sci fi time travel series

The 32 Best TV Shows About Time Travel

Time traveling is a popular topic when it comes to all types of entertainment from books to films. But in recent years time travel has also become a popular theme in TV.

So let’s take a look at this list of the best time traveling TV shows and find out how each of them handles time travel and all the history that comes with it.

Doctor Who, BBC One (1963 – 1989, 2005 – present)

When it comes to time traveling and TV, probably the most notable name in this niche is Doctor Who  because this time travel series has been around for 39 seasons and is still going strong.

Hailing from British television channel BBC One, Doctor Who tells the tale of the Time Lord aka The Doctor, and his companions as they travel to different times and try to prevent evil forces from changing history and hurting innocent lives.

Once the Time Lord gets hurt beyond healing, he can transform into a new body and continue saving the world. Hence why at this point 13 (soon to be 14) different actors have played The Doctor.

Doctor Who is not only a huge part of the fabric of British popular culture but by now this time travel show has found its way into the hearts of many people all over the world.

It has inspired many spin-offs in the form of TV shows, comic books, movies, novels, you name it. But more than that, by now it has become an industry standard both when it comes to science-fiction television series and shows about time travel.

No wonder that Doctor Who continues to be successful after countless actor changes and plot twists.

Where to watch Doctor Who:

Timeless, nbc (2016 – 2018).

Another time travel TV series that has already become a cult classic and is adored by fans all over the world is NBC’s Timeless . And despite the turmoil that this show has gone through, it still is time traveling at its best.

Starring Malcolm Barrett, Matt Lanter, and Abigail Spencer as Rufus, Wyatt, and Lucy, Timeless  details the trio traveling to different times in an effort to stop their adversaries from rewriting history.

But as it later turns out, the conspiracy goes deeper than them just changing history. Since the people who our trio is chasing are traveling through time to take down a dangerous and all-powerful organization. The same one that helped build the time machine that Rufus, Wyatt, and Lucy are using.

And although Timeless went on for just two seasons (and a two-hour wrap-up movie), you should still check out the show because it’s not only entertaining but will make you think and want to know more about the events that each episode is exploring.

Where to watch Timeless:

Dc’s legends of tomorrow, the cw (2016 – present).

If you are a fan of superhero TV shows, then you will probably have heard about DC’s Legends of Tomorrow . It is a show that is a huge part of The CW’s Arrowverse. And has crossed over with shows like Arrow , The Flash , and Supergirl multiple times now.

And even if you don’t like the rest of the superhero series but do enjoy a good old time travel TV show, then I suggest you still give Legends of Tomorrow a watch.

The plot of this show is based around a team of superheroes that are traveling through time in their time machine christened the Waverider to prevent different catastrophes from happening. Both ones made by others and those created by the team’s previous adventures.

At the forefront, there are well-known DC heroes like Rip Hunter, Firestorm, The Atom, Kid Flash, Steel, and Vixen. Joined by some original characters like Caity Lotz’s White Canary among others.

One of the defining characteristics of Legends of Tomorrow is how fun it is. Because adjectives like unapologetic, witty, and entertaining are frequently used to describe this time travel series.

However, more than that, it adds an interesting layer to the whole Arrowverse universe. And above all, it is just a hoot to watch.

Where to watch Legends of Tomorrow:

12 monkeys, syfy (2015 – 2018).

Then there also is SyFy’s 12 Monkeys , which is a little darker take on time traveling. One that comes with mystery, drama, and apocalyptic stakes. But that doesn’t lessen how good this time travel TV series is.

Split between two timelines, 12 Monkeys centers on Aaron Stanford’s James Cole, who is tasked to travel back in time and stop the distribution of a virus that has the ability to end the human race as we know it.

In Cole’s real timeline, the year is 2043 and people are struggling to survive because of the terrible mutations caused by the virus. So Cole travels back to 2015 to find virologist Cassie Railly, played by Amanda Schull, that can help him stop the release of the virus and the organization that is behind it called The Army of the 12 Monkeys.

If you think about it, the post-apocalyptic setting and time travel really do go hand in hand. Because if you can go back in time to stop history from being changed, why not go back to change it if it prevents something terrible from happening?

And that is what this show explores. Beautifully combining elements of mystery, drama, and science fiction, to form a great TV show.

Where to watch 12 Monkeys:

Outlander, starz (2014 – present).

Want another show that mixes time travel with historical events and does it flawlessly? Then you should put Outlander on your must-watch TV show list!

The show starts in the 1940s when a combat nurse Claire Randall visits Inverness, Scotland as part of her second honeymoon with her husband Frank. Claire accidentally happens upon the standing stones at Craigh na Dun which transport her back in time to 1743.

To return to her own time she first has to survive 18th-century Scotland. And she does so by joining a group of rebel Highlanders from Clan MacKenzie and marrying one of the Highlanders, Jamie Fraser. But eventually, she falls in love with her new husband and aids the clan in evading British redcoats that are pursuing them.

Over the five seasons of Outlander that are currently out (with the sixth coming soon), we see Claire jump back and forth between the 20th and 18th centuries and her two families as she faces two pregnancies, wars, and much more. But eventually, Claire finds her way back to Jamie.

Where to watch Outlander:

Travelers, showcase (2016 – 2018).

Then we have Travelers , a joint venture between Netflix and Canada’s Showcase that will tick all of your time travel TV show boxes.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world , this show depicts the adventures of travelers – operatives who go back in time to prevent the collapse of society.

These travelers are transferred into the bodies of our current-day humans, who otherwise would die, to blend in with twenty-first-century people. And with the help of their artificial intelligence boss from the future, travelers carry out missions in order to stop many catastrophic events from happening.

Travelers is a great mix of sci-fi and drama, featuring a great cast and spine-tingling storylines. So if you love all that and love a good time-travel series, then look no further than Travelers .

Where to watch Travelers:

Dark, netflix (2017 – 2020).

Netflix’s first German original series was the science fiction series Dark , which mixes in some mystery drama with sci-fi: time travel, the apocalypse, wormholes, and parallel worlds.

Dark takes place in Winden, a fictional German town, and begins in 2019 after children begin to disappear from the town. As the show progresses, however, timelines jump drastically between as early as 1921 to as late as 2053.

As four families in Winden investigate the disappearances to reunite with their lost loved ones, they discover a wormhole beneath the local powerplant that allows them to travel between timelines, thus uncovering a generations-long conspiracy involving the town and their families.

Where to watch Dark:

The umbrella academy, netflix (2019 – present).

Netflix brings another to the list with The Umbrella Academy .

On October 1, 1989, 43 infants were suddenly born from unsuspecting women despite them not even being pregnant the day before.

7 of them were raised together as the Hargreeve siblings and trained in their respective abilities until their relationship became strained as teenagers and they drifted apart.

Now, as adults, they’re brought back together by the death of their adoptive father – and the threat of the end of the world, of course.

They’re forced to travel back in time but end up in different times and places, and must find each other again to stop the nuclear apocalypse.

Where to watch The Umbrella Academy:

Seven days, upn (1998 – 2001).

We know that the National Security Agency has its share of secrets, but what if one of those secrets was a time-traveling machine?

In UPN’s Seven Days , the plot centers on one such device made from alien technology found at Roswell.

The Chronosphere, as it’s called, can only be used in times when national security is at risk – the limited capacity of the device allows for just one human to go back in time by seven days in order to avert disasters.

Thus, when the White House is attacked, the NSA employs former Navy SEAL and CIA operative Frank Parker to go back and prevent it from happening.

Where to watch Seven Days:

Loki, disney+ (2021 – present).

Yes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the greatest gifts to the cinema of our time. Now, the MCU has expanded even further into the television medium and we’ve got a few series to accompany it!

One of those is Loki , which of course, centers on the God of Thunder’s mischievous adopted brother.

After the events in Avengers: Endgame , particularly his stealing of the Tesseract, Loki inadvertently creates another timeline that began in 2012, making him a “time variant” version of himself.

When confronted by the authorities, Loki is given two choices: face punishment and cease to exist, or travel through time to fix his own mess and the threat that has emerged.

Where to watch Loki:

Making history, fox (2017).

The thing about traveling back in time is, you have to be very careful that your actions in the past won’t affect the future (which is essentially your actual present).

Most of the time, that’s something you wouldn’t know until you go back to your time. In Making History , however, Dan Chambers travels back in time to right before the American Revolution and sets off a series of events that seriously mess up the future.

Being able to constantly travel between time periods, Dan recruits the help of history professor Chis Parrish to travel with him and ensure that the American Revolution still takes place.

Where to watch Making History:

Quantum leap, nbc (1989 – 1993).

The title of NBC’s sci-fi comedy-drama Quantum Leap is also the name of the time travel machine that accidentally sends its creator, physicist Dr. Sam Beckett, back into the past.

Now, he’s stuck – and not as himself, either!

Sam discovers that he jumped into the body of a stranger and because he’s still himself, doesn’t know all the details of his current identity.

With the help of his friend Al, who appears as a hologram only he can see, he must fix something that went wrong so he can jump in time again and eventually get back to his own body.

Where to watch Quantum Leap:

Quantum leap, nbc (2022 – present).

Speaking of Quantum Leap , in 2022 NBC revived the 1989 series into a more modern take on the cult classic.

In this new Quantum Leap , thirty years have passed since Dr. Sam Beckett vanished into the Quantum Leap accelerator, and the Quantum Leap project was put to rest.

Now the project is restarted with a new team, who tries to puzzle together the mysteries behind Beckett and his time-traveling machine.

So, we follow Ben Song, the lead physicist of the Quantum Leap time travel project, who gets lost in the past after leaping back in time.

As he tries to return to the present he is helped by his fiancée Addison Augustine, who appears to him as a hologram during each leap, and the team back in the present time.

Where to watch Quantum Leap reboot:

The way home, hallmark channel (2023 – present).

Among the newest time travel shows on this list is Hallmark’s The Way Home which has already been renewed for a second season.

The Way Home follows three generations of Landry women who learn that they can time travel after discovering a magic pond on their family’s farm in Port Haven.

When Kat and her daughter Alice return to Port Haven and are forced to move in with Alice’s estranged mother Del, the three women use time travel to uncover their family history, including what really happened to Kat’s little brother Jacob and whether they can prevent his disappearance.

Where to watch The Way Home:

Russian doll, netflix (2019 – 2022).

Netflix’s Russian Doll deviates from the traditional time travel theme of a willing traveler in one specific timeline because Russian Doll’s protagonist Nadia Vulvokov not only has absolutely no choice or control over her so-called time traveling, but hers is also a time loop.

She wakes up every day having to relive the day of her 36th birthday party in New York City; every time, she dies and comes back to the exact same moment.

Every time, Nadia scrambles to figure out what happens to her and tries to prevent her death, leading her to find Alan, a man who is experiencing the same time loop.

Where to watch Russian Doll:

Undone, prime video (2019 – present).

Undone may be an animated series, but it certainly isn’t geared toward younger audiences; though there is a touch of comedy, the series leans more towards the psychological drama genre and “explores the elastic nature of reality”.

The series follows Alma Winograd-Diaz right after she gets into a near-fatal car accident.

Right before the crash, she has a strange vision of her dead father, and right after it, she finds that she now has the ability to manipulate and move through time.

Using this newfound power, she travels between time periods to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding her father’s death.

Where to watch Undone:

Voyagers, nbc (1982 – 1983).

Premiering back in the early 1980s, NBC’s Voyagers! Is set in a world where time travel already exists.

In fact, there’s already a secret society in place that trains its members, called Voyagers, to go back in time and make sure that historical events happen exactly the way they’re supposed to – otherwise it could affect the present in unexpected ways.

One such Voyager is Phineas Bogg, although he isn’t exactly the best at the job.

During an accidental trip to 1982, he meets the young Jeffrey Jones and ends up bringing him along on one of his missions.

Having lost his Guidebook, Phineas now needs to rely on the extremely smart Jeffrey to get history right.

Where to watch Voyagers!:

Fringe, fox (2008 – 2013).

Fox’s Fringe is a series that was well into the science fiction genre, with parallel universes, supernatural abilities, biotechnology, doomsday predictions, and of course, time travel.

The title is taken from fringe science, which is a branch that deals with scientific theories riddled with skepticism or even having been disproven already.

In Fringe , Special Agent Olivia Dunham is assigned to oversee the FBI ’s Fringe Division, which is run by Peter Bishop and his father Walter.

Together, the team uses both fringe science and Olivia’s knowledge in investigative techniques to explore the unexplained.

In the process, they discover a larger mystery involving parallel universes and alternate timelines .

Where to watch Fringe:

Time after time, abc (2017).

ABC’s Time After Time is based on the novel of the same name written by Kevin Williamson in 1979.

In addition to that, each episode takes its title from a line in Cyndi Lauper’s song, which was inspired by the film (and subsequently, the same book!).

In Time After Time , we are taken to H.G. Wells’ home in 1893.

During a dinner party, he reveals his time machine – right before his guest John Stevenson is arrested for actually being Jack the Ripper .

John escapes through the time machine and Wells follows him straight into the present: 2017. Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game as John attempts to gain control of the machine.

Where to watch Time After Time:

11.22.63, hulu (2016).

When you have anything with Stephen King involved, you know it’s going to be great.

Hulu’s eight-episode miniseries 11.22.63 is based on King’s novel 11/22/63 and is a science fiction thriller like no other.

Starring James Franco in the lead role, 11.22.63 follows Jake Epping, an English teacher from Maine .

His best friend Al reveals a time travel machine and asks him to take over the mission he’s been working on: to travel to the 60s and prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Will Jake be successful in changing a past that simply refuses to be changed?

Where to watch 11.22.63:

The 4400, usa network/sky one (2004 – 2007).

The 4400 is yet another slightly different take on the idea of time travel, in that there has been just one (fairly significant) shift forward in time, to the present.

Beginning in 1946, individuals who were easily overlooked or marginalized by society slowly began disappearing through beams of green light.

Now, all 4400 of them (hence the title) have been returned to the present day – without having aged a day and in some cases, even manifesting supernatural abilities like telekinesis, healing, and telepathy.

Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris are assigned to investigate the phenomenon and find out why the 4400 have returned.

NOTE: For a fresher take on the show, you can also check out the reboot of the original series which is currently airing on The CW.

Where to watch The 4400:

Somewhere between, abc (2017).

When tragedy strikes our lives, we always wish there was something we could’ve done to prevent it.

In ABC’s Somewhere Between we meet Laura Price, a successful news producer with a great career, a loving husband who’s a district attorney, and a beautiful daughter named Serena.

However, her life changes when the serial killer she is helping the cops to catch kills Serena.

Distraught with grief , Laura attempts to complete suicide but is unsuccessful, instead waking up having time-traveled to a week before Serena’s death.

She teams up with Nico, a former SFPD detective who experienced the same reset and wants to find the real killer to change his brother’s fate as well.

Where to watch Somewhere Between:

Terra nova, fox (2011).

Terra Nova takes its viewers to both extremes of the time-traveling timeline.

The present-day is 2149, where overpopulation has threatened to deplete the Earth’s resources.

In an attempt to save Earth and mankind, scientists have found a way to travel back in time, sending groups of humans back to the Cretaceous Period to set up colonies.

Terra Nova focuses primarily on Elisabeth and Jim Shannon, and their three children, who have joined the 10th pilgrimage to Terra Nova.

They offer their expertise as a trauma surgeon and former narcotics detective and help those in charge with stopping those whose intentions go against the greater good.

Where to watch Terra Nova:

Frequency, the cw (2016 – 2017).

One concept in time travel is known as “the butterfly effect”, wherein one small change in time may have great effects elsewhere.

Frequency demonstrates this concept perfectly.

Raimy Sullivan is an NYPD detective who, after a strange weather phenomenon, discovers that she can communicate with her dead father through his old ham radio.

Believing he was a corrupt cop, she learns the truth and warns him of his murder, thus saving his life.

However, this has profound effects on the future – Raimy’s present.

Now, they must work together across time to save her father and preserve the present.

Where to watch Frequency:

Life on mars, bbc one (2006).

In many of the shows on the list so far, the protagonists experience a time loop that’s triggered at the point of their death.

It’s no different for Sam Tyler, the main character in the British series Life on Mars .

Sam is a Detective Chief Inspector with the Greater Manchester Police, but one day he accidentally gets hit by a car.

When he awakens, he’s in 1973 and working at one rank lower than he was: Detective Inspector.

The selling point of Life on Mars , however, is that we’re left unsure if Sam’s predicament is due to his actual death, a comatose, or time travel.

Where to watch Life on Mars:

Always a witch, netflix (2019 – 2020).

Always A Witch (or Siempre Bruja in its original Spanish title) is a Colombian series that is set in both present-day Colombia and the 17th century .

The series follows Carmen Eguiliuz, a young 19-year-old witch who, after committing the crime of falling in love with a white man in 1646 colonial Colombia, is scheduled to be burned at the stake.

She gets a chance to escape to a new life when the mysterious wizard Aldemar makes a deal with her: he will save the man she loves if she travels into the future to find the woman who can break his curse.

Where to watch Always a Witch:

Beforeigners, hbo (2019 – present).

HBO’s Beforeigners is a Norwegian sci-fi crime drama series and the first Norwegian original from HBO Europe.

The title is a clever play on words centered on the general plot: a group of “foreigners” has suddenly shown up at a neighborhood in Oslo, and they are all from “before” times, or several different time periods in history.

Whether from the Viking period , the Stone Age, or the more recent 19th century , each of these ‘Beforeigners’ tries to integrate in modern-day Norwegian society.

One of them even partners with a detective to investigate first a murdered Stone Age woman, then a series of murderers tied to Jack the Ripper.

Where to watch Beforeigners:

Alice, sbs tv (2020).

Alice was a South Korean sci-fi series that aired in late 2020.

In the lead-up to the main plot, the show’s background is explained to its viewers.

Set in 2050, time travel is monitored by an agency called Alice, which sends its clients to the past to help find closure with deceased loved ones.

Alice one day sends two agents to 1992 in order to find the Book of Prophecy, but one of them disappears with the book and her unborn child.

In 2020, the child becomes a detective and in his investigation into his mother’s death in 2010, discovers the existence of Alice and time travel.

Where to watch Alice:

Live up to your name, tvn (2017).

Yet another South Korean time travel series , Live Up to Your Name initially takes its viewers some 400 years into the past, right in the middle of the Joseon dynasty.

There we meet Heo Im, a doctor of traditional Korean medicine who also specializes in acupuncture.

On one of his treatments of the king’s migraines, he made a mistake and was charged with treason.

Chased by the king’s soldiers, he’s shot with an arrow and presumed dead when he falls into the river – except he ends up waking up in present-day Seoul instead, where he meets cardiothoracic surgeon Choi Yeon-kyung.

Where to watch Live Up to Your Name:

My only love song, netflix (2017).

Our third South Korean series is Netflix’s My Only Love Song , which aired in 2017.

We start off in modern-day Korea where we meet Soo-jung, a talented and top-level actress.

However, it seems that the fame may have gotten to her head as she’s arrogant, and believes fame and money make the world go round.

When things don’t go her way on her new show, she winds up in a time-traveling van that takes her to the 6th century.

There, she meets a man much like herself in terms of arrogance, but his hidden soft spot and generosity towards the poor changes her perspective on her own life and self.

Where to watch My Only Love Song:

Signal, tvn (2016).

Signal is based on the 2000 American film Frequency , but another thing that sets this South Korean series apart from others is that the cases investigated in the series are also based on real-life crimes in the country.

Signal follows a cold case profiler from 2015 and a detective from 1989 simultaneously; they discover they’re able to communicate with each other through an old walkie-talkie.

Using this unique ability to provide much-needed foresight in investigations, they team up to both solve and in some cases, even prevent these horrific crimes.

Where to watch Signal:

Rooftop prince, sbs (2012).

Last but not least, South Korea brings its last time-traveling series to the table with Rooftop Prince , a comedy-drama filled with intrigue, mixed identities, and possible reincarnations.

Crown Prince Lee Gak from the Joseon dynasty accidentally time travels to 2012 with three others from his entourage, and their lives are thrown into a whirlwind.

He crosses paths with Se-na, who looks exactly like his recently deceased wife.

In the hopes of getting answers about his wife’s mysterious drowning, he assumes the identity of another man who he also looks exactly like and attempts to marry Se-na in this timeline as well.

