You should really add these sci-fi TV shows from Netflix to your watch list

Stranger Things spread like wildfire when the series quietly premiered its first season on Netflix in 2016. What started as an homage to 1980s cinema, with callouts for E.T., Dungeons & Dragons, The Goonies and the works of Stephen King, has blossomed into a layered, sweeping sci-fi adventure. The show follows a group of kids in Hawkins, Indiana, who, after meeting a mysterious girl they call Eleven, discover a sinister dimension hiding beneath their feet. Government cover-ups, diabolical hellbeasts, and a cast full of lovable misfit characters make up this genre-bending series.

Created by Game of Thrones alumni David Benioff and DB Weiss, along with The Terror showrunner Alexander Woo, 3 Body Issue is based on Liu Cixin’s Hugo Award-winning novel. The high-concept sci-fi series links a watershed moment in 1960s China to the present day, as a group of scientists must confront an emerging global threat unlike anything humanity has ever seen.

Inspired by the comic book created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, the series follows a group of superhero siblings who grow up to save the world. From traveling through time to saving humanity from multiple apocalyptic events, the constant adventures of the dysfunctional Hargreeves turn predictable tropes on their head. It’s strange, out of the ordinary, hilarious and moving.

Supacell takes the familiar superhero story and flips the script. The series follows four black people living in south London who suddenly develop superpowers. What connects each of them to their newfound abilities is their family history with sickle cell disorder – a common genetic condition. Using the genre as a narrative foundation, the show delves into the human drama that plays out between these characters while highlighting culturally relevant themes such as racism, human trafficking, and predatory healthcare practices.

Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror sets the standard for what a modern genre anthology series can do. Each story has appeared throughout the series, which currently consists of six seasons and Independent interactive film Worth a visit, and its events take place in a near-future world where technology has affected humanity in wonderful, strange and terrifying ways. Rising to the level of horror, Black Mirror is a cerebral misfire of a TV show that will keep you thinking long after the credits roll.

They broke the mold when they made OA. The two-season series, created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, follows the story of Prairie Johnson (Marling), a young blind woman who returns to her family after being missing for seven years with her sight restored. Where has she been all these years? How can she see? Parallel existence across multiple dimensions, that’s the way. Well, this answer barely scratches the surface of this very unique and multi-layered program. Come for the quantum physics classes, and stay for the interpretive dance performances.

Like Stranger Things, Dark begins with the inexplicable disappearance of a child. Rather than another version of the “Upside Down” that plagues the city, the German series dabbles in time travel to explore how a family and community can be affected by the event of a child’s disappearance. A slow-burning film noir that leans heavily on the horrors of generational trauma, Dark ran for three seasons on Netflix. It will definitely get under your skin.

1899 was created by Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar — the same duo that brought Dark to Netflix — and follows a group of passengers on a New York-bound ship during the turn of the century. This is more than just an ordinary period piece. Once things get going, the series brings time travel, multi-dimensions, reality simulations, and other bits of sci-fi madness to the screen. It may not have gotten a second season, but there’s still a lot of good things to think about here.

In Parasyte: The Gray, alien parasites land on Earth and begin turning people into shape-shifting monsters. To combat this growing threat similar to the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the survivors – also known as “The Greys” – rise up to save humanity and the planet. Inspired by Hitoshi Iwaki’s manga, this Korean series should please any horror and sci-fi fan.

Matrix creators Lilly and Lana Wachowski have teamed up with Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski to bring… Sense8 To Netflix. The supernatural drama follows eight random people from around the world who learn they are connected emotionally and mentally. The group, called “Senses,” learn from each other as they literally have to walk in each other’s shoes and gain exciting new skills. It wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of a mysterious organization hunting them all. Over the course of two seasons, the show explored timely issues such as gender, sexuality and identity, blending genres such as telenovela, K-drama, Bollywood and Euro Noir as it traveled around the world.

Based on the book by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon exists in a future world where consciousness can be transferred from one body to another. Joel Kinnaman starred in the first season as former soldier Takeshi Kovacs. His mission to solve a murder evolves into a journey of self-discovery as he works to track down his lost love and answers about his past life. Season 2 sees Anthony Mackie take on this role to further the Cyberpunk noir story.

Blending different styles of animation and live action, Love, Death + Robots is an anthology unlike many other films. The series, which has drawn comparisons to Black Mirror, delves into several standalone stories that explore a world in which sentient robots, creatures, and other beings are more human than humanity itself.

Using the 1965 series as inspiration, Lost in Space follows the Robinson family on a space mission to colonize a new planet as humanity teeters on the brink of collapse. The series is full of family drama, which can be annoying at times. Thanks to social and political strife, a cute alien robot sidekick and a deliciously evil Dr. Smith played by Parker Posey, the show goes on.

Emma Stone and Jonah Hill star in this stunning drama from Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective) and Patrick Somerville (The Leftovers). The 10-episode series follows Annie (Stone) and Owen (Hale) as they enter a pharmaceutical trial for a drug that purports to cure all their problems. As you can probably guess, that’s not the case. Stone and Hill seem to be having mad fun throughout the show, trying out a variety of different characters. The addition of Sonoya Mizuno, Justin Theroux, and Sally Field to the cast makes this underrated gem worthy of your attention.

For its first three seasons, Manifest was an NBC original. After the network canceled it, Netflix stepped in to revive the series. The story follows the passengers of Flight 828, who arrive at their destination five years after take-off. Survivors begin to have premonitions and visions that help them save others from disasters that have not yet happened. It’s as if Lost and Final Destination had a baby, sort of.

Alice in Borderland is based on Haro Aso’s manga and follows a group of characters in a parallel version of Tokyo who are forced to compete in a set of twisted games to survive. This battle royale style thriller will appeal to fans of life-or-death competition games like Squid Game, The Hunger Games and Battle Royale.