When it comes to prestige television, nothing comes close to HBO. With a total of 1,500 Primetime Emmy nominations and more than 220 wins, HBO has built its reputation on taking creative risks and putting fresh twists on any genre, be it drama, comedy, or even sci-fi.
While sci-fi is often known for pushing the boundaries of science, these HBO sci-fi shows put humanity first, giving even non-sci-fi watchers a chance to connect with the characters and stories without having to get caught up in all the hard science. From androids raising human children to a bunch of wealthy passengers getting trapped on a space vacation, here are HBO sci-fi shows where every episode is a masterpiece.
‘Peacemaker’ (2022–2025)
Taking place five months after The Suicide Squad, the sci-fi-adjacent superhero series Peacemaker follows Christopher Smith (John Cena) as he recovers from his near-fatal injuries sustained during the mission. Struggling with his identity as an anti-hero and his belief that “the ends justify the means,” Peacemaker is approached by A.R.G.U.S. to join a covert operation that forces him to work alongside a bunch of dysfunctional misfits.
While the superhero premise is obviously front and center, Peacemaker also has an overlooked sci-fi element that’s often overshadowed by its superhero premise. Think mind-controlling Butterflies that invade human bodies and consume their brains from the inside, turning their hosts into obedient vessels. The show also introduces alternate realities, including a parallel universe with a radically different version of Earth and its history. These bizarre concepts make Peacemaker feel much stranger than a typical superhero series, especially when its absurd sci-fi ideas are thrown into the middle of an otherwise grounded team mission.
‘Westworld’ (2016–2022)
Westworld is set in a futuristic theme park where lifelike robotic Hosts cater to wealthy guests’ every desire, including violence and sex. But when several Hosts begin recovering memories of their brutal pasts, they develop a sense of consciousness and turn against their creators. As Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and Maeve (Thandiwe Newton) awaken to their reality, a rebellion threatens to expose Delos’ darkest secrets.
While the Hosts are intriguing as they push beyond their cognitive limitations, the park itself is practically its own character in Westworld. Its Western aesthetic isn’t purely for show, as it brings familiar elements like gunslingers, outlaws, saloons, and frontier towns into a futuristic setting, while wealthy human guests treat those stories as their personal playground. The introduction of other parks, including the Japanese-inspired Shōgunworld, expands this idea even further, showing Hosts being forced to perform predetermined identities within carefully constructed worlds. As the Hosts awaken, these artificial worlds become a fascinating reflection of the roles humans force them to play.
‘Watchmen’ (2019)
With one of America’s most devastating tragedies serving as the launching pad for the show, Watchmen follows Angela Abar (Regina King), a detective who operates under the masked identity of Sister Night in an alternate 2019 where masked vigilantes are outlawed. As Angela investigates a murder tied to the past, she uncovers conspiracies involving certain controversial groups.
Audiences don’t have to read the original Watchmen graphic novel to understand the show, especially since it expands the original story by introducing new characters and ideas. Even more impressive is its ability to tie the fictional world to real U.S. history, giving the show even more weight as the story gets increasingly graphic. The Tulsa Massacre, a real event in which a thriving Black community was attacked and destroyed, becomes central to Angela’s story and the show’s exploration of racism, generational trauma, and how Black history can be erased or forgotten.
‘The Leftovers’ (2014–2017)
The Leftovers takes place three years after the inexplicable “Sudden Departure,” when 2% of the world’s population mysteriously disappears. The series follows police chief Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) as he struggles to hold his family and community together amid the aftermath, while cults like the Guilty Remnant emerge and survivors like Nora Durst (Carrie Coon) grapple with unimaginable loss in a world searching for answers.
Instead of treating the “Sudden Departure” as a mystery that requires solving, The Leftovers exists as this earthly purgatory, where people try to live through the uncertainty and process their grief. That’s something viewers have in common with these characters, as we watch them process grief in completely different ways, making it both a collective and individual experience simultaneously. While the first season can be overwhelmingly bleak, the following seasons inject more humor, hope, and surrealism, perfectly illustrating the absurdity of living in a reality where nobody knows why 2% of humanity disappeared.
‘Raised by Wolves’ (2020–2022)
Raised by Wolves follows two androids, Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim), tasked with raising human children on Kepler-22b after Earth is devastated by bloody war. As the small colony grows, religious differences threaten to tear the survivors apart, forcing the androids to confront the consequences of raising humanity while attempting to control the beliefs shaping their society.
Unlike your typical emotionless androids, Mother and Father develop their own personalities and attachments. Mother, in particular, begins to question the limits of her programming as she forms a bond with the children. It’s also a show that bravely tackles heavier subjects like religion and how belief can sometimes manifest as overzealousness when things are taken too far. Marcus’ visions of Sol further complicate the conflict, showing how quickly faith can influence people’s actions. In the end, though, Raised by Wolves emphasizes that belief is more complex than we realize.
‘Station Eleven’ (2021–2022)
In the aftermath of a civilization-wiping flu pandemic, Station Eleven follows the effects of the incident, switching between the outbreak’s early days and 20 years later. Among them is Kirsten Raymonde (Mackenzie Davis), who grows from a traumatized child into a resilient woman traveling with the Traveling Symphony, a troupe of performers preserving art in the post-apocalyptic world.
Post-apocalyptic shows tend to be bleak and despondent. That’s not the case for Station Eleven. Basic needs like food and water are crucial, but so is nourishment for the soul. Through the Traveling Symphony, Kirsten and her crew bring life to communities with Shakespeare, music, and a sense of connection that reminds survivors of what makes life worth living. Rather than simply showing people struggling to survive, the series asks what they should live for after everything familiar has disappeared. The Traveling Symphony’s performances become a way for survivors to reconnect with their humanity, proving that art can endure even when civilization does not.
‘Avenue 5’ (2020–2022)
Space flights are a huge risk, but space tourism is a different kind of danger. Avenue 5 follows the wealthy passengers and inept crew of a luxury interplanetary cruise ship after a maintenance accident sends the vessel 0.21 degrees off course. Instead of the eight-week outer-space trip they signed up for, it becomes a three-year journey home.
Considering the nature of space tourism today, Avenue 5 is the perfect satire of how the wealthy think they’re completely invincible. Just because they can afford a ticket doesn’t make them immune to disaster. And when they inevitably find themselves in trouble, their lack of preparation becomes the perfect source of workplace-ish mishaps. The passengers expect the crew to solve every problem because they’ve paid for a luxury experience, while the crew itself is barely equipped to handle the crisis. This makes the show’s central joke especially effective: money can buy you a ticket to space, but it can’t buy you immunity from disaster.
Avenue 5
- Release Date
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2020 – 2022-00-00
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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Natalie Bailey, Armando Iannucci, David Schneider, Annie Griffin, William Stefan Smith