Where to watch Rooftop Prince:

11 comments.

Tomorrow people cw

You forgot The Time Tunnel, an Irwin Allen sci-fi show (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost In Space, Land of The Giants), all classic 60s sci-fi

Journeyman should also be on this list. It was only half a season on NBC but it wraps up to a satisfying conclusion.

Fantastic acting and interesting characters.

Glad someone else watched Journeyman. I thought I’d was a great spiritual successor to Quantum Leap.

Journeyman is one of the good shows u can watch but qunatum leap i watched and didnt like

Where is The Time Tunnel?????

Another show for your list is “Being Erica” (CBC, 2009-2011). Excellent writing, and very unique.

i was looking for this comment. such an underrated show

I concur. This was definitely a great one. It certainly provides a lot of food for thought.

Some of the information in the Doctor Who one is wrong. It started in 1963, it was only revived in 2005 (you put 2006), and it’s been going for 39 seasons, as of June 2022

Thanks for letting me know! I updated the article accordingly.

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The Best Time Travel Shows to Watch on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon, and More

We've all dreamed of living in another period

Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, Outlander

At this point, there's no shortage of shows that deal with time travel in some capacity. It's a popular subject, and for good reason! Now more than ever you might be looking for an escape from your daily life, or from this era altogether, and no one in their right mind could blame you for that. If you're of the belief that existing in one timeline is overrated, you've arrived at the right list.

Some of the shows here are action-packed dramas, while others take a more whimsical approach to history, but all of them are absolutely binge-worthy masterpieces. Whether you want to travel back hundreds of years or just a couple of decades, you'll find the perfect time travel show recommendation in the list below!

Looking for more recommendations of what to watch next?  We have a ton of them!  And if you're looking for more hand-picked recommendations based on shows you love,  we have those too .

Tom Hiddleston, Loki

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU for short) already know that Loki ( Tom Hiddleston ) is a master trickster. He is literally the god of mischief, and for years his role in these movies was relegated to villain, nuisance, and foil to his brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth), but with Loki , he races through time and space in a series that puts him at the forefront of his own story. The series is a crime thriller that follows an alternate version of Loki who stole the Tesseract in  Avengers: Endgame , an event that basically broke reality. And, as these things go, it's now his responsibility to fix what he started. He's recruited by  Owen Wilson 's Mobius M. Mobius at the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA) to travel through history and correct the timeline he messed up. The series is the closest thing to putting an actual comic book on screen, full of madcap twists and turns, and seemingly self-contained, without having to place so much emphasis on setting up for future MCU installments. - Allison Picurro   [Watch on  Disney+ ]

Jodie Whittaker, Doctor Who

This one is a gimme, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Doctor Who , and honestly, if you haven't watched this long-running British sci-fi series already, we're not sure you can even call yourself a fan of time travel. Doctor Who follows a centuries-old alien known as the Doctor who has the ability to regenerate and take on different faces (hence the "long-running" bit). The Doctor, currently portrayed by Jodie Whittaker , takes unsuspecting ladies (and a few dudes) on ridiculous trips through time and space. Yep, this one checks the space travel box too! If you do choose to watch Doctor Who though, be warned -- you will end up in a fight with someone on Tumblr about which Doctor is the best. It's unavoidable.  [Watch on   HBO Max ]

Eric McCormack, MacKenzie Porter, Nesta Cooper, Jared Abrahamson, and Reilly Dolman, Travelers

Netflix's   Travelers , initially a co-production with Canada's Showcase, doesn't get even half the recognition it deserves for constructing impossibly complex time travel mythology that is still understandable and engaging for its audience, so we're recognizing it by putting it on this list. In the series, squads of elite soldiers travel to the present from hundreds of years in the future in order to change history and save the human race. If that doesn't sound cool enough, let us just add that they do so by sending their consciousnesses into the bodies of people about to die and assuming their identities. So. Freaking. Cool.  [Watch on  Netflix ]

Aaron Stanford and Amanda Schull, 12 Monkeys

Based on the 1995 movie with the same name, 12 Monkeys follows a time traveler who travels from 2043 to 2015 to stop a deadly virus from wiping out most of the planet's population. However, what starts out as a simple mission to the past turns into a mind-boggling journey through some of the biggest historical events of the 20th century and a pretty epic love story. This series really digs into the rules of time travel like causation and paradoxes, so while it may give you one of the aforementioned headaches, it's seriously worth it.  [Watch on  Hulu ]

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Caity Lotz, Matt Ryan, Olivia Swan, Dominic Purcell and Nick Zano, DC Legends of Tomorrow 

In a sea of series that focus on saving the world with time travel, DC's Legends of Tomorrow easily could have gotten lost in the shuffle. Luckily, this CW series quickly established itself as one part nonsense, two parts pure fun, which set it apart from all the rest. If you're looking for a lighter series to help you while the days away, this one is definitely for you. The Legends team does end up saving the world quite a few times, but most of the time they just wind up turning themselves into singing puppets or fighting giant stuffed animals.  [Watch on  Netflix ]

If you're looking for something a little more romantic to binge-watch, Outlander is your ticket. This series follows Claire Beauchamp ( Caitriona Balfe ), an English WWII nurse who accidentally travels from 1945 back to 1743 while on a trip to Scotland with her husband ( Tobias Menzies ). Thrown into the past and desperate to get home, Claire finds herself embroiled in a Scottish uprising while slowly but surely falling in love with a ruggedly handsome redhead named Jamie Fraser ( Sam Heughan ).  [Watch on   Netflix ,  Starz ,  Hulu with Starz add-on ,  Amazon Prime with Starz add-on ]

Abigail Spencer, Malcolm Barrett, Matt Lanter; Timeless

Though Timeless was canceled twice , its devoted fanbase, known as Clockblockers, were so passionate that the NBC series ended up getting a two-hour series finale to wrap things up, so you won't have to worry about a cliffhanger ending. The show follows a history professor ( Abigail Spencer ), a soldier ( Matt Lanter ), and an engineer ( Malcolm Barrett ) who use a government-created time machine to track down a mysterious villain who is trying to rewrite American history. This series pairs the whimsy of DC's Legends of Tomorrow with the high stakes of 12 Monkeys , making it the perfect "middle of the road" option for time travel fans.  [Watch on  Hulu ]

Though it was canceled after just one season, we're still including Terra Nova on this list because DINOSAURS. Set in a dying world where overpopulation has humans on the brink of extinction, scientists have found a way to send people back in time to the Cretaceous Period where the air is breathable, food is plentiful, and the human race can start over. Unfortunately, it's also where dinosaurs are hungry for human flesh, so that's a problem. This show wasn't executed very well (hence its cancellation), but it's worth a watch anyway just to see hot people running away from raptors.  [Watch on  Amazon ]

Lost in Austen

Jemima Rooper, Elliot Cowan, Alex Kingston, Gemma Arterton, and Hugh Bonneville, Lost in Austen

When you're ready to take a break from all the action and adventure, Lost in Austen is a great time travel alternative. Rather than traveling through time per se, lead character Amanda Price ( Jemima Rooper ) travels into the world of her favorite novel, Pride & Prejudice . Caught up in the Georgian Era -- and the fictional lives of Mr. Darcy ( Elliot Cowan ) and the Bennet family -- Amanda unwittingly ends up as a character in the story she loves so dearly, and falling in love with Darcy herself.  [Watch on  BritBox ]

The critically acclaimed Netflix series  Dark  is not only a complicated time travel drama, it's also a German series, so get ready to turn those subtitles on! The series, which just wrapped up its third and final season, follows multiple generations of four interconnected families living in the German town of Winden (once you've finished the show, our family tree will help explain how everyone is connected ), which just so happens to be home to an underground tunnel and wormhole. Time travel and family drama make for an extremely complicated series (we don't recommend just having this one on in the background, folks), but once you get into it, you'll never look back.  [Watch on  Netflix ]

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From 'Timeless' to 'Quantum Leap': 9 adventurous time travel TV shows worth going back to watch

The time periods might get old, but these shows never do.

Get ready to travel back to 10,000 B.C., because the second half of  La Brea 's sophomore season is here. The first half of Season 2 ended with most of the main cast deciding to return to perhistoric times rather than stick around in the '80s, in the hopes that they might one day be able to return to their correct time period. And, we learned that the cause of all this time travel madness might lie in the future, in the year 2076.

The midseason premiere , which runs a full two hours and airs tonight, Jan. 31, on NBC at 9 p.m. Eastern, will only take place in the year 10,000 B.C., though, as will the rest of the season, according showrunner David Appelbaum . Even if this next string of episodes won't involve any actual time traveling, the occasion of the midseason premiere has us thinking about some of the best time travel TV shows around.

We aimed at time-travel shows that skew more toward letting us explore the past and (recent) present in new ways. So, not a lot of apocalypse action to be had here (though we definitely recommend you binge more apocalyptic/future-y fare like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 12 Monkeys , and Continuum , too!). Instead, we’re looking at shows with more of a time-travel adventure bent focused on the far-flung or recent past.

From the biggies to deep cuts, these are some great time machines to jump into and distract yourself from reality.

01 . Timeless

If you’re looking for a wild, fun time-travel adventure, look no further than the short-lived Timeless . The series was a modest hit on NBC, inspiring a fervent fanbase, but the love wasn’t enough to extend its run past two seasons (plus an extended special to wrap up the show’s dangling storylines).

The series followed a rag-tag team of heroes as they zipped through time to different periods, trying to avert changes to the timeline and stop a mysterious cabal out to twist time to its own ends. It visited some great periods, from the Alamo to the heart of the space race in the late 1960s. It was smart, fun, and had a ton of heart.

Plus, even though the run was cut short, it actually has a true ending — so no pesky cancellation cliffhangers here.

How to watch: Hulu

02 . Legends of Tomorrow

The CW’s weirdest and wildest superhero show is also one of the most ambitiously goofy time travel exploits ever attempted. The series follows a team of D-list heroes thrown together on a space ship as they fly through time to try and stop "anomalies" in the timeline (they also tackle monsters and evil escapees from Hell along the way, to boot).

The show is just silly enough to work, but features enough seriousness to really make those time travel stories resonate along the way. Even more fun, all that time travel is also infused with tons of nods to decades of DC Comics lore, so there’s something for everybody.

Meet young Obama one episode, then head back to the Wild West (with Jonah Hex!) the next.

How to watch: Netflix, The CW app

03 . Outlander

This is a time travel story that starts in the past then goes way further back, but it’s one heck of a lovely and compelling tale.

The show follows a young woman who is swept from the 1940s all the way back to the 1700s, where romance, intrigue, and fantasy all come into play. It’s a love story at its heart, while also a fascinating exploration of the differences in a life lived across the eras.

How to watch: Netflix, Starz

04 . Quantum Leap

The OG, baby. This beloved late-1980s, early-1990s sci-fi series follows a man out of time, bouncing from body to body as he tries to right wrongs across the time stream.

Starring Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, the show was smart, funny, and ahead of its time in a lot of ways. It also explored a ton of great periods in history, telling small-scale and world-shaking tales from the 1950s to the 1980s. With plenty of buzz about the reboot , it’s the perfect time to go back and enjoy those early adventures.

How to watch: Fridays on SYFY as part of SYFY Rewind.

05 . Making History

There’s a decent chance you missed this one the first go ‘round, and it’d be hard to blame you. The short-lived Fox comedy was burned off with little fanfare, having its initial 13-episode order chopped down to just nine before it was canceled.

But oh, what a fun nine episodes they were.

The show followed a slacker who figures out how to travel through time and does just that with his two pals. Think Doctor Who meets Bill & Ted , kinda? It also had a surprisingly rich pedigree, produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and starring Adam Pally, Leighton Meester, and Yassir Lester.

It was clever, hilarious, and really dug into the question of what you might really do with a time machine.

Watch it on : Amazon Prime (For Purchase)

06 . Doctor Who

The Doctor has been zipping around through history for longer than a lot of us have been alive and knows a thing or two about mucking around in the time stream.

Though the show often veers off into full-on sci-fi and fantasy, the time travel episodes are the meat and potatoes that make up the DNA of Doctor Who . The rotating regenerations of the Doctor have bounced everywhere from Pompeii to a trip back to hang out with Vincent van Gogh. Not to mention the fact that, if you’re looking for a very long binge, there are decades of Doctor Who going back to the early days, plus 12 seasons of the more modern run to keep you plenty busy.

Watch it on:  HBO Max

07 . Life On Mars (U.S.)

This one is based on a British series, but for our purposes, we’ll keep the focus on the U.S. version. The show starred Jason O’Mara as a present-day detective who wakes up in 1973 New York.

It’s a trippy, well-constructed cop and sci-fi series at its core, but more than that, it’s a compelling look at New York City in that much wilder era of the early 1970s. The vibe, the feel, the smell, even — it’s all there.

If you’re looking to disappear to the grittier, bell-bottomed world of NYC’s past, this should do the trick.

Watch it on: Amazon Prime (For Purchase)

08 . 11.22.63

This Stephen King-based miniseries was one of Hulu’s buzzy originals when it was still getting deeper into the original programming arena back around 2016. It follows a man, played by James Franco, who discovers the ability to travel back to the 1960s. So he takes on a mission to try and stop the assassination of JFK, forging a new life for himself in the 1960s in the hopes his efforts will make the world a better place. It also makes for an easy, concise binge, clocking in at eight episodes.

Watch it on: Hulu

09 . Journeyman

This short-lived 2007 series had all the makings of a sci-fi hit, except for the ratings. But despite its short run, the show was a smart, modern-day twist on the Quantum Leap formula.

It followed a newspaper reporter who suddenly starts jumping back in time, where he realizes he needs to help tweak the lives of those he meets for the better (sound familiar). But more than that, we get to see the impact these jumps make on his own life, as he reconnects with people from his past with the perspective and knowledge of his “future” life.

Sadly, it’s a bit hard to find on streaming, but well worth it if you can track it down.

Watch it on: Full series is available on DVD.

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• DC's Legends Of Tomorrow
• Quantum Leap
• Science Fiction
• Time Travel

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The 50+ Best Time Travel TV Shows, Ranked, Ranked

Are you ready to unravel the threads of time? This remarkable selection of the best time travel shows is filled with gripping narratives, memorable characters, and intriguing explorations of humanity's most complex enigma. These phenomenal series have not only captivated audiences but have also left an indelible mark on television history. Prepare to be taken on a thrilling ride through past, present, and future as these amazing tales challenge the limits of human imagination. 

The best time travel shows mesmerize viewers with their unique, thought-provoking explorations of temporal themes. With their gripping, groundbreaking, and original stories, these series immerse viewers in worlds where the rules of time are bent and broken. These exceptional shows have impacted the television industry at large, earning both pop culture prominence and critical acclaim for their unique takes on time-hopping adventures. 

Each offering in the best time travel TV shows selection offers a unique insight into the fascinating realm of temporal navigation. Embark on a mind-bending journey through different eras with Dark , where intricate storytelling keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. Delve into the heart-pounding mission to save humanity in 12 Monkeys , a show that blends compelling character arcs with stunning visuals and complex narrative. Experience the race against time in Timeless , a thrilling adventure filled with historical intrigue, unexpected twists, and powerful emotions. These remarkable shows are just a few of the outstanding lineup waiting to transport you through the ages. 

Time travel shows are popular and have had a profound impact on television culture because of the engaging narratives, dynamic characters, and thought-provoking themes. By providing riveting stories, unforgettable characters, and thought-provoking insights into the nature of time, these phenomenal series have solidified their places in the pantheon of the greatest time travel TV shows. So, sit back and prepare to lose track of time as audacious heroes take you on unforgettable voyages through the ages. 

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  For those who appreciate intricate storytelling, Dark is the perfect fit as it masterfully explores themes of time travel, human relationships, and existentialism. This German-language Netflix original gained immense popularity globally for its complexity and mind-bending narrative structure. Don't miss out on this modern sci-fi masterpiece that has been compared to Stranger Things  with a darker twist.

Is Dark Worth Your Time?

• # 163 of 302 on The Best TV Shows Of The Past 20 Years
• # 147 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Inspired by Terry Gilliam's cult classic film, Syfy's 12 Monkeys raises the stakes in science fiction television by expertly weaving together elements of time travel, suspense, and character-driven drama. The show boasts an incredibly talented cast led by Aaron Stanford and Amanda Schull, whose performances earned rave reviews from critics. Be prepared to be hooked on this intense yet thoughtfully crafted series that redefines the boundaries of traditional sci-fi storytelling.

Is 12 Monkeys Worth Your Time?

• # 91 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
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Quantum Leap

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Quantum Leap is a beloved sci-fi classic well known for its unique premise and episodic adventures filled with heart and humor. Scott Bakula stars as Dr. Sam Beckett, who leaps through time to inhabit various lives while solving problems and altering history for the better. An essential watch for any fan of vintage television or science fiction, don't miss out on this entertaining journey through time.

Is Quantum Leap Worth Your Time?

• Dig Deeper... All Episodes Of 'Quantum Leap' (1989), Ranked By Fans
• # 21 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Based on Diana Gabaldon's best-selling novels, Outlander captivates viewers with its lush historical backdrop combined with elements of fantasy and romance. Set primarily in 18th century Scotland, the show seamlessly melds genres to create a visually stunning and emotionally poignant experience for fans of both history and fantasy alike. Tune in for the passionate love story between Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), but stay for the epic tale that unfolds across centuries.

Is Outlander Worth Your Time?

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• # 18 of 108 on The Best Drama TV Shows Airing Now
• # 16 of 144 on The Best Of Premium Cable TV Series

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Drama meets adventure in Timeless as viewers follow a team of unlikely heroes tasked with chasing a dangerous fugitive through time. Tackling important historical events and figures, the show offers an enjoyable, educational, and thoughtfully presented fictional journey into America's past. Watch Timeless for its engaging pace, well-developed characters, and clever mix of history and science fiction.

Is Timeless Worth Your Time?

• # 68 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
• # 88 of 257 on The 195+ Best TV Shows With Female Leads
• # 253 of 642 on The 500+ Best Drama Shows

The Twilight Zone

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  With its timeless blend of horror, fantasy, and science fiction storytelling, The Twilight Zone remains one of television's most influential series ever created. From the mind of Rod Serling, this anthology program invites viewers to explore strange new worlds filled with eerie twists and social commentary still relevant today. Step into The Twilight Zone for a classic dose of unpredictable entertainment that defies convention.

Is The Twilight Zone Worth Your Time?

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• And Deeper... Longest Running Sci-Fi TV Shows
• # 4 of 202 on The TV Shows With The Best Writing

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  A refreshing take on the time travel genre, Travelers introduces viewers to a compelling story about operatives sent back in time to prevent humanity's dystopian future. With standout performances from Eric McCormack and Mackenzie Porter, this Canadian-produced series delivers thrilling suspense while exploring themes of sacrifice and responsibility. Stream Travelers for an intelligent sci-fi experience that will leave you questioning your own reality.

Is Travelers Worth Your Time?

• # 56 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
• # 340 of 641 on The 500+ Best Drama Shows
• # 4 of 20 on The Most Underrated Sci-Fi TV Shows Of The 2010s

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Adapted from Stephen King's mesmerizing novel by J.J Abrams' Bad Robot Productions, 11.22.63 stars James Franco as a high school teacher tasked with preventing JFK's assassination via time travel in this limited series event from Hulu Originals. This thrilling eight-part drama combines high-stakes intrigue with poignant character development for both fans of King's work or those new to time-travel mysteries.

Is 11.22.63 Worth Your Time?

• # 247 of 642 on The 500+ Best Drama Shows
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• # 210 of 449 on The 440+ Best Binge Worthy Shows Of All Time

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Featuring an ever-changing lineup of talented actors as the titular Doctor, this long-running British TV staple has captivated generations with its fantastical adventures through time and space. Doctor Who is beloved for its imaginative storytelling, eccentrically brilliant characters, and endearing camaraderie between the Doctor and their various companions—making it a must-watch institution in science fiction television history.

Is Doctor Who Worth Your Time?

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• # 3 of 252 on The 250+ Best BBC One Shows, Ranked
• # 36 of 302 on The Best TV Shows Of The Past 20 Years

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  This award-winning Canadian sci-fi series offers a fresh take on the time-travel genre by blending compelling crime drama with thought-provoking futuristic elements. Led by Rachel Nichols as a time-traveling cop from 2077, Continuum delves into themes of morality, power dynamics, and shifting allegiances—making it a must-watch for fans seeking intelligent science fiction grounded in human emotion.

