10 TV Shows Like Dark Matter That You Should Watch in the Future.
Apple TV, not without competition, has become the streaming platform for some of the best sci-fi series on television, including original-concept masterpieces like Rupture , For All Mankind , Foundation , Pluribus , and Dark Matter , based on Blake Crouch’s best-selling novel and recently returned for a second season.
Starring Joel Edgerton, the series follows a college physics professor who is abducted from his own timeline by a masked figure who quickly reveals himself to be…himself—a version of himself from another, darker universe. This multiversal doppelganger knows what life he’d prefer and wants to rid himself of his other self to seize power. It’s a true adventure, and if you’re looking for something similar, here are 10 other series offering similarly gripping experiences you can watch online.
Russian Matryoshka (2019–2022)
If you’re looking for a sci-fi series with deeply personal resonance, you’ll find it hard to beat Russian Doll . Natasha Lyonne plays software engineer Nadia Vulvokova, who, preparing to celebrate her 36th birthday, finds herself trapped in a time loop in which she dies over and over again on the same night, unable to move on despite her best (and worst) intentions. Nadia’s endless deaths allow her to explore different paths and make choices, striving for a life lived with greater authenticity. In season two, Nadia explores the lives of her mother and grandmother, once again freeing herself from the time trap. Funny, intelligent, and truly existential, it’s one of my favorite sci-fi series of the past decade.Watch Russian Doll on Netflix.
Constellation (2024)
Jo Ericsson (Noomi Rapace) is an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, which is abandoned by several crew members after a collision and emergency evacuation. Fortunately, she manages to repair the Soyuz capsule and return to Earth with the body of the deceased astronaut; unfortunately, her life story and memories don’t quite match those of those around her. It seems as if she’s returned to a different Earth than the one she left—though, of course, everyone thinks she’s either lying to cover up something or hit her head too many times during reentry. Watch Constellation on Apple TV .
Fringe (2008–2013)
The concept of a multiverse was still mind-blowing in the early 2000s (at least on television), long before Marvel movies began to exploit it, and yet no show has done it quite like Fringe. This clever sci-fi crime series, both a successor to The X-Files and a precursor to Dark Matter , tells the story of a ragtag team within the FBI, starring Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, and Lance Reddick. At the start of the series, they investigate cases that seem utterly nonsensical. It soon becomes clear that these strange events are connected to potentially universe-shattering intrusions across time and space (not to mention a family drama that has been ignored for too long). Watch Fringe on Hulu.
Project Lazarus (2022–2023)
Another procedural detective series with an intriguing premise. In this British project, Paapa Essiedu plays George, who wakes up on July 1st with the certainty that it has already happened, and that he alone remembers the previous six months. He discovers he’s not completely insane when Archie (Anjli Mohindra), an agent of the Lazarus Project, contacts him and shares the truth: time has indeed reset, and a mysterious group is to blame. In extreme circumstances and after a catastrophe, they rewind time (always to July 1st) to buy more time to solve the problem. A small portion of the population can sense this change, and for George, it leads to an unusual job offer. Buy The Lazarus Project on Prime Video.
Darkness (2017–2020)
A seemingly simple but disturbing case of missing children in a German town quickly develops into a conspiracy involving four families spanning several generations. Hidden within a cave system beneath the local nuclear power plant lies a mystery connected to dark secrets each family (and the town as a whole) has kept for decades. Without giving away too many details, the characters aren’t just metaphorically traveling through time, but literally, a time-traveling element that only adds to the series’ twisted and eerie quality. This was the first German series imported by Netflix, but don’t let the subtitles put you off.Watch “Dark” on Netflix.
Signal (2016–)
Combining elements of police procedurals, mystery, and science fiction, this Korean drama remains one of the most popular in the history of South Korean television—so much so that a second season is being released after a nearly 10-year wait. Police profiler Park Hae-young (Lee Je-hoon) finds a discarded walkie-talkie that connects him to detective Lee Jae-han (Cho Jin-woon), who disappeared in 2000 but is able to communicate with people from earlier times. The two detectives work together, transcending timelines to solve a long-ago case, but soon discover disturbing consequences of their actions in the present.Watch “Signal” on Netflix .
The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019)
Based on the novel by Philip K. Dick (whose works inspired films such as Blade Runner , Total Recall , Minority Report , A Scanner Darkly, and many others), The Man in the High Castle is a political thriller set (mostly) in an alternate 1960s where the Axis powers have won World War II and the United States is split in two, with Japan ruling the West and Germany ruling the East. The title, The Man in the High Castle, suggests a propaganda film (or does it?), presenting an alternative viewpoint more akin to that described in our history books. As the series progresses over four seasons, the parallels with our increasingly fascist world only intensify. Watch The Man in the High Castle on Prime Video andNetflix .
Sense8 (2015–2018)
When it comes to shows with big concepts that still feel real and personal, Sense8 fits the bill perfectly. In it, eight strangers from around the world (including Jamie Clayton, Bae Doona, and Tuppence Middleton, as well as Daryl Hannah, Naveen Andrews, and Freema Agyeman) wake up and discover a deep, inexplicable connection. On one hand, this means they can share their special abilities when needed. On the other, it’s an inspiring call to connection, an acknowledgement of our interdependence, and a celebration of differences. Bonus: the show is deeply queer (and erotic)—unsurprising, considering it’s created by the Wachowski brothers (who co-wrote the episodes with Babylon 5 ‘s Michael J. Straczynski).Watch Sense8 on Netflix.
Sliders (1995–2000)
The tone is quite different here, but it would be a grave injustice to ignore a show that explored the multiverse long before it was fashionable. There’s a charming absurdity to this quintessential ’90s sci-fi series. Jerry O’Connell plays Quinn Mallory, who accidentally opens a portal that sends him and a group of companions (including, initially, Jonathan Rhys-Davies) across the multiverse. The device he invents to return them all home turns out to be an unfortunately unreliable timer that keeps them in their destination for… well, as long as the plot dictates. Their adventures take them to worlds where the Soviet Union won the Cold War, where antibiotics were never invented, and where Hillary Clinton is president (I swear!). The increasing number of episodes featuring an entire species of predominantly evil Sliders doesn’t improve matters much as the series progresses, but it’s still pretty fun. Streaming sliders are available on Peacock and Tubi .
Wayward Pines (2015–2016)
While the film differs somewhat in plot and execution, I was drawn to the eerie sci-fi element, as well as Blake Crouch’s performance, as it’s based on a trilogy of novels by the author of Dark Matter. Matt Dillon plays a Secret Service agent investigating the disappearances of two of his colleagues in the town of Wayward Pines, Idaho. Things go awry almost immediately, and after waking up from a car accident, he discovers that one of the agents (Carla Gugino), who also happens to be his ex, has taken up residence in this seemingly idyllic town—and is 12 years older than she was when he last saw her a few weeks ago. Even more dramatic, the local sheriff (Terrence Howard) institutes a strict “no one ever leaves town” policy on pain of death. From there, the mysteries mount. Watch Wayward Pines on Hulu.