There’s no bad time to search for a new sci-fi binge, and Hulu has more than enough options to keep you locked in for hours.
The streaming service has a bevy of anime options to choose from that could fit the bill while also boasting several iconic sci-fi shows, both retro and modern, primed and ready for a first viewing or rewatch. Whatever it is you’re looking for, Hulu likely has a box to be checked.
From classics like “Lost” and “The X-Files” to underseen gems like “Legion,” these are the sci-fi shows on Hulu to check out.
Lost
“Lost” is iconic, and the hope is that anyone searching for great sci-fi TV shows to watch on Hulu has already checked this one off their list. But if not, watch the show that inspired an entire generation of stories. The series may start as more of a “how do we survive stranded on an island,” but it’s clear that said island has more mysteries than you can shake a stick at, and uncovering them will bring out the obsessive in any viewer.
Rick and Morty
There is no idea too insane for “Rick and Morty,” which should be music to any sci-fi lover’s ears. The series’ continued popularity has as much to do with its fun, interesting and even sometimes nonsensical sci-fi plot devices as it does the humor. That means that despite it rocketing toward its 10th season, “Rick and Morty” feels as fresh as ever.
Legion
Some FX shows get heaps of love (rightfully so) thrown upon them, while others equally deserving of that love slip through the cracks. “Legion” falls into the latter category. The series from Noah Hawley – who also created “Fargo” and the hotly anticipated “Alien: Earth” for the network – examines lesser-known X-Man David Haller (Dan Stevens), aka Legion. David is one of the most powerful mutants to exist (being the son of Professor X will do that), but he also struggles with schizophrenia. “Legion” remains one of the trippiest shows ever made for television and demands a watch.
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
There are a lot of anime options to consider on Hulu, but a universal, top-of-the-list choice for most fans of the genre is “Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.” The series tracks two brothers on the search for the mythic Philosopher’s Stone with hopes that it can restore their bodies – one lost just arms while the other’s whole body is robotic – while breaking the rules of alchemy, trying to resurrect their mom.
The Strain
“The Strain” may trend much more horror than sci-fi, but the way it goes about said horror has tinges of what the sci-fi lover in search of a binge-watch might need. The series follows a vampiric virus that gets unleashed slowly across New York City – and later the world – and the battle between bloodsuckers and an epidemiologist, a city rat catcher and a turncoat vampire.
The FX series adapts a book from horror maestro Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. “The Strain” may have got lost in the shuffle of the volume of quality TV FX was pumping out back in 2014 when it first premiered, but it’s a four-season show worth watching.
The X-Files
A sci-fi classic if ever there was one. “The X-Files” follows FBI duo Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) as a believer and a skeptic, respectively, of the weird, odd and paranormal. The two are tasked with investigating case after case of the bureau’s X-Files to determine who, or what, is the perpetrator. Come for the alien abductions and men in black conspiracy theorists and stay for the crackling chemistry between Duchovny and Anderson that birthed a thousand shippers.
Devs
Back in 2020, “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation” director Alex Garland wandered into the realm of TV for his FX miniseries “Devs.” The sci-fi mystery boasts a stellar cast including Sonoya Mizuno, Cailee Spaeny, Alison Pill, Jin Ha and a creepy Nick Offerman playing both with and against typecast. It follows a software engineer who begins to investigate the mysterious development division of her company, following growing suspicion that they are responsible for her boyfriend’s death. When she discovers a quantum computing machine capable of staggering predictions, she stumbles into a world of immensely powerful tech that calls all of free will into question.