Is Continuum Worth Your Time?

• # 76 of 144 on The Best Of Premium Cable TV Series
• # 76 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
• # 126 of 148 on Shows With The Best Freakin' Series Finales Of All Time

Paper Girls

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Based on the acclaimed graphic novel series by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, Amazon Prime's Paper Girls follows a group of young girls in the 1980s who become entangled in a time-traveling war that spans across multiple eras. Fans can look forward to a thrilling adventure infused with nostalgic charm, heartfelt friendships, and thought-provoking themes about growing up amid extraordinary circumstances.

Is Paper Girls Worth Your Time?

• # 192 of 673 on The 600+ Best TV Shows Of The Last 5 Years
• # 997 of 1,042 on The 250+ Best Streaming Shows Of The Last Few Years
• # 84 of 304 on The Best Shows Canceled After a Single Season

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  A captivating medical drama wrapped in mystery, Bodies focuses on two doctors working in different eras who find themselves linked through their patients' inexplicable illnesses. With thoughtfully constructed storylines that focus on ethics within the medical profession and a riveting look at how past actions can impact present realities, Bodies offers an intense viewing experience well worth diving into.

Is Bodies Worth Your Time?

• # 88 of 673 on The 600+ Best TV Shows Of The Last 5 Years
• # 139 of 646 on The 500+ Best Current Shows On Netflix
• # 101 of 109 on The Best British Detective Series

Russian Doll

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Nominated for nine Emmy Awards including Outstanding Comedy Series, Russian Doll is an inventive blend of dark comedy and existential exploration set within a seemingly endless time loop premise. Starring Natasha Lyonne as Nadia Vulvokov, this critically acclaimed Netflix original showcases sharp writing, brilliant performances, and unexpected twists that will keep audiences guessing until the very end.

Is Russian Doll Worth Your Time?

• # 38 of 673 on The 600+ Best TV Shows Of The Last 5 Years
• # 14 of 646 on The 500+ Best Current Shows On Netflix
• # 22 of 1,042 on The 250+ Best Streaming Shows Of The Last Few Years

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Based on the 2000 film of the same name, Frequency follows NYPD detective Raimy Sullivan as she discovers an old ham radio that allows her to communicate with her deceased father in the past. This CW series digs deep into themes of family, redemption, and fate while providing viewers with a thrilling mystery and gripping emotional drama. Watch Frequency to explore the unbreakable bond between parent and child across both time and space.

Is Frequency Worth Your Time?

• # 183 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
• # 23 of 304 on The Best Shows Canceled After a Single Season
• # 131 of 149 on The 140+ Best Romantic Teenage Series

The Umbrella Academy

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Superheroes meet family dysfunction in Netflix's adaptation of Gerard Way's comic book series The Umbrella Academy —an enthralling mix of dark humor, action-packed sequences, and heartfelt character development set against a backdrop of impending apocalypse scenarios involving time travel elements. With a stellar ensemble cast led by Ellen Page and Robert Sheehan, this series stands out as an engaging alternative to traditional superhero fare.

Is The Umbrella Academy Worth Your Time?

• Dig Deeper... Wardrobe Secrets From Behind The Scenes Of ‘The Umbrella Academy’
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• # 7 of 673 on The 600+ Best TV Shows Of The Last 5 Years

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  From the creators of The Simpsons comes Futurama —an animated sci-fi/comedy series that has amassed a dedicated fanbase since its debut in 1999. Set in the year 3000, this hilarious show explores themes like fate versus free will while delivering biting social commentary and unpredictable storylines befitting any fan of adult animation or science fiction.

Is Futurama Worth Your Time?

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Legends of Tomorrow

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  For viewers craving an action-packed adventure filled with superheroes and time travel shenanigans, look no further than DC's Legends of Tomorrow . This CW spin-off showcases fan-favorite characters from Arrow and The Flash as they embark on missions throughout history while grappling with their own personal demons along the way. Watch Legends of Tomorrow for its delightful blend of comedy, drama, and high-flying heroics.

Is Legends of Tomorrow Worth Your Time?

• Dig Deeper... The Best Characters On 'Legends of Tomorrow'
• # 234 of 302 on The Best TV Shows Of The Past 20 Years
• # 114 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Lost remains one of the most influential television series in recent history thanks to its groundbreaking storytelling techniques, complex character development, and thrilling suspense. The show delves into themes of survival, morality, and the nature of human connection through a multi-layered narrative that keeps fans guessing from episode to episode—a must-watch for anyone seeking thoughtful entertainment with a touch of mystery.

Is Lost Worth Your Time?

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• # 37 of 302 on The Best TV Shows Of The Past 20 Years

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Undone is an Amazon Prime original set apart by its unique rotoscope animation style and compelling exploration of mental illness within the framework of time travel-based storylines. Featuring Rosa Salazar's captivating performance as Alma Winograd-Diaz alongside Bob Odenkirk (star from Breaking Bad ), fans can expect thought-provoking content grounded in raw emotion with visually stunning visuals sure to draw them in.

Is Undone Worth Your Time?

• # 329 of 409 on The Best TV Shows Returning In 2022
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Watch This Show If You Love :  Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Prepare for an awe-inspiring journey through time as Quantum Leap masterfully combines science fiction, drama, and adventure while addressing thought-provoking social issues. The series has been widely praised for its innovative concept, strong performances, and compelling storylines. Embrace the opportunity to watch this influential show that pushes the boundaries of television entertainment in today's era.

• # 284 of 673 on The 600+ Best TV Shows Of The Last 5 Years
• # 31 of 38 on The 25+ Best Current Sci-Fi Shows
• # 176 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  A sinkhole appears in Los Angeles, swallowing up numerous individuals who then find themselves transported back millions of years into a prehistoric world unknown to modern humanity. La Brea offers a thrilling mix of survival drama, action, and science fiction elements while delving into themes such as family bonds and human resilience—an ideal watch for those seeking high-stakes adventure with heart.

Is La Brea Worth Your Time?

• # 640 of 641 on The 500+ Best Drama Shows
• # 8 of 17 on The Best New Shows About Time Travel
• # 37 of 64 on The Best NBC Dramas of All Time

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  This NBC mystery-drama explores themes such as destiny and interconnectedness when passengers aboard Montego Air Flight 828 return home after a seemingly routine flight only to find that five years have passed. Manifest's intriguing premise, coupled with strong performances from Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh, will keep viewers invested in the characters' journeys of self-discovery and unraveling the truth behind their miraculous return.

Is Manifest Worth Your Time?

• # 165 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
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• # 285 of 449 on The 440+ Best Binge Worthy Shows Of All Time

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Picking up where the second film left off, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles expands upon the rich mythology established in James Cameron's iconic film franchise—offering fans a deep dive into the lives of Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and her son John (Thomas Dekker) while introducing new characters alongside familiar faces from previous installments. Watch this gripping series for its well-executed blend of action-packed sequences and emotional character development that does justice to its cinematic predecessors.

Is Terminator: The Sarah ... Worth Your Time?

• # 198 of 302 on The Best TV Shows Of The Past 20 Years
• # 51 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
• # 266 of 642 on The 500+ Best Drama Shows

The Outer Limits

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Often compared to The Twilight Zone for its anthology format and genre-defying narrative style, The Outer Limits explores themes like fear, identity, and what it means to be human through chilling tales that transcend space and time. Originally airing in 1963 before being revived in 1995, this cult classic continues to captivate fans with its unnerving storylines and unforgettable twists.

Is The Outer Limits Worth Your Time?

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• # 57 of 279 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
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Time Tunnel

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  This classic 1960s sci-fi series takes viewers on a spellbinding journey through time as two scientists become trapped within their experimental time-travel device known as "The Time Tunnel." With its combination of fascinating historical settings and adventurous storylines, this show is an essential watch for fans of vintage television or those interested in exploring early explorations of time travel onscreen.

Is Time Tunnel Worth Your Time?

Being Erica

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  With a unique blend of humor, drama, and time-traveling therapy sessions, Being Erica offers an entertaining yet introspective look at the life of Erica Strange (Erin Karpluk) as she revisits her past while grappling with the challenges of her present. The series skillfully tackles themes like personal growth, regret, and self-discovery—making it a must-watch for fans seeking relatable characters and thought-provoking stories.

Is Being Erica Worth Your Time?

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Following the fan-favorite character's unexpected escape in Avengers: Endgame , Marvel's Loki delves into the God of Mischief's adventures through time and space under the watchful eye of the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA). Starring Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson alongside a strong supporting cast, this Disney+ original series does not disappoint with its clever writing, stunning visuals, and expert blend of humor and intrigue.

Is Loki Worth Your Time?

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• # 8 of 673 on The 600+ Best TV Shows Of The Last 5 Years

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  This action-packed sci-fi comedy from Hulu follows the misadventures of Josh Futturman (Josh Hutcherson), an ordinary janitor enlisted by two warriors from 2162 to save humanity from extinction. With its winning combination of slapstick humor, thrilling action sequences, and compelling character development, Future Man is a can't-miss series for fans who crave lighthearted fun with a futuristic twist.

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Land of the Lost

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  A staple of Saturday morning television in the 1970s, Land of the Lost chronicles a family's journey through time to a prehistoric world inhabited by dinosaurs and other dangers unknown to modern civilization. This iconic children's show offers viewers nostalgic escapism combined with imaginative storytelling that has inspired generations since its debut over four decades ago.

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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Terra Nova transports viewers back in time to "prehistoric" Earth where humanity's last hope for survival lies within a groundbreaking new colony. This ambitious Fox series explores themes like environmentalism and family dynamics while delivering visually stunning visuals and suspenseful storytelling that will captivate both science fiction enthusiasts and casual viewers alike.

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An unlikely trio travels through time to battle unknown criminals and protect history as we know it. An unlikely trio travels through time to battle unknown criminals and protect history as we know it. An unlikely trio travels through time to battle unknown criminals and protect history as we know it.

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• Abigail Spencer
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• Trivia The date in time that the team will travel to during each episode is displayed in the numbers on the Flip Clock in the opening credits where the word TIMELESS eventually appears.
• Goofs As is the case with many fictional depictions of historians, Lucy is treated as if she had encyclopedic knowledge of huge swaths of history. In reality, Lucy would have very deep knowledge about her specific subject area, but only moderate levels of knowledge about other times and places, particularly of things which were far away, geographically, temporally, or thematically, from her area of concentration.
• Connections Featured in History Buffs: Timeline (2017)

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The 25 Best Time Travel TV Shows, From ‘Doctor Who’ to ‘Timeless’

There are a few reasons we’re obsessed with time travel TV shows. For one, the high-stakes adventures promise plenty of mystery and thrills. And better yet, they span across a variety of genres, from historical dramas and comedies to mystery thrillers.

So, for our next binge-watching session, we're living vicariously through our favorite characters as they journey through time, whether they're exploring a major period in history or visiting a futuristic society. From Doctor Who to Timeless, keep reading for the best time travel TV shows you can stream right now.

The 20 Best Time Travel Movies to Stream Right Now (That Aren’t ‘Back to the Future’)

1. Dc’s Legends Of Tomorrow

• Rating: TV-14
• Who’s in it: Victor Garber, Brandon Routh, Arthur Darvill. Caity Lotz, Franz Drameh

Set in the Arrowverse, this superhero series includes several familiar DC characters, like White Canary, Captain Cold, Firestorm and Vixen. But fortunately, you don’t have to be well-versed on all things DC comics to enjoy this one. The CW series documents the adventures of a diverse team of superheroes as they travel through time to prevent disasters. And naturally, there’s no shortage of epic combat scenes.

2. Doctor Who

• Rating: TV-PG
• Who’s in it: Jodie Whittaker, Peter Capaldi, Matt Smith, David Tennant

Given that Doctor Who has become synonymous with time travel, it would be a crime to not include this classic. Over the span of 13 seasons, the show offered several versions of the Time Lord as they step into the infamous TARDIS and get swept through time. Seeing these heroes fight to save humanity and protect history just never gets old.

3. Timeless

• Who’s in it: Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett

An unlikely team travels through time to stop the criminal mastermind, who stole an experimental time machine. And as they pursue him, they learn that he plans to change the course of history. Though it's not 100 percent perfect in terms of historical accuracy, it delivers plenty of action and thought-provoking themes.

4. Outlander

• Rating: TV-MA
• Who’s in it: Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton

Set during World War II, Outlander tells the story of a married army nurse named Claire, who time travels to the year 1743 while in Scotland and starts a passionate relationship with a Highlander. Steamy intimate scenes, feminist themes and breathtaking scenery are just a few things you can expect from this beloved period drama.

5. Manifest

• Who’s in it: Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J. R. Ramirez

Can you imagine hopping on a plane and landing five and a half years in the future? That’s exactly what happens to the passengers of a turbulent flight in this gripping supernatural drama. When they all return, they discover that their plane went missing and mysteriously returned years later. But what really happened? (You’ll have to wait until season 4 to get that answer, but until then, enjoy the first three seasons on Netflix.)

6. Beforeigners

• Who’s in it: Krista Kosonen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Stig R. Amdam

HBO Nordic's first-ever original series follows a group of people from different time periods, who mysteriously land in 21st-century Norway. Dubbed the "beforeigners," these migrants attempt to blend in with the modern-day world—although it proves to be more challenging for some than others.

• Who’s in it: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Lance Reddick

A cross between The X-Files and The Twilight Zone , Fringe follows the FBI's Fringe Division, where the team uses fringe science (a branch that explores the most bizarre or far-fetched theories) to investigate a series of mysterious cases—some of which are connected to alternate timelines. Fun fact: The show spawned three novels and a comic book series.

8. Quantum Leap

• Who’s in it: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Deborah Pratt

Bakula plays the iconic Dr. Sam Beckett in this five-time Emmy Award-winning series, and his random adventures will give you major Doctor Who vibes. Join the physicist as he “leaps” through time to fix historical errors.

9. My Only Love Song

• Who’s in it: Lee Jong-hyun, Gong Seung-yeon, Lee Jae-jin

Soo-jung (Seung-yeon), a self-obsessed movie star, accidentally time travels to 6th-century Gogurye after falling into a portal. There, she meets the handsome On-dal (Jong-hyun), a guy who appears to be just as obsessed with his wealth as she is. But his generosity towards people in need forces her to reconsider her own values.

• Who’s in it: Yuki Furukawa, Mio Yuki, Jin Shirasu

Based on Kei Sanbe’s Japanese manga series of the same title, Erased revolves around a man named Satoru Fujinuma, who has the ability to go back in time and stop life-threatening events right before they happen. But when his mother gets murdered, he’s sent back nearly two decades, giving him the opportunity to save even more lives.

• Who’s in it: Tom Hiddleston, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Eugene Cordero

Loki picks up right where Avengers: Endgame left off, with the God of Mischief accidentally creating a new timeline as a result of stealing the Tesseract. And now, the authorities present him with two options: to either accept his punishment or to travel back in time to correct his mistakes. Almost any Marvel fan will agree that this series is full of charm and a welcome change from the pacing and tone of the Marvel films.

12. Terra Nova

• Who’s in it: Jason O'Mara, Shelley Conn, Christine Adams, Allison Miller

Humanity gets a major do-over in this fascinating series, and there’s more than enough compelling themes to keep you invested (like Utopias gone terribly wrong). Terra Nova follows the Shannon family as they flee from a dying Earth in 2149 and travel to prehistoric Earth, where they join a colony of people known as Terra Nova and attempt to rebuild a civilization.

13. 11.22.63

• Who’s in it: James Franco, Sarah Gadon, Cherry Jones

Inspired by Stephen King’s novel 11/22/63 , the show details one time traveler’s efforts to go back in time and stop the assassination of former president John F. Kennedy. But when he goes to the year 1960, he builds a new life that could threaten the success of his mission. It’s worth noting that James Franco gives an unforgettable performance as Jake Epping/George Amberson.

14. Making History

• Who’s in it: Adam Pally, Leighton Meester and Yassir Lester.

Pally, Meester and Lester star as three friends from different time periods, who take full advantage of their ability to time travel—until they realize the ramifications of their adventures. The show is humorous and silly in the best possible way.

15. Somewhere Between

• Who’s in it: Paula Patton, Devon Sawa, JR Bourne

Laura Price (Patton) has it all: a successful career, a loving husband and a delightful young daughter. But when a serial killer murders her child, she falls into depression and attempts suicide. After the incident, Laura is stunned to find that she time traveled to the week before her daughter’s death. Can she save her daughter?

16. Umbrella Academy

• Who’s in it: Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman

The Haragreeves have become our favorite dysfunctional family, and for good reason. In this Netflix series, the seven adopted superhero siblings team up to investigate their father’s death and save the world from an apocalypse. But when they try to travel back in time, they end up in different periods, which only complicates things.

• Who’s in it: Natasha Lyonne, Charlie Barnett, Greta Lee

Amy Poehler teamed up with Natasha Lyonne ( Orange Is the New Black ) and Leslye Headland ( Bachelorette ) to create this critically acclaimed comedy drama. The series follows a game developer named Nadia (Lyonne), who finds herself trapped in a time loop after she dies at a party. As she tries to escape this trap, however, she discovers that she isn’t the only one. Yes, it sounds a bit like a modernized version of Groundhog Day , but trust us, it’s unpredictable and incredibly refreshing.

18. Travelers

• Who’s in it: Eric McCormack, Mackenzie Porter, Jared Abrahamson

A surviving group of humans, who live centuries in the future, have figured out how to send their consciousness back in time. Known as “Travelers,” they all go back to the 21st-century and assume the identities of random people with one mission in mind: to save the future of humanity.

19. Continuum

• Who’s in it: Rachel Nichols, Victor Webster, Erik Knudsen

The year is 2077, and the U.S. has officially become a corporatocracy. But three criminals, known as Liber8, are determined to go back in time and change the course of history by stopping corporations from replacing the government. As they time travel to the year 2012, a police officer joins them and does everything in her power to stop their violent plans—all while hiding that she’s from the future.

20. 12 Monkeys

• Who’s in it: Aaron Stanford, Amanda Schull, Barbara Sukowa

Follow the exploits of scavenger James Cole (Aaron Stanford) as he time travels from 2043 to the year 2015 to stop a deadly virus from wiping out most of the human race. Expect plenty of twists and complex themes that’ll spark interesting convos, from corporate greed to the downsides of technological progress.

21. The Ministry Of Time

• Who’s in it: Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Juan Gea, Francesca Piñón

Welcome to The Ministry of Time, a top-secret Spanish organization that’s responsible for guarding the doors of time and reporting all time travel incidents to the Prime Minister. The series focuses on the Ministry’s patrol as they carry out their assignments, and while there’s no shortage of thrills, the show also does a phenomenal job of weaving in bits of Spain's history.

• Who’s in it: Louis Hofmann, Julika Jenkins, Andreas Pietschmann, Maja Schöne

Set in the fictional German town of Winden, Dark centers on four families who are connected to the mysterious disappearance of two children. Aside from exploring their relationships, the show takes viewers on a wild journey that involves a major time travel conspiracy—one that spans multiple generations.

23. Always A Witch

• Who’s in it: Angely Gaviria, Sofia Bernal Araujo, Dylan Fuentes, Valeria Henríquez

The Colombian series follows Carmen, a 19-year-old 17th-century witch who gets sentenced to death for falling in love with her master's son. However, she escapes her fate by time-traveling to modern day Cartagena as part of a deal with a wizard. Her task? To help him break his curse.

24. Voyagers!

• Rating: TV-G
• Who’s in it: Jon-Erik Hexum, Meeno Peluce, David Cadiente

Phineas Bogg (Jon-Erik Hexum) and his partner in crime, Jeffrey Jones (Meeno Peluce), are members of a secret group known as the Voyagers, who are tasked with making sure that history doesn’t change. The feel-good cult classic only lasted for one season, but all 20 episodes are simply delightful and worth the watch.

• Who’s in it: Rosa Salazar, Angelique Cabral, Constance Marie

This animated drama revolves around a young woman named Alma (Rosa Salazar), who, per the official logline , explores "the elastic nature of reality" after surviving a dangerous car accident. She then uses her newfound ability to investigate her father's death. (Psst, look out for the second season, which premieres on April 29 on Amazon Prime.)

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Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

7 Must-Watch Time-Travel TV Shows

For your next TV binge, go back to the future.

