Just like last year<\/a>, the hot summer months of 2024 are turning out to be an excellent time for science fiction fans. There are a number of sci-fi series that either just wrapped up, are in the middle of a season, or are set to premiere soon. Perfect for ignoring the heat of the outdoors for the substantially cooler worlds of space and the future. And this is a lineup that could potentially grow even more, as Apple has been teasing<\/a> the return of both Severance<\/em><\/a> and Silo<\/em><\/a> sometime soon. In the meantime, plan your next few months of streaming time accordingly with this list.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This animated series actually premiered on Max last year but made its way to Netflix on May 31st<\/a>. It\u2019s unlike anything else out there, a mix of hard sci-fi with stunning art, set on a harsh, unforgiving, and truly alien world. And really, it\u2019s the planet that\u2019s the highlight here, a place inspired by everything from artists like Hayao Miyazaki and Jean \u201cMoebius\u201d Giraud to actual nature. (You can read more about the inspirations behind the show right here<\/a>.) If you weren\u2019t able to check it out on Max, now is a great time to catch up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Apple has been on a serious run with sci-fi shows<\/a>, and Dark Matter<\/em> is just the latest example. Based on the novel of the same name by Blake Crouch, the show follows a physicist who is kidnapped… by himself… and taken to a parallel world. Somehow, it manages to do something interesting in the increasingly overcrowded space of multiverse stories and, since the first season has wrapped up, you can binge it all right now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The latest season of Doctor Who<\/em> is notable for a few reasons. It marked the start of Ncuti Gatwa\u2019s run as the doctor, and it was also the first to stream globally on Disney Plus. Over the course of eight episodes, it managed a careful balance between Doctor Who<\/em>\u2019s origins and the bigger budget that comes from being on Disney, with fun riffs on everything from Black Mirror<\/em> to Bridgerton<\/em>. As showrunner Russell T. Davies told The Verge<\/em><\/a>, \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten a bit more money for effects, but in this first episode, we haven\u2019t spent it on 1,000 spaceships; we spent it on talking babies, you know?\u201d All episodes are streaming now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We\u2019re well into Star Wars<\/em>\u2019 streaming era, but even with a glut<\/a> of<\/a> existing<\/a> shows<\/a>, The Acolyte <\/em>manages to feel distinct. And that comes largely down to its setting: it\u2019s the first live-action show set during the High Republic era, taking place a century before The Phantom Menace<\/em>. This means that there are many Star Wars<\/em> staples that aren\u2019t present<\/a>, which has freed the show up to tell some interesting stories. It also has some, excuse me, killer lightsaber battles to look forward to.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Based on the novel The Dark Manual<\/em>\u00a0by Colin O\u2019Sullivan, Sunny<\/em> is a mixture of things: it\u2019s part murder mystery, part comedy, and part retrofuturistic story about clunky bots that serve as personal assistants. That seems like a potentially tough trio to balance, but the early trailers show promise<\/a>, and Rashida Jones looks like an ideal star to manage the load. Even better? The show seems to be filled with lots of interesting gadgets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Apple TV Plus\u2019 sci-fi lineup doesn\u2019t have much family-friendly fare, which is what makes Time Bandits<\/em> interesting<\/a>. A remake of a 1981 film of the same name from Terry Gilliam, the show is described as a \u201chigh-stakes journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history nerd.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nStreaming on Max and Netflix<\/h5>\n<\/p>\n
Dark Matter<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
Streaming on Apple TV Plus<\/h5>\n<\/p>\n
Doctor Who<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
Streaming on Disney Plus<\/h5>\n<\/p>\n
Streaming on Disney Plus, concludes on July 16th<\/h5>\n<\/p>\n
Sunny<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
Streaming on Apple TV Plus on July 10th<\/h5>\n<\/p>\n
Time Bandits<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
Streaming on Apple TV Plus on July 24th<\/h5>\n<\/p>\n
Futurama<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
Streaming on Hulu on July 29th<\/h5>\n<\/p>\n