Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy Series 2023

In 2021, Apple TV+ debuted Foundation — a sprawling, complex sci-fi series based on the eponymous novel series by Isaac Asimov — as an appeal to those in search of smarter science fiction, and while critics generally thought it impressive, they also found it a little unwieldy. Thankfully, season 2 marked a dramatic improvement, so much so that it took home the Golden Tomato for Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy Series of the year.

Foundation: Season 2

#1

Adjusted Score: 101884%

Critics Consensus: With its complicated bedrock now established, Foundation spreads its wings in an improved sophomore season that rewards viewers' patience with a brainy sci-fi epic of genuine grandeur.

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Starring: Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey

Directed By: Robyn Asimov, David S. Goyer, Josh Friedman, Cameron Welsh

For All Mankind: Season 4

#2

Adjusted Score: 102104%

Critics Consensus: Houston, there's no problem here -- For All Mankind's fourth season hones in on what the series does best and forges ahead with a thought-provoking revisionist history.

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Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Wrenn Schmidt, Coral Peña, Krys Marshall

Directed By: Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert, Maril Davis

Star Trek: Picard: Season 3

#3

Adjusted Score: 100990%

Critics Consensus: Finally getting the band back together, Picard's final season boldly goes where the previous generation had gone before -- and is all the better for it.

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Starring: Patrick Stewart, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes

Directed By: Alex Kurtzman, Michael Chabon, Akiva Goldsman, James Duff

Gen V: Season 1

#4

Adjusted Score: 105419%

Critics Consensus: Just about as gruesomely subversive as its origin series, Gen V builds on The Boys in occasionally chaotic but overall inspired fashion.

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Starring: Jaz Sinclair, Lizze Broadway, Asa Germann, Chance Perdomo

Directed By: Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters, Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season 2

#5

Adjusted Score: 100326%

Critics Consensus: Boldly going where this hallowed franchise has gone before with effervescent execution, Strange New Worlds' superb sophomore season continues to recapture classic Trek with modern verve.

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Starring: Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush

Directed By: Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet, Henry Alonso Myers

I'm a Virgo: Season 1

#6

Adjusted Score: 103316%

Critics Consensus: Boots Riley's towering imagination looms as large as his supersized hero in I'm a Virgo, an uproarious satire that's given an enormous heart to match by star Jharrel Jerome.

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Starring: Jharrel Jerome, Brett Gray, Kara Young, Allius Barnes

Directed By: Boots Riley, Tze Chun, Michael Ellenberg, Lindsey Springer

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Season 1

#7

Adjusted Score: 97207%

Critics Consensus: A faithful adaptation of Rick Riordan's novels, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a lovingly realized odyssey through adolescence and myth.

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Starring: Walker Scobell, Leah Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri, Jason Mantzoukas

Directed By: Rick Riordan, Bert Salke, Dan Shotz, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein

American Born Chinese: Season 1

#8

Adjusted Score: 98877%

Critics Consensus: Jam-packed with inventive flourishes and grounded by lovable actors, American Born Chinese musters epic elements from Chinese mythology to tell a deeply relatable coming of age story.

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Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Ben Wang, Yann Yann Yeo, Chin Han

Directed By: Destin Daniel Cretton, Asher Goldstein, Jake Kasdan, Melvin Mar

Mrs. Davis: Season 1

#9

Adjusted Score: 97653%

Critics Consensus: Positively bonkers while undergirded by an intelligent design, Mrs. Davis makes Betty Gilpin a hero for modern times in a highly imaginative mixture of spirituality and technology.

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Starring: Betty Gilpin, Ely Henry, Raphael Corkhill, Sam Meader

Directed By: Alethea Jones, Frederick E.O. Toye, Owen Harris

The Big Door Prize: Season 1

#10

Adjusted Score: 95103%

Critics Consensus: Turning a high concept into a grounded good time, The Big Door Prize realizes its full potential thanks to a lovable cast of relatable characters.

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Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Josh Segarra, Ally Maki

Directed By: David West Read, Sarah Walker, Anu Valia, David Ellison