Time travel is the gimmick that never gets old. Human beings love the idea of visiting the past, exploring the future, and discovering a new present. Any media with time travel in it lets us dream a little dream about what could be. The new Disney+ spin-off Loki revisits this theme, but the show has not leaned into the time travel aspect as much as initially expected.

In the run-up to the show, most of us anticipated weekly time-traveling escapades, much like Avengers: Endgame , the film that spawned the show. So, if you’re a bit underwhelmed by the lack of time travel on Loki and you’re looking for shows where it’s more than just a backdrop, here are seven shows with time-traveling antics that cannot be missed.

RELATED: So You're Loving 'Loki.' Makes Sense! What Should You Watch — And Play — Next?

The 1995 film 12 Monkeys was critically praised and is still considered a science-fiction marvel today, so a television remake was an unexpected choice. But, in 2015, Syfy released the series remake, and while the show didn’t draw in unanimous praise like its predecessor, 12 Monkeys is compelling from start to finish. James Cole ( Aaron Stanford ) is a time traveler sent into the past by Katarina Jones ( Barbara Sukowa ) to find Dr. Cassandra Railly ( Amanda Schull ) who can possibly stop a future plague being unleashed. They form an unlikely alliance as they are hunted by a mysterious group called the Army of the 12 Monkeys. Along the way, the pair make friends and enemies who will help and hinder their mission. Much of the show’s success rides on the spectacular characters, especially Emily Hampshire ’s Jennifer Goines. They are so well-rounded that you really feel like you know these people. Even the villains are nuanced. The character interactions are also another selling feature of this series. Each season pulls you in with intrigue, betrayal, and plot twists, all while the characters “splinter” to different time periods seeking answers and the end to the deadly virus that will eviscerate humanity. There are surprising moments of subversion in this show, which make it that much more fun to watch. This series could be the cathartic viewing you need during an actual pandemic.

Continuum follows Kiera Cameron ( Rachel Nichols ), a police officer from the future who finds herself stranded in the present. When she connects with a teenage genius, the two strike up an unlikely partnership that will help them stop ruthless killers who have travelled to the past from the future. Continuum could easily have fallen into the police-procedural tropes we've seen a million times. But the futuristic angle and a complex set of characters and relationships made this show memorable. As a protagonist, Kiera is compelling. She's great at her job, but also a person out of her time. She's simultaneously solving cases while unable to do the one thing she most wants—to return to her time and her life. Alec ( Erik Knudsen ), Kiera’s trusty tech partner, has surprising story arcs as the series evolves. Kiera's fellow detective, Carlos Fonnegra ( Victor Webster ), is far more layered than one expects. At once pleased to have a competent associate like Kiera, Carlos goes through bouts of suspicion when Kiera proves too good to be true. The villains are just as compelling in this show, able to thwart Kiera's efforts while having stories of their own. Featuring a who’s-who of Canadian actors, Continuum is one of the rare shows to be filmed and set in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which made it quite the hit for Canadian audiences.

If you’re looking for a mind-bending, jaw-dropping show, Netflix’s Dark is for you. This critically acclaimed German production is science-fiction and horror all rolled into one. The show is set in the small town of Winden and follows several sets of families, all of whom are interlinked in some way. The events of the show begin when a seemingly happy husband and father suddenly kills himself. His son Jonas Kahnwald ( Louis Hofmann ) is then sucked into a wormhole and travels to different times – and later, alternate timelines – where he discovers the truth about his town and his personal history. Dark is compelling television. You will never be able to guess what will happen next. This is edge-of-your-seat entertainment, and definitely one of the best original series to come out of Netflix. The casting on this show is outstanding – the story takes place over multiple generations and some of the actors chosen to play the younger and older versions of the characters are so perfect, it’s impossible to believe they’re not related in real life. The characters, once again, are the show’s greatest asset. Some you’ll want to protect, others you’ll hate on sight. The show concluded after three seasons, so you can marathon the whole thing without having to suffer through any cliffhangers.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow

A group of heroes are brought together by a mysterious figure claiming that they are ‘"legends" who must protect the timeline. That’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow , a spin-off from several CWVerse shows. Unlike the other CWVerse series, this show isn’t directly based on a comic book series, but includes several comic book characters as part of the team. The show took some time to get its footing – the first season was inconsistent and by the end, several of the main cast members left the show. But since then, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has found its stride. The show is comfortable being quirky and campy, with a group of characters who are irreverent but loyal. They are quintessential heroes – in other words, they’re complete disasters who mess up every mission they go on but find a way to fix it in the end. The series is beloved for its diverse casting (which has become better with every season), queer storylines, and the adorable central romance between co-captains Sara Lance ( Caity Lotz ) and Ava Sharpe ( Jess Macallan ). Oh, and there’s a lot of time traveling. The team travels through time in almost every episode, and they need to dress the part if they’re going off-ship. The Legends know how to look good while they fight baddies, be they humans, deities, or even aliens.

We couldn’t possibly leave out Doctor Who from our recommendations - what would this list of time travel shows be without a Time Lord? The show initially ran from 1963-1989 before it was resurrected in 2005 (a failed revival film notwithstanding). Many new Whovians may struggle with the older series – they’re dated and the sensibilities are regressive. The new Doctor Who series, on the other hand, is campy fun. The titular Doctor is a Time Lord who travels through time and space with various companions in his ship, the TARDIS. The show is family-friendly fare with aliens that are sometimes silly and sometimes scary. But none of them is a match for the Doctor and their companions. Every so often the Doctor regenerates with a new face and personality, which has allowed 13 different actors to play the character, including Tom Baker , Sylvester McCoy , Christopher Eccleston , David Tennant , Matt Smith , Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker , the most recent Doctor and the first woman to play the role. Whittaker’s Doctor has had the most diverse cast of companions and her storylines have been more political in nature, drawing in newer fans. The show has also hinted at shaking up Whovian lore, which has already provoked some amount of controversy. Everyone has a favorite Doctor; are you ready to watch all the seasons to find yours?

Erased is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kei Sanbe . The series was adapted into a live-action show by Netflix, with an anime adaption also available on Netflix. So, this is a two-in-one entry. Erased is the story of Satoru Fujinuma, who has the ability to travel into his past. When faced with imminent tragedy, Satoru must return to his childhood and prevent the murder and kidnappings of his schoolmates. Both the anime and the live-action shows are enthralling viewing. The characters are just regular people desperate to fix the wrongs in their life, which is what makes them so compelling to watch. Noriko Eguchi , who plays the mother in the live-action show, is brilliant in the role. The central murder mystery will keep you on edge – especially the storyline set in the past, because the characters are all children trying to keep each other safe. The Japanese setting is a refreshing change from most other shows, as well. Because the series is character-driven, you feel like you’re getting a taste of what living with these people would be like. The show also showcases Japanese cuisine that isn’t just sushi, which is great to see. The series could easily have been adapted for more seasons, but the showrunners stuck to the story of the original manga and wrapped up the arc in one season.

Timeless lasted less than 30 episodes, but it’s a beloved show among science-fiction fans. The show was initially canceled after its pilot season before being renewed when co-creators/co-showrunners Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan successfully pitched a more family-oriented story to Sony Pictures Television. When it was given the boot again after the second season, fan campaigns earned the show a two-part finale that wrapped up the story. When you watch Timeless , you’ll understand the love – the show doesn’t take itself too seriously, though the characters face high stakes. In the show, a mysterious organization steals an experimental time travel device for nefarious purposes. A history professor ( Abigail Spencer) , a soldier ( Matt Lanter) , and an engineer ( Malcolm Barrett) are tasked with locating the culprit and preventing irreversible damage to the timeline. The charismatic cast, led by Spencer, Lanter, Barrett, and Goran Višnjić , will captivate you as the show visits some of the most epic moments in American history. The main trio of heroes are ably supported by a supporting cast of recognizable faces. Despite being about time travel, the story feels personal at times, especially since the main three character’s personal lives are occasionally threatened in the show. This is time travel with so much more, making it a must-watch.

KEEP READING: The 15 Best Time-Travel Movies Ever Made, Ranked

15 Time Travel TV shows: past, present and future

Time travel has been a television mainstay for at least fifty years and has, appropriately enough, gone through the decades (sometimes) growing more sophisticated along the way. There have been at least fifty such shows, but Empire has distilled them to a sampling of fifteen that span from 1963 ( Doctor Who ) to 2017 ( Time After Time ).

1963-1989, 2005-08, 2010-15, Specials Airing between 2005 and 2016

If you’re thinking of traveling through time, best utilize a TARDIS, the safest way to move through the ages, and certainly a lot more reliable than, say, a souped-up DeLorean. After all, the Doctor and his various companions have been using it for over half a century, much to the delight of generations of viewers. And part of the genius of the show is the fact that the Doctor can regenerate, so when an actor decides he wants to move on (or even if he demands too much of a raise), it’s easy enough to explain why someone else is playing the role. Doctor Who remains the longest-running time travel series, initially spanning twenty-six straight seasons between 1963 and 1989, and resurrected in 2005 for an all-new ten-plus-year run. Additionally, it’s spawned almost as many series spin-offs as Star Trek : Torchwood (2006-2011), The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007-2011), K-9 (2009-2010) and this year’s Class .

It’s About Time

Gilligan’s Island creator Sherwood Schwartz came up with this little “gem” about a pair of astronauts whose space capsule travels back to prehistoric times, where they begin interacting with a cave family, getting involved in one wacky adventure after another (some involving stop motion dinosaurs). The premise quickly ran out of steam and was retooled mid-season to have the astronauts return to the 20th Century, cave family in tow, thus thrusting them into their own wacky adventures. Trust us when we say the theme song (below) was more entertaining than the show.

The Time Tunnel

Producer Irwin Allen ruled much of the sci-fi airwaves throughout the 1960s with shows like Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea , Lost In Space , Land Of The Giants and this show, The Time Tunnel . The premise is kind of cool: Project Tic-Toc (okay, that part definitely diminishes much of the cool) has developed an experimental time machine (which remains a great visual) in which Dr. Douglas Philips (Robert Colbert) and Dr. Anthony Newman (James Darren — hey, Vic Fontaine from Deep Space Nine !) enter, and are plunged through time. The Tic-Toc team (okay, it’s sounding sillier by the minute) are able to communicate with them in the different eras they arrive in, and attempts to pull them back to the present but send them instead to different periods in history. But, hey, these guys with knowledge of the future can actually influence history, can’t they? Unfortunately, they frequently get this close before being yanked back into the time stream. The pilot for a new series was produced in 2002, but never went forward.

Quantum Leap

Oh go ahead, bitch and complain that Scott Bakula wasn’t your idea of a starship captain on Star Trek: Enterprise , but there’s a reason the actor was chosen for the part, and much of it had to do with what he brought to Quantum Leap . The premise for the series is that physicist Sam Beckett (Bakula) is performing experiments in time travel when he finds himself traveling backwards in time where he “leaps” into the bodies of different people and takes their place to, as the opening narration proclaims, “make right what once went wrong.” To the audience, those people look like Bakula, but to everyone else — as revealed whenever he looks into a mirror — he looks like the person whose body he is in control of. This was not a big effects show, but instead a more intimate drama with plenty of humor, and a genuine opportunity for Bakula to showcase his acting skills as he became different men, women, a mentally challenged youth and even a chimpanzee . Dean Stockwell co-stars as Admiral Al Calavicci, who appears to Sam as a hologram.

Tru Calling

Having had her fill of slaying vampires, and actually turning down the potential to star in a spin-off series featuring her Buffy character of Faith, Eliza Dushku moved on to this show, which had a unique procedural time-travel twist. She plays Tru Davies, a medical student by day who, following the collapse of her internship, takes a job at the city morgue where bodies that are brought in start to open their eyes, look in her direction and utter the words, “Help me.” This projects her back to the beginning of the day (which sucks if you're having a particularly good day), providing the opportunity for her to either stop or solve the crime. The show’s mythology expanded to include another time traveler ( Jason Priestley ) who is determined to put the timeline back on its natural course and stop Tru. Zack Galifianakis co-stars as Davis, her employer at the morgue. Definitely underrated.

Life On Mars

You’ve got to applaud any time travel shows that bring with them a unique twist (no, seriously, you have to applaud. Thank you). After being struck by a car in 2006, policeman Sam Tyler ( John Simm ) awakens in 1973, working for the Manchester And Sealford Police in the same building where he works for the Greater Manchester Police in the future. What follows is Sam’s attempts to use his expertise in crimefighting from the future to apply to crimes of the era, and the conflicts that arise from interactions with commanding officer Gene Hunt ( Philip Glenister ),who obviously feels that Sam doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does. The big question hanging over the show is whether all of this is real, or if Sam is actually lying in a coma in 2006. Impressively, the show spawned the spin-off Ashes To Ashes , focusing on the Hunt character; a 2006 American version with Jason O’Mara as Sam, a Spanish version named La Chicade Ayer , which translates to The Girl From Yesterday ; and a Russian version under the title The Dark Side Of The Moon .

Rachel Nichols (she was the green Orion Starfleet cadet, and Uhura’s promiscuous roommate, in 2009’s Star Trek ) is City Protective Services officer Kiera Cameron, who is inadvertently brought back in time from 2077 to the present with a group of “terrorists”. Their goal: to stop future corporations from taking the place of the government, and hers is to prevent them from changing history and potentially wiping her family in 2077 out of existence. A well crafted series bringing together action and sci-fi concepts with intelligence.

Quite literally a love that spans the ages, married World War II nurse Clare Randall ( Caitriona Balfe ) is mysteriously transported from 1945 to 1743 Scotland. There she is forced to start a whole new life, and connects with Jamie Fraser ( Sam Heughan ), a Highland warrior. What follows is their growing relationship as Clare struggles to survive in a far harsher time than her own, as the two of them become a part in, and try to influence, the Jacobite risings. The show is based on the bestsellers by Diana Galbaldon, and the showrunner is Battlestar Galactica ’s Ron Moore .

What’s it’s not is a gathering of a dozen denizens of the Planet Of The Apes. What it is , is the television version of Terry Gilliam’s 1995 film, utilizing the strength of the medium to expand and elaborate on the premise. Aaron Stanford is James Cole, who has traveled to the present from 2043 to try and stop The Army Of The Twelve Monkeys from unleashing a virus that is destined to wipe out nearly ninety-four percent of humanity. Things begin with him collaborating with virologist Cassandra Railly ( Amanda Schull ) and psychologically challenged math genius Jennifer Goines (Emily Hampshire) and expand from there, with the team moving on to different eras in their efforts to save the human race.

One of the fun time travel games to play is to ponder what you would change if you could actually go back to the past. Preventing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy ranks high on that list (though, personally, we’d show George Lucas reviews of the Prequel Trilogy before they went into production, but that’s us). That notion certainly intrigued Stephen King , the resulting novel of which was adapted into the Hulu series 11.22.63 . James Franco is English teacher Jake Epping, who is shown a portal in a diner that leads to Dallas, Texas circa 1960. Jake is begged by a close friend to use the portal to prevent the assassination of Kennedy, and is gradually convinced of the validity of the plan. What he does’t expect is to fall in love back in time, or the ramifications that saving Kennedy could have on history. Produced by King and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow

Born out of the success of Arrow and The Flash , this spinoff series focuses on a group of characters that travel through time, initially to stop immortal Vandal Savage from taking over the world in the future, and then to serve as time cops (no relation to Jean Claude van Damme ) to police the space-time continuum. Characters include The Atom ( Brandon Routh ), Firestorm ( Victor Garber and Franz Drameh ), White Canary ( Caity Lotz ) and Heat Wave ( Dominic Purcell ), among others. A sporadically successful first season has led to far more solid footing in season two.

Ah, nothing like a good old-fashioned pursuit through time! There’s the bad guy who’s stolen the time machine “mothership” ( Goran Visnjic’s Garcia Flynn), intent on destroying history; and the team (Abigail Spencer’s Lucy Preston, a history professor; Matt Lanter’s Master Sergeant Wyatt Logan, a soldier; and Malcolm Barrett’s Rufus Carlin, an engineer) determined to stop him in a prototype device. So far they’ve dealt with the Hindenburg, the assassination of President Lincoln, Nazis (what’s a time travel series without Nazis?) and the Alamo, among others. Creators are Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan .

Based on the 2000 film, this story has gone through a sex change with Jim Caviezel’s John Sullivan being replaced by Peyton List’s Raimy Sullivan. Coming across the old ham radio of her deceased father ( Dennis Quaid then, Riley Smith now), Raimy finds that she can actually communicate with him before he died some twenty years earlier. Seeing this as an opportunity to save his life — he was an undercover New York detective killed in the line of duty — she inadvertently triggers a butterfly effect, they key to which seems to be within an unsolved murder case that they have to work together over time to solve.

Making History

In what seems like a throwback silly time travel show (see It’s About Time above — okay, maybe not that silly), a college professor (Adam Pally) creates a time machine that he hopes can be used to improve both his life and that of a fellow teacher (Yassir Lester). But things go awry when one of them starts dating Paul Revere’s daughter, Deborah ( Leighton Meester ), threatening all of American history. Exec producers are Lego Movie maestros Phil Lord and Chris Miller . The series has not been given a 2017 debut date yet.

Time After Time

Based on the 1979 Karl Alexander novel and Nicholas Meyer film, this show, debuting in 2017, begins in Victorian England when John Stevenson/Jack The Ripper (Josh Bowman) steals a time machine created by author H.G. Wells ( Freddie Stroma ) and travels to the present. Wells follows him there intent on returning him to justice, and gets involved in a series of adventures that will reportedly prove inspiring to Wells in the writing of his other novels. The series is developed by Kevin Williamson ( The Vampire Diaries , The Following ).

Bonus (Not Really)

Best 10 TV Shows About Time Travel Ultimate List

There have been numerous TV shows about time travel in the past. Although some shows did have time travel included in part of their plot (like Marvel Agents of Shield), in this list we focused on series that have time travel as a basic premise of the show. With that in mind, we narrowed down our picks to the top 10 TV series that are worth your time. However, keep in mind that there are other fantasy shows that you might like – this is just our pick of the best ones so far.

Table of Contents

10.  Timeless [2016-2018]

A hidden gem among TV series about time traveling is NBC’s Timeless. The show is a quick watch – it only has two seasons and 28 episodes in total but don’t be discouraged by that fact. Timeless still manages to land a meaningful, educating, heart-warming story with a compelling ending. The cast features Abigail Spencer as Lucy Preston a history professor, Matt Lanter as Wyatt Logan, a USA Delta Force Sargeant, and Malcolm Barrett as Rufus Carlin, a programmer. The trio is tasked with capturing a terrorist Garcia Flynn (Goran Visnjic) who is trying to rewrite history.

Although the premise of the show looks very much like what we have seen in Continuum, Travelers and 12 Monkeys, Timeless also offers a variety of real historical events that are shown in the series. The historical part might not always be 100% accurate but it is fun to see the fictional characters interacting with real-life events that took place. Although the show was canceled after two seasons, the viewers still got a well-deserved ending so we highly recommend Timeless.

9. Continuum [2012-2015]

One of the classic TV shows that exploited the topic of time travel is Continuum. Stretching through 4 seasons and 42 episodes, Continuum tells a story about detective Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) who goes back in time by accident with a group of criminals called Liber8. The plot takes place in present-day as Kiera tries to stop members of Liber8 from altering the timeline and destroying the future in which corporations have sized the roles of the governments. A teenage wunderkind Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen) helps her out on her quest as well as her partner Carlos Fonnegra (Victor Webster). 

Although the plot seems like more of what we saw in some earlier TV shows about time travel, the cast does a pretty decent job and the overall setting is fun to watch. As you can see, this show has been produced more than a decade ago but the CGI elements are not that bad and are watchable. But what really gives Continuum a place on our list is the character development that Kiera as a protagonist goes through.

8. Quantum Leap [1989-1993]

Quantum Leap is an old-school TV show that older viewers must have watched during 90s. The importance of this show is the fact that after its initial success, many directors pitched ideas for similar shows in the future – and that’s how we got so many time travel series. Although Quantum Leap is highly praised, it is a bit outdated nowadays, so it might not be the best choice for younger viewers.

Be it as it may, the show focuses on Dr. Sam Beckett, who gets thrown back in time while experimenting on his own project (Quantum Leap). The protagonist is accompanied by his friend Admiral Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell) but in the shape of a hologram. Dr. Beckett continues to leap to different people in his own timeline and hopes to correct the past in order to finally leap to the presence. Quantum Leap offers a unique mixture of science fiction, drama, and comedy all while exploring the topic of time traveling.

