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The Best Time Travel Shows to Watch on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon, and More

We've all dreamed of living in another period

Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, Outlander

At this point, there's no shortage of shows that deal with time travel in some capacity. It's a popular subject, and for good reason! Now more than ever you might be looking for an escape from your daily life, or from this era altogether, and no one in their right mind could blame you for that. If you're of the belief that existing in one timeline is overrated, you've arrived at the right list.

Some of the shows here are action-packed dramas, while others take a more whimsical approach to history, but all of them are absolutely binge-worthy masterpieces. Whether you want to travel back hundreds of years or just a couple of decades, you'll find the perfect time travel show recommendation in the list below!

Looking for more recommendations of what to watch next?  We have a ton of them!  And if you're looking for more hand-picked recommendations based on shows you love,  we have those too .

Tom Hiddleston, Loki

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU for short) already know that Loki ( Tom Hiddleston ) is a master trickster. He is literally the god of mischief, and for years his role in these movies was relegated to villain, nuisance, and foil to his brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth), but with Loki , he races through time and space in a series that puts him at the forefront of his own story. The series is a crime thriller that follows an alternate version of Loki who stole the Tesseract in  Avengers: Endgame , an event that basically broke reality. And, as these things go, it's now his responsibility to fix what he started. He's recruited by  Owen Wilson 's Mobius M. Mobius at the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA) to travel through history and correct the timeline he messed up. The series is the closest thing to putting an actual comic book on screen, full of madcap twists and turns, and seemingly self-contained, without having to place so much emphasis on setting up for future MCU installments. - Allison Picurro   [Watch on  Disney+ ]

Jodie Whittaker, Doctor Who

This one is a gimme, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Doctor Who , and honestly, if you haven't watched this long-running British sci-fi series already, we're not sure you can even call yourself a fan of time travel. Doctor Who follows a centuries-old alien known as the Doctor who has the ability to regenerate and take on different faces (hence the "long-running" bit). The Doctor, currently portrayed by Jodie Whittaker , takes unsuspecting ladies (and a few dudes) on ridiculous trips through time and space. Yep, this one checks the space travel box too! If you do choose to watch Doctor Who though, be warned -- you will end up in a fight with someone on Tumblr about which Doctor is the best. It's unavoidable.  [Watch on   HBO Max ]

Eric McCormack, MacKenzie Porter, Nesta Cooper, Jared Abrahamson, and Reilly Dolman, Travelers

Netflix's   Travelers , initially a co-production with Canada's Showcase, doesn't get even half the recognition it deserves for constructing impossibly complex time travel mythology that is still understandable and engaging for its audience, so we're recognizing it by putting it on this list. In the series, squads of elite soldiers travel to the present from hundreds of years in the future in order to change history and save the human race. If that doesn't sound cool enough, let us just add that they do so by sending their consciousnesses into the bodies of people about to die and assuming their identities. So. Freaking. Cool.  [Watch on  Netflix ]

Aaron Stanford and Amanda Schull, 12 Monkeys

Based on the 1995 movie with the same name, 12 Monkeys follows a time traveler who travels from 2043 to 2015 to stop a deadly virus from wiping out most of the planet's population. However, what starts out as a simple mission to the past turns into a mind-boggling journey through some of the biggest historical events of the 20th century and a pretty epic love story. This series really digs into the rules of time travel like causation and paradoxes, so while it may give you one of the aforementioned headaches, it's seriously worth it.  [Watch on  Hulu ]

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Caity Lotz, Matt Ryan, Olivia Swan, Dominic Purcell and Nick Zano, DC Legends of Tomorrow 

In a sea of series that focus on saving the world with time travel, DC's Legends of Tomorrow easily could have gotten lost in the shuffle. Luckily, this CW series quickly established itself as one part nonsense, two parts pure fun, which set it apart from all the rest. If you're looking for a lighter series to help you while the days away, this one is definitely for you. The Legends team does end up saving the world quite a few times, but most of the time they just wind up turning themselves into singing puppets or fighting giant stuffed animals.  [Watch on  Netflix ]

