For science fiction enthusiasts, few experiences are more disheartening than discovering a captivating new series, only to watch it disappear when critics fail to appreciate its brilliance. Sometimes, a show with a fantastic premise doesn’t garner the acclaim—or the multi-season renewal—it truly deserves. This leaves fans staring at unresolved cliffhangers, wistfully imagining what could have been.
But seasoned sci-fi aficionados understand that critical reviews and early cancellations don’t always reflect a show’s merit. Similar to the beloved but short-lived space Western “Firefly,” some of the most intriguing science fiction ideas don’t last beyond a season or two. Yet, these underappreciated gems can still be resurrected into cult classics. Here are five overlooked sci-fi series that merit a spot on your must-watch list if you missed them the first time around.
“Dollhouse” is an exhilarating sci-fi creation from Joss Whedon, the mastermind behind cult favorites like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly.” Although “Dollhouse” didn’t ignite the same fan passion, beneath its procedural exterior lies a sophisticated exploration of identity and performance. This theme is particularly relevant today, in an era dominated by social media and influencer culture.
The series introduces viewers to a clandestine organization known as the “Dollhouse,” which employs cutting-edge neurological technology to erase, upload, alter, and manipulate individuals’ memories and personalities as if they were digital files. Operating several such facilities, the organization rents out these “dolls”—people whose minds have been entirely wiped—to clients ranging from romantic seekers to espionage operatives.
Dollhouse
“Dollhouse” boasts a stellar cast, including Harry Lennix, Eliza Dushku, Tahmoh Penikett, Dichen Lachman, Keith Carradine, Summer Glau, Mark Sheppard, Felicia Day, and Alan Tudyk. Although it holds a respectable 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, some critics were unsettled by the recurring reboots of the main character. However, a closer look reveals a compelling narrative that resonates profoundly today, in a world where personal identities can be subtly reshaped with every social media update.
Debuting in 2011, “Terra Nova” was a brief yet ambitious sci-fi adventure drama produced by Steven Spielberg. It depicted colonists escaping an overpopulated and environmentally ravaged 22nd century by venturing to a parallel version of Earth set in the Cretaceous Period. This family saga interweaves time travel and dinosaurs, focusing on Jim Shannon (played by Jason O’Mara), a police officer imprisoned for violating population control laws by having a third child.
The “Dollhouse” cast is packed with genre faves like Harry Lennix, Eliza Dushku, Tahmoh Penikett, Dichen Lachman, Keith Carradine, Summer Glau, Mark Sheppard, Felicia Day, and Alan Tudyk. Although it currently maintains a 72% Tomatometer ranking, many critics struggled with the concept of rebooting the main character with each episode. But watch closely, and you’ll see a powerful story unfold — one that resonates well today in an era where it’s all too easy to reprogram one’s own identity just a little more with each social media post.
Terra Nova
First airing in 2011, “Terra Nova” was a short-lived Steven Spielberg-produced family TV sci-fi adventure drama about colonists fleeing an overpopulated and environmentally devastated 22nd century by colonizing a parallel version of Earth during its Cretaceous Period. An ambitious family adventure saga combining time travel and dinosaurs, “Terra Nova” mainly revolves around the family of Jim Shannon (Jason O’Mara), a police officer imprisoned for having a third child in violation of population control laws.
The 2011 series follows efforts to establish their community’s settlement in a world populated by dinosaur species, many previously unknown, efforts complicated by a group of industrialists bent on exploiting the past rather than supporting resettlement. The show looked promising enough upon its release, with critics praising its high production value. But as time wore on, mid-season reviews began to dramatically tank, with critics like The Guardian’s Sam Wollaston taking aim at the show’s characterizations and dialogue.
For all its imperfections, however, “Terra Nova” was on track to be one of the most entertaining family-friendly sci-fi shows on television when it was canceled. Sadly, Spielberg never got the chance to prove the show’s worth since it was axed before the corporatist subplot could really even take off.
