Total Nerd The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time  

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Originally by Ranker Community
730.8k votes 40.8k voters 670.3k views 305 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. 

 

1
13,936 6,515
Firefly is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Firefly 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
9,960 5,504
Star Trek: The Next Generation is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Star Trek: The Next Generation 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
11,705 5,343
Battlestar Galactica is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Battlestar Galactica 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
10,284 6,227
Doctor Who is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Doctor Who 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
8,401 4,344
Star Trek: The Original Series is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Star Trek: The Original Series 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
8,568 4,670
The X-Files is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
The X-Files 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
9,216 4,161
Stargate SG-1 is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Stargate SG-1 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
6,428 3,938
The Twilight Zone is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
The Twilight Zone Rod Serling, Robert McCord, Jay Overholts The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. It is a series of unrelated stories containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, ...more

9
8,284 6,298
Babylon 5 is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Babylon 5 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
6,306 4,137
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 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
6,569 4,209
Farscape is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Farscape 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
6,954 4,396
Fringe is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Fringe 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

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13
5,809 3,848
Star Trek: Voyager is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Star Trek: Voyager 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
5,062 3,596
Quantum Leap is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Quantum Leap 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
5,459 3,379
Stargate Atlantis is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Stargate Atlantis 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
6,031 3,963
Futurama is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Futurama 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
5,132 3,522
Star Trek: Enterprise is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Star Trek: Enterprise 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

The Best New Sci-Fi Shows of the Last Few Years

18
4,554 3,866
Torchwood is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Torchwood 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
4,882 3,594
Eureka is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Eureka 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
4,902 5,410
Lost is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Lost 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
4,358 4,367
Heroes is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Heroes 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

22
4,286 3,230
Warehouse 13 is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Warehouse 13 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

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23
3,256 3,005
The Outer Limits is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Richard777 added The Outer Limits 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
3,853 1,927
Battlestar Galactica is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
JimmyPaton added Battlestar Galactica 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
3,789 3,192
Red Dwarf is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Red Dwarf 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

26
3,413 1,446
The Expanse is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
The Expanse Thomas Jane, Steven Strait, Cas Anvar The Expanse (Syfy, 2015) is an American science fiction television series developed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, based on the novels by James S. A. Corey. In a future where humanity has ...more

27
3,580 3,452
V is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
V Elizabeth Mitchell, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch V is an American science fiction television series that ran for two seasons on ABC, from November 3, 2009 to March 15, 2011. A remake of the 1983 miniseries created by Kenneth Johnson, the new ...more

The Best British Sitcoms of All Time

28
3,409 2,944
Sliders is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Sliders Jerry O'Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, John Rhys-Davies Sliders is an American science fiction and fantasy television series created by Robert K. Weiss and Tracy Tormé. It was broadcast for five seasons between 1995 and 2000. The series ...more

29
3,575 3,338
Terminator: The Sarah Connor C... is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is an American science fiction television series that aired on Fox. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Warner Bros. Television, and C2 ...more

30
2,642 2,221
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ... is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Stephen Moore, Simon Jones, David Dixon The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a BBC television adaptation of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy broadcast in January and February 1981 on UK television station BBC ...more

31
3,345 3,051
Stargate Universe is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Stargate Universe Robert Carlyle, Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith Stargate Universe is a Canadian-American military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration ...more

32
2,296 1,456
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
nymless added Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., or simply Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., is an American television series created for ABC by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, based on the Marvel ...more

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33
2,808 3,145
Dollhouse is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Dollhouse Eliza Dushku, Harry Lennix, Fran Kranz Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and ...more

34
3,038 2,677
Falling Skies is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
dustman025 added Falling Skies Noah Wyle, Drew Roy, Maxim Knight Falling Skies is an American science fiction post-apocalyptic dramatic television series created by Robert Rodat and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. The series stars Noah Wyle as Tom ...more

35
1,616 934
Dark Matter is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Dark Matter Marc Bendavid, Melissa O'Neil, Anthony Lemke Dark Matter (Syfy, 2015) is a Canadian science fiction series created by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, based on their comic book. Onboard a starship called the Raza, six people awaken in ...more

36
2,451 2,940
Space: 1999 is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Space: 1999 Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Nick Tate Space: 1999 is a British-Italian science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, set in September 1999, nuclear waste ...more

37
2,550 2,589
Continuum is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
toddrh added Continuum Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lobo, Victor Webster Continuum is a Canadian science fiction series created by Simon Barry and produced by Reunion Pictures Inc., Boy Meets Girl Film Company, and GK-TV. The series centers on the conflict between a ...more

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38
2,915 2,760
Xena: Warrior Princess is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Xena: Warrior Princess Lucy Lawless, Renée O'Connor, Ted Raimi Xena: Warrior Princess is an American/New Zealand television series filmed in New Zealand. The series aired in syndication from September 4, 1995, until June 18, 2001. The series was created in ...more

39
2,404 2,561
The Six Million Dollar Man is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
The Six Million Dollar Man Lee Majors, Richard Anderson, Martin E. Brooks The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for a fictional government office known as OSI. The series is based on the ...more

40
2,681 2,707
Dark Angel is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Dark Angel Jessica Alba, Michael Weatherly, Richard Gunn Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee and starring Jessica Alba in her breakthrough role. The show premiered ...more

41
2,427 2,199
Buck Rogers in the 25th Centur... is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
huggums537 added Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Felix Silla Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is an American science fiction adventure television series produced by Universal Studios. The series ran for two seasons between 1979–1981, and the feature-length ...more

42
2,545 2,693
Andromeda is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Andromeda Kevin Sorbo, Lisa Ryder, Laura Bertram Andromeda is a Canadian/American science fiction television series, based on unused material by the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, developed by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and produced by ...more

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43
2,268 2,151
Dune is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Dune William Hurt, Alec Newman, Giancarlo Giannini Frank Herbert's Dune is a three-part miniseries written and directed by John Harrison and based on Frank Herbert's 1965 novel Dune. The series was produced by New Amsterdam Entertainment, Blixa ...more

44
2,298 2,017
Highlander: The Series is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
wiabux added Highlander: The Series Adrian Paul, Stan Kirsch, Jim Byrnes Highlander: The Series is a fantasy science fiction action-adventure television series featuring Duncan MacLeod of the Scottish Clan MacLeod, as the eponymous "Highlander". A slight ...more

45
1,506 921
Daredevil is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
nymless added Daredevil Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson Daredevil (Netflix, 2015) is an American web television series created for Netflix by Drew Goddard, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Blind lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) ...more

46
2,585 2,505
3rd Rock from the Sun is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
3rd Rock from the Sun John Lithgow, Jane Curtin, Kristen Johnston 3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very ...more

47
2,174 2,345
Lost in Space is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Lost in Space Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Mark Goddard Lost in Space is an American science fiction television series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, ...more

48
1,963 1,512
The Flash is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
The Flash Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker The Flash (The CW, 2014) is an American superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, based on the DC Comics character. Crime scene investigator ...more

49
1,901 1,621
The Jetsons is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
huggums537 added The Jetsons George O'Hanlon, Janet Waldo, Mel Blanc The Jetsons is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in primetime from September 23, 1962 to March 17, 1963, then later in syndication, with new episodes in ...more

50
2,168 2,490
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Joel Hodgson, Michael J. Nelson, Trace Beaulieu Mystery Science Theater 3000, often abbreviated MST3K, is an American television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc. The show premiered on KTMA in ...more