Top 15 Sci-Fi Shows for Fans of Stranger Things, Ranked

Here's a list of 15 sci-fi shows that'll keep your love for the supernatural alive while we're all waiting for Stranger Things season 5.

15. Otherworld (1985)

Otherworld takes the Sterling family on an accidental journey to an alternate Earth-like world after they stumble upon a mysterious pyramid during their vacation in Egypt. Each episode sees them navigating different zones of this strange world, which are ruled by dictatorial leaders – all with the goal of finding their way back home.

14. The Rain (2018 - 2020)

The Rain thrusts you into a world where a virus carried by rainfall has wiped out almost all humans in Scandinavia. Siblings Simone and Rasmus, who have been sheltered in a bunker for six years, emerge to search for their father, a scientist who left them in the bunker but never returned. They join a group of young survivors, facing the challenge of staying alive in a post-apocalyptic world.

13. Falling Water (2016 - 2018)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 26%

Imagine if your dreams were more than just random thoughts; that's the crux of Falling Water. The show follows the lives of three strangers, Tess, Burton, and Taka, who discover they're dreaming separate parts of a single, common dream. Each of them is on a quest for something: Tess searches for her missing son, Burton for the love he cannot find, and Taka investigates a sinister conspiracy. Soon, they realize their dreams might hold the key to the fate of the world.

12. Beyond (2016 - 2018)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 42%

Holden Matthews wakes up from a 12-year coma and discovers he's got supernatural abilities. These powers might hold the key to a grand cosmic mystery. Holden tries to lead a normal life, but a mysterious woman warns him he's in danger. Between adjusting to modern life and uncovering what happened to him, Holden's journey is full of twists and turns.

11. Deadly Class (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 65%

Set in the late '80s, this show is about the students who are also budding assassins and follows a disillusioned teen, Marcus, as he joins King's Dominion, a secret academy for the deadly arts. He navigates various cliques – Yakuza, cartel, street gangs – while wrestling with his moral compass. Marcus and his diverse group of friends plan to change the world, but it's not easy when your homework involves murder techniques.

10. The OA (2016 - 2019)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%

The OA starts with Prairie Johnson, a young woman who reappears after being missing for seven years. But now, she calls herself The OA and can see, despite being blind before her disappearance. She refuses to tell the FBI or her parents where she's been, instead confiding in a small group of high school students and a teacher. Prairie recounts her life story, involving her childhood in Russia, her adoption in America, and her bizarre experiences with a scientist who studies near-death experiences.

9. The Society (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

The Society is basically a modern-day Lord of the Flies. It's about a group of teenagers who return early from a field trip, only to discover everyone else in their town has disappeared. The world outside their town's borders has vanished, too. These teens must form their own society to survive. Power struggles, love triangles, and moral dilemmas abound as they grapple with independence, governance, and the mystery of what happened to them.

8. Continuum (2012 - 2015)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%

Set in both 2077 and present-day Vancouver, Continuum revolves around Kiera Cameron, a law enforcement officer from the future. She inadvertently travels back in time while pursuing a group of terrorists, who plan to change the future by stopping corporations from gaining power. Trapped in the past, Kiera joins the local police force and works with a young tech expert, Alec Sadler, to stop these terrorists while finding a way to return to her time and her young son.

7. Fringe (2008 - 2013)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

Fringe is a series that goes deep into the bizarre, unexplained phenomena occurring around the world. The story follows FBI agent Olivia Dunham, mad scientist Walter Bishop, and his son, Peter, as they work with the Fringe Division to investigate these strange occurrences, which are often related to a parallel universe. As the series progresses, the team's explorations reveal a larger, more complex conspiracy.

6. Colony (2016 - 2018)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

Set in a dystopian near-future Los Angeles, Colony introduces us to a world where extraterrestrials have occupied Earth, leading to a divided human race: collaborators and the resistance. The series centers around former FBI agent Will Bowman and his wife Katie. In an effort to protect his family and find his son, Will collaborates with the occupational government. However, unbeknownst to him, Katie is a member of the resistance.

5. Channel Zero (2016)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

This horror anthology series is based on popular online creepypastas. Each season tells a different story, starting with Candle Cove, about a child psychologist who connects a disturbing children's television show from his childhood with recent child disappearances.

4. Dark (2017 - 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

Set in a small German town, Dark opens with the disappearance of two young children, which exposes the fractured relationships, double lives, and dark past of four families living there. The story quickly evolves into a complex puzzle involving time travel, spanning several generations. As characters travel back and forth through different time periods (1953, 1986, and 2019), they reveal a twisted web of conspiracy, cover-ups, and tragedy.

3. Les Revenants (The Returned) (2012 - 2015)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

In a small mountain town, several deceased people suddenly reappear, unaware they have been dead for years. They try to resume their lives as strange phenomena start occurring, and the town's residents grapple with this impossibility. Meanwhile, the town experiences power outages, dropping water levels, and strange marks appearing on the living and the dead.

2. Travelers (2016 - 2018)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

In Travelers, special operatives, known as travelers, are sent back in time from a post-apocalyptic future. Their mission is, well, standard enough: to prevent the collapse of society. But the means to do that are bizarre enough: they are taking over the bodies of people in the 21st century moments before their recorded time of death. The show focuses on one such team led by FBI Agent Grant MacLaren. Each member has a specific skill set, from medic to tactician.

1. Counterpart (2017 - 2019)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

Howard Silk, a low-level bureaucrat in a Berlin-based United Nations spy agency, discovers his organization is hiding a secret: a crossing to a parallel Earth. Howard meets his counterpart from this parallel world – his double, but with a completely different personality and life. The show revolves around a cold war between these two worlds.