5 Perfect Sci-Fi Shows To Watch After The Boroughs

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Netflix’s popular new sci-fi series, The Boroughs, quickly rose to become a top show of 2026. The story unfolds in a luxurious retirement community where mysterious events begin to occur. A group of residents team up to investigate and uncover an alien threat aimed at them. It’s now their job to find a way to stop it.

The Boroughs is a one-of-a-kind series, blending science fiction, horror, and stories about older adults in a way you rarely see on TV. Because it’s so unique, finding something similar to watch afterward can be tough, but we’ve picked out 5 shows that offer equally interesting ideas and sci-fi elements.

5. Stranger Things

Many people assume The Duffer Brothers, who created Stranger Things, also fully created The Boroughs, but they were only executive producers on that show. If you enjoyed The Boroughs and haven’t seen Stranger Things, you’ll definitely want to check out the Duffers’ sci-fi horror series next – it’s a great mix of thrills, chills, and growing up!

Set in the town of Hawkins, Indiana, Stranger Things follows a group of kids as they uncover creepy supernatural beings and meet a mysterious girl with incredible abilities who seems linked to these strange events. Over five seasons, the show has created some of the most compelling sci-fi/horror stories in recent years, connecting with viewers of all ages by reflecting the anxieties of growing up in today’s world. It’s no surprise that Stranger Things became a global hit.

4. Eerie Indiana

Created by José Rivera and Karl Schaefer, the sci-fi series Eerie, Indiana premiered on NBC in 1991 and still holds up today (you can now watch it on Tubi and Pluto TV). The show centers on Marshall Teller (Omri Katz), a teenager who relocates to the odd town of Eerie, Indiana. There, he meets Simon Holmes (Justin Shenkarow), and together they become entangled in the town’s many strange and unsettling events.

The show featured wildly imaginative stories that blended different genres with social commentary. Episodes included bizarre concepts like special containers that kept food – and people – young, braces that let you read dogs’ minds (and discover their plans for taking over the world!), or a school nurse secretly turning everyone into humorless zombies. Though Eerie Indiana only ran for 19 episodes and went through some changes during its run, it clearly paved the way for later shows like Stranger Things and From.

3. Counterpart

I’m still so upset that more people didn’t watch Counterpart on Starz – it was seriously amazing! The show centers around Howard Silk, played brilliantly by J.K. Simmons, who’s just a really ordinary guy working a dull office job for 30 years. He works at this place called the ‘Office of Interchange,’ and basically just passes around coded messages without knowing what any of it means. But everything changes when he finds out he’s been brought into a secret room… to meet a version of himself!

Howard discovers his workplace is a gateway between two versions of reality – his own (“Alpha”) and another called “Prime.” These worlds were once united, but a devastating pandemic crippled the Prime world, causing them to grow apart and become suspicious of each other. The story unfolds as a spy thriller, revealing that Howard’s counterpart from the Prime world is a seasoned spy involved in a secret conflict between the two realities. This “Cold War” involves hidden agents and imposters infiltrating both worlds, even taking positions of authority. Howard Alpha is shocked to learn that Howard Prime is everything he wishes he could be – strong, confident, and assertive – while Howard Prime realizes that Howard Alpha embodies the kindness and compassion he’s lost.

Like The Boroughs, Counterpart makes you think about the roads not taken and the different person you might have become. Plus, it’s a really engaging mystery with some unexpected turns.

2. From

I’ve been completely hooked by From, this sci-fi/horror series on MGM+. It originally started airing way back in 2022, but it’s really taken off recently! Season 4, coming out in 2026, feels like a real turning point – it’s finally getting the attention it deserves and drawing in tons of new viewers. It reminds me a bit of The Boroughs with its focus on a group of people struggling to cooperate, but From really digs into those adult anxieties about how messy and unpredictable life can be.

Okay, so this show is seriously creepy! It starts with a bunch of seemingly random people just driving around, and somehow they all end up in this tiny, isolated town. But here’s the thing – it’s not a normal town. Every night, these terrifying monsters – they look like they stepped out of the 1950s – wake up and start hunting people. They don’t just want to kill you, though; they feed off your fear! There’s this one guy, Boyd Stevens – you might recognize him from Lost – who basically takes on the role of sheriff and tries to keep everyone alive and sane while they all try to figure out how to escape this nightmare. Honestly, the story gets really complex, and a lot of people are already calling it the new Lost, but with a much heavier dose of horror.

1. The Twilight Zone

Given that The Boroughs seems geared towards an older audience, why not look to The Twilight Zone – a classic sci-fi series that generation grew up with? Created by Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone was a pioneering anthology show featuring standalone stories that blended science fiction, horror, thrillers, fantasy, dark humor, and other genres. It heavily influenced countless sci-fi and horror works that followed, and has even been rebooted three times – most recently by Jordan Peele in 2019 – plus inspired a popular anthology film in 1983.

While The Boroughs can be quite dark and gripping, The Twilight Zone offers a refreshing change of pace. It’s especially helpful to have a guide showing which Twilight Zone episodes share similar themes with The Boroughs.

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2026-06-15 03:12