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5 Long Running Sci-Fi Shows on Netflix That You Need To Watch, Including a Newly Added 10-Season Masterpiece
Netflix may no longer be acquiring Warner Bros, but it is keeping the train moving with a number of highly anticpated projects. The streaming giant has a number of high-profile projects on the horizon or in development, including One Piece season 2, Wednesday season 3, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, Enola Holmes 3, and Narnia all on the way. While you have to wait a bit for those to arrive, Netflix is also home to five long-running Sci-Fi shows you can and should watch in the meantime, including the recent addition of a 10-season masterpiece.
5. Falling Skies
First up is TNT’s post-apocalyptic alien invasion series Falling Skies, which debuted on June 19th, 2011, and ended its 5-season run on August 30th, 2015. The show followed the surviving humans of Earth after an invasion by the alien race known as the Espheni, an invasion that took out around 90% of the human population.
That’s where 2nd Mass comes in, which is a group of survivors attempting to fight back against the Espheni, including Tom Mason, who is played by series star Noah Wyle. It’s a rollercoaster ride of battles and setbacks for the resistance, who even get some help from another alien race that hates the Espheni later in the series.
The show continued to be a hit with critics and audiences over the course of its 5-season run, and the series holds an overall critics score of 79% and an audience score of 70%, though individual seasons rank even higher with their scores.
4. Orphan Black
Our second entry is the BBC America series Orphan Black, which debuted on March 30th of 2013, and ended its run on August 12, 2017. Over the course of the 5-episode season, the series followed Sarah Manning (played by Tatiana Maslany), who discovers that she is actually a clone and is also one of a multitude of clones across the world, and they are all in danger as someone attempts to kill them.
Maslany herself plays multiple clones in the series, but the show also expanded its scope to include other cloned characters as well as the exploration of the potential impact of human cloning and the Pandora’s box it inevitably opens.
The show won a host of awards and was critically acclaimed throughout its run, and on Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 93% critics rating and a 92% audience score.
3. Black Mirror
We move from the continuous story of Orphan Black to the anthology series Black Mirror for our number 3 spot, which made its debut on the streamer on October 21st, 2016. It has continued across 7 seasons, and more seasons are rumored to be on the way as well.
The best comparison for Black Mirror is The Twilight Zone, as each episode is a self-contained mystery drama that mixes science fiction, horror, and societal themes. Some episodes lean more towards one side than the other, but in most cases, there is an introspective human issue at the center of these stories.
While the anthology format means not every episode will be your speed, the series has earned acclaim from both critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, Black Mirror has a critics rating of 83% and an audience score of 80%, though the show’s most impressive rating is season 1’s 98% critics score and 92% audience score.
2. Resident Alien
The number 2 spot on this list is reserved for one of the most delightful sci-fi shows in recent memory, and that show is the Syfy and USA Network series Resident Alien, which debuted on January 27th, 2021, and ended its 4-season run on August 8th, 2025.
Resident Alien tells the story of an alien who crash-lands on Earth, and the alien is played by Alan Tudyk. He takes the identity of Doctor Harry Vanderspeigle and proceeds to live out his life, and over the course of the series, starts to learn more about humanity and even ends up protecting humans from outside threats.
The show balances science fiction concepts and stakes with pitch-perfect comedy, and Tudyk is dynamite in the role of aspiring human Harry, who has learned how to fit in by watching reruns on TV, including Law & Order.
Resident Alien holds a 98% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience score of 88% overall, but two seasons manage to capture a very impressive 100% critics score.
1. Stargate SG-1
The top spot on this list simply had to be the beloved series Stargate SG-1, which made its debut on television on July 27th, 1997, and ended its impressive 10-season run on June 22nd, 2007. Stargate SG-1 recently made its return to Netflix earlier this month, and fans can dive into all 10 seasons to see what all the fuss is about, while longtime fans can experience the series all over again from the beginning.
Stargate SG-1 is based on the original Stargate film from 1994, with the series introducing franchise favorites like Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), Teal’c (Christopher Judge), Vala Mal Doran (Claudia Black), and more.
The SG-1 team was tasked with exploring the galaxy in hopes of discovering alien technology and allies in their ongoing battle against enemies like the Goa’uld and the Ori, and they would travel through portals known as Stargates to get to their various cosmic destinations.
Across its 10 seasons, fans would grow to love the crew and many of the new additions along the way, and the show was never afraid to take some risks and make some big swings. That’s why it’s considered one of the best in the genre, and you stream all 10 seasons of this masterpiece right now on Netflix.
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