7. 12 Monkeys [2015-2018]

12 Monkeys is a sci-fi masterpiece remake of a 12 Monkeys movie (1995) that has time travel in the essence of its plot. As you might remember from the movie, a mysterious group called “12 Monkeys” released the virus which killed over 7 million people and brought humanity to its downfall. The same plot premise is in the show as time traveler Cole (Aaron Stanford) uses an experimental time-traveling device to come back to the present and assist Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull) in stopping the virus.

The cast does a great job, especially Amanda Schull, and really brings out the darkness of events that are about to come. This show is perfect for viewers who like disaster like shows combined with time travel – 12 Monkeys has it both.

6. DC Legends of Tomorrow [2016-2022]

Superhero TV shows have all the rage nowadays so it’s just fair to put one that’s about time travel on this list as well. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow might not have the most interesting story but boy, they are fun to watch. Most of the episodes are stand-alone and you can simply sit on your sofa, watch one and continue after a month without worrying about missing the parts of the plot. When it comes to the story, basically, a team of superheroes travels back in time to prevent bad things from altering the timeline, thus saving the future.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is a part of the Arrowverse so the show crosses over with Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl several times. The main reason why this show is on our list is the fact that it’s relaxing to watch, witty, and overall entertaining. Caity Lotz, Amy Louis Pemberton, and Dominic Purcell are just some of the names that star in this show – the cast is full of superstars well-known to superhero fans.

5. Manifest [2018-2023]

The show was canceled after three seasons and picked up and renewed by Netflix for the fourth and final season. Manifest tells a story about Flight 828 which vanished into thin air and reappeared five and half years later. The problem is that the passengers have no idea what happened since from their perspective, they just went through a troublesome storm but landed on time, as planned. As they rejoin society, numerous problems arise, especially when some passengers start getting visions (“ Callings “) of future events.

The show has a strong “Leftovers” vibe to it, exploring the topic of how humans are unable to cope with things that they can’t explain. Melissa Roxburgh (Michaela Stone) and John Dallas (Ben Stone) are the stars of the show and have received numerous praises for their performance in Manifest. This TV series is about time travel but also offers a lot more and tells a mysterious story that you will surely enjoy.

4. Dark [2017-2020]

Dark is the first Netflix German series. The show itself is difficult to place as it combines several genres, including sci-fiction, horror, mystery, drama, and thriller. While this combo might not work for some other shows, Dark is an exception – the show delivers magnificently although one might argue that it’s a slow-burn in the beginning. Dark is one of the shows like Black Mirror in a suspenseful feeling that you get while watching it.

Dark starts in Winden, a small fictional German town in 2019. Children begin to disappear from the town so an investigation led by four families takes place. Throughout the three seasons of Dark, the truth will include multiple timelines, wormholes, conspiracies, and parallel worlds. We won’t say any more since the whole point of the show is for the viewer to try to understand the events that took place (and when the events took place). The German cast is lead by Louis Hofmann, Karoline Eichhorn, and Lisa Vicari. This time-travel TV series received praise from both the audience and the critics and is a must-watch. 

3. Fringe [2008-2013]

When it comes to TV shows about time travel, supernatural phenomena, parallel worlds, and doomsday events, Fringe is a must-see masterpiece. First of all, the show has that 2000’s vibe to it which is sure to evoke memories from older viewers. Fringe is well-written and humorous and even a non-fiction fan will be able to enjoy it.

The cast is just astonishing: Anna Torv plays FBI Agent Olivia Dunham who leads Fringe Division. This division is kinda similar to “unsolved cases” that Molder and Scully used to investigate in X-files, although without (that many) aliens. Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his son Peter (Joshua Jackson) assist her in solving these cases. The show has many episodes that are stand-alone type but in the end, it wraps up nicely and tells a compelling story about father and son love filled with sci-fi elements.

2. Travellers [2016-2018]

Travelers have a unique story that widely differs from similar TV shows about time travel and that’s one of the reasons why it’s so high on our list. The basic premise of the show is that the future is ruined and people from it ( Travelers ) transfer their conciseness into humans that are about to die in the 21st century in order to alternate the timeline, following orders from an AI called “Director”. Sounds wild, right? Well, it works pretty well –  Travelers are super fun and the characters are well-written and very diverse.

The cast is brilliant and is led by Eric McCormack (Grant MacLaren) and MacKenzie Porter (Marcy Warton). Another thing that puts this show at the top of our list is the fact that the sudden ending of season 3 really leaves a massive impact on a viewer. We must admit that a decision from Netflix to cancel Travelers after three seasons is baffling. Be it as it may, we are sure that you will enjoy this story and the ending will leave you breathless.

1. Doctor Who [1963-1989; 2005-present]

When a TV show has an actual Guinness record category of longest-running science fiction series, it is hard not to put it in the first place in our list. Doctor Who is a british sci-fi TV show about time travel and numerous other fictional motives and it has been on BBC since 1963. The show follows the adventures of a Time Lord ( The Doctor ), a being that appears to be human but explores the universe, combats foes and helps people in need using his time-traveling ship ( TARDIS ).

Since Doctor Who had over 850 episodes so far, we won’t try to dig into the plot too much – it would require multiple articles just to cover it. The show gained so much popularity that it is considered a part of British culture and the fans call themselves “Whovians”. We highly recommend that you give this show a try (or a rewatch) since Doctor Who is a classic among TV shows about time travel.

Vuk Radulovic is a graduated historian with a keen interest in the fantasy genre. For over 20 years he watched, listened, and read basically everything that came across his hands when it comes to fantasy TV shows, books and movies.

He has a particular interest in the Witcher realm as well as the Sword of Truth book series. He thinks the Demon Cycle book series is one of the most underestimated fantasy books of all time. He is looking forward to The Last of Us series.

When he is not in the fantasy realm, Vuk likes to nurture his interest in SEO marketing and content writing.

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Den of Geek

Travelers: why you should watch Netflix’s new time travel show

Canadian sci-fi series Travelers presents a genuinely fresh and fascinating vision of time travel, and boasts a strong cast...

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Warning: contains some episode one plot details.

Television’s love affair with time travel goes back a long way. Naturally, Doctor Who was one of the early proponents of the genre and since then there have been many successful (and many less so) series bringing time travel to the small screen. Quantum Leap mixed science with humour, drama and humanity, Continuum brought some genuinely intelligent ideas and Legends Of Tomorrow has thrown a whole lot of heroes into a mainstream tale of time travel and derring-do.  

Over the past twelve months, time travel has been something of a go-to for TV schedules with Timeless, Frequency and mini-series 11.22.63 all coming up with something fresh to say. One show that seems to have slipped under the radar, however, is Travelers , a twelve-part Canadian series that first premiered in October 2016 before Netflix picked it up at the end of the year. Headed up by Will & Grace ’s Eric McCormack, Travelers might not have anything particularly ground-breaking to add to the genre, but it’s a fun, absorbing series while it lasts. Presuming it is handed a second series – and there are enough loose ends to tie up come the series finale to suggest that there most likely will be – Travelers deserves a place on your Netflix to-watch list.

McCormack plays FBI agent Grant MacClaren – only, not really. MacClaren’s body is actually playing host to the consciousness of Traveler 3468, a ‘traveler’ from the future sent back to the twenty-first century in order to carry out missions by order of the mysterious ‘Director’. He’s not alone. In the opening episode we also get to meet Travelers 3569, 3465, 3326 and 0115, all with their own specific skillset. One’s a medic, one’s an engineer, another is a tactician and the final chap is the team’s historian, armed with all knowledge of events that occur in that particular timeline. Again, each of these travelers’ consciousness is actually hosted in the body of another human being and they ultimately have to assume their identity (just a small note here, I appreciate I’m also adopting the US/Canadian spelling of travelers but let’s just go with that for ease).

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Fortunately, these host bodies were specifically chosen as they were going to die anyway so no grievous murders to worry about for the travelers. This central premise, of people inhabiting other people’s bodies whose time was already up, is hammered home in the first episode when we are shown in graphic detail how each of the host bodies dies. Accompanied by a graphical device first counting down the time of death and then counting forward the time from when the host body is taken over, the actual mind-swap process is particularly well-executed. It’s replicated again and again throughout the series as other travelers appear and it never fails to have the desired impact, whether it’s a farmer in a sticky situation with a hole digger or, in a particularly standout scene, a group of elderly men and women on the brink of a mass suicide. With a nod to Cronenberg’s Scanners , the transformation from host to traveler is certainly memorable and it accounts for a good chunk of the series opener to bed you in.

Another point worth noting about the host bodies is that they are researched beforehand by the higher powers-that-be that are driving our travelers on, using social media and technology of the twenty-first century to ascertain as much knowledge about them as possible so that the traveler can carry on their life without raising suspicion. Making a point about our digital footprint is hardly cutting-edge stuff but this device does also allow the show to reveal the full scope of its ambition. Like Quantum Leap , it’s fair to say that while Travelers is clearly a science fiction show, it’s just as much a drama about the characters and how they assimilate to their new lives. Once the missions are over, what happens then?

MacClaren struggles to keep his home life together with his wife, Kat. Traveler 3465, Carly, is suddenly a mother to a young baby with an abusive husband in tow, who also happens to be a cop. Travelers 3326 and 0115, Philip and Trevor, struggle with the lives of younger men, Philip in particular saddled with the added trouble of being in the body of a heroin addict. And then there’s Marcy, traveler 3569. Clearly earmarked as the heartbeat of the show, Marcy is the character you’re most inclined to root for and it’s her who we’re first introduced to when she is brutally beaten by a group of louts outside a library. It turns out that the Director got this host wrong, with knowledge gathered on her proving wildly incorrect as it was garnered from a fake social media profile set up on her behalf as part of an experiment. In fact, Marcy’s host has learning disabilities so when she suddenly shows no signs of her former self to those close to her, her behaviour proves far harder to explain away.

And so you have the makings of a series that’s part science fiction, part human drama, part Outer Limits . When it chooses to go there, Travelers is very good at delivering on the darker side of fiction. In particular, Room 101  proves a standout episode, placing MacClaren’s team in grave, Saw -like peril while the mysteries keep piling up. Why should the team trust the faceless ‘Director’? Can they even trust each other? While the actual gore is kept to a minimum, the sense of threat is palpable. It’s little surprise to learn that creator Brad Wright worked on and wrote for The Outer Limits as well as his higher-profile fame for Stargate. The episode is also a real high-point for Jared Abrahamson’s Trevor who takes the spotlight in a pressure-cooker storyline that drips with foreboding and tension. His old-man-in-a-young-man’s-body routine doesn’t always hold together throughout the series but it’s well-served here.

Having the whole series to binge-watch serves the show well as while individual episodes do explore different, self-contained stories, the series as a whole additionally benefits from an approach to story-telling that isn’t afraid to let an over-arching narrative be told over its twelve-episode run. Recurring themes like Philip’s heroin addiction and Marcy’s relationship with her care worker, David – a lighter, comedic role handled excellently by Patrick Gilmore, also from the Stargate Universe – are allowed to breathe and develop naturally without any need to force the issue.

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The series isn’t without some misfires. Nesta Cooper’s Carly is under-written with her new-found mothering skills and testing relationship with the father never really explored as fully as it could have been and despite heading the team (and the billing), MacClaren’s own personal life problems are far less interesting than those of his team. The series finale is something of a letdown too, with so many of the mysteries that have been brewing either unanswered, expanded on or added to that you’re left slightly befuddled as to what exactly is happening. There are also a few other plot points seemingly left hanging in the air – for example, Trevor’s troubled school and home life is never truly expanded upon or resolved – and minor recurring characters seem to drop out of the show without notice.

On the whole, though, Wright should be applauded for presenting a genuinely fresh and interesting vision. The acting is excellent across the board, with particular nods to Abrahamson and Reilly Dolman (Philip) and while Travelers always has something interesting to say, it never takes itself too seriously. There is plenty of lightness among the darker undertones and by the series-end I found myself hoping that series two isn’t too far away.

Mark Oakley

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(Photo by John P. Johnson/HBO; Frank Ockenfels/FOX; SyFy; Netflix)

100 BEST SCI-FI TV SHOWS OF ALL TIME

Science fiction is often celebrated as a forward-thinking genre that promotes peace among all life forms. But deciding which sci-fi TV series is the best? That debate could start an intergalactic war.

To determine which series is the supreme ruler of the sci-fi genre, we took into consideration Tomatometer data culled from critics’ reviews, plus a number of reputable “best of” lists, and sprinkled the effort with some editorial discretion, asking ourselves which shows have stood the test of time, inspired spin-offs and copycats, and even made their influence known on the big screen.

Some usual suspects naturally came out on top: Doctor Who , Fringe , Firefly , Orphan Black , and creator Ronald D. Moore’s mid-2000s re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica received high marks across the board — not surprising, since they all also have high Tomatometer scores, as do relative newcomers like Westworld , The Expanse , and Black Mirror .

One of the toughest calls we had to make was what exactly constitutes science fiction. Fantasy, mystery, horror, and postapocalyptic genres can appear to enter the sci-fi realm, but we had to create some boundaries. David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks , which famously popularized the dead-girl murder-mystery trope before dovetailing into something more complicated, was deemed horror-fantasy (so don’t bother “Where’s Twin Peaks ?!”–ing us in the comments). What about shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe like Jessica Jones and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ? Superhero shows were deemed a separate category.

Ranking each of these shows is a Gorn wrestling match all its own – especially when it comes to now-classic titles whose scores are so Rotten, they threaten to stink up the whole list. Have fond memories of 1979’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century ? Hate to ruin any childhood reverie, but it stands at a ripe 33% with 15 reviews on season 1. It still makes the list because of its nostalgia value and the relatively low number of reviews available.

Disagree with our ranking of the best sci-fi TV series? Tell us about your favorites in the comments!

Best Sci-Fi Series 100-81 | 80-61 | 60-41 |  40-21 | 20-1

The Orville (2017) 77%

Under the Dome (2013) 68%

The Jetsons (1962) --

Astro Boy (1963) --

Thunderbirds (1965) 100%

The Twilight Zone (1985) --

Mork & Mindy (1978) 90%

ALF (1986) --

Planet of the Apes (1974) 55%

The Outer Limits (1995) --

Killjoys (2015) 95%

Roswell (1999) --

V: The Final Battle (1984) 69%

Millennium (1996) --

Logan's Run (1977) --

seaQuest DSV (1993) --

Almost Human (2013) 69%

Terra Nova (2011) 62%

Sanctuary (2008) --

Dark Angel (2000) 65%

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The Sci-Fi Time Travel Series Everyone Is Binging On Hulu

Time travel is one of the most popular storytelling devices in the modern age of filmmaking. Back to the Future , Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure , Avengers: Endgame, and even a little movie called Looper  all found enormous success over the years, by shifting protagonists backwards or forwards in time. But in some cases, it's not the hero who travels in time, but someone else: for instance, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) didn't travel to the future in The Terminator , but instead, the future came to her — in the form of an Arnold Scharzenegger-shaped robot meant to kill her.

There's a similar narrative thread running through a certain  Seth Rogen -produced show on Hulu — which is right now gaining a lot of eyes — and that's  Future Man . The series combines elements of The Terminator with another, lesser known eighties classic,  The Last Starfighter,  crafting a story that involves a gamer whose high score qualifies him to become a fighter pilot in an intergalactic future war.

Yes, you read that right: In Future Man,  that gamer — Josh Futterman, played by Josh Hutcherson, from The Hunger Games –  beats the seemingly unbeatable game Biotic Wars, only to discover that the game is based on a very real, dystopian future that he must now save in real life.

A cast worth traveling in time (with terrible results) for

Future Man has a pretty great pedigree behind it. In addition to Seth Rogen executive producing and guest starring, as well as Josh Hutcherson leading, there is a ton of fantastic talent involved. Most notably, the first season surrounds the poor life choices of a scientist named Doctor Elias Kronish, played by none other than legendary sci-fi and voice actor Keith David ( They Live , Gargoyles ). Meanwhile, the actors playing Josh's parents are none other than Ed Begley Jr. ( The Accidental Tourist, Best in Show ) and the late, great Glenne Headly (who famously out hustles the hustlers in the Frank Oz classic Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) .

Without giving too much of the story away, Future Man cribs from more than just The Terminator and The Last Starfighter . Very notably, it also borrows from Back to the Future, what with our heroes traveling backwards in time, even making some direct references to the Michael J. Fox classic. Of course, in this case, they attempt to repair a mistake which will inevitably cause the end of the world with hilarious (and terrible) results.

Future Man  wrapped up its run of three seasons on Hulu in 2020. It is a half-hour comedy, making it very easy to binge-watch. So if you're looking for the sort of time hijinks story Seth Rogen would make, well, Future Man is probably the show for you.

Screen Rant

The best time travel movies & tv shows of 2022 (so far).

2022 is seemingly the year of time travel when it comes to movies and TV shows, but which has been the best so far?

Stories that surround time travel and time loops are a popular convention in media, and seemingly even more so in 2022, as seen with the just-released Paper Girls on Amazon Prime and also The Adam Project on Netflix .

Unlike the (un)lucky protagonists of these stories, viewers have only so many available hours in the day, and it can feel like a waste of time to sit through a story that doesn't work towards something interesting. Whether it analyses the angles in time travel mechanics or uses it as a moment for existential ideas, 2022 contains a lot of great movies and TV shows that deserve to be watched, so those looking for something specific can jump straight into what they are looking for.

Paper Girls (2022 - )

Paper Girls is Stand By Me on a time travel road trip and with the tiniest dose of Pacific Rim . Directed by Stephany Folsom and based on the comic book by Brian K. Vaughan, the Amazon Prime series follows four young girls — Erin Tieng (Riley Lai Nelet), Tiffany Quilkin (Camryn Jones), Mac Coyle (Sofia Rosinsky), and KJ Brandman (Fina Strazza) — delivering newspapers in 1988 before they are suddenly involved in a time-traveling conflict in 2019.

Related: The Best Ali Wong Movies & TV Shows According To IMDb

Time is a method in which the characters face existentialism in the meaning of their future, and rectify the damage held by past selves. In one of the best subplots early in the series, Mac meets the older version of her brother and slowly comes to terms with not only her future but the fact that she hasn't matured enough to realize the abuse she's going through. The time-twisting adventure is a vehicle for action to occur too of course, but it's those elements of Stand By Me — the relationship between four growing girls sharing their conflicts together — that are the true core of the show.

The Adam Project (2022)

Directed by Shawn Levy, it follows an Adam from 2050 (Ryan Reynolds) with his younger self (Walker Scobell) on an adventure to save the future from the disaster it already is.

The Adam Project is to time-traveling sci-fi what Real Steel is for boxing movies  -- it has some fun ideas, a decent execution, a wise-cracking child and doesn't try to wow with anything new. It's a fun action flick pretending to be sci-fi, with Reynolds doing his Deadpool act without the fourth-wall humor. There's sincerity to the bond between the two Adams and their father (Mark Ruffalo), with whom they haven't had enough time to bond, but little else. It has no concerns with doing anything more than having fun and will please anyone trying to fill 90 minutes.

Karmalink (2021)

Karmalink is a uniquely Buddhist take on the metaphysical concepts surrounding time for a spiritual spectacle directed by Jake Watchel and co-written with Christopher Larsen. The directorial debut gained its limited theatre release this year after being loved at 2021 film festivals and focuses on a 13-year-old orphan from a near-futuristic version of Phom Penh, Cambodia, searching for a golden Buddha statue.

It shows the beautiful lives of its poor citizens, as well as the divide between it and the rich population, exploring gentrification, technological alienation, neo-colonialism, and its terrible effects on a warm little community. Its story is grounded, with a touch of The Goonies , and surrounded by colorful cinematography that compliments Cambodian culture and beauty. It greatly deals with typically associated sci-fi themes, but it's the celebration of its environment and the seemingly uncontrollable forces changing it that truly makes it a great addition to its genre.

Undone: Season 2 (2019 - )

Made by the minds of BoJack Horseman, the Amazon Prime series continues its psychedelic time trip from the first season with Alma (Rosa Salazar), Becca (Angelique Cabral), and Jacob (Bob Odenkirk).

