10 Best Sci-Fi TV Shows Of 2020
Titles like Picard and Upload show that it’s been a good year for sci-fi escapism!
The majority of the past year has been spent indoors, and as such it was important for the TV entertainment on display to be reliable. Thankfully, 2020 delivered, as although it may have been a tragic year for the world, it was at least a hub of decent small-screen projects. The genre of science-fiction has been no exception, as a multitude of original shows and returning series have brought a tonne of joy to fans of the fantastical.
With the year mostly feeling like a strange sci-fi title in itself, it makes sense that a string of escapist TV shows would deliver and allow for audiences everywhere to lose themselves in new worlds. The following shows have all started in this tragic year, but have proved an absolute highlight and have earned their place atop the mountain of great sci-fi television.
Some of these shows truly delve into an outlandish territory, and others remain grounded in reality. Still, all of them delivered on fantastic stories and characters that helped to make the year a little easier. There is plentiful potential for the future with these projects, and audiences can hopefully look forward to seeing them develop over the ensuing years.
This list will only feature shows that began in 2020, so titles like The Mandalorian and Westworld won't be appearing, despite still being some of the best TV in the world.
10. Brave New World
This series - based on the groundbreaking novel by Aldous Huxley - doesn't do an extreme amount of justice to its source material, but is a thoroughly charming sci-fi drama that deals with many complicated issues and features a collection of strong performances.
The story tells of a world perceived as Utopia that enforces a strict and oppressive code of monogamy and structured hierarchy. The citizens of London are born artificially and guided into the established binary hierarchy that decides their life direction and labour. However, some members of this collective end up questioning the established order, sending them down a path of forbidden love and revolution.
The book was a thought-provoking and incredibly ahead of its time sci-fi tale. While the show features a lot of the same spirit, it leans a little too far towards the indulgent side of TV, with a significant focus on the sexuality aspect of the novel. The levels of nudity in this show are incredibly high, quickly making it comparable to Game of Thrones in its overreliance on overt sexualisation.
Despite this, it's still a fair shot at bringing the excellent source material to life, and for that reason deserves a place on this list.