The sci-fi genre on TV is full of rich and unique worlds, and there are some TV shows that can brag about having perfect worldbuilding. Among the best TV shows of all time are various sci-fi shows, such as Black Mirror, The X-Files, and Firefly. While it’s not a requirement for every sci-fi show, many of them have created their own worlds, while others have simply incorporated sci-fi elements into this world.
Building an entirely fictional world, with its own rules, systems, and more isn’t an easy task, and the sci-fi genre is proof of that. While there are many sci-fi shows with impressive worldbuilding, some of them have plot holes, inconsistencies, or nonsensical elements that are hard to ignore. These ultimately negatively impact the show, as they can turn a great story into one that is inconsistent, hard to follow, and that no longer makes sense.
However, many other great sci-fi shows have perfect worldbuilding. These don’t have to be complex and borderline confusing worlds, as what makes them perfect is a combination of creativity, different layers, accessibility, and believability. These shows with perfect worldbuilding are an immersive experience for the audience, adding to their success and popularity, and thus becoming a key part of their legacy.
The 100
Seven Seasons
The 100 is a post-apocalyptic drama series based on Kass Morgan’s young adult novel series of the same name. The 100 is set in a universe where, almost a century ago, a nuclear apocalypse wiped out most humanity on Earth, and the survivors now live in a space station called “The Ark.” Three generations later, life-support systems on the Ark begin to fail, and so 100 juvenile detainees are sent to Earth to determine if it’s habitable and can thus be their new home.
Once on Earth, the group does its best to survive in Earth’s harsh conditions while facing hostile grounders. The worldbuilding of The 100 is a key part of its plot, as it’s directly tied to it thanks to the characters’ battle for survival and resources. The 100’s universe also has its own politics, society, rules, cultures, and backstory, and every season keeps adding to its lore.
Fallout
Third Season In Development
Fallout is a post-apocalyptic drama TV show based on the role-playing video game franchise of the same name, created by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky. Fallout is set 200 years after the Great War of 2077. Society collapsed after a nuclear holocaust, and so a retrofuturistic society has emerged, along with a resource war. Survivor Lucy ventures out of her bunker home and into the wasteland to find her kidnapped father.
During her journey, Lucy meets Maximus (Aaron Moten), a squire of the Brotherhood of Steel, and the Ghoul (Walton Goggins), a mutated bounty hunter who was once a Hollywood actor. Fallout has the advantage of adapting a world that already exists in video games, but it has done so with creativity, respect, and loyalty, perfectly capturing the essence of the video games and the complexities of its post-apocalyptic world.
Silo
Third Season On July 3, 2026
Silo is a dystopian drama TV series based on Hugh Howey’s novel trilogy Wool, Shift, and Dust. Silo takes the audience into a dystopian future where a community exists in a silo with 144 levels underground and 10,000 people in a society with regulations for their supposed protection. The outside world is believed to be highly toxic and deadly. Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson), an engineer working in the lowest levels of the silo, investigates a series of deaths that lead her to a dark conspiracy behind the creation of this society.
Silo has a claustrophobic feel that makes the show an immersive experience, and masterfully builds an entire world, society, and rules in a contained space. The world of Silo has a rich backstory and many secrets waiting to be uncovered, making it one of the most complete and fascinating sci-fi shows in recent years.
Battlestar Galactica
One Season (Original Series), Four Seasons (Reimagined 2004 Series)
One of the most popular sci-fi worlds of all time is that of Battlestar Galactica, created by Glen A. Larson. Battlestar Galactica follows a group of humans who have escaped from the destruction of their homeworlds aboard the title spacecraft. The group is now looking for a new home, while being pursued by a society of robots called Cylons, who have the mission of exterminating humans.
The original Battlestar Galactica TV show aired in 1978, and it got a re-imagined series in 2004 that ran for four seasons.
Although the concept of survivors looking for a new home planet isn’t really new or groundbreaking in sci-fi, Battlestar Galactica stands out for its gritty atmosphere, and it mirrors the real world in different ways, which makes it relatable despite its sci-fi elements. Battlestar Galactica has one of the richest universes in sci-fi TV, with its own mythology, rules, systems, and more.
Fringe
Five Seasons
Created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci, Fringe centers on the Fringe Division, a Joint Federal Task Force supported by the FBI. The team is formed by Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), scientist Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), and his estranged son Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), who is brought in as a civilian consultant. The Fringe team investigates cases of fringe science, thus covering complex yet fascinating cases that go from transhumanist experiments and genetic mutations to the collision of parallel universes.
As the show progresses, Fringe gets increasingly complex and extensive, as it starts addressing interdimensional conflicts, parallel universes, and time traveling, among other things. This creates a multilayered universe in Fringe that questions science and the beliefs of not just the characters but the audience as well.
