The Most Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Shows On Netflix
Science fiction is a genre fueled by boundless imagination and limitless wit. Unlike fantasy, sci-fi features ideas that sound believable and aren’t too far-fetched from what can be thought of as possible. Being grounded in reality makes science fiction immensely fascinating to everyone from casual viewers to die-hard fans of the genre.
Netflix is home to some of the most beloved sci-fi shows ever released. Some of these shows, such as “Dark” have become a global phenomenon while less popular ones, such as “Black Mirror” have a fan following of their own.
Here, we discuss some of our favorite shows that bend your mind with excellent storytelling, dark dystopian futures, and weird yet seemingly plausible scenarios. Let’s dive right into it.
1. Black Mirror
Deep social commentary? Check! Futuristic technologies? Check! Mind-blowing endings? Double check! With 22 original stories spanning 5 seasons, Black Mirror is arguably the best series to come out of The Twilight Zone subgenre of science fiction. Each episode features a different technology and explores its effects on the personalities and behaviors of the main characters.
The timeline of the series ranges from the near future to centuries into our evolution, featuring technologies we already have such as the internet and mobile phone to those we can only imagine such as spaceships and virtual worlds.
Audiences found the fifth season of the series to be underwhelming and less impressive compared to what we’ve come to expect from the show. But, it’s an anthology series so you can enjoy individual episodes with no regard to what happens in the rest of the series. Black Mirror holds a mirror to our face, revealing the black nature of the realities we’re living in and those that are about to come. It’s the perfect sci-fi series if there ever was one.
2. Dark
The story of Dark starts when two children in a small German town called Winden, go missing. We wouldn’t blame you if the first episode reminded you of Netflix’s Stranger Things, but you’ll soon find out you couldn’t have been more wrong.
Dark revolves around the distant pasts and futures of four families in Winden who are more related to each other than they realize. The show may be too sophisticated at times for its own good. It’s easy to lose track of relationships in the show, making it even harder to follow deeper relationships revealed with time.
You may have to look up characters and give the show your undivided attention to understand what’s going on, but it’s worth it. According to many, Dark is the best TV show on Netflix—and we’re not sure if we disagree.
3. Rick and Morty
Rick and Morty is an animated show that follows the misadventures of Morty and his grandpa Rick, who happens to be the smartest person in the universe. Sociopathic and chronically intoxicated, the mad scientist builds weird gadgets and travels to distant parts of the universe with Morty in his flying saucer and with his portal gun.
With effortless witty comedy and original satirical remarks on culture, Rick and Morty amuses audiences unlike any other show of its kind. The show is able to sugarcoat its darkest affairs with optimistic nihilism making viewers question the existence of their own intersubjective realities.
Rick and Morty has inspired several rip-offs such as Solar Opposites (also created by the creators of Rick and Morty) and Farzar. None have been able to come even close to the popularity of Rick and Morty. If you like sci-fi elements taken to absurd extremes, you’ll love Rick and Morty.
4. Love Death + Robots
Love Death + Robots is another sci-fi and fantastical anthology series with each episode exploring a different idea and featuring a different set of characters. What separates Love Death + Robots from Black Mirror and other shows similar to The Twilight Zone is that it’s animated, allowing for a greater degree of creativity than possible in live-action.
Each episode is created in a different and unique animation style, giving an original viewing experience each time. The show has 35 episodes across three volumes, with a fourth volume on the way. If you like science fiction, short stories, and animation, you’re going to love this series.
5. Snowpiercer
In the near future when the world has become an inhospitable frozen wasteland, the surviving humans inhabit a train that perpetually revolves around the globe. Originally meant only for the few that were rich enough to afford it, the train also houses a population of working-class people who must fight for social justice.
Snowpiercer is a reboot of a 2013 movie by the same name, which received immense popularity and critical claim upon release. The TV show builds upon the gritty world created by the movie and explores new ideas that the movie couldn’t. Snowpiercer ran for three seasons which are available on Netflix.
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