If you're looking for something a little more romantic to binge-watch, Outlander is your ticket. This series follows Claire Beauchamp ( Caitriona Balfe ), an English WWII nurse who accidentally travels from 1945 back to 1743 while on a trip to Scotland with her husband ( Tobias Menzies ). Thrown into the past and desperate to get home, Claire finds herself embroiled in a Scottish uprising while slowly but surely falling in love with a ruggedly handsome redhead named Jamie Fraser ( Sam Heughan ).  [Watch on   Netflix ,  Starz ,  Hulu with Starz add-on ,  Amazon Prime with Starz add-on ]

Abigail Spencer, Malcolm Barrett, Matt Lanter; Timeless

Though Timeless was canceled twice , its devoted fanbase, known as Clockblockers, were so passionate that the NBC series ended up getting a two-hour series finale to wrap things up, so you won't have to worry about a cliffhanger ending. The show follows a history professor ( Abigail Spencer ), a soldier ( Matt Lanter ), and an engineer ( Malcolm Barrett ) who use a government-created time machine to track down a mysterious villain who is trying to rewrite American history. This series pairs the whimsy of DC's Legends of Tomorrow with the high stakes of 12 Monkeys , making it the perfect "middle of the road" option for time travel fans.  [Watch on  Hulu ]

Though it was canceled after just one season, we're still including Terra Nova on this list because DINOSAURS. Set in a dying world where overpopulation has humans on the brink of extinction, scientists have found a way to send people back in time to the Cretaceous Period where the air is breathable, food is plentiful, and the human race can start over. Unfortunately, it's also where dinosaurs are hungry for human flesh, so that's a problem. This show wasn't executed very well (hence its cancellation), but it's worth a watch anyway just to see hot people running away from raptors.  [Watch on  Amazon ]

Lost in Austen

Jemima Rooper, Elliot Cowan, Alex Kingston, Gemma Arterton, and Hugh Bonneville, Lost in Austen

When you're ready to take a break from all the action and adventure, Lost in Austen is a great time travel alternative. Rather than traveling through time per se, lead character Amanda Price ( Jemima Rooper ) travels into the world of her favorite novel, Pride & Prejudice . Caught up in the Georgian Era -- and the fictional lives of Mr. Darcy ( Elliot Cowan ) and the Bennet family -- Amanda unwittingly ends up as a character in the story she loves so dearly, and falling in love with Darcy herself.  [Watch on  BritBox ]

The critically acclaimed Netflix series  Dark  is not only a complicated time travel drama, it's also a German series, so get ready to turn those subtitles on! The series, which just wrapped up its third and final season, follows multiple generations of four interconnected families living in the German town of Winden (once you've finished the show, our family tree will help explain how everyone is connected ), which just so happens to be home to an underground tunnel and wormhole. Time travel and family drama make for an extremely complicated series (we don't recommend just having this one on in the background, folks), but once you get into it, you'll never look back.  [Watch on  Netflix ]

Best new Time Travel TV Shows in 2024 & 2023 (Netflix, Prime, Hulu & TV List)

New time travel TV series in 2024

Dark Matter

Three Body Problem

Best time travel tv series on netflix, amazon prime, hulu, disney+ or dvd in 2024.

Quantum Leap

A Time Called You

The Lazarus Project

Again my Life

The Shining Girls

Paper Girls

The Peripheral

Tales from the Loop

The Wheel of Time

Twice Upon a Time

De Volta Aos 15

El ministerio del tiempo

The 32 Best TV Shows About Time Travel

Time traveling is a popular topic when it comes to all types of entertainment from books to films. But in recent years time travel has also become a popular theme in TV.

So let’s take a look at this list of the best time traveling TV shows and find out how each of them handles time travel and all the history that comes with it.

Doctor Who, BBC One (1963 – 1989, 2005 – present)

When it comes to time traveling and TV, probably the most notable name in this niche is Doctor Who  because this time travel series has been around for 39 seasons and is still going strong.

Hailing from British television channel BBC One, Doctor Who tells the tale of the Time Lord aka The Doctor, and his companions as they travel to different times and try to prevent evil forces from changing history and hurting innocent lives.

Once the Time Lord gets hurt beyond healing, he can transform into a new body and continue saving the world. Hence why at this point 13 (soon to be 14) different actors have played The Doctor.

Doctor Who is not only a huge part of the fabric of British popular culture but by now this time travel show has found its way into the hearts of many people all over the world.

