The 5 Most Underrated Sci-Fi Shows Streaming On HBO Max

There is no better time to be a science fiction fan. In the age of streaming, classic sci-fi shows as varied and beloved as "The Twilight Zone," "Doctor Who," and "Mystery Science Theater 3000" are only a few clicks away — to say nothing of high-budget, highly entertaining new shows like "The Mandalorian" and "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy."

With so many streaming services to choose from, enterprising audiences searching for underrated science fiction shows should look towards HBO Max. Not only does HBO Max stream some of the best horror shows ever made and modern sci-fi hits like "Watchmen" and "The Leftovers," but it is also home to underrated sci-fi gems that are overdue for rediscovery.

While what defines a show as "underrated" may be debatable, we determined these five programs as likely to have slipped under the radar for many viewers, whether due to the medium (animation), an ill-timed release, or an original concept untethered to any major IP (apologies, "Dune: Prophecy"). Featuring robots, psychics, hackers, and even a post-apocalyptic production of "Hamlet," here are the five underrated science fiction shows you need to watch on HBO Max.

• Creators: Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner
• Cast: Sunita Mani, Wunmi Mosaku, Alia Shawkat 
• Number of Episodes: 12 
• Where to Watch: HBO Max, Netflix

Die-hard science-fiction fans may balk at calling "Scavengers Reign" underrated — Looper has already named it as one of the best sci-fi shows streaming on HBO Max and on Netflix – but this surreal space odyssey remains critically underseen among mainstream audiences.

Expanded from the 2016 short "Scavengers" by creators Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner, the adult animated series takes place on Vesta, a distant planet recently invaded by survivors of the damaged interstellar ship Demeter 227. As the separated shipmates try to regroup and contact the Demeter, they must survive their encounters with Vesta's strangely beautiful flora and fauna — or risk being transformed into something entirely alien and new.

If "Solaris" crashed on "Fantastic Planet," you might approach something as cerebral and visually stunning as "Scavengers Reign," but the series quickly establishes its own unique identity. Premiering in 2023, "Scavengers Reign" developed an intense cult following, but neither a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score nor an Emmy Award for outstanding individual achievement in animation could save it from cancelation. The series was later acquired by Netflix, which also left hopes for a second season stranded in space. "Scavengers Reign" may have been canceled too soon, but it remains a triumph of animation and originality.

• Creator: Patrick Somerville   
• Cast: Mackenzie Davis, Himesh Patel, Gael García Bernal 
• Number of Episodes: 10 
• Where to Watch: HBO Max

Based on the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel by Emily St. John Mandel, "Station Eleven" masterfully explores the world left behind after a flu pandemic kills 99.9% of humanity. It also had the unfortunate timing of being released in 2021, two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. If you shied away from "Station Eleven" when it debuted, don't worry. The show is still here, waiting to be found and savored, much like the in-universe graphic novel that gives the show its title.

Weaving between the early days of the pandemic and 20 years into its aftermath, "Station Eleven" centers on Kirsten (Mackenzie Davis). An orphan of the flu, Kirsten is now a member of the Traveling Symphony, a nomadic troupe performing Shakespeare plays to the remaining population. When Kirsten and her fellow actors cross paths with a post-apocalyptic cult, she discovers that their "Prophet" has a mysterious connection to the graphic novel "Station Eleven" that was given to her on the night of the outbreak.

A profound reflection on the meaning of art and community in even the darkest of times, "Station Eleven" was one of the most critically acclaimed shows of 2021. Al Horner of Empire declared it to be "a beautiful, bright ballet of a show that invites the idea that things can get better, while elegantly eliding every rule in the post-apocalyptic pop-culture rulebook."

• Creator: Shinichirō Watanabe 
• Cast: Mamoru Miyano, Makoto Furukawa, Maaya Uchida 
• Number of Episodes: 13 
• Where to Watch: HBO Max

The year is 2052, and almost everyone in the world has taken Hapna, a miracle painkiller created by the brilliant but elusive Dr. Deniz Skinner. "Lazarus," the 2025 anime series by "Cowboy Bebop" director Shinichirō Watanabe, begins with a shocking announcement: Hapna is actually a deadly poison, and it will claim its first wave of victims in 30 days.

The NSA quickly assembles the Lazarus task force: Axel Gilbretto (Mamoru Miyano), a master of hand-to-hand combat; Chris Blake (Maaya Uchida), a gun-toting Russian spy; Eleina (Manaka Iwami), the hacker known as the "Mad Screamer"; Leland Astor (Yuma Uchida), a teenage drone operator; and Douglas Hadine (Makoto Furukawa), the team coordinator and the brains of the operation. Their mission? To find Skinner and develop a cure for Hapna before time runs out.

Produced for Adult Swim's Toonami block, "Lazarus" is a true successor to "Cowboy Bebop," featuring a diverse, globetrotting cast, a bluesy soundtrack, and eye-grabbing action sequences choreographed by none other than "John Wick" director Chad Stahelski. "Lazarus" is a stylish and probing depiction of a possible future shaped by climate change, the rise of AI, and an apocalyptic opioid crisis.

• Creator: Russell T. Davies 
• Cast: Emma Thompson, Rory Kinnear, Jessica Hynes 
• Number of Episodes: 6 
• Where to Watch: HBO Max

Donald Trump is in his second term as President, a refugee crisis spikes across Europe, and the advancements of AI raise new questions about the meaning of consciousness — this is not just our present, but the future envisioned by "Years and Years," the discomfortingly prescient 2019 miniseries co-produced by HBO and the BBC.

Created by "Torchwood" and "Doctor Who" showrunner Russell T. Davies (who knows something about imagining the future), "Years and Years" combines the potent family drama of "This is Us" with the dystopian immediacy of "Children of Men." The series follows British everyman Stephen Lyons (Rory Kinnear) and his extended family across 15 years of national and personal upheaval, set against the political rise of Vivienne Rook (Emma Thompson), the magnetic leader of the far-right Four Star Party.

In the midst of this turmoil, the Lyons family reacts in different and surprising ways: Stephen's sister Edith (Jessica Hynes) embraces political activism, his brother Daniel (Russell Tovey) falls in love with a Ukrainian refugee, and his daughter Bethany (Lydia West) obtains cybernetic implants to become "transhuman." Davies creates an excellent — if frequently chilling — depiction of the future knocking on our doors, but "Years and Years" is far from despairing. It shows the future is worth fighting for.

• Creator: Ho-Yu Chen 
• Cast: Kuo Shu-yao, Kent Tsai, Akio Chen 
• Number of Episodes: 14 
• Where to Watch: HBO Max

Xiao Zhen (Kuo Shu-yao) is no ordinary sixteen-year-old girl — if she was, then "The Teenage Psychic" wouldn't be on this list. We meet our heroine, a sulky teen sporting a school uniform and a helmet of dark hair, in an unusual place: Stealing a nap in her drama club's prop coffin. This amusing introduction will probably make Xiao Zhen relatable to anyone who's ever had to balance schoolwork and a part time job. Unfortunately for Xiao Zhen, her afterschool job is using her psychic powers at a temple to communicate with the dead.

This Taiwanese coming-of-age story, based on the 2013 short "The Busy Young Psychic," is by turns funny and poignant — after all, who would think helping a possessed young boy is easier than talking to your crush? Believers at the temple turn to her for spiritual guidance, but Xiao Zhen is unsure of her own heart as she experiences the pangs of first love. "The Teenage Psychic" is a must-watch for anyone who loves a good teen drama with a mind-bending twist.