If you’ve never heard of Murderbot, there’s perhaps a frustrating reason for that.
The new sci-fi action comedy based on a series of books by Martha Wells arrived on May 16th – but it’s on Apple TV+, the underrated streaming service that goes toe-to-toe with Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime.
Apple’s subscription streaming service maintains an enviable level of quality across its original programming. In fact, we’d argue it’s one of the best sources of original sci-fi in the streaming business.
However, Apple’s shows rarely break out into the mainstream conversation in the same way as those of Netflix, Disney+, or Amazon Prime Video – Severance notwithstanding.
We’re here to try and redress that imbalance.
The following Apple TV+ sci-fi shows range from the interesting to the downright great. All have something to offer, yet none have attracted the level of mainstream attention they arguably deserve. We're going to assume you're already clued up on Severance, so here's 9 more of our favourites, ranked in order of sci-fi awe and wonder!
9. Invasion
Invasion depicts a modern day alien invasion through a variety of impressively global perspectives, including an Oklahoma sheriff (played by Sam Neill), a London schoolboy, a Japanese aerospace engineer, and a US soldier. As is the way with many of these Apple TV+ series, it all takes a while to get going, and it’s certainly not the most cohesive show on this list. However, by the time you hit season two, there’s every chance you’ll be hooked. Crucially, season three is in production, so you might even have some of your questions answered. Take that, Netflix.
8. Time Bandits
Not everyone took to this reboot of the 1981 Terry Gilliam movie when it landed in 2024. Indeed, it’s one of relatively few Apple TV+ shows to be cancelled after its first season. If you tend to take to the offbeat comedic style of co-creators Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, however, you might just fall in love with it. Lisa Kudrow (yes, THE Lisa Kudrow) leads a ragtag crew (and a young boy named Kevin) on an epic heist through time. At the very least, Time Bandits is the most family-friendly sci-fi show on this list, which has to count for something.
7. Constellation
Here’s another high-class Apple TV+ production that won’t be getting a second season. There are some choice ingredients here that are well worth picking over, however, not least a cast that includes Noomi Rapace as a discombobulated astronaut who returns from a failed mission to find that her life is not as she remembers. Jonathan Banks, meanwhile, plays the physicist who might just have an idea of what might be going on – as well as his twin brother. Look, there’s a lot going on here!
6. Sugar
Sugar is by far the weirdest show on Apple TV+ – and quite possibly every other major streaming service. Watch the first few episodes and you’ll doubtless find yourself puzzled as to why we’ve included it on this list of overlooked sci-fi shows. It’s really more of a noirish LA crime thriller as Colin Farrell’s impeccably dressed private investigator tracks down a missing girl. But then, around half way through the series, this familiar world is turned on its head. We’ve already said too much. Give it a watch with an open mind.
5. Sunny
Based on 2018 novel The Dark Manual by Colin O'Sullivan, Sunny follows a grieving American woman (played by Rashida Jones) living in Kyoto, who befriends a domestic robot in the wake of losing her young family to a plane crash. The resulting show is far cleverer than its premise suggests, with a stylishly offbeat tone that steps nimbly between comedy, drama, and thriller. Again, it’s not in a rush to tell its story, but as should be apparent by now, that’s all part of the Apple TV+ charm. Those mourning the gap between Severance seasons should give it a try.
4. Foundation
Based on the novels of Isaac Asimov (albeit increasingly loosely), Foundation is sci-fi TV of the grandest variety, spanning multiple generations and planets. It centres on a sprawling genetic dynasty led by a constantly regenerating trio of cloned emperors, and the emergence of an incendiary field of mathematically based prophecy – called ‘psychohistory’ – that predicts its downfall. This is heady stuff, ably marshalled by a solid cast. Key among them is Jared Harris’s secular prophet, Harry Seldon, and Lee Pace’s imperious Brother Day, who find themselves at odds across the centuries.
3. Dark Matter
Based closely on an excellent 2016 novel by Blake Crouch, Dark Matter is a hugely entertaining sci-fi thriller with a razor-sharp central premise. Chicago physicist Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton) is knocked out and wakes up in a parallel reality where he’s seemingly a far more successful version of himself, forcing him to directly contend with his personal and professional failures even as he strives to get back to his own reality and family. Just who is the mysterious figure who set this all in motion? You’ll have a great time finding out.
2. Silo
Here’s another of those slow-burn sci-fi shows that Apple seems to excel at. Silo takes the current obsession with post-apocalyptic fantasy and does something genuinely interesting with it. In this dystopian future, the remnants of mankind have been confined to a vast mega-bunker for countless generations, though seemingly no-one remembers why. Ruled by a shady regime that sets arbitrary rules and designates old world artefacts and knowledge as contraband, any who dare to question the status quo are sent outside to ‘clean’ lest they spark a violent revolution.
1. For All Mankind
For All Mankind has been quietly brilliant for much of its four season run (with a fifth on the way). Crucially, that quality level has steadily risen across its 40 episodes. The premise is compelling – an alternate-history drama centring on a NASA that failed to beat the Russians to the moon. The ensuing butterfly effect steadily fractures and reframes real world events that we’ve all come to take for granted, showing what might have been and what may yet still occur as mankind attempts to become a fully fledged spacefaring species.
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