It has inspired many spin-offs in the form of TV shows, comic books, movies, novels, you name it. But more than that, by now it has become an industry standard both when it comes to science-fiction television series and shows about time travel.

No wonder that Doctor Who continues to be successful after countless actor changes and plot twists.

Where to watch Doctor Who:

Timeless, nbc (2016 – 2018).

Another time travel TV series that has already become a cult classic and is adored by fans all over the world is NBC’s Timeless . And despite the turmoil that this show has gone through, it still is time traveling at its best.

Starring Malcolm Barrett, Matt Lanter, and Abigail Spencer as Rufus, Wyatt, and Lucy, Timeless  details the trio traveling to different times in an effort to stop their adversaries from rewriting history.

But as it later turns out, the conspiracy goes deeper than them just changing history. Since the people who our trio is chasing are traveling through time to take down a dangerous and all-powerful organization. The same one that helped build the time machine that Rufus, Wyatt, and Lucy are using.

And although Timeless went on for just two seasons (and a two-hour wrap-up movie), you should still check out the show because it’s not only entertaining but will make you think and want to know more about the events that each episode is exploring.

Where to watch Timeless:

Dc’s legends of tomorrow, the cw (2016 – present).

If you are a fan of superhero TV shows, then you will probably have heard about DC’s Legends of Tomorrow . It is a show that is a huge part of The CW’s Arrowverse. And has crossed over with shows like Arrow , The Flash , and Supergirl multiple times now.

And even if you don’t like the rest of the superhero series but do enjoy a good old time travel TV show, then I suggest you still give Legends of Tomorrow a watch.

The plot of this show is based around a team of superheroes that are traveling through time in their time machine christened the Waverider to prevent different catastrophes from happening. Both ones made by others and those created by the team’s previous adventures.

At the forefront, there are well-known DC heroes like Rip Hunter, Firestorm, The Atom, Kid Flash, Steel, and Vixen. Joined by some original characters like Caity Lotz’s White Canary among others.

One of the defining characteristics of Legends of Tomorrow is how fun it is. Because adjectives like unapologetic, witty, and entertaining are frequently used to describe this time travel series.

However, more than that, it adds an interesting layer to the whole Arrowverse universe. And above all, it is just a hoot to watch.

Where to watch Legends of Tomorrow:

12 monkeys, syfy (2015 – 2018).

Then there also is SyFy’s 12 Monkeys , which is a little darker take on time traveling. One that comes with mystery, drama, and apocalyptic stakes. But that doesn’t lessen how good this time travel TV series is.

Split between two timelines, 12 Monkeys centers on Aaron Stanford’s James Cole, who is tasked to travel back in time and stop the distribution of a virus that has the ability to end the human race as we know it.

In Cole’s real timeline, the year is 2043 and people are struggling to survive because of the terrible mutations caused by the virus. So Cole travels back to 2015 to find virologist Cassie Railly, played by Amanda Schull, that can help him stop the release of the virus and the organization that is behind it called The Army of the 12 Monkeys.

If you think about it, the post-apocalyptic setting and time travel really do go hand in hand. Because if you can go back in time to stop history from being changed, why not go back to change it if it prevents something terrible from happening?

And that is what this show explores. Beautifully combining elements of mystery, drama, and science fiction, to form a great TV show.

Where to watch 12 Monkeys:

Outlander, starz (2014 – present).

Want another show that mixes time travel with historical events and does it flawlessly? Then you should put Outlander on your must-watch TV show list!

The show starts in the 1940s when a combat nurse Claire Randall visits Inverness, Scotland as part of her second honeymoon with her husband Frank. Claire accidentally happens upon the standing stones at Craigh na Dun which transport her back in time to 1743.

To return to her own time she first has to survive 18th-century Scotland. And she does so by joining a group of rebel Highlanders from Clan MacKenzie and marrying one of the Highlanders, Jamie Fraser. But eventually, she falls in love with her new husband and aids the clan in evading British redcoats that are pursuing them.

Over the five seasons of Outlander that are currently out (with the sixth coming soon), we see Claire jump back and forth between the 20th and 18th centuries and her two families as she faces two pregnancies, wars, and much more. But eventually, Claire finds her way back to Jamie.

