True crime 0 Heists & cons 2 Legal 1 Medical 2 Political intrigue 10 Espionage 9 War & military 7 Family saga 6 Coming of age 7 Workplace 4 School & campus 5 Love story 10 Friendship 3 Found family 9 Survival 31 Post-apocalyptic 16 Dystopia 20 Supernatural 10 Space & sci-fi 48 Near-future tech 34 Time travel 15 High fantasy 1 Urban fantasy 4 Monster horror 9 Psychological horror 8 Addiction & vice 0 Mental health 3 Faith & religion 5 Sports 0 Music scene 0 Food & cooking 0 Nature & science 4 Real history 4 Royalty & aristocracy 4 Small town 5 Big city life 0 Rural & frontier 0 Suburban underbelly 1 Class divide 7 Immigrant experience 2 Queer stories 1 Female perspective 6 Social commentary 26 Philosophical 25 Existential dread 17 Revenge 0 Redemption 2 Secrets & lies 37

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 4 Morally gray 15 Villain's POV 1 Ensemble cast 38 Central duo 5 Strong female lead 17 Child's perspective 4 Outsider lead 6 Genius lead 6 Working class 1 Elites & privilege 2 Unreliable narrator 4 Character study 11 Banter chemistry 4

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 4 Adrenaline 9 Intellectual challenge 9 Comfort rewatch 3 Romantic yearning 11 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 11 Mounting dread 6 Warm glow 0 Gut punch 4

Craft & style

Dialogue-driven 3 Visually striking 24 Stylized direction 15 Naturalistic 2 Big-budget spectacle 10 Lo-fi charm 7 Atmospheric 35 Distinctive score 6 Experimental 8 Deep worldbuilding 17 Tight writing 2

Format & audience

Sitcom 7 Adult animation 7 Anime 4 Kids & family 5 Young adult 12 Soap & telenovela 1 Event miniseries 10 Reality competition 0 Lifestyle reality 0 Docuseries 1 Sketch & variety 1 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 1 Period piece 5 Contemporary life 0 Long-runner 4 Built to binge 1

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 15 Nordic noir 0 K-drama 2 Turkish drama 1 Indian TV 2

Intensity & content character

Graphic violence 8 Disturbing 6 Sexually explicit 2 Family-safe 12 Emotionally heavy 7 Easy watching 15

Sort

500 series (top 500 shown)

Ascension

20K 3 2014–2014

Space & sci-fi · Mystery box

Brave New World

19K 9 2020–2020

Dystopia · Social commentary

Star-Crossed

19K 13 2014–2014

Young adult · Love story

Raising Dion

18K 17 2019–2022

Child's perspective · Supernatural

The Rig

18K 12 2023–present

Atmospheric · Unsettling · Tense

To the Lake

17K 16 2019–2022

Survival · Tense · Dark tone

The Prisoner

16K 17 1967–1968

Puzzle plot · Dystopia

Children of Dune

16K 3 2003–2003

Deep worldbuilding

V-Wars

16K 10 2019–2019

Believe

16K 13 2014–2014

Redemption · Found family

Mars

16K 13 2016–2018

Near-future tech

V

16K 19 1984–1985

Social commentary

Project Blue Book

16K 20 2019–2020

Period piece · Mystery box

Tin Man

15K 3 2007–2007

Tight limited run · High fantasy

Mrs. Davis

15K 8 2023–2023

Experimental · Absurdist

Roswell, New Mexico

15K 52 2019–2022

Love story · Romantic yearning

The Andromeda Strain

15K 4 2008–2008

Event miniseries · Tense

Airwolf

15K 55 1984–1986

Adrenaline · Episodic

Childhood's End

14K 3 2015–2015

Space & sci-fi · Philosophical

Stitchers

14K 31 2015–2017

Procedural · Genius lead

Mork & Mindy

14K 94 1978–1982

Sitcom · Whimsical · Wholesome

Beforeigners

13K 12 2019–2022

Time travel · Social commentary

Paper Girls

13K 8 2022–2022

Time travel · Nostalgic

Teacup

13K 8 2024–2024

Unsettling · Tense

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Action Adult Adventure Animation Biography Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Family Fantasy Game-Show History Horror Music Musical Mystery News Reality-TV Romance Sci-Fi Short Sport Talk-Show Thriller War Western

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Rating data from IMDb Non-Commercial Datasets.

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