Total Nerd The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time  

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Originally by Ranker Community
781.9k votes 43k voters 697k views 288 items

List Rules Sci-fi TV shows and series with science fiction elements

Here is a list of the best sci-fi shows and best sci-fi series of all time, as ranked by hundreds of Ranker voters. This list includes long-running sci-fi TV shows like Doctor Who as well as some of the best canceled shows of the genre. Science fiction TV shows have been around for decades, and some of the longest running shows have fallen into this category. Popular shows such as Star Trek have enjoyed several incarnations, and fan-favorite shows like Firefly and The X-Files have made the crossover from TV to the big screen.

Thanks to networks like SyFy, FX, and The CW, new sci-fi TV shows premiere every year. Sci-fi series like The Expanse, Orphan Black, and The 100 continue to raise viewership ratings and grow fan bases. Netflix has also contributed to the science fiction genre with their original series Stranger Things, which was met with rave reviews. 

Vote for your favorite science fiction shows to move them to the top of the list, or press re-rank to create your own list of your favorite science fiction series. Be sure to stop by to vote on the best British sitcoms and best current TV shows airing right now.

Are you a sci-fi fan? Check out this list of current sci-fi shows to watch. 

 

list ordered by

1
14,593 6,866
Firefly is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk
Firefly is an American space western science fiction drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as an executive ...more

2
10,506 5,830
Star Trek: The Next Generation is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry twenty-one years after the original Star Trek series debuted in 1966. Roddenberry, ...more

3
12,326 5,640
Battlestar Galactica is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and executive produced ...more

4
10,746 6,581
Doctor Who is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith
Doctor Who (BBC, 2005) is a British science-fiction television show created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, and Donald Wilson. The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer ...more

5
8,898 4,541
Star Trek: The Original Series is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ...more

6
9,011 4,917
The X-Files is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi
The X-Files is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by Chris Carter. The program originally aired from September 10, 1993 to May 19, 2002 on Fox, spanning nine ...more

7
9,718 4,386
Stargate SG-1 is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping
Stargate SG-1 is an adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is ...more

8
6,841 4,119
The Twilight Zone is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Rod Serling, Robert McCord, Jay Overholts
The Twilight Zone is a 1959 American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. It is a series of unrelated stories containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, ...more

9
8,626 6,569
Babylon 5 is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Jerry Doyle, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs
Babylon 5 is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic ...more

10
6,653 4,383
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Cirroc Lofton
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. The show is set in the Milky Way galaxy, in the years 2369–2375. In contrast to the setting of ...more

11
6,917 4,456
Farscape is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe
Farscape is an Australian/American science fiction television series, produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson ...more

12
7,321 4,615
Fringe is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Jasika Nicole
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. It premiered on the Fox Broadcasting network on September 9, 2008, and concluded ...more

13
6,143 4,073
Star Trek: Voyager is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series, set in the Star Trek universe. The show takes place during the 2370s, and begins on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy, 75,000 ...more

14
5,350 3,791
Quantum Leap is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Deborah Pratt
Quantum Leap is an American television series that originally aired on NBC for five seasons, from March 1989 through May 1993. Created by Donald P. Bellisario, it starred Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam ...more

15
5,812 3,583
Stargate Atlantis is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Joe Flanigan, Rachel Luttrell, David Hewlett
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper ...more

16
6,312 4,214
Futurama is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Billy West, John DiMaggio, Katey Sagal
Futurama is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the ...more

17
5,452 3,729
Star Trek: Enterprise is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction TV series and a prequel to the original Star Trek. The series premiered September 26, 2001, on the UPN television network with the final episode airing ...more

18
4,783 4,104
Torchwood is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Kai Owen
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off from the 2005 revival of long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who, Torchwood aired ...more

19
5,139 3,794
Eureka is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Erica Cerra
Eureka was an American science fiction television series that premiered on Syfy on July 18, 2006. The fifth and final season ended on July 16, 2012. The show was set in a fictional town in ...more

20
5,175 5,701
Lost is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Naveen Andrews, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia
Lost is an American television drama series that originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company from September 22, 2004, to May 23, 2010, over six seasons, comprising a total of 121 ...more

21
4,540 3,417
Warehouse 13 is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly, Saul Rubinek
Warehouse 13 is a U.S. television science fiction series that premiered on July 7, 2009, on the Syfy network. Executive-produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins, the dramatic comedy from ...more

22
4,559 4,599
Heroes is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Hayden Panettiere, Jack Coleman, Milo Ventimiglia
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the ...more

23
3,444 3,155
The Outer Limits is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Richard777 added Kevin Conway, Joe Pascual
The Outer Limits is a US-Canadian television series that originally aired on Showtime, the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002. The series is a revival of the original The ...more

24
4,185 2,089
Battlestar Galactica is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
JimmyPaton added Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson, that began the Battlestar Galactica franchise. Starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk ...more

25
3,955 3,383
Red Dwarf is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises ten series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1993 and from 1997 to 1999, and on Dave ...more