7 must-watch sci-fi series to binge this weekend on Amazon Prime Video
There's plenty to choose from!
The days may be getting longer but before the warmer weather has you out and about more, it’s time to embrace hanging out at home and binge-watching.
The countless shows available across the streaming platforms might seem overwhelming, but if sci-fi is your thing, Amazon Prime Video has you covered.
From a superhero series with a (often graphic) twist, the acclaimed adaptation of a video game or a continuation of a beloved franchise, you’re spoilt for choice.
With the chance to escape into various times, worlds and universes at your fingertips, the only difficult part is deciding what to watch.
If you’re looking for some help, here are our picks of the 7 best sci-fi shows to watch this weekend on Amazon Prime.
The Expanse The Expanse won’t be available to binge for much longer! (Picture: Amazon/ Everett/ Rex/ Shutterstock)There’s not much time left to watch this ‘hidden gem’ series before it leaves Prime soon – so don’t wait!
Premiering in 2015, The Expanse was based on the novels of the same name by James S A Corey.
Running for six seasons, it was set 200 years in the future – in which humans have colonised the Solar System – and followed how the search for a missing woman sparked the unravelling of a massive conspiracy.
It starred Thomas Jane, Steven Strait, Cas Anvar and Dominique Tipper, with fans calling it ‘epic’, ‘near perfect’ and even ‘the best sci-fi series ever made’.
However, it’s currently listed in the category of TV shows expiring within the next 30 days, so there’s no time to waste to binge the 62 episodes.
The 100 The 100 starred Eliza Taylor and ran for seven seasons (Picture: Sergei Bachlakov/ The CW Network/ Everett/ Rex/ Shutterstock)If you’re looking for another lengthy series to dive into, there are 7 seasons consisting of 100 episodes of The 100.
The post-apocalyptic science fiction drama was loosely based on the young adult book series by Kass Morgan and ran from 2014 until 2020.
It followed post-apocalyptic survivors from a space habitat, the Ark, who return to Earth nearly a century after a devastating nuclear apocalypse.
The first are a group of juvenile delinquents, played by actors including Eliza Taylor, Thomas McDonell and Bob Morley, who encounter descendants of survivors of the nuclear disaster on the ground.
The series holds a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with critics saying it ‘compelling’ and ‘imaginative’.
The Boys The Boys has pushed boundaries since premiering in 2019 (Picture: AP)When The Boys burst onto screens in 2019, it was unlike anything we’d seen before and was completely boundary-pushing.
This series is based on the comic book of the same name and centres on a team of vigilantes as they combat superpowered individuals (‘Supes’) who abuse their powers for personal gain and work for a powerful corporation that makes them appear as heroes to the public.
The ensemble cast includes Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher and Chace Crawford. It’s been heralded as a ‘glorious adaptation’ that left viewers ‘hooked’ and has also been nominated for eight Emmy Awards.
‘A fresh take on the tried and tired superhero tropes we have seen time and time again. Villains take centre stage and don’t let us down; with complex backstories and motivations I was glued to my seat the whole season!’ one fan posted on Rotten Tomatoes.
Many critics have also singled it out as one of the best Amazon Prime Video series of all time. It’s since released three more seasons, with a fifth and final due to hit screens next year.
Fallout The Fallout adaptation stars Ella Purnell as Lucy (Picture: JoJo Whilden/ Prime Video)After the success of The Last of Us, this TV adaptation of another beloved video game franchise lived up to fans’ expectations.
Starring Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Xelia Mendes-Jones, and Walton Goggins, Fallout hit screens last year.
It was a critical and commercial success, being nominated for a jaw-dropping 17 Emmy Awards and was called a ‘pitch-perfect faithful adaptation’ that left many ‘hungry for more’.
Set 200 years after a nuclear bomb destroys the planet the series follows Lucy (Ella) who lives in a bunker alongside others desperately trying to cling to civilisation and polite society.
However, she then must emerge from the shelter and venture into the dangerous wasteland of a once-thriving Los Angeles after her father Hank (Kyle) is kidnapped.
Electric Dreams Electric Dreams included 10 standalone episodes (Picture: Moon Shot Entertainment)This anthology series was based on the works of the 20th-century writer Philip K. Dick, who wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories throughout his lifetime.
His best-known works included The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Ubik, with movies based on his work including Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report.
In 2017 the series Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams consisted of 10 standalone 50-minute episodes that adapted nine of his short stories and one novelette.
Some of the cast across the series included Richard Madden, Timothy Spall, Steve Buscemi, Bryan Cranston and Juno Temple.
Praising the show, viewer Avata posted on Rotten Tomatoes: ‘This is absolutely phenomenal! Every episode makes you think and scares you that it could be our future. They’re so well filmed, scripted and acted. I want more!!!’
Dark Matter Dark Matter was released last year (Picture: Sci-Fi Channel/ Everett/ Rex/ Shutterstock)If you missed out on watching this series when it was released last year, now’s the time to do so.
Like many of the other shows listed above, Dark Matter was also based on a book, this time a 2016 novel by Blake Crouch.
The TV show was also developed by the author and stars Joel Edgerton as physicist Jason Dessen, who is ‘warped into an alternate version of his life, leaving him to fight to return to his life to prevent the alternate version of himself from taking over his family’.
The nine-episode season also featured Jennifer Connelly as Daniela Dessen, Jason’s wife and Alice Braga as Amanda Lucas, Jason #02’s girlfriend and partner who tries to help Jason #01 find his way back home.
In its review, The Age wrote it was ‘the TV equivalent of a wild roller coaster ride with a family drama as its emotional hook’, adding that it was ‘difficult not to be swept along by it’. Another called it a ‘twisty and devastating thriller’. It’s also been renewed for a second season.
Star Trek: Picard Star Trek: Picard saw Patrick Stewart return to the franchise after 20 years (Picture: Paramount Plus)The Star Trek franchise began in 1966, with the original TV series, which followed the voyages of the crew of the starship USS Enterprise.
In the years since it’s been followed by seven other shows, including Star Trek: Picard which ran from 2020 until 2023.
That series focused on retired Starfleet Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, set at the end of the 24th century, 20 years after the character’s last appearance in Star Trek: Nemesis.
Patrick Stewart reprised his role from Star Trek: The Next Generation, with fans of the three seasons calling it a ‘refreshing’ addition to the franchise.
Although it’s now over, the series led to several tie-in projects based on the series, including an episode of the companion series Star Trek: Short Treks.
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