The Most Rewatchable Sci-Fi Shows Of All Time

Some of the earliest science fiction television shows aimed at adults popped up in the 1950s, with mind-bending, thought-provoking anthology programs like "Tales of Tomorrow" and "The Twilight Zone." These shows gave audiences a window into the unknown, whether that was outer space or bizarre alternate dimensions. Over the years any number of sci-fi hits (and misses) have passed over the airwaves and fascinated audiences with stories of the weird and the wondrous. 

But which shows are the best to watch over and over again? Shows that can be binged repeatedly and still remain as timely and entertaining as they were the first time you turned them on? From "Star Trek" to "The X-Files," there are shows that are easily accessible, require little to no background, and can be picked up and enjoyed at almost any point. 

With few exceptions, the most rewatchable sci-fi shows tend to be of the episodic variety. Shows like "Babylon 5" or "Star Trek: Discovery" are incredible feats of sci-fi storytelling, but feature complex, ongoing storylines filled with interwoven plotlines that make individual episodes a challenge to enjoy on their own. Meanwhile, shows like "Battlestar Galactica," while high quality dramas, rely heavily on ongoing mysteries, big plot twists, and shocking revelations that can dampen the excitement on a rewatch when you know what's coming. 

With all that in mind, here's our list of the most rewatchable sci-fi TV shows of all time.

A surprising spinoff of the British classic "Doctor Who," the 2006 launch of "Torchwood" saw fan-favorite companion and fellow time-traveling adventurer Jack Harkness get the spotlight in his own series. Debuting just a year after the successful revival of its parent series, "Torchwood" was a much more adult-skewing show than the somewhat family-friendly "Doctor Who." Tackling more serious and darker subject matter, it even featured a serial child abuser in its main cast, played by American star Bill Pullman. Other main cast members included Indira Varma ("Game of Thrones") and Mekhi Pfeiffer ("ER").

In the series, the wisecracking warrior Jack Harkness allies himself with a shadowy agency called Torchwood, which has existed as far back as the 1870s solely to repel alien invasions and other extraterrestrial and supernatural threats. Though a darker show, star John Barrowman brings a welcome levity and lightheartedness that manages to mix well with the series' adult themes. "Torchwood" did include a handful of episodes that crossed over with "Doctor Who," but was otherwise largely a sci-fi procedural, with serious, thought-provoking themes amidst the alien adventures. Though the first season stumbled a bit, it found its footing by year two and quickly became a cult hit. Just about any Whovian will tell you it's a show worth watching over and over.

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Before he was the director of Marvel's first mega team-up, "The Avengers," Joss Whedon was best known as the creator of TV shows like the popular "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and the lesser known "Firefly," the latter best described as a Western in space. With a cargo hold packed full of action and adventure, "Firefly" dazzled with a cast of complex and compelling characters lead by Nathan Fillion ("Castle") as Mal Reynolds, captain of the starship Serenity and former soldier on the losing side of a decades-long galactic civil war. Fun, funny, and full of charismatic performances from its stars, "Firefly" is a show that — despite running just a single season — never gets old. 

Although it's remembered today as one of the best science fiction series ever produced, ratings were abysmal when it first aired. Only nine of its 14 episodes were broadcast, and a feature film had to be produced to wrap up the story. With a passionate following, "Firefly" regularly shows up on "cancelled too soon" lists, and has seen multiple fan-driven campaigns to resurrect it from the dustbin of lost TV treasures. As recently as 2020, rumors of a reboot were making the rounds, but as of yet there's been no word on whether it will actually come to fruition.

The third spinoff from the iconic franchise, "Star Trek: Voyager" debuted in 1995 as the UPN network was just launching. The Federation's most advanced new starship, the U.S.S. Voyager, finds itself mysteriously catapulted 75,000 light years from home, and the series charts the crew's adventures as they make the long journey back to Earth. Alone in hostile territory, and forced to merge their crew with a group of Starfleet renegades, Captain Janeway and her ship of castaways faced dangerous new enemies each week and forged alliances with any friendly faces they encountered.

