Top 10 Sci-Fi TV Shows Featuring Aliens

Among all the different types of science fiction, stories about aliens are incredibly flexible. The thought that life exists elsewhere in the universe opens up endless possibilities for storytelling, and it’s interesting to see how the most popular sci-fi TV shows approach these extraterrestrial ideas in such varied ways.

Science fiction frequently examines the forces that unite and separate us. Many great sci-fi TV shows use alien cultures to highlight our commonalities, demonstrating that we often have more in common than we realize. Some shows, like The Twilight Zone, even flip this idea, portraying humans as the outsiders, suggesting that what seems ‘alien’ depends on how you look at things.

Rick And Morty

Throughout their travels, Rick and Morty have encountered some truly bizarre planets and even stranger aliens. Like Futurama, the show draws a lot of inspiration from popular culture. However, Rick and Morty pushes boundaries with its mature content, allowing for greater creative expression.

As a big sci-fi fan, I’ve noticed that Rick and Morty sometimes draws inspiration from classics like Alien when creating its alien species. But honestly, the show really shines when it comes up with its own original creatures. The Amazonians, with their infamous “snu-snu,” have become a total pop culture thing even outside the show, and Mr. Meeseeks – that helpful blue guy – is easily one of the most memorable aliens they’ve created.

Alien Worlds

Alien Worlds looks and feels like a nature documentary – similar to those narrated by David Attenborough, and in this case voiced by Sophie Okonedo. Each episode explores what life might be like on a planet with a unique environment. The catch? It’s entirely fictional, brought to life through impressive computer-generated imagery.

This Netflix documentary stands out for its realism, being firmly rooted in scientific principles. The creators cleverly looked at how life thrives on Earth and then envisioned how it might evolve on other planets with different atmospheric conditions. This results in alien creatures that are fascinating, often adorable, and sometimes surprisingly unsettling – all within the same episode.

Roswell

Often overlooked, the 1990s TV show Roswell is a fantastic series that deserves more attention. Inspired by Melinda Metz’s novel Roswell High, it’s a teen drama about three aliens who pose as humans while attending high school. While shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer successfully combined science fiction with drama, Roswell approached this blend in a uniquely innovative way for its time.

The show used classic teen drama themes—like navigating relationships and figuring out life—but the added element of aliens gave those themes a fresh perspective. While Roswell shares similarities with Twilight, particularly with students who aren’t entirely human, the relationships in Roswell are generally more positive and realistic.

Love, Death + Robots

Netflix’s Love, Death + Robots is an anthology series with a lot of variety between episodes. While not every story focuses on aliens, the ones that do are often the most striking. A particularly unsettling example is “Beyond the Aquila Rift” from the first season, which follows a ship’s crew trapped inside the vessel of a mind-controlling alien.

Several shorts from the Love, Death + Robots series could easily be expanded into full-length films, and “Spider Rose” is a prime example. Like the episode “Beyond the Aquila Rift,” it’s deeply unsettling, but in a different way. The story begins with a seemingly harmless, adorable alien creature becoming a companion to a lonely woman, but it soon becomes clear that this innocent-looking being is far more dangerous than anyone realizes.

Resident Alien

Science fiction comedies on television aren’t new – Robin Williams’ role as an alien in Mork and Mindy is a classic example. However, sitcoms focusing on aliens are surprisingly rare. Resident Alien is a must-watch for anyone who enjoys sci-fi comedy, especially if they’re also a fan of the space western Firefly.

Alan Tudyk is known for playing many great characters, but his role as Harry Vanderspiegle in Resident Alien is a standout. The show centers around an alien who crash-lands on Earth and disguises himself as a small-town doctor, only to get caught up in a murder investigation. While many fans remember him as Wash from Firefly, his performance in Resident Alien is particularly well-done.

Futurama

Futurama playfully spoofs almost every science fiction movie ever made, using many familiar sci-fi ideas. Despite this, the show manages to feel new and original. Like Star Trek, Futurama features aliens as important and respected members of its crews, and often explores different alien cultures in episodes set on other planets.

Even after a dip in quality during season 12, Futurama is still on the air and recently came back stronger than ever. Season 13 received a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The show’s humorous yet heartfelt portrayal of alien life has solidified its place as one of the greatest animated science fiction series ever made.

Doctor Who

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The classic British sci-fi show Doctor Who introduces so many alien creatures that it’s easy to forget the Doctor is one too! The series is famous for its incredible monsters, including the Daleks – ruthless aliens obsessed with taking over the world – and the frightening Weeping Angels, featured in the highly-regarded episode, “Blink.”

Though Doctor Who frequently features various alien creatures, the show truly revolves around its captivating main character, The Doctor. This immortal Time Lord hails from the planet Gallifrey and carries the weight of lost friends and vanished worlds. Throughout the many different versions of Doctor Who, The Doctor has consistently proven to be one of television’s most memorable alien characters.

The X-Files

The X-Files is structured like a police show, but it’s fundamentally about aliens. This is symbolized by the famous ‘I Want To Believe’ poster in Fox Mulder’s office, which is well-known even by those who haven’t watched the series. The show explores all sorts of paranormal phenomena, including mutants and telepathy, with episodes focused on extraterrestrial life often being the most important to the overall story.

Mulder’s conviction that aliens abducted his sister drives everything he does, making the possibility of extraterrestrial life a core theme of The X-Files – even when aliens aren’t directly involved in an episode. The show’s greatest strength is the dynamic between Mulder, who believes, and Scully, who’s skeptical. This groundbreaking sci-fi detective series truly revolutionized television.

Farscape

The first season of Farscape centers around John Crichton, who unexpectedly travels through a wormhole and ends up on a ship full of alien outcasts. The show quickly moves beyond his initial culture shock as he joins the crew. A particularly clever aspect of Farscape is that the spaceship itself is an alien life form, linked to its pilot in a unique, interdependent way.

Many episodes of Farscape are fan favorites, and the strongest ones really capture the show’s unique blend of humor and its detailed portrayal of alien cultures. The show’s creatures, designed by the Jim Henson Company, were particularly impressive and stood out from other science fiction shows of that era.

Star Trek

The Star Trek series is arguably the most influential science fiction TV show featuring extraterrestrial life. When it originally aired, Star Trek was revolutionary, portraying aliens free from traditional gender expectations, a diverse crew including a Black woman in a leadership role, and advanced technology that sparked the imagination of inventors and engineers. While some of the aliens were quite strange, others felt surprisingly familiar.

Leonard Nimoy became a science fiction icon thanks to his role as Mr. Spock, the half-human, half-Vulcan character in Star Trek, who remains a fan favorite. While the show’s special effects were advanced for their time, they weren’t always realistic. Because of this, Star Trek often depicted aliens who looked mostly human, emphasizing their unique cultures instead of strange physical features.

2025-11-10 04:40