Where to watch Outlander:

Travelers, showcase (2016 – 2018).

Then we have Travelers , a joint venture between Netflix and Canada’s Showcase that will tick all of your time travel TV show boxes.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world , this show depicts the adventures of travelers – operatives who go back in time to prevent the collapse of society.

These travelers are transferred into the bodies of our current-day humans, who otherwise would die, to blend in with twenty-first-century people. And with the help of their artificial intelligence boss from the future, travelers carry out missions in order to stop many catastrophic events from happening.

Travelers is a great mix of sci-fi and drama, featuring a great cast and spine-tingling storylines. So if you love all that and love a good time-travel series, then look no further than Travelers .

Where to watch Travelers:

Dark, netflix (2017 – 2020).

Netflix’s first German original series was the science fiction series Dark , which mixes in some mystery drama with sci-fi: time travel, the apocalypse, wormholes, and parallel worlds.

Dark takes place in Winden, a fictional German town, and begins in 2019 after children begin to disappear from the town. As the show progresses, however, timelines jump drastically between as early as 1921 to as late as 2053.

As four families in Winden investigate the disappearances to reunite with their lost loved ones, they discover a wormhole beneath the local powerplant that allows them to travel between timelines, thus uncovering a generations-long conspiracy involving the town and their families.

Where to watch Dark:

The umbrella academy, netflix (2019 – present).

Netflix brings another to the list with The Umbrella Academy .

On October 1, 1989, 43 infants were suddenly born from unsuspecting women despite them not even being pregnant the day before.

7 of them were raised together as the Hargreeve siblings and trained in their respective abilities until their relationship became strained as teenagers and they drifted apart.

Now, as adults, they’re brought back together by the death of their adoptive father – and the threat of the end of the world, of course.

They’re forced to travel back in time but end up in different times and places, and must find each other again to stop the nuclear apocalypse.

Where to watch The Umbrella Academy:

Seven days, upn (1998 – 2001).

We know that the National Security Agency has its share of secrets, but what if one of those secrets was a time-traveling machine?

In UPN’s Seven Days , the plot centers on one such device made from alien technology found at Roswell.

The Chronosphere, as it’s called, can only be used in times when national security is at risk – the limited capacity of the device allows for just one human to go back in time by seven days in order to avert disasters.

Thus, when the White House is attacked, the NSA employs former Navy SEAL and CIA operative Frank Parker to go back and prevent it from happening.

Where to watch Seven Days:

Loki, disney+ (2021 – present).

Yes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the greatest gifts to the cinema of our time. Now, the MCU has expanded even further into the television medium and we’ve got a few series to accompany it!

One of those is Loki , which of course, centers on the God of Thunder’s mischievous adopted brother.

After the events in Avengers: Endgame , particularly his stealing of the Tesseract, Loki inadvertently creates another timeline that began in 2012, making him a “time variant” version of himself.

When confronted by the authorities, Loki is given two choices: face punishment and cease to exist, or travel through time to fix his own mess and the threat that has emerged.

Where to watch Loki:

Making history, fox (2017).

The thing about traveling back in time is, you have to be very careful that your actions in the past won’t affect the future (which is essentially your actual present).

Most of the time, that’s something you wouldn’t know until you go back to your time. In Making History , however, Dan Chambers travels back in time to right before the American Revolution and sets off a series of events that seriously mess up the future.

Being able to constantly travel between time periods, Dan recruits the help of history professor Chis Parrish to travel with him and ensure that the American Revolution still takes place.

Where to watch Making History:

Quantum leap, nbc (1989 – 1993).

The title of NBC’s sci-fi comedy-drama Quantum Leap is also the name of the time travel machine that accidentally sends its creator, physicist Dr. Sam Beckett, back into the past.

Now, he’s stuck – and not as himself, either!

Sam discovers that he jumped into the body of a stranger and because he’s still himself, doesn’t know all the details of his current identity.

With the help of his friend Al, who appears as a hologram only he can see, he must fix something that went wrong so he can jump in time again and eventually get back to his own body.

Where to watch Quantum Leap:

Quantum leap, nbc (2022 – present).

Speaking of Quantum Leap , in 2022 NBC revived the 1989 series into a more modern take on the cult classic.

