Published Feb 21, 2026, 4:00 PM EST
Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones.
You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep."
Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant.
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The most complex or dystopian sci-fi TV shows can be masterpieces that you only watch once, while others stand the test of time and several rewatches. The sci-fi genre was once characterized by hard sci-fi and space operas, and while these are staple sci-fi shows everyone must watch at least once, the genre has grown much more creative over the past 20 years.
Now, the genre is just as likely to contain mind-bending sci-fi TV shows that are uniquely complex as well as fun sci-fi comedies that reference the great franchises that virtually everyone has heard of. The best of these can make a great comfort watch, while others have perfect twists, making viewers wish we could watch these sci-fi TV shows for the first time again.
Love, Death + Robots
The cyberpunk Love, Death + Robots is a creative masterpiece and one of the best anthology series of all time. The show is an eclectic mix of short stories, not all of which feature love, death, or robots, and each showcases a different visual style. While some viewers may feel this makes the show uneven, its 89% positive Rotten Tomatoes rating says otherwise.
The best episodes in Love, Death + Robots are all worth rewatching for the stunning visuals, but even the underrated stories deserve a second viewing. The stories may all appeal to different viewers, which is why introducing a sci-fi and cyberpunk fan to the series can be very interesting, as many of the episodes can be interpreted in several ways.
Release Date March 15, 2019
Network Netflix
Directors Víctor Maldonado, Patrick Osborne, Robert Valley, Alfredo Torres Martínez, Jerome Chen, Emily Dean, Rémi Kozyra, Léon Bérelle, Dominique Boidin, Alberto Mielgo, Maxime Luère, Andy Lyon, Robert Bisi, Dave Wilson, David Nicolas, Simon Otto, Damian Nenow, Laurent Nicolas, Kevin Van Der Meiren, Vitaliy Shushko, Owen Sullivan, István Zorkóczy, Javier Recio Gracia, Oliver Thomas
Writers Tim Miller, Philip Gelatt
Firefly
Firefly remains one of the most heartbreaking sci-fi TV show cancellations of all time, and even after one episode, the crew of the Serenity already feel like old friends. The space Western's character-focused approach has ensured its lasting popularity, as the characters are given more attention than the sci-fi worldbuilding. While Firefly has not always aged well, it has its iconic moments.
Firefly developed a cult following, and while a reboot looks increasingly unlikely to happen, the story was wrapped up with the movie Serenity, which is also worth watching. 26 years after its release, Firefly remains one of the best sci-fi genre comfort watches, as it has the perfect mix of fan-favorite characters, comedy, and extremely quotable one-liners.
Severance
Severance contains some of the best sci-fi TV show twists that we never saw coming, and this alone makes a rewatch almost essential. Watching Severance for the first time requires attention, as the dystopian setup is complex, with characters splitting their minds into work and home modes, with no memory of each other. However, a second watch shows just how clever the show is.
Severance contains some genius moments of foreshadowing, hidden symbology, and interactions that feel trivial on a first watch, but are packed with hints at the truth. After finding out how the series ends, Severance is a great show to rewatch alone for those small details, and with a new viewer for the fun of watching them experience the twists for the first time.
The X-Files
The X-Files is a legendary sci-fi thriller with 271 episodes, and now is the perfect time to rewatch it as the show is getting a reboot. The X-Files blended the police procedural format with sci-fi to create an entirely new kind of show that won 16 Primetime Emmy Awards and even appealed to people who did not usually like sci-fi.
Mulder and Scully quickly became one of the best detective duos onscreen, and their chemistry is one of the best parts of the show. While not all the episodes hold up on a rewatch, with "Home" still being as controversial today as it was when the show aired, many are still sci-fi masterpieces that defined the genre as well as the 1990s.
Resident Alien
People who miss Firefly must watch Resident Alien, which features some Firefly stars, including Alan Tudyk, as well as sci-fi legends like Linda Hamilton. Tudyk's comedic talent is finally shown at its best here, and while Resident Alien has a very different and more grounded setting than Firefly, it has a similar feeling of camaraderie and theme of "chosen family."
Not all comedies hold up well on a rewatch, but Resident Alien is still hilarious and balances dark humor with genuine connection, making it a great comfort-watch. While the show was canceled after its fourth season, there is still hope for a Resident Alien season 5 someday, as the fourth and final season left a few story threads open.
Killjoys
Despite having a 95% positive Rotten Tomatoes rating, Killjoys is one of the most underrated sci-fi TV shows you need to watch. The series follows a small team of space bounty hunters and combines elements of Firefly, Mad Max, and Blade Runner to create something new and exciting. The show's visual effects aren't always cutting-edge, but that hardly matters as its creativity outshines this.
It can be frustrating rewatching shows that we know end on a cliffhanger, but after five great seasons, Killjoys was given a proper ending. As the show is better than many big-budget sci-fi TV shows and twice as much fun, it is the perfect series to rewatch as an alternative to some of the darker and more dystopian sci-fi shows.
Battlestar Galactica
It is sometimes easy to forget that Battlestar Galactica is the best sci-fi reboot of all time, as the 2004 version virtually eclipsed the 1978 original. Every fan of sci-fi must watch Battlestar Galactica at least once, as the show has given viewers some of the genre's most iconic characters and space battles. However, it is also extremely rewatchable.
Watching Battlestar Galactica again gives viewers a chance to appreciate the visuals, writing, and hidden details that can't be fully appreciated when trying to follow the plot at the same time. As Battlestar Galactica has several spinoffs, a rewatch can incorporate the movies and mini webisodes in a more cohesive order, giving crucial backstory and insight into the characters.
Star Trek
With so many Star Trek TV series, spinoffs, and movies, the universe deserves to be revisited, as there is so much information and lore to take in that one watch is not enough. The show changed the sci-fi genre forever and was a pioneer for innovation and diversity, making Star Trek one of the best sci-fi franchises of all time.
While not all the Star Trek visual effects have aged well, rewatching it is a nostalgic and slower-paced experience, and as the original series is episodic, this allows viewers to skip filler episodes. Rewatching older series of Star Trek gives new insight into the newer series, and revisiting the newer ones often reveals another layer of commentary that viewers may miss the first time.
Created by Gene Roddenberry
Futurama
HuluFuturama is undoubtedly a sci-fi TV show, but it also works as a great sitcom that everyone should watch once in their lives. The episodes work on their own, even for viewers who do not usually watch sci-fi, but rewatching the show after becoming a sci-fi fan adds a new layer to Futurama, as it is packed with references and parodies.
Futurama may have been canceled many times, but it is still running today, and while different episodes appeal to different viewers, some, like "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings," are sci-fi comedy staples. Other episodes, like "The Luck of the Fryrish," have surprisingly emotional twists, which means that there is always a Futurama episode to rewatch if you want to laugh, cry, or both.
The Expanse
There are few sci-fi TV shows like The Expanse, and it is widely regarded as one of the best of all time. The Expanse has a 95% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and praise from astrophysicists who were impressed by its realism. Watching it for the second time is arguably even better than the first, as it allows viewers to appreciate the worldbuilding even more.
The six-season sci-fi epic includes some slow-burn episodes with unmatched foreshadowing and details that can only truly be appreciated on a rewatch. The progress of the alien technology and its influence is sometimes missed at times, but when viewers know what to look for, those details are often the best part of The Expanse, which is a masterpiece in sci-fi writing.
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