Though "Star Trek: The Next Generation" may be the most enduring of the 90s "Star Trek" spinoffs, that series' rough first two seasons make a rewatch problematic, while "Voyager" boasts perhaps the most consistently strong stories across its seven-season run. Nearly every episode of "Star Trek: Voyager" managed to deliver something dramatic, and to this day serves as a reminder of a time when sci-fi was full of excitement and family-friendly fun. Though it was a "Trek" series through and through, "Voyager" told its own brand of stories. While episodes were almost always self-contained, it excelled at growing the characters over time, including series standout Seven of Nine. If you're looking for a "Star Trek" series to binge on repeat from start to finish, this is the one.

If you heard we were putting a decades-old British sci-fi series on this list you'd probably have guessed "Doctor Who," but it's the long-running "Red Dwarf" that gets our pick. Set aboard the titular starship, the series begins with the last human alive, Dave Lister, awakening from cryogenic sleep after three million years in hibernation. Save for a holographic man named Rimmer and a feline named Cat that's since evolved into a humanoid, the ship is deserted. Lister — a slovenly layabout who could be the forerunner of Philip J. Fry from "Futurama" — discovers the future is nothing like he ever imagined. Later joined by the robot Kryten in the second series, and other cosmic misfits as the series progressed, the ragtag bunch set out on episodic adventures across the galaxy. 

From hilarious time traveling escapades to parallel dimension hopping, to an intergalactic game of pool played with planets, there's seemingly no limit to the zany adventures the crew of the Red Dwarf (and later the Starbug) would get mixed up in. Running for nearly 34 years off and on, there's over 70 episodes to choose from; none will fail to satisfy if you're looking for a good science fiction comedy, with its episodic long-running nature giving it more than enough rewatchability. 

The second science fiction comedy on our list, Matt Groening's "Futurama" was likely first seen as an extension of "The Simpsons." But fans looking for a show that reminded them of the laugh-a-minute animated sitcom were probably disappointed. Instead, what audiences got was a much more clever sci-fi series that boasted sharper wit than its older cousin, packing fewer but more precisely targeted laughs. Episodes ran the gamut of science fiction, from post-apocalyptic adventures to mind-controlling slugs, and it managed to do it with hysterical social commentary as well. 

The series centered on Philip J. Fry, a lazy Gen-Xer who is frozen in time in 1999 and awakened in the year 3000. There he finds a bizarre future world, and eventually takes a job as a space cargo delivery boy alongside one-eyed alien Leela, dim-witted lobster Zoidberg, jaded robot Bender, uptight number-cruncher Hermes, spoiled brat Amy, and doddering scientist Professor Farnsworth. With guest stars that included Dick Clark, Conan O'Brien, the Beastie Boys — and in one memorable episode nearly the entire cast of the original "Star Trek" — the series' laughs never get stale no matter how many times you watch it.

"Futurama" struggled in its initial run — where it concluded after 72 episodes across four years — but a cult following and strong DVD sales after its cancellation got the attention of Comedy Central. In 2008 the network revived the series for four feature-length movies, four additional seasons, and ultimately 68 more episodes. 

Produced by J.J. Abrams and written by Jonathan Nolan, "Westworld" was the unexpected reboot of the memorable — but hardly classic — film of the same name created by "Jurassic Park" author Michael Crichton. Set in a not-too-distant future where mankind has developed sophisticated A.I. and paired it with revolutionary synthetic humanoid bodies, "Westworld" is a haunting sci-fi epic. Using the android technology, a powerful mega-corporation called Delos has created Westworld, an immersive Wild West theme park where wealthy visitors can live out their deepest — and often times darkest — desires. Themes of destiny, free will, and determinism sit at the heart of "Westworld," and while it may be the rousing Western action and incredible human drama that will draw you in, it's the series' complex story that makes it so rewatchable.

Though the show is packed with plenty of twists and more than one shocking revelation, the fun in a rewatch comes from analyzing the carefully laid clues that lay in early episodes and point to the deeper mysteries in the series. Two or even three rewatches yield fun Easter eggs, references, and signs of future events that you probably didn't see the first time around.