Related: The Main Characters Of Amazon's Undone Ranked By Likeability

Fan theories speculate on the legitimacy of its time travel, but regardless, the method is used to examine the damage dealt by war, racism, mental health, and inherited pain after trauma. Season two goes further than season one in examining the histories of Alma's parents and grandparents, and what eventually leads to the negative characteristics of the protagonists. It's less so a time travel mystery, as much as it is using it as a method to brilliantly dissect the problems that can occur while immigrating and the ripple effects it causes.

The Lazarus Project (2022 - )

The Sky-exclusive British action drama was directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner, Laura Scrivano, and Akaash Meeda, and stars Paapa Essiedu as George, who's awakened his ability to see time loops and is invited into an organization formed to use the loops to prevent world-ending disasters. It's nowhere close to the comedy of Groundhog Day or Palm Springs , instead looking closer into the damage it inflicts more than those films do.

It explores the ethics and emotional damage within its specific systems and grounds them in the stories of each of its cast members, posing scenarios that prompt audiences to consider which is the more moral choice. Watching characters deal with the erasing existence of a child, the stress and pain of reliving childbirth over and over and over again, or watching characters make sacrifices for the most saved lives possible — it's a level of empathy felt from the other side of the screen. It's an underrated little gem that demands the attention of any sci-fi fan.

Archive 81 (2022)

Based on a podcast by Daniel Powell and Marc Sollinger, the found-footage horror show switches perspectives between film archivist Dan Turner (Momoudou Athie) and documentarian Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi) as they both discover the bizarre cult within the Visser building in Lower Manhattan.

Related: The Archive 81 Main Characters Ranked By Likability

Creator Rebecca Sonnenshine weaves a uniquely unsettling version of time travel. The perspectives between Dan and Melody initially seem separate from each other, but the mystery of its time travel through found footage latches onto the viewer as its steadily revealed. It's a slow binge that's more 'creepy' than outright shocking, but it's a great watch for anyone interested in a series happy to pace itself, and separates itself from other found-footage horrors by the time-distorting connection between Melody and Dan.

The Umbrella Academy: Season 3 (2019 - )

The superhero show, created by Steve Blackman and based on the comic book by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, gained some good faith for its great LGBTQ+ arc with Viktor Hargreeves (Elliot Page) and continues the story from its well-received second season of a dysfunctional family trying to get their lives back.

This season hardly delves into time travel compared to its previous seasons, but still uses it in a way to delve into the reparation and breaking of familial connections. Klaus (Robert Sheehan) has been great at every step of the series but is particularly strong here for using this alternate timeline as a second chance to grow closer with their father Reginald (Colm Feore). It's a story as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming, setting up for another season of reality-bending adventures to come.

Russian Doll: Season 2 (2019 - )

The humorous original season didn't seem like it was prime material for a second series, but regardless it abandons its time-looping narrative in favor of changing family history in the past. It stars the Orange Is The New Black favorite Natasha Lyonne, who co-created the show along with Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler of Parks And Recreation fame.

Just as with the first season, Lyonne can carry the entire show by herself through her great acting and character work, but it follows a great story as she dives into her family history. But unlike Undone , Lyonne's character of Nadia lives directly in the shoes of her Jewish Hungarian ancestors and faces the reality of the impossibility to change time and how she needs to live with it. It's a story of acceptance, but with the same humor, it carried its first season. And even if it won't be as charming a surprise as the original, it's still worth a watch.

NEXT: 1 0 Best Movies Of 2022 (So Far) According To Letterboxd

Netflix Just Quietly Dropped The Best Time-Travel Show of 2023

“Know you are loved.”

Netflix has made a name for itself in mind-bending science fiction. Between Stranger Things , Dark , The OA , and Sense8 , the streamer keeps finding new and exciting ways to shape how we think about the world. Usually, these new shows are met with a big fanfare, an even bigger marketing campaign, and, in the case of Stranger Things , a tie-in ice cream.

But recently, Netflix dropped a series that more than deserves to stand next to these tentpoles: a graphic novel adaptation that takes a fresh approach to one of the oldest genres and adds a huge time-travel element that changes everything.

Bodies, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Si Spencer, emerges from a simple concept: four detectives from four different points in time all find a strange body on the ground. It’s naked, missing its left eye, and there’s no trace of any bullets found in it. In 2023, Muslim detective Shahara Hasan (Amaka Okafor) tries to stop what she thinks is a terrorist plot. In 1941, Detective Charles Whiteman (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) deals with antisemitism while investigating a death that couldn’t have come from a bomb. In 1890, Detective Alfred Hillinghead (Kyle Soller) gets caught up with a journalist and a strange society. Finally, in 2053, Detective Iris Maplewood (Shira Haas) finds the same body... alive.

It’s a complicated premise, but Bodies expertly weaves four different mysteries on top of each other. A strange boy discovered in 2023 informs a strange man in 1941. A message scrawled into a wall in 1890 is still there in 2053. While there are four different investigations, there’s only one big mystery, and every character has a role in it.

The climax of the story happens in 2023, meaning when we first take a peek into 2053, we know what will happen in the “present.” Bodies , though initially a straightforward whodunit, quickly becomes a hard sci-fi story about time loops, quantum physics, and quite literally changing history. It all circles around one phrase told to each detective in their respective times: “Know you are loved.”

Four different detectives find the same body in four different eras.

Apart from its time-travel element, Bodies is simultaneously a period piece, police procedural, dystopia, conspiracy thriller, family drama, and cult story. It’s a lot for any series to attempt, but Bodies is able to incorporate each through its divided plot. When the action jumps from era to era, the tone is effectively reset. One scene may be a gripping chase scene between Hasan and a suspect, but then it will cut immediately to Whiteman in 1941 bonding with a little girl.

Bodies is a stealth time-travel show. The science fiction elements are added so gradually that it’s hard to even notice until the last episode where events are changed and characters even embrace their future selves. It’s a testament to the all-star cast to balance the tones so excellently: it could be tempting to shift from “detective show acting” to “science fiction acting” but everything is played with the utmost seriousness.

Detective Shahara Hasan (Amaka Okafor) appears in the 2023 and 2053 eras.

Maybe this is why this series isn’t getting the same acclaim as its spiritual successors: calling it a time-travel show betrays the shift of the series altogether. But this show should be on the watchlist of every sci-fi fan, whether they’re the kind who misses the grandfather paradoxes of Dark or the political commentary of Stranger Things .

Bodies is now streaming on Netflix.

• Science Fiction

15 Best Time Travel Movies & Shows to Stream Now

May 6, 2022

Time travel, much like magic wands or fairy godmothers, seems like something out of stories and not real life. While that may ( or may not ) be true, that doesn’t make it any less fascinating. 

Even though the events in time travel movies and shows are improbable (though not proven to be entirely impossible ), getting the chance to go back and fix wrong decisions or save someone important is something we all have fantasized about. 

Whether you’re into infinite time loops or races to prevent apocalyptic events, Hulu is the place to find some of the best time travel movies and shows.

Time Travel Movies on Hulu

In 2074, the mob has gotten… creative in how they handle hits. When they’re ready to “get rid of” someone, they simply send them to the past where specialized assassins, called “Loopers,” are waiting in the middle of the desert to finish the job. Eventually, every looper has to “close the loop” or, in other words, murder their future self to protect the secrets of their trade—but what happens when a looper’s future self outsmarts them?

Watch: Looper

Fast forward 45 years into the future. The earth has been destroyed by climate change, forcing humanity to live on artificial oxygen that is causing an incurable illness in humans. The only hope for the future of humankind comes in the form of one message: “Send Ethan Whyte.” In this pulse-pounding sci-fi thriller , Ethan Whyte (Kodi Smit-McPhee), an underground tunnel worker, is called to the future to finish the job his scientist father started.   

Watch: 2067

Demolition Man

In 1996, Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), one of the world’s most prolific criminals and his arresting officer, John Spartan (Sylvester Stalone), aka “The Demolition Man,” were sentenced to life in a cryogenic prison meant to reprogram their violent nature. Decades later, in a utopian, post-apocalyptic society, Phoenix is unfrozen for a parole hearing and escapes. With a police force that has forsaken violence in any form, no one is able to catch him—no one except The Demolition Man.

Watch: Demolition Man

Peggy Sue Got Married

Back in high school, Peggy Sue (Kathleen Turner) was completely infatuated with her boyfriend (now husband), Charlie (Nicholas Cage). However, just before their high school reunion, Charlie runs off with another woman, sparking a divorce and forcing Peggy Sue to rethink her entire life. When Peggy Sue passes out at the reunion, she wakes up in her high school gymnasium—as a senior in high school. With the chance to live her life over again, will Peggy Sue make the same choices, romantic and otherwise?   

Watch: Peggy Sue Got Married

Time Loop Movies

Groundhog day.

We can’t talk about time loops without mentioning the most iconic time loop movie ever— Groundhog Day . 

Disgruntled weatherman Phil Conners (Bill Murray) is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover Groundhog Day and report on whether or not the groundhog sees his shadow. Upset by the assignment, Phil is glad when the day is over. But, when he wakes up in the morning and it’s Groundhog Day…again, Phil decides to use it to his advantage—until he realizes he could be stuck in this time loop forever.

Watch: Groundhog Day *

*Groundhog Day requires STARZ® on Hulu add-on subscription.

Palm Springs

When Nyles (Andy Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti) have an interrupted encounter while at a wedding in Palm Springs, they find themselves waking up to the same day over and over again. When faced with this situation, there’s only one thing to do—whatever you want. 

In this outlandish and hilarious romantic comedy , Nyles and Sarah have free reign over the wedding day—and they make the most of it. However, eventually even a rule-free life has to come to an end. The only problem is that no one knows how to end it.

Watch: Palm Springs

In one of the best movies on Hulu , former special forces agent, Roy Pulver (Frank Grillo) gets trapped in a time loop that forces him to relive his assassination day over and over again. As he fights through each somewhat new day, Roy discovers a secret government project that may explain his repeated death. The more times he dies, the closer he gets to discovering the truth, saving his ex-wife and son, and staying alive.

Watch: Boss Level

Time Travel TV Shows

While you may not be able to watch time travel favorite, Manifest on Hulu anymore, that doesn’t mean all time travel shows are in the past. From Hulu Original Future Man , to Rick and Morty , check out our favorite time travel shows streaming now on Hulu.

From Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg comes the Hulu Original Series , Future Man , which follows Josh Futturman, aka “Future Man” (see what we did there?), in his attempt to save the human race. 

Josh (Josh Hutcherson), a janitor in a medical research facility, is an avid gamer—but when he beats “Bionic Wars,” he learns his favorite futuristic video game isn’t just futuristic, it is the future. When tasked with saving the world before it’s wiped out, Josh must use his gaming skills to defeat his former boss and protect humankind from a terrible fate.

Watch: Future Man

Cole (Aaron Stanford), a time traveler from a post-apocalyptic future, has traveled back in time in hopes of preventing a deadly plague that wiped out 7 billion people. The virus was released by an elusive organization called the “Army of the 12 Monkeys,” whose leader, “The Witness,” is a mystery and the key to saving humanity. Cole, with the help of renowned virologist Cassie Railly (Amanda Schull), must find The Witness and prevent him from unleashing the virus before it’s too late.  

Watch: 12 Monkeys

On November 22, 1963, the world was rocked by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Based on the novel by Stephen King, 11.22.63 follows Jake Epping (James Franco) as he’s asked to do the impossible—travel back in time to solve the mystery of JFK’s death and perhaps, even prevent it from happening. However, changing the course of history can have devastating effects on the present. Can Jake solve the mystery without disrupting the future? 

Watch: 11.22.63

Time travel is real. The past can be altered. The future is in danger. 

When scientist Lucy Preston (Abigail Spencer) discovers that time travel is real and, at the same time, that a man has stolen a time machine and is going back in time to change history, her world is turned upside down overnight. Alongside a soldier and a history professor, Lucy travels to the past in order to apprehend the man and save the future from a catastrophe before everything is erased.

Watch: Timeless

Rick & Morty

Rick, a scientific genius and alcoholic, and Morty, Rick’s average teenage grandson, embark on dangerous and mind-bending adventures into alien worlds , alternate dimensions, and infinite universes. The adult animated show follows the pair as they cause mayhem and get into trouble across the multiverse and at home. 

Watch: Rick and Morty

Time Travel Anime

Japanese anime , InuYasha , follows Kagome Higurashi, a 15-year-old girl living at a historic Japanese shrine, who just so happens to be the reincarnation of ancient priestess Kikyo, guardian of the Shikon no Tama, or Jewel of Four Souls. When Kagome accidentally falls into a well, she’s thrust back to feudal Japan in order to help young half-demon InuYasha find the scattered shards of the Shikon Jewel and protect it from the demons who seek it.   

Watch: InuYasha

Steins;Gate

Okabe Rintarou, or self-proclaimed Crazy Mad Scientist Hououin Kyouma, and his team of university science students are working on a device to send messages to the past. Much to their surprise, it works! Once the device is operational, Okabe and his team must stop an evil organization from carrying out their diabolical plans.

Watch: Steins;Gate

29-year-old Satoru Fujinuma is a struggling manga artist with a secret and strange ability—he can travel back in time to the moment before something life-threatening happens and is forced to continue doing so until the event is prevented. 

In this limited series , Satoru and his mother are in a deadly accident. In hopes of saving his mother, Satoru travels back in time, but finds himself traveling all the way back to his childhood, where he uncovers a series of events that led to his mother’s death.

Watch: Erased

Feel like traveling back in time yourself? We’ve got you covered—check out the nostalgic blasts from the past in our watchlists featuring shows from the 80s , 90s , 2000s , and old-school MTV.

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How Hallmark Turned ‘The Way Home’ Into TV’s Biggest Time-Travel Drama

THE WAY TO A HIT

The sci-fi leaning “The Way Home” was a big swing for the Christmas-and-romance network. It’s now one of its biggest—and most unlikely—successes. Here’s how Hallmark did it.

The best time travel TV show right now is on Hallmark. That may sound shocking to everyone who only associates the Crown Media network with schmaltzy Christmas movies and the romantic adventures of small-town amateur detectives. However, The Way Home is breaking the Hallmark mold and bringing in new viewers at the same time.

The series centers on the women of the Landry family. The first season begins with Kat Landry (Chyler Leigh), newly separated from her husband, taking her disobedient teen daughter Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow) home to her family farm in Port Haven, Canada. It’s a chance for the duo to reset and for Kat to mend fences with her estranged mother, Del ( Andie MacDowell ), to whom she has barely spoken in 20 years.

Viewers are quickly informed that the Landrys were struck by tragedy in 1999 when Kat’s younger brother Jacob (Remy Smith) went missing and her father Colton (Jefferson) died three months later. The details of Jacob’s disappearance and Colton’s death are slowly revealed throughout the season after Alice discovers a mysterious pond on the Landry property with the power to transport her back in time to the months leading up to the fateful events.

The Way Home seamlessly combines family drama with mystery intrigue and, of course, the sci-fi element of the sentient pond that takes select swimmers to the time period it wants them to see. It’s addictive and heartwarming, and has become a key part of Hallmark’s expanding brand.

“This show is a breakout hit. It’s a marquee show for us,” Hallmark’s Senior Vice President of Development Laurie Ferneau told The Daily Beast’s Obsessed during the Television Critics Association Winter press tour in February. “We’re excited that the audience has really embraced it the way that they have because it was a bit of a risk. They are going on this journey with us.”

That journey began in an unexpected place and is taking the show, viewers, and Hallmark into new territory. The series is now a cable-topping and brand-renovating hit. On the occasion of Sunday night’s Season 2 finale, we spoke with the show’s creative team and Hallmark’s programming executive about the time-travel risk—and major reward.

The Way From Netflix

The Way Home was originally developed at Netflix with content executive Lisa Hamilton Daly before she became executive vice president of programming at Hallmark in 2021. She brought the Canadian series with her when she made the move from the streamer, and her new staff instantly fell in love with how the show embodied Hallmark’s energy in a way they hadn’t seen before.

“We read it. We loved it. It was so original, unique. It was based on a multi-generational family of women. It was so female-centric, and that really spoke to Hallmark and our brand,” Fernau said. “It’s emotional and there’s a lot of trauma—it’s all about healing the generational trauma—and that kind of stuff. We go through those highs and lows of tragic events. It gets that kind feel-good place in the end, which feels very Hallmark as a brand. We were very excited.”

The creatives behind The Way Home were also excited to make the move to Hallmark, instantly falling in love with the brand and its welcoming team.

“Honestly, it was the perfect fit. There really was never a moment where we had push back or we had to settle,” series co-creator and co-showrunner Alexandra Clarke told Obsessed. “It has always been this amazing collaboration. We all wanted to do the same thing and it felt so right to be at home on Hallmark.”

Calling Hallmark home has also meant there’s more room for The Way Home to thrive. If the series had stayed at Netflix, it might have been lost amongst the streamer's never-ending library of content and bundled with similar family fare like Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias (also developed by Daly). Now, the series can serve as a crown jewel for the Hallmark suite.

“I think the show actually fits better on Hallmark because the essence of it is so rooted in family and feeling at home,” explained Hallmark Director of Original Programming Kate Redinger. “It touched on everything we try to do. We didn’t strip back anything. It was exciting to really put it on a pedestal here and treat it as a marquee for us. Netflix has a million shows, a sea of shows, and it gets to be a special baby here.”

The Way From Christmas

That special baby is bringing in a lot of viewers to Hallmark. According to Crown Media, the show has brought in over 4.4 million viewers since the second season premiered in January and the program ranks No. 1 among households, total viewers, and women and persons 18+ in Nielsen’s ratings. The numbers are a pay-off for Hallmark’s advertising blitz strategy during the 2023 Christmas movie season, making sure audiences were aware of The Way Home Season 2 was arriving in the new year during nearly every commercial break in their holiday fare.

“During Christmas time, we advertised a lot for the season premiere. There was a lot of build to that January slot. We have a huge audience in that fourth quarter for Christmas,” Ferneau explained. Hallmark was looking for a way to keep that Christmas audience around, and The Way Home turned out to be the answer. “A lot of people come to us for holiday [movies], so a great way to retain them is to give them great content, elevated content, and this show is perfect for that. It’s above and beyond. We love that we’ve been able to retain a lot of the audience.”

Scheduling The Way Home ’s Season 2 launch in January, immediately after the Christmas rush, shows how much Hallmark and its team believe that the series appeals to its core audience, despite being a little darker and more layered than the usual content on the network. It’s also more evidence that Hallmark wants to prove itself as a content creator outside of the fluffy romance people solely equate to the network.

“It’s exciting that we are a part of this broadening of the network and telling a bit of a different story. We love being the guinea pigs for that. We take that role seriously,” Clarke said. "I’m so grateful that we wound up where we did because I think we have the most incredible fans, and that’s because Hallmark fans are just so dedicated and invested."

The cast is also aware of the show’s success, but aren't surprised because they’ve been singing the show's praises from the beginning. They are equally excited to see the growth of The Way Home from the first to the second season.

“Even our demographics have changed. We’re hitting everything. Parents are watching with their kids,” Chyler Leigh gushed to Obsessed. “It doesn’t really matter where you are at in life, people are just gathering for this show. It’s the greatest compliment that we could ask for and it’s even more motivation to bring it even more.”

Leigh’s co-star Evan Williams, who plays Kat’s childhood best friend and Alice’s reluctant time-travel guide in The Way Home ’s present timeline, has his own theories for why the series has resonated with fans so much.

“There is a wish-fulfillment thing in the show, this fantasy idea of can you go back and see what went wrong and fix it? I think that’s what’s really grabbing people,” he explained. “There’s a heart and healing part of it that is allowing audiences to really invest in the characters and feel like they are involved in things that actually matter in their own hearts. We hooked them with that and that’s the staying power. That’s the kind of thing that makes people want to share the word of mouth about the show. That organic swell of audience has been because of that.”

The audience has grown as The Way Home has expanded its scope. The second season is even bigger than the first, adding in a completely new and more complicated timeline into the mix.

The Way to the Past

The Way Home Season 1 bounced between timelines set in 1999 and the present day, but the mystery of Jacob’s disappearance brought Kat all the way back to 1814. As Alice also continues going back to the Y2K time-period, Kat is exploring the origins of her family farm and her town, which adds an entirely new dimension to the series.

