Apple TV’s Dark Matter: Everything Everywhere All At Once’s Perfect Replacement?
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Published Mar 7, 2026, 11:40 PM EST
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.
A 9-part Apple TV series fills the void left by an incredible Oscar-winning sci-fi movie that completely changed the genre forever.
Apple TV is also the home of a compelling multiverse drama, which immerses audiences in the bizarre depths of parallel worlds and alternate realities. The show is not as popular as some of the mainstream titles on Apple TV but serves as the perfect show for fans of a 4-year-old Oscar-winning movie.
Apple TV’s Dark Matter Is The Perfect Show For Fans Of Everything Everywhere All At Once
Credit: Everett Collection
Everything Everywhere All At Once, which won seven Academy Awards in 2023, has the absolute best portrayal of multiverses. The brilliance with which the movie balances the chaos of infinite realities with deeply personal family drama allows its multiverse concept to feel both wildly imaginative and emotionally grounded.
The film also does not shy away from being extremely fantastical and bizarre, approaching its sci-fi elements with a clever mix of childlike wonder and existential dread.
Considering how perfectly Everything Everywhere All At Once captured multiversal storytelling, it would be fair to say that no other sci-fi show or movie even comes close to matching its vision. However, when it comes to going to extreme lengths to portray the sheer scale and absurd possibilities of parallel realities, Apple TV's Dark Matter, too, embraces the concept with fearless creativity.
After having a relatively slow opening, the show gradually reveals its true ambition by featuring some of the most extreme parallel universes. While some of them are invaded by giant insects, others are nothing but desolate masses where humanity is on the brink of extinction. With one of its universes, the show even riffs on real-world fears surrounding world-ending pandemics.
While walking through these bleak parallel worlds, Dark Matter, like Everything Everywhere All At Once, ensures that it keeps its story grounded in relatable human drama. It introduces some heavy quantum physics concepts, but its story's core is primarily driven by man's relentless struggle to return to his family.
Similar to Everything Everywhere All At Once, Apple TV's Dark Matter, too, gets more and more kaleidoscopic with its storytelling. At the same time, though, it never allows its human themes surrounding loss and connection to dwindle.
While the show falls short of matching the genius of Everything Everywhere All At Once, it serves as the perfect replacement for those who are looking for something similar.
Dark Matter’s Multiverse Madness Will Be Even More Compelling In Season 2
Image via Apple TV+
Dark Matter has been renewed for season 2 on Apple TV. The show is based on a book by Blake Crouch, who also serves as its showrunner. This heavily benefits the series and allows it to closely adapt the original novel. Interestingly, Dark Matter season 1's ending aligns with that of the original novel. Owing to this, its season 2 will adopt a completely original storyline.
The Apple TV show's season 1's ending paves the way for season 2 to delve deeper into the overarching multiversal chaos. It also sets the stage for the next installment to focus on more characters instead of solely being driven by the male protagonist's narrative. These developments promise that Dark Matter will only get better in season 2 and potentially get closer to being as epic as Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Credit: Everett Collection
Image via Apple TV+
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