In this new Quantum Leap , thirty years have passed since Dr. Sam Beckett vanished into the Quantum Leap accelerator, and the Quantum Leap project was put to rest.

Now the project is restarted with a new team, who tries to puzzle together the mysteries behind Beckett and his time-traveling machine.

So, we follow Ben Song, the lead physicist of the Quantum Leap time travel project, who gets lost in the past after leaping back in time.

As he tries to return to the present he is helped by his fiancée Addison Augustine, who appears to him as a hologram during each leap, and the team back in the present time.

Where to watch Quantum Leap reboot:

The way home, hallmark channel (2023 – present).

Among the newest time travel shows on this list is Hallmark’s The Way Home which has already been renewed for a second season.

The Way Home follows three generations of Landry women who learn that they can time travel after discovering a magic pond on their family’s farm in Port Haven.

When Kat and her daughter Alice return to Port Haven and are forced to move in with Alice’s estranged mother Del, the three women use time travel to uncover their family history, including what really happened to Kat’s little brother Jacob and whether they can prevent his disappearance.

Where to watch The Way Home:

Russian doll, netflix (2019 – 2022).

Netflix’s Russian Doll deviates from the traditional time travel theme of a willing traveler in one specific timeline because Russian Doll’s protagonist Nadia Vulvokov not only has absolutely no choice or control over her so-called time traveling, but hers is also a time loop .

She wakes up every day having to relive the day of her 36th birthday party in New York City; every time, she dies and comes back to the exact same moment.

Every time, Nadia scrambles to figure out what happens to her and tries to prevent her death, leading her to find Alan, a man who is experiencing the same time loop.

Where to watch Russian Doll:

Undone, prime video (2019 – present).

Undone may be an animated series, but it certainly isn’t geared toward younger audiences; though there is a touch of comedy, the series leans more towards the psychological drama genre and “explores the elastic nature of reality”.

The series follows Alma Winograd-Diaz right after she gets into a near-fatal car accident.

Right before the crash, she has a strange vision of her dead father, and right after it, she finds that she now has the ability to manipulate and move through time.

Using this newfound power, she travels between time periods to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding her father’s death.

Where to watch Undone:

Voyagers, nbc (1982 – 1983).

Premiering back in the early 1980s, NBC’s Voyagers! Is set in a world where time travel already exists.

In fact, there’s already a secret society in place that trains its members, called Voyagers, to go back in time and make sure that historical events happen exactly the way they’re supposed to – otherwise it could affect the present in unexpected ways.

One such Voyager is Phineas Bogg, although he isn’t exactly the best at the job.

During an accidental trip to 1982, he meets the young Jeffrey Jones and ends up bringing him along on one of his missions.

Having lost his Guidebook, Phineas now needs to rely on the extremely smart Jeffrey to get history right.

Where to watch Voyagers!:

Fringe, fox (2008 – 2013).

Fox’s Fringe is a series that was well into the science fiction genre, with parallel universes, supernatural abilities, biotechnology, doomsday predictions, and of course, time travel.

The title is taken from fringe science, which is a branch that deals with scientific theories riddled with skepticism or even having been disproven already.

In Fringe , Special Agent Olivia Dunham is assigned to oversee the FBI ’s Fringe Division, which is run by Peter Bishop and his father Walter.

Together, the team uses both fringe science and Olivia’s knowledge in investigative techniques to explore the unexplained.

In the process, they discover a larger mystery involving parallel universes and alternate timelines .

Where to watch Fringe:

Time after time, abc (2017).

ABC’s Time After Time is based on the novel of the same name written by Kevin Williamson in 1979.

In addition to that, each episode takes its title from a line in Cyndi Lauper’s song, which was inspired by the film (and subsequently, the same book!).

In Time After Time , we are taken to H.G. Wells’ home in 1893.

During a dinner party, he reveals his time machine – right before his guest John Stevenson is arrested for actually being Jack the Ripper .

John escapes through the time machine and Wells follows him straight into the present: 2017. Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game as John attempts to gain control of the machine.

Where to watch Time After Time:

11.22.63, hulu (2016).

When you have anything with Stephen King involved, you know it’s going to be great.