“It is three shows in one. We have three separate casts. We have three separate sections of our wardrobe department,” Clarke detailed. “It was really daunting, but at the same rate, everyone really believed in the story. Everyone really wanted to make it happen. We’re small but mighty…We care so deeply about the story that we’re telling and we knew it was a big ask, but we’re going to do it. So yeah, there are a lot of 1800s scenes that are in the woods, but we wanted to tell the best possible story.”

The theme of Season 2 is origin stories. Kat is literally exploring the beginning of Port Haven, while Alice discovers more about her family in the years leading up to her being born.

“She thinks that her last trip in Season 1 is the end of time-traveling to see her mom as a teenager and to see Elliot and all of those characters that our audience really fell in love with. Kat has told her you never go back, but we learned pretty quickly in Season 2 that she does,” Sadie Laflamme-Snow told Obsessed. “I think knowing that the pond takes you where you need to go, she has things to discover about those characters and those adults in her life that maybe they have been trying to hide from her.”

Alice isn’t the only one struggling with time travel in the second season. Audiences still haven’t seen Elliot go through the pond himself, but Alice and Kat’s journeys force him to reconcile with his past in the present. It allows viewers to learn more about young Elliot’s home life in the aftermath of Jacob’s disappearance and Colton’s death, and the tumultuous relationship he had with his biological father. Knowing that history helps viewers understand why Elliot has been so harsh with Kat and her need to revisit the past. His distaste for Kat and Alice’s time travel culminated in a massive fight between Elliot and Kat in the season’s second episode, and has left Elliot trying to repair the resulting rift with the Landrys.

“Elliot [had] his work cut out for him this year. I think it’s a redemption arc, where we’re going to see Elliot trying to figure out how to own his authenticity, and hopefully earn his way back into the trust of the Landry family,” Williams said. Elliot left Port Haven at the end of Season 1 to give himself space from the angst of the Landry women's time travel, but Season 2 proves he is still very much on that journey.

“Time travel is dangerous. Elliot is aware of that because he’s been on both sides of the time travel paradox. It’s only out of love and care for the people in his life that he is trying to steer people away from the pond,” Williams revealed. “Sometimes the only way to [protect people] is by shielding them from truth that they can’t handle. That’s when you get into hot water and the more secrets you have, the more miscommunication you have, the more the plot thickens. It remains to be seen whether Elliot’s love and support can or will actually be taken [as protection].”

Laying the groundwork for these multi-generational stories starts early on. The time-travel element of the show requires the creative team to think years and seasons ahead. Kat’s journey to 1814 was teased in the very first scene of the series, and more Easter eggs have been planted along the way for viewers to fully understand further down the line.

“It’s a five-year plan, especially with a show like this. You have to know that ending three seasons in, four seasons in. If you do, then you can plant things as early as the very first episode that will make the audience feel secure in the journey and know that we have this path,” Clarke explained. “We know what we’re doing.”

Hallmark knows what they are doing as well. The Way Home is setting them up for a deeper exploration of different types of content and expanding their audience.

The Way to the Future

The Way Home has encouraged the network to be more ambitious and sprawling with its storytelling. Multiple movies in the Christmas lineup strayed from the typical small-town romance set up and explored sibling dynamics ( A Merry Scottish Christmas ), found family ( Holiday Road ), and yes, a couple of movies that even played with time like Christmas on Cherry Lane and A Biltmore Christmas . Fernau revealed that more shows and programming that take big swings like The Way Home are in the pipeline.

“The movie side is very romance heavy-love stories… We love doing those stories, but we’re just trying to have some fresh ideas and really dig deeper with more complex characters, more layers to the characters, but still have that Hallmark promise that’s going to be delivered,” the executive explained.

The success of The Way Home has brought new partnerships to Hallmark’s doorstep. And it’s great timing as the network’s competitor Great American Family continues to compete in Hallmark’s standard content lanes. Fernau elaborated that the network is looking ahead instead of backwards or at the networks around them.

“This show really allowed us to expand our footprint in terms of the industry. Agents, managers, producers and writers are looking at us in a different way and saying, ‘Oh, Hallmark is actually doing this thing.’ We’re getting pitches from talent we haven’t really gotten before. There are offers that are really impressive and exciting,” she said.

Fernau was firm that The Way Home plan does not mean the network is alienating its existing and fervent fan base. The executive team knows where the sweet spot is for their audience and are going to continue to develop content that appeals to those viewers.

“We’re just trying to keep this momentum going. When Calls the Heart is a beautiful period romance and has a huge audience for that. There’s also an audience for this show, and we’re really trying to find content that falls in the middle of those two things, but keeps us moving forward creatively,” she continued. “We really are expanding our programming. This is a great benchmark for that to see what our audience will accept from Hallmark. We can do this thing and we can do this other thing. We’re really excited about developing more content that feels more like The Way Home .”

The Way Home’s Season 2 finale airs Sunday March 31 at 9 p.m. ET.

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Wealth of Geeks

The Best-Written Sci-Fi TV Series of All Time

Posted: February 9, 2024 | Last updated: February 18, 2024

Since its very inception, science fiction has maintained a tight hold over the imagination of its principal audience, achieving mainstream appeal with the advent of television. Like literature or film, the best-written sci-fi television transports viewers to exciting new locations, forcing them to look at the uncomfortable reality behind such issues as deep-space exploration, interplanetary colonization, or new technological innovations.

As with any genre, sci-fi requires a basis in stellar writing, with the best-written sci-fi series continuing to win acclaim years, sometimes decades, after the show itself has aired on television.

1. The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)

Often imitated yet never duplicated, The Twilight Zone remains among the best-written sci-fi television programs for good reason. With stories spanning science fiction, horror, and fantasy, creator Rod Serling used The Twilight Zone to ask fundamental questions about life in the mid 20th century, creating intricate allegories for the Cold War, racism, human suffering, and the dangers that lurk behind mankind’s fascination with the stars.

2. Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)

Reviving the middling ‘70s space opera Battlestar Galactica for a new generation, showrunner Ronald D. Moore rebuilt the series from the ground up. A stylistic departure from the kitschier presentation of most space opera series, Moore utilized a grittier, more realistic tone for 2004’s Battlestar Galactica , allowing the show to achieve a sense of true weightiness and inherent drama. It ranks as some of the best-written sci-fi of the 21st century in any medium.

3. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

In no uncertain terms, Gene Roddenberry created the modern space opera with his work on Star Trek: The Original Series. Combining the comic book aesthetic of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon with the drier tone of 19th-century adventure fiction, Roddenberry constructed a complex sci-fi universe more expansive than any other of its day and age.

As a result, Roddenberry not only spawned one of the most successful sci-fi series of all time–he also popularized a genre that gained further traction with the release of 2001, Star Wars, and Alien in the decade that followed.

4. The X-Files (1993-2018)

A forward-thinking television series, The X-Files zeroed in on the concept of a police procedural series with a “mystery of the week” theme behind it, replacing murdering fugitives and serial killers with U.F.O.s, government conspiracies, and paranormal monsters from folklore. What followed helped revitalize televised science fiction for mass viewership, achieving the same level of avid popularity as The Twilight Zone.

5. The Prisoner (1967-1968)

A key narrative influence on everything from Lost to Twin Peaks, The Prisoner also offered a sharp rebuke of the traditional espionage genre. Incorporating numerous themes taken from James Bond, The Prisoner ’s subliminal messages and surreal presentation allowed for a thought-provoking Orwellian portrayal of conformity, individuality, and the precedence of Cold War hostilities.

6. Stranger Things (2016-present)

One of the best-written sci-fi shows of the modern era, Stranger Things also appears among Netflix’s flagship series, helping give the streaming platform a vital foothold in premium content on par with HBO. An endearing love letter to all things ‘80s, Stranger Things strings together every cliche and pre-existing convention of dated pop culture, including meticulous references to early Spielberg films, kitschy slashers, Dungeons & Dragons, Stephen King novels, and Bronze Age comic books.

7. Severance (2022-present)

A show that reflects the darker aspect of corporate sci-fi (a niche but fascinating subgenre in itself), Severance also offers a poignant depiction of unscrupulous business practices. Exploring the differences in individuals’ personal lives and workplace personalities, Severance asks all the right questions regarding contemporary capitalist society.

8. Lost (2004-2010)

While viewers continue to lament its somewhat disappointing finale, most television scholars still credit Lost as one of the greatest TV shows of the 21st century. Borrowing the comic book presentation of Alan Moore’s Watchmen, Lost ’s split narratives and shifting protagonists allowed for an in-depth study of numerous characters’ backstories.

Aside from its fascinating episode structures, the show also boasted an unending array of unforgettable mysteries, several of which centered around sentient pillars of black smoke, ‘70s fringe scientists, and a Biblical duel between good and evil.

9. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

The best of the Star Trek spin-off series, The Next Generation , harked back to The Original Series’ dialogue-heavy tone. Introducing a cast of new characters every bit as endearing and three-dimensional as Kirk or Spock, The Next Generation ’s preference for strong characterization over stylized spaceship dog fights gave Trekkies a chance to bask in everything that made Star Trek so remarkable in the first place.

10. Rick and Morty (2013-present)

Yes, one can describe Rick and Morty as a biting satire of Back to the Future and Doctor Who . Yet with each new season, Rick and Morty leans further into its own distinct brand of storytelling, alternating back-and-forth between meta-fictional sci-fi adventures and heartrending meditations on loneliness, substance abuse, and existential dread over one’s place in the cosmos.

11. Firefly (2002)

While Firefly ’s abrupt cancellation after the release of its single season left most industry experts perplexed, viewers can always look at the series’ persevering cult status as evidence of Firefly ’s superior quality. A rare mainstream space Western that featured as many easter eggs to Bonanza and Gunsmoke as it did to Star Wars or Star Trek, Firefly  made a habit of providing vivid characterization to its lead cast.

12. Doctor Who (1963-present)

Most viewers can expect to see a show as long-running as Doctor Who ebb and flow in popularity over time. While certain periods in the show’s history fail to gauge viewers’ interests, Doctor Who ’s prevailing inventiveness, whimsy, and distinct British charm continue to fascinate fans over six decades since its original release.

13. Westworld (2016-2022)

Canceled in the wake of declining viewership numbers and disappointing critical reviews, the initial season of Westworld remains one of the most successful television series to ever air on HBO. Taking Michael Crichton’s ‘70s sci-fi film and flipping it on its head, the show’s intelligent treatment of artificial intelligence, entertainment, and technological advancements left viewers awestruck in 2016, the series possessing all the complexity of Blade Runner, A.I: Artificial Intelligence, or Ex Machina.

14. Fringe (2008-2013)

Taking liberal inspiration from The Twilight Zone, Lost, and The X-Files, Fringe acted as the ideal sci-fi counterpart to the fantasy-based Supernatural , utilizing a similar “monster of the week”-style presentation. Like all the best TV series, the show’s self-contained mythological universe accounted for the main reason to tune in each week, with viewers delighting in its distinct portrayal of fringe science.

15. Black Mirror (2011-present)

The 21st-century successor to The Twilight Zone, whereas Rod Serling used his series to probe into the fundamental worries of the 20th century, Black Mirror showrunner Charlie Brooker uses science fiction to explore new advancements in technology and culture.

While the series’ writing quality has fluctuated over time, the best episodes of Black Mirror continue to challenge viewers, presenting them with an upsetting speculative portrait of what the very near-future might look like.

16. The Expanse (2015-2022)

The best space opera series since Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse ’s detailed portrait of a colonized galaxy on the brink of war achieves the same realistic tone as Ronald D. Moore’s landmark series. Spending a significant portion of time on the political turmoil that foreshadows full-scale wars, The Expanse ’s intelligent and even-handed depiction of science fiction makes it one of the greatest television series of the past decade.

17. Orphan Black (2013-2017)

If Westworld offered a nuanced look at the arguments surrounding self-aware artificial intelligence, Orphan Black raised those same arguments for the implications of human cloning. A wondrous look at individuality and personality, Orphan Black ’s thematic discussions helped the series transcend the limits of science fiction, engaging viewers from an emotional and intellectual perspective.

18. The Outer Limits (1963)

The main thematic rival to The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits offered viewers a more dedicated depiction of science fiction than Rod Serling’s program. Employing a wide array of talented sci-fi writers like Harlan Ellison, The Outer Limits ’ nightmarish presentation of the genre exploited the prevalent fears most Americans felt at the time, including imminent invasion and nuclear annihilation.

19. Futurama (1999-present)

Canceled, rebooted, and then revived once again, Futurama ’ s multiple resurrections over the years speak volumes about fans’ favorable stance towards the show.

Spawning his own fully-rendered sci-fi universe, Simpsons creator Matt Groening conjured up a hilarious galaxy filled with colorful characters and exotic settings, from alcoholic robots to anxiety-riddled lobster physicians.

20. Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007)

A significant improvement over the 1994 sci-fi film of the same name, Stargate SG-1 never rivaled the storytelling prestige of Battlestar Galactica or Star Trek . Yet even when compared to those aforementioned sci-fi giants, Stargate SG-1′ s intelligent handling of intergalactic conflict and its implementation of Egyptian, Arthurian, and Greek mythology make it a dazzling space opera in and of itself.

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15 Best Sci-Fi TV Shows, Ranked

For decades, sci-fi has dominated the airwaves and taken fans to far away worlds and on special adventures. Here are some of the best sci-fi shows.

Science fiction has been a popular genre in novels and pulp magazines since the turn of the 20th century and a part of movies as early as 1902's A Trip to the Moon . With the introduction of radio and television, the science fiction genre is most prominently exemplified by long-standing series like Star Trek and Doctor Who . While some appear not to understand or have an interest, longtime fans of the genre can see the potential and entertainment in telling a very human story under the guise of an adventurous space opera.

For this reason, there are a considerable number of good sci-fi TV shows available. For a sci-fi show to be considered the best, it has to tap into core science-fiction elements, like artificial intelligence and extraterrestrial life, and explore them in an interesting manner. However, like any other show, it has to be consistently good, too: with compelling characters and interesting stories to tell with them. The very best combine it all into something special. Not all of them last -- some only make it a single season or two -- but all of them leave a deep impression on the genre when they go.

Updated on April 12, 2024 by Robert Vaux and Jennifer Melzer: Science fiction TV has been mesmerizing viewers for generations, and the best of the best in sci-fi TV includes so many unforgettable series. This list has been updated to include even more of the best sci-fi TV series, as well as adhering to CBR's most recent formatting standards.

15 HBO's Westworld Got Off to a Great Start but Overcomplicated Itself

• 2016 Critics' Choice Television Awards' Best Actress In a Drama Series: Evan Rachel Wood - Won
• 2016 Critics' Choice Television Awards' Best Supporting Actress In a Drama Series: Thandiwe Newton - Won

Westworld Might Still Get Its Final Season After All, Co-Creator Teases

The first season of the HBO series Westworld is some of the best science fiction television ever created. A common aspect of the genre is the role of artificial intelligence, popular in movies ranging from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Wachowski's The Matrix . The idea of man-created life is at the center of the themes in Westworld . At a Wild West-themed vacation amusement park run by androids, wealthy guests can indulge in their wildest fantasies.

Accompanied by fantastic performances, the series was created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. The basic premise was taken from the 1973 movie Westworld , written and directed by Michael Crichton, and its 1976 sequel, Futureworld . After 36 episodes and four seasons, HBO canceled the show, which a lot of fans started to feel had lost its way. That first season, however, is unparalleled, and that alone is enough to earn a spot in the rankings, albeit at the bottom of the list.

At the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, waits a world in which every human appetite can be indulged without consequence.

14 Futurama's Sci-Fi Satire Is Built to Last

From the creators of The Simpsons comes the best science fiction sitcom ever created. When pizza delivery boy Fry is accidentally cryogenically frozen for 1,000 years, he awakes on the eve of 3000. The series first aired in 1999 and has had eight seasons with 150 episodes and counting, the last airing in 2023.

Futurama is the grandchild of The Twilight Zone in a sense because of the way it conveys social commentary in a futuristic setting. However, where The Twilight Zone pulls the viewer in with bewilderment, Futurama maintains its fans over the years through various forms of satire. Thanks to science fiction's enduring popularity as a genre, it never runs out of targets for satire. Along the way, its oddball collection of characters has become as endearing as those in its sister series, The Simpsons.

Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy, is accidentally frozen in 1999 and thawed out on New Year's Eve 2999.

13 Legion Broke New Ground for Superhero Stories

Aubrey plaza's previous marvel role proved she's perfect for agatha: darkhold diaries.

One of the coolest science fiction series comes in the form of a superhero psychological thriller. Legion is about David Haller, a man who grew up believing the voices in his head were the result of schizophrenia, discovers he is actually a mutant with telepathic abilities.

The exciting twist of the show is the finding that David is actually both a mutant and suffers from schizophrenia. Inspired by characters from X-Men comics and taking place in an alternate history to the movies, Noah Hawley created Legion, giving it a three-season run with 27 episodes and a complete beginning, middle, and end. In the process, he showed what superhero stories were capable of, and opened the door for the likes of WandaVision and The Boys.

Legion is about David Haller, a man who grew up believing the voices in his head were the result of schizophrenia, but later discovers he is actually a mutant with telepathic abilities.

12 The Prisoner Was a Daringly Different Sci-Fi Concept

British science fiction television has a small presence compared to U.S. television, but has still delivered its share of inspiring series. The Prisoner stands among the very best, despite running just a single season of 17 episodes in 1967. Patrick McGoohan plays a British intelligence officer who resigns from his post, only to find himself trapped in a surreal "Village" whose residents cannot leave.

Espionage shows were very big when The Prisoner was released -- James Bond was the undisputed king of the pop-culture cage at the time -- but nothing looked or felt quite like it. It became equal parts paranoid thriller, social satire, and sci-fi meditation on the nature of free will. It probably couldn't have lasted much longer than it did, but what it delivered is still affecting the genre today.

11 Firefly Has Survived Its Creator's Disgrace

Nathan fillion says he'd work with joss whedon again 'in a second'.

The best science fiction series to receive its flowers way too late was the Joss Whedon-created TV show Firefly. After a civil war in the future, the show followed the lives of a crew of smugglers aboard a spaceship and their dealings with the "winning" side, an intergalactic superpower known as the Alliance. A common aspect of science fiction and a recurring theme throughout the show is that although technological advancements will improve life in some ways, society will always suffer the same problems.

This short-lived series is the best version of science fiction meets the Wild West, with charming characters and thrilling action. Unfortunately, because of poor marketing and subsequent poor ratings, the show was canceled after one season. However, because of its later success, fans received some closure to the series in the form of the 2005 movie Serenity, but for years they have been demanding a continuation of the much-beloved show. Chances are, they won't get what they're asking for -- credible allegations of abuse against Whedon have all but guaranteed it -- but the fact that fans are still asking after it is a testament to its place among the best sci-fi shows of all time.

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Five hundred years in the future, a renegade crew aboard a small spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them.

10 Max Headroom Was Too Innovative to Last

Like The Prisoner, Max Headroom is a show resolutely ahead of its time, and similarly was canceled after just a single 14-episode season. Its title character was created as the fictional host of a music video series in the mid-1980s. A short made-for-TV movie was filmed establishing his origin story: an AI created by accident in a dystopic future controlled by large television corporations. Max proved a sensation, and a regular series followed.

The show depicted Max partnering with his human "template" -- a crusading journalist named Edison Carter -- and his allies as they attempt to expose the truth and corruption of their world. It proved a brilliant catalyst for the growing cyberpunk sub-genre, and in its fourth-wall-breaking hero found an ideal way to make it fun as well as thought-provoking. Decades on, a disquieting number of its predictions about the future have come true.

9 Stargate SG-1 Went Far Beyond The Original Movie

Stargate sg-1: why janet fraiser actor teryl rothery left the show.

The original big-screen movie Stargate was a grand bit of mid-90s popcorn, with clear potential to expand beyond just a single story. The TV adaptation -- ostensibly a sequel, albeit with different actors in several of the key roles -- harnesses that potential in a huge way. It depicts teams of scientists and soldiers traveling through the titular alien artifact, which connects to a vast network of alien worlds. Many are occupied by humans, the descendants of slaves abducted from Earth centuries ago. The sinister Goa'uld -- alien parasites who served as the source of myths about ancient Earth deities -- control a stellar empire, with "free" Terran humans a most unwelcome intrusion.