Star-Crossed
These days, young adult dramas seem to be a dime a dozen, and studios are still pumping out plenty of middling supernatural Y.A. series. But one thing we don’t get enough of is a quality Y.A. sci-fi drama like “The 100” — and that’s exactly what the short-lived series “Star-Crossed” delivered. As the name implies, “Star-Crossed” is a romantic “Romeo and Juliet”-style tale about two young lovers from different worlds. But instead of two fair Verona households both alike in dignity, “Star-Crossed” pairs a human teen with an alien teen.
The 2014 CW series imagines a world where a group of aliens crash-lands on Earth, prompting the exact sort of overreaction you’d expect in such a situation. Any Atrians not killed in the initial battle are rounded up to be housed in a Louisiana internment camp known as the Sector. But after years of mistreatment at the hands of humanity, a handful of Atrian teens are finally permitted to attend school as part of an integration program.
While not what most viewers would consider serious sci-fi, “Star-Crossed” presents its central dreamy teen romance in a world of wonderfully escapist storytelling that viewers appreciated more than critics. For Exhibit A, note the show’s dismal 57% Tomatometer rating compared with its audience-scored 74% Popcornmeter rating. Most of the show’s 140+ IMDb reviews praise the series for its fun and imaginative storytelling, drawing comparisons to shows like “Reign” and “Roswell.” Aimee Teegarden of “Friday Night Lights” stars in the series.
Future Man
Proof that a dystopian time travel series doesn’t have to be bleak, “Future Man” is a colorful, hilarious, and often cartoonishly absurd science fiction adventure about a shiftless janitor forced into heroic mode when two characters from his favorite video game arrive to drag him out of his slump. The Seth Rogen-produced series stars Josh Hutcherson from “The Hunger Games” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s” sagas as Josh Futturman, the low-achieving janitor for a medical research lab whose obsession with the purportedly unbeatable console game “Biotic Wars” ultimately transforms him from game chair warmer to time-traveling hero.
Upon defeating the game’s final level, Josh is visited by game characters Tiger (Eliza Coupe) and Wolf (Derek Wilson), who reveal they hail from an oppressive future dystopia where a cure for herpes developed by Josh’s employer leads to a race of superhumans called Biotics. Having beaten the game Tiger and Wolf see as a training program, Josh is recruited for what should have been a short mission to 1969 to prevent the herpes infection that started it all. But one trip leads to another, and before long, the trio is hopping back and forth throughout spacetime, interacting with and even creating various timelines along the way.
Although the 2017 series has received generally positive critical ratings, maintaining a 7.6 average on IMDb and a surprising 100% nine-review Tomatometer for its second season, the show’s serious sci-fi elements were largely underrated. Many critics were too focused on the low-brow humor to appreciate the complex worldbuilding grounded in high-concept science fiction that elevates “Future Man” far above the standard sci-fi comedy.
Persons Unknown
NBC
Written with a premise that will feel familiar to fans of the short-lived Patrick McGoohan-starring 1967 psychological thriller spy-fi series, “Persons Unknown” is a sci-fi series about a group of seven strangers who find themselves chloroformed and abducted by men in blue jumpsuits. They wake up in a deserted mid-century town with no recollection of how they got there, let alone why. As if that wasn’t surreal and horrifying enough, they quickly begin to find the town wired up with hidden microphones and cameras, implying they are under constant, comprehensive surveillance from an unknown person or organization. They also discover that each member of the ghost town community has been implanted with a biometric tracker capable of pharmaceutically knocking them out when they attempt to escape.
Despite the 2010 show’s promisingly ambitious premise and the addition of an ARG-style online interactive game that was ahead of its time, the series was not well-received by critics or audiences. While praising the show’s high-concept mystery puzzle box storytelling, negative reviews primarily cited issues with the characterizations, casting, and acting decisions, noting that the characters’ reactions did not feel believable. As the Boston Globe’s Matthew Gilbert observed, “‘Persons Unknown’ isn’t built around an ensemble of characters who are engaging in their own right, beyond the mildly provocative situation they’re in.”
The show currently sits at a 61% Tomatometer and 50% Popcornmeter rating on Rotten Tomatoes. With such a cool premise and a cast that includes Alan Ruck, Chadwick Boseman, and Kandyse McClure, it’s more than possible that the show could have eventually found its groove with just a little more time, ultimately joining the ranks of mystery box shows like “Manifest” and “Lost” as a delayed viewership hit.