Foundation
Fourth Season In Development
Foundation is based on Isaac Asimov’s novel series of the same name, and takes viewers into a far future where most of the galaxy is ruled by the Empire, formed by the genetic dynasty of Emperor Cleon, a retired and aging Cleon as Brother Dusk, and a young Cleon as Brother Dawn. Foundation, then, focuses on the efforts of a group of scientists to preserve human civilization after brilliant mathematician Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) predicts the collapse of the empire.
The end of the empire will send the universe into a 30,000-year dark age, but to significantly shorten this, Seldon and his team establish “The Foundation”, a remote outpost built to safeguard human knowledge and build the blueprint for a new empire. Foundation has one of the most complex worldbuilding sci-fi TV has seen in recent years, and the show is quite impressive as it has perfectly brought to life Asimov’s vision, which spans centuries in-universe and has a lot of history.
Stranger Things
Five Seasons
One of Netflix’s best TV shows of all time is Stranger Things, created by the Duffer Brothers. Stranger Things takes the audience back to the 1980s and to the town of Hawkins, Indiana, where, one night, young Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) disappears and a young girl, later referred to as Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), escapes from Hawkins Lab. This is the beginning of the uncovering of a massive conspiracy involving parallel dimensions, monsters, and horrifying experiments.
Stranger Things perfectly blends parallel dimensions with monsters and other creatures, and the real world, offering an alternate look at the 1980s. Stranger Things gradually built its universe every season, allowing the audience to put all the pieces together and speculate about what is truly happening in Hawkins and the Upside Down alongside the characters, becoming an immersive experience.
Dark
Three Seasons
Dark is a sci-fi mystery thriller series created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese. Dark takes viewers to the fictional town of Winden, Germany, where, one night, a young boy named Mikkel disappears after sneaking out with his siblings and their friends. His father, police officer Ulrich, investigates his son’s disappearance, while the friend of one of his siblings, Jonas, does his own investigation – and both discover a dark and disturbing town secret linked to time travel.
Dark is one of the most complex and smartest TV shows in recent years. Time travel is very hard to address as it can be confusing and messy, but Dark perfectly planned its use of time travel, its consequences, and how all of this has directly impacted the town and the lives of every resident. Dark isn’t a show set in space or with monsters from other dimensions, instead being set in the real world, but with complex timelines, parallel universes, and more.
The Expanse
Six Seasons
Based on James S. A. Corey’s novel series of the same name, The Expanse is set in a future where humanity has colonized the Solar System. The powers of Earth and Mars have ruthlessly exploited the Outer Planets Alliance, igniting political and social conflict. The Expanse follows a group formed by a United Nations Security Council member, a detective, and a ship’s officer, who not only find themselves in the middle of conflict but also have to deal with the dangers of newly discovered alien technology.
The Expanse is regarded as one of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time and has been praised for its production value, visuals, concept, and character development. The Expanse brings together socio-political conflict with technology, physics, traditions, cultures, and more, in one of the most extensive and outstanding universes the sci-fi genre has seen.
Star Trek
Three Seasons (Original Series)
One of the most influential TV shows of all time is Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry. Set in the Milky Way galaxy, in the 23rd century, Star Trek: The Original Series follows Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew on board the U. S. S. Enterprise as they go on a five-year mission – the twist is that it’s a peaceful and exploratory mission, rather than one motivated by war or greed.
Instead of a post-apocalyptic, bleak, and obscure universe, Star Trek presents an optimistic one where humanity has eradicated war, poverty, disease, and more. That doesn’t mean Star Trek has a simple universe, as it has many different planets, alien species, and more, and is so rich that it made way for one of the biggest and most popular franchises in the sci-fi genre.
- Release Date
-
1966 – 1969-00-00
- Showrunner
-
Gene Roddenberry
- Directors
-
Marc Daniels, Joseph Pevney, Ralph Senensky, Vincent McEveety, Herb Wallerstein, Jud Taylor, Marvin J. Chomsky, David Alexander, Gerd Oswald, Herschel Daugherty, James Goldstone, Robert Butler, Anton Leader, Gene Nelson, Harvey Hart, Herbert Kenwith, James Komack, John Erman, John Newland, Joseph Sargent, Lawrence Dobkin, Leo Penn, Michael O’Herlihy, Murray Golden
- Writers
-
D.C. Fontana, Jerome Bixby, Arthur Heinemann, David Gerrold, Jerry Sohl, Oliver Crawford, Robert Bloch, David P. Harmon, Don Ingalls, Paul Schneider, Shimon Wincelberg, Steven W. Carabatsos, Theodore Sturgeon, Jean Lisette Aroeste, Art Wallace, Adrian Spies, Barry Trivers, Don Mankiewicz, Edward J. Lakso, Fredric Brown, George Clayton Johnson, George F. Slavin, Gilbert Ralston, Harlan Ellison