Stargate SG-1 thrives on the clever and organic way it develops its universe, one very different from other science fiction series at the time. It developed multiple successful spin-offs during its run, and while it can't match Star Trek for sheer pop-culture impact, it demonstrated that smart, well-written science fiction would always attract a loyal audience.

Stargate SG-1

The Stargate is an intergalactic gateway, developed by an ancient civilization, that links other planets from other solar systems to ours. The U.S. Air Force assembles a Stargate team headed by Colonel Jack O'Neill for interstellar peace-keeping missions, but soon war comes for planet Earth and their allies.

8 Babylon 5 Saw Both Light and Darkness in the Future

Babylon 5 arrived in the wake of the extraordinary success of Star Trek: The Next Generation, with show runner J. Michael Straczynski determined to tell a very different kind of story. He conceived of Babylon 5 as a space opera that told a centralized story with a beginning, a middle and an end. Set aboard a space station created as "the last, best hope for peace" between various alien races, it proved so compelling that Paramount may have put Star Trek: Deep Space Nine into development solely to counter the competition it would provide. (The two series premiered within a few weeks of each other in 1993.)

Whatever competitiveness emerged between the two series made both of them better by default. Babylon 5 boasted a strong stable of writers, including the likes of Neil Gaiman and Harlan Ellison, as well as Star Trek alums D.C. Fontana and David Gerrold. It embraced the same commitment to high-minded ideals as Star Trek and -- like Deep Space Nine -- it wasn't afraid to explore the darker side of the future. It depicts a galaxy that has advanced, but still remains divided and warlike, with no sign of the utopia Star Trek always promised. Boosted by Straczynski's early embrace of the internet, it became a key part of the genre's big 1990s resurgence.

7 Farscape Looked Like Nothing That Had Come Before

15 best episodes of farscape.

Both Star Wars and Star Trek were thriving in 1999, with the former just launching its hotly awaited prequel trilogy, and the latter in the midst of its post- Next Generation renaissance. That made it exceedingly difficult to carve out any original space in the genre, and while the late 90s were full of notable sci-fi TV series, only a handful really distinguished themselves from the Big Two. Farscape was perhaps the biggest exception: the brain child of Brian Henson who hoped to make good on his father Jim's belief that puppets weren't just for children.

The results are one of the most gleefully unhinged space operas ever created, as American astronaut John Crichton is shot through a wormhole of his own creation into a galaxy rife with turmoil. Morality is a subjective thing in this universe, with Crichton and his friends -- fugitives one and all -- weave a dangerous path between equally oppressive galactic empires. The show was canceled after a fourth-season cliffhanger, but Henson pulled a final rabbit out of his hat with The Peacekeeper Wars miniseries: bringing closure to the story and cementing one of the most unique sci-fi shows in memory. James Gunn has publicly cited the series as a major inspiration for the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and Farscape star Ben Browder has a role in the second Guardians movie.

Thrown into a distant part of the universe, an Earth astronaut finds himself part of a fugitive alien starship crew.

6 Battlestar Galactica Reimagined a 1970s Science Fiction Classic In Spectacular Fashion

The eight cylon prototypes created by the final five.

After the Cylons attack the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, humanity's survivors found themselves on the run through uncharted space and on the hunt for a new world to call home. With a large population of survivors being military, the series followed the Battlestar Galactica, a ship on the verge of retirement alongside its commander, William Adama. Society's collapse saw the inexperienced Secretary of Education, Laura Roslin, next in line to become President of the Colonies. As she and Adama clash early on about what humanity needs in order to survive, the small fleet of survivors find themselves constantly on the run from pursuing Cylons. Little do they know, the Cylons have evolved. Indistinguishable from humans, the crew is in an ongoing state of panic and distrust, questioning the nature of everyone around them.

Inspired by Glen Larsen's 1977 series of the same name, one of the most iconic aspects of BSG was the hard line it drew between man and machine. Exploring one of science fiction's most prominent questions -- do machines have souls -- Battlestar Galactic left a lasting impression on sci-fi TV that fans of the genre won't soon forget. The series was so well-received, it landed two spin-off prequels, Caprica, which explored the origins of the Cylons, and Blood and Chrome , which followed the early adventures of young Bill Adama. There were also multiple made for TV movies that tied into and expanded events in the series.

Battlestar Galactica

When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.

5 The X-Files Was an Iconic Contributor to Science Fiction Television

Gillian anderson open to returning for ryan coogler's x-files reboot.

A successor to The Twilight Zone in science fiction TV is a series that includes other genres, too. The X-Files combined elements of a police procedural with the tropes of science fantasy stories, drawing inspiration from the recent success of The Silence of the Lambs , with a paranormal twist. The show follows FBI Agents Fox Mulder, a believer played by David Duchovny, and Dana Scully, a skeptic played by Gillian Anderson, as they discover and investigate unexplained phenomena.

Between 1993 and 2018, The X-Files, created by Chris Carter, released 11 seasons with 216 episodes and two spin-off movies. The winning combination of pairing a nonbeliever with a die-hard conspiracy theorist is a character dynamic that has since grown popular on TV, echoing in series like the first season of True Detective . Some of sci-fi's greatest shows of all time struggle to age well with the changing times, because much like science itself, the rules are always changing. While The X-Files is certainly still a worthy sci-fi tv show, there are parts of the series that just didn't age well, and that alone lands it mid-list in the rankings.

The X-Files

Two F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.

4 The Mandalorian Was Star Wars' First Live Action Star Wars TV Series

This slot could just as readily be occupied by Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which threw open the doors of television for the venerable franchise after decades spent largely on the big screen. But Jon Favreau reinvigorated the Star Wars franchise -- as well as bringing live-action into the mix -- with the space Western series The Mandalorian . Set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi , the story follows a lone bounty hunter who takes in a child with Force abilities the remaining Imperialists are after. The true genius of the series is how Favreau brings Star Wars back to its roots by delivering jidaigeki stories and Western themes disguised under the galaxy of Star Wars .

It's no surprise the writer-director has given fans the best Star Wars live-action treatment since the original trilogy. George Lucas first based Star Wars on Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress . Jon Favreau follows in those footsteps by drawing the same basic premise from a series of Japanese movies called Lone Wolf and Cub . The best science fiction can adapt old stories and present them in new and exciting ways, and The Mandalorian succeeds in both.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian

A Star Wars story about a lone Mandalorian gunslinger tasked with protecting a young Force-sensitive alien.

3 Doctor Who Has Been Taking Fans Through Time & Space for Generations

Doctor who franchise actor wants his villain to meet ncuti gatwa's doctor.

It's hard for science fiction fans to imagine a world without Doctor Who , as it's nearly as old as The Twilight Zone , and generations of viewers grew up with the TARDIS in their living room and the Doctor's space-time shenanigans tugging heartstrings and hitting funny bones. The number of times the Doctor saved Great Britain, the world, the universe has become impossible to count over the decades. The Doctor's changed faces through genetic regeneration multiple times over the years, but the one thing that never changes is his choice in travel companions.

From Sarah Jane Smith to Donna Noble, one could almost argue that despite The Doctor being central to the stories, it's the companions that truly make him who he is. Exploring his complicated origins and history, The Doctor often loses sight of what's right in front of him. When combined with the brave souls who dare to travel through space and time, it creates a great balance between science and humanity, making for some of the most outstanding science fiction television of all time.

The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and his companions from planet Earth.

2 The Twilight Zone Wasn't Afraid to Take Risks In the Science Fiction Department, & It Paid Off

Familiar faces from the twilight zone.

• William Shatner
• Elizabeth Montgomery
• Burgess Meredith
• Burt Reynolds
• Dennis Hopper
• Robert Redford

One of the best anthology series of all time is arguably the godfather of science fiction on TV. While it encompassed other genres, The Twilight Zone introduced audiences to science fiction stories that have inspired TV and movies since. The show has become so synonymous with the bizarre that "the Twilight Zone" is a phrase when someone has a surreal experience.

Created by Rod Serling in 1959 and running for five seasons with 156 episodes, The Twilight Zone accomplished what all science fiction should try to, second to entertain. The best science fiction stories provide social commentary on the current world. With The Twilight Zone disguising these issues in the genre, the writers could remark on topics of the time, such as racism, nuclear warfare, and totalitarianism.

The Twilight Zone (1959)

Ordinary people find themselves in extraordinarily astounding situations, which they each try to solve in a remarkable manner.

1 Star Trek Is the Quintessential Science Fiction Series, & There's Plenty of It to Watch

How star trek: discovery's trill story connects to dax on deep space nine, the most well known captains of the u.s.s enterprise.

Making its television debut in 1966, Star Trek: The Original Series set the bar for science fiction in ways no other series could claim. Focusing on humanity's futuristic explorations in space, the original crew of the Starship Enterprise went places no person had ever gone before, interacted with new species and people from all over the galaxy. For its time, the original Star Trek was groundbreaking, touching on known cultural issues and exploring them in ways no other series had done.

Following TOS in 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation revived the franchise, introducing a new captain, a new crew, a new U.S.S. Enterprise, and a whole new generation to the franchise, and it's been going strong ever since. Having expanded through multiple movies, including a series of films in the alternative Kelvin Timeline, TV series, animations, comic books and fictional novels, there is no doubt that Star Trek will go down in history as the most memorable and groundbreaking science fiction TV show of all-time. Star Trek launched an unforgettable legacy that shows no signs of slowing down.

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

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8 time travel anime series that will transport you to different eras

While talking about time travel or going back to the future (pun intended!), we often imagine immersing ourselves in a futuristic world or altering events from the past. The concept of hampering time or taking matters into our own hands by fluctuating situations is a common occurrence in the Western media — be it sci-fi, romance or even comedy genre.

Hit movies and series including The Time Machine , Interstellar , the German series Dark , the Back to the Future franchise, Marvel ‘s Doctor Strange and Loki , 13 Going 30 and About Time are some prime examples across diverse genres experimenting with time travel.

Similarly, time travelling in the anime world, where characters experiment and play with the clock and its consequences, is regarded as one of the best genres alongside psychological thrillers and crime mysteries. Some of these series are best for beginners, with hits like Steins; Gate , Orange and Link Click creating intrigue and interest amongst the audiences.

Here are a few exceptional anime series from the genre that will transport you to different eras without leaving the comfort of your couch.

8 best anime series dealing with time travel

Steins; gate.

Steins; Gate can be categorised into multiple genres, right from psychological thriller to sci-fi. While there are multiple time travel series and movies in the pop culture realm, this anime series has mastered the concept like no one else.

It’s the year 2010, scientist Rintaro Okabe and his friends come across a time machine made using a microwave and a mobile phone, which lets one alter the present by sending texts to the past. As time passes, the group soon realises that disturbing the past comes with its consequences.

IMDb rating: 8.8/10

Link Click is yet another classic time travel anime series that will traverse fans into a new world, with a distinctive plot.

Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang manage Time Photo Studio, where they cater to clients seeking relief from their regrets. The process involves using a photo to transport Cheng back to the moment it was taken. He notes the client’s identity and absorbs their memories and emotions. Meanwhile, Lu possesses the ability to monitor events in time and aids Cheng in reliving the client’s experiences.

However, the duo operates within strict parameters: they have a single opportunity to time travel for up to 12 hours, aiming to fulfil their client’s needs without altering past events.

IMDb rating: 8.6/10

Re: Zero, Starting Life in Another World

Re: Zero, Starting Life in Another World tells the tale of a person trapped in an alternate universe trying to find their way back, but with an interesting twist.

High school student Subaru Natsuki is trapped in a different realm where a girl with silver hair saves him. To repay her kindness, he decides to stick by her side and soon realises that the girl carries a heavy burden of destiny. Both Subaru and the girl meet their demise soon after. It is then that Subaru realises he has an extraordinary ability to rewind death, taking him back to the very beginning of his arrival in this new world.

But here’s the catch: he only retains the memories of what has transpired in his current life.

IMDb rating: 8/10

Orange uses time travel to uncover one of the most heartfelt stories in the anime world, where going back in time is about saving a life and turning it around.

High school student Naho Takamiya receives a letter from her future self, warning her about the regrets that will stay with her if she does not change certain actions. The letter focuses on Naho’s interactions with a new transfer student, Kakeru Naruse. At some point in time, all of Naho’s friends start receiving letters from their future versions and they learn about Kakeru’s struggles with depression and the role they play in his life.

IMDb rating: 7.6/10

Future Diary

Imagine if  Death Note met Squid Game , wherein each episode brings unexpected elements and keeps audiences on the edge of their seats. Well, that’s Future Diary for you.

Yukiteru Amano, a loner student spends most of his time writing in his digital diary and conversing with an imaginary friend, Deus Ex Machina, the god of time and space. His life takes a radical turn when he discovers that his phone diary can predict the future. He soon realises he is a part of a deadly survival game orchestrated by Deus Ex Machina.

Yukitera is pitted against other individuals, each possessing their future diaries with unique abilities, in a battle royale where the last survivor will become the new god of time and space.

IMDb rating:  7.5/10

Noein: To Your Other Self

Noein: To Your Other Self is akin to an introduction to quantum physics, thanks to its scientific accuracy and mindblowing storyline. Like Steins; Gate , the anime series is also a mixture of diverse genres including slice-of-life and sci-fi.

The anime series revolves around a divided universe where the Shangri-La faction seeks to obliterate the fabric of time and space, while the Lacryma faction vehemently opposes it. The only thing that can save everyone is Dragon Torque and a team called the Dragon Knights is sent on a journey across space and time to locate the same.

Meanwhile, in the current timeline, 12-year-old Haruka and her friend Yu are considering the idea of running away from their homes when they encounter Karasu, a member of the Dragon Knights. It seems like Karasu is Yu from fifteen years ahead in the future and believes that Haruka is the Dragon Torque.

IMDb rating: 7.5/10

Thermae Romae Novae

The best type of time travel stories are wherein characters from history or ancient era travel to a futuristic timeline and Thermae Romae Novae ticks off all the boxes.

A renowned architect from ancient Rome, Lucius Modestus faces challenges in generating fresh ideas and is now searching for a new job. As his spirits dampen and his personality becomes gloomy, his friends attempt to help him relax by taking him to a bustling bathhouse. However, amidst the noisy and crowded atmosphere, the architect struggles to unwind.

In an attempt to escape, he submerges his head in the water and to his surprise, discovers a hidden tunnel that transports him to a contemporary Japanese bathhouse. This unexpected journey provides him with the inspiration he has been seeking to create something new and innovative.

IMDb rating: 7/10

Occult Academy

Magic meets time travel in this show where heroes travel back in time to save the pre-apocalyptic world.

Maya is the daughter of the former Headmaster of Waldstein Academy and lives in a world invaded by aliens in 2012. To prevent an apocalypse, time travellers like Fumiaki are sent back to 1999 with the mission of destroying the Nostradamus Key. Maya returns to the academy as headmaster, intending to destroy it in 1999. However, her plans go awry when she crosses paths with Fumiaki and learns about the impending destruction.

Together, they set on a quest to locate the key.

IMDb rating: 6.6/10

Hero and feature image: Courtesy IMDb

This story first appeared here .

Also read: Animes recommended by BTS members that are perfect for a binge-watch session

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– Which is the best time travel anime series? Steins; Gate, Orange, Link Click, Re: Zero and Future Diary are some of the best time travel anime series.

– Which is the highest-rated time travel anime series? Steins; Gate is the highest-rated time travel series with an IMDb rating of 8.8/10.

Sanika Achrekar

Sanika lives for fashion and skincare. She enjoys writing about style, beauty, and lifestyle. She worked as a fashion writer for Man's World India magazine. When not writing about designers and trends, she likes to shop, travel, try new Sushi restaurants, practise pilates and rewatch her comfort shows.

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3 underrated sci-fi movies on Amazon Freevee you should watch in April

While Amazon Prime Video is great, Amazon Freevee adds another level to the experience. That’s because the streaming service, formerly known as IMDb TV, can be accessed entirely for free, both with or without an Amazon Prime subscription. You only get personalized movie and TV recommendations when signed in to an Amazon account, but we have some suggestions for you, too.

The Invisible Man (2020)

The matrix resurrections (2021), the mist (2007).

If sci-fi is on the menu tonight or the next time you’re ready to relax with a good movie, we have scoured what’s available to highlight three underrated sci-fi movies on Amazon Freevee you should watch in April. You’ll have to deal with a few commercials here and there, but it’ll be worth it to check out these gems.

Elisabeth Moss ( The Handmaid’s Tale ) stars in this sci-fi horror movie as Cecilia, a woman terrified that her mad scientist ex-boyfriend Adrian ( Surface ‘s Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is using his new method of invisibility to stalk and gaslight her. She is convinced that even though he’s presumed dead by an apparent suicide, his violent and controlling ways continue to manipulate and haunt her. Is she going mad, did he fake his death to torment her while being invisible, or is his ghost after her?

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The Invisible Man is based on the H.G. Wells novel of the same name and serves as a reboot of the famous 1933 movie. This update offers a smart and fresh story that, beneath the surface, also examines topical issues like domestic abuse through a horrifyingly exaggerated lens.

Stream The Invisible Man on Amazon Freevee.

The Matrix film series arguably put Keanu Reeves on the map as a bona fide action superstar. The Matrix Resurrections is the fourth movie in the franchise and a direct sequel to The Matrix Revolutions , released in 2003. It’s set 60 years in the future, where Neo (Reeves) is living a mundane life as a video game developer. That is, until he is freed from this new version of the Matrix to complete an important mission: Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) is being held captive, and she needs his help.

The Matrix Resurrections has all the same excitement, complexity, and intrigue as the three previous movies, with a more mature storyline that pays full fan service to die-hards. Despite this, the movie did not perform well at the box office. The Matrix Resurrections is a sorely underrated resurrection (pun intended) of one of the biggest movie franchises ever, and fans of the originals should check it out or watch it again.

Stream The Matrix Resurrections on Amazon Freevee.

Created by Frank Darabont ( The Walking Dead ) and adapted from the 1980 Stephen King novella , The Mist is a sci-fi horror movie that shows off the talents of the two horror experts behind its story. Similar to The Walking Dead , The Mist is, on the surface, about monsters, but deeper down, it’s about the difficult decisions people make when their lives are on the line. The movie begins when a mist envelops the city, with evil creatures emerging from its darkness. The main characters are holed up in a local supermarket, and as tensions rise due to differing beliefs about what’s going on, why, and how to handle it, the situation becomes dire.

The Mist features several actors who went on to work with Darabont in The Walking Dead ’s first seasons, including Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden, Melissa McBride, and Juan Gabriel Pareja. Also among the cast are Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, and the late Andre Braugher. If you love Spielberg, The Walking Dead , and apocalyptic stories that are about survival and the human condition, The Mist will be a welcome addition to the watch list this month.

Stream The Mist on Amazon Freevee.

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This isn’t the first time that Park has directed TV (more on that below), but The Sympathizer seems poised to be one of the big shows of the spring. The series follows a spy who moves to a refugee camp in the U.S. near the end of the Vietnam War, and continues collecting intelligence for the Viet Cong. If you loved the show and are looking for something similar, here are three shows you should consider. Slow Horses (2022-) Slow Horses — Official Trailer | Apple TV+

The selection of sci-fi movies on Peacock is absolutely awful in April. All of the fantastic sci-fi films from March left at the end of last month, and the replacement titles are not exactly riveting science fiction. What that leaves us with is a sci-fi library that consists largely of schlock films like Android Cop, Jurassic City, and Lord of the Elves. And if you doubt that those are real titles, you can see them for yourself on Peacock.

In the absence of any great sci-fi epics, our picks for thes three sci-fi movies on Peacock that you have to watch in April are all comedies. That includes the recently released film Lisa Frankenstein, which veers closer to horror than science fiction. But when a bolt of lightning can bring a dead body back to life, that's close enough to sci-fi for us! Click (2006)

Every month, Tubi adds popular movies and television shows to its library of 50,000 titles. Tubi is a FAST streaming service, meaning it's free at sign-up, but ads will run during your program. New programs in April 2024 include Hell or High Water, a lauded crime thriller from David Mackenzie; Hellboy, Guillermo del Toro's superhero movie about the Dark Horse Comics character; and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, one of the greatest action films ever made.

In this article, we're focusing on television series. Below is a list of three TV shows on Tubi that you need to watch in April. Our picks include a landmark police procedural, an award-winning adaptation of a famous novel, and a memorable teen soap opera. NYPD Blue (1993-2005)