Hulu’s eight-episode miniseries 11.22.63 is based on King’s novel 11/22/63 and is a science fiction thriller like no other.

Starring James Franco in the lead role, 11.22.63 follows Jake Epping, an English teacher from Maine .

His best friend Al reveals a time travel machine and asks him to take over the mission he’s been working on: to travel to the 60s and prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Will Jake be successful in changing a past that simply refuses to be changed?

Where to watch 11.22.63:

The 4400, usa network/sky one (2004 – 2007).

The 4400 is yet another slightly different take on the idea of time travel, in that there has been just one (fairly significant) shift forward in time, to the present.

Beginning in 1946, individuals who were easily overlooked or marginalized by society slowly began disappearing through beams of green light.

Now, all 4400 of them (hence the title) have been returned to the present day – without having aged a day and in some cases, even manifesting supernatural abilities like telekinesis, healing, and telepathy.

Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris are assigned to investigate the phenomenon and find out why the 4400 have returned.

NOTE: For a fresher take on the show, you can also check out the reboot of the original series which is currently airing on The CW.

Where to watch The 4400:

Somewhere between, abc (2017).

When tragedy strikes our lives, we always wish there was something we could’ve done to prevent it.

In ABC’s Somewhere Between we meet Laura Price, a successful news producer with a great career, a loving husband who’s a district attorney, and a beautiful daughter named Serena.

However, her life changes when the serial killer she is helping the cops to catch kills Serena.

Distraught with grief , Laura attempts to complete suicide but is unsuccessful, instead waking up having time-traveled to a week before Serena’s death.

She teams up with Nico, a former SFPD detective who experienced the same reset and wants to find the real killer to change his brother’s fate as well.

Where to watch Somewhere Between:

Terra nova, fox (2011).

Terra Nova takes its viewers to both extremes of the time-traveling timeline.

The present-day is 2149, where overpopulation has threatened to deplete the Earth’s resources.

In an attempt to save Earth and mankind, scientists have found a way to travel back in time, sending groups of humans back to the Cretaceous Period to set up colonies.

Terra Nova focuses primarily on Elisabeth and Jim Shannon, and their three children, who have joined the 10th pilgrimage to Terra Nova.

They offer their expertise as a trauma surgeon and former narcotics detective and help those in charge with stopping those whose intentions go against the greater good.

Where to watch Terra Nova:

Frequency, the cw (2016 – 2017).

One concept in time travel is known as “the butterfly effect”, wherein one small change in time may have great effects elsewhere.

Frequency demonstrates this concept perfectly.

Raimy Sullivan is an NYPD detective who, after a strange weather phenomenon, discovers that she can communicate with her dead father through his old ham radio.

Believing he was a corrupt cop, she learns the truth and warns him of his murder, thus saving his life.

However, this has profound effects on the future – Raimy’s present.

Now, they must work together across time to save her father and preserve the present.

Where to watch Frequency:

Life on mars, bbc one (2006).

In many of the shows on the list so far, the protagonists experience a time loop that’s triggered at the point of their death.

It’s no different for Sam Tyler, the main character in the British series Life on Mars .

Sam is a Detective Chief Inspector with the Greater Manchester Police, but one day he accidentally gets hit by a car.

When he awakens, he’s in 1973 and working at one rank lower than he was: Detective Inspector.

The selling point of Life on Mars , however, is that we’re left unsure if Sam’s predicament is due to his actual death, a comatose, or time travel.

Where to watch Life on Mars:

Always a witch, netflix (2019 – 2020).

Always A Witch (or Siempre Bruja in its original Spanish title) is a Colombian series that is set in both present-day Colombia and the 17th century .

The series follows Carmen Eguiliuz, a young 19-year-old witch who, after committing the crime of falling in love with a white man in 1646 colonial Colombia, is scheduled to be burned at the stake.

She gets a chance to escape to a new life when the mysterious wizard Aldemar makes a deal with her: he will save the man she loves if she travels into the future to find the woman who can break his curse.

Where to watch Always a Witch:

Beforeigners, hbo (2019 – present).

HBO’s Beforeigners is a Norwegian sci-fi crime drama series and the first Norwegian original from HBO Europe.

The title is a clever play on words centered on the general plot: a group of “foreigners” has suddenly shown up at a neighborhood in Oslo, and they are all from “before” times, or several different time periods in history.

Whether from the Viking period , the Stone Age, or the more recent 19th century , each of these ‘Beforeigners’ tries to integrate in modern-day Norwegian society.

One of them even partners with a detective to investigate first a murdered Stone Age woman, then a series of murderers tied to Jack the Ripper.

Where to watch Beforeigners:

Alice, sbs tv (2020).

Alice was a South Korean sci-fi series that aired in late 2020.

In the lead-up to the main plot, the show’s background is explained to its viewers.

Set in 2050, time travel is monitored by an agency called Alice, which sends its clients to the past to help find closure with deceased loved ones.

Alice one day sends two agents to 1992 in order to find the Book of Prophecy, but one of them disappears with the book and her unborn child.

In 2020, the child becomes a detective and in his investigation into his mother’s death in 2010, discovers the existence of Alice and time travel.

Where to watch Alice:

Live up to your name, tvn (2017).

Yet another South Korean time travel series , Live Up to Your Name initially takes its viewers some 400 years into the past, right in the middle of the Joseon dynasty.

There we meet Heo Im, a doctor of traditional Korean medicine who also specializes in acupuncture.

On one of his treatments of the king’s migraines, he made a mistake and was charged with treason.

Chased by the king’s soldiers, he’s shot with an arrow and presumed dead when he falls into the river – except he ends up waking up in present-day Seoul instead, where he meets cardiothoracic surgeon Choi Yeon-kyung.

Where to watch Live Up to Your Name:

My only love song, netflix (2017).

Our third South Korean series is Netflix’s My Only Love Song , which aired in 2017.

We start off in modern-day Korea where we meet Soo-jung, a talented and top-level actress.

However, it seems that the fame may have gotten to her head as she’s arrogant, and believes fame and money make the world go round.

When things don’t go her way on her new show, she winds up in a time-traveling van that takes her to the 6th century.

There, she meets a man much like herself in terms of arrogance, but his hidden soft spot and generosity towards the poor changes her perspective on her own life and self.

Where to watch My Only Love Song:

Signal, tvn (2016).

Signal is based on the 2000 American film Frequency , but another thing that sets this South Korean series apart from others is that the cases investigated in the series are also based on real-life crimes in the country.

Signal follows a cold case profiler from 2015 and a detective from 1989 simultaneously; they discover they’re able to communicate with each other through an old walkie-talkie.

Using this unique ability to provide much-needed foresight in investigations, they team up to both solve and in some cases, even prevent these horrific crimes.

Where to watch Signal:

Rooftop prince, sbs (2012).

Last but not least, South Korea brings its last time-traveling series to the table with Rooftop Prince , a comedy-drama filled with intrigue, mixed identities, and possible reincarnations.

Crown Prince Lee Gak from the Joseon dynasty accidentally time travels to 2012 with three others from his entourage, and their lives are thrown into a whirlwind.

He crosses paths with Se-na, who looks exactly like his recently deceased wife.

In the hopes of getting answers about his wife’s mysterious drowning, he assumes the identity of another man who he also looks exactly like and attempts to marry Se-na in this timeline as well.

Where to watch Rooftop Prince:

12 comments.

We enjoyed Time Trap. Cheesy special effects, not great acting, but the story is so cool.

Tomorrow people cw

You forgot The Time Tunnel, an Irwin Allen sci-fi show (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost In Space, Land of The Giants), all classic 60s sci-fi

Journeyman should also be on this list. It was only half a season on NBC but it wraps up to a satisfying conclusion.

Fantastic acting and interesting characters.

Glad someone else watched Journeyman. I thought I’d was a great spiritual successor to Quantum Leap.

Journeyman is one of the good shows u can watch but qunatum leap i watched and didnt like

Where is The Time Tunnel?????

Another show for your list is “Being Erica” (CBC, 2009-2011). Excellent writing, and very unique.

i was looking for this comment. such an underrated show

I concur. This was definitely a great one. It certainly provides a lot of food for thought.

Some of the information in the Doctor Who one is wrong. It started in 1963, it was only revived in 2005 (you put 2006), and it’s been going for 39 seasons, as of June 2022

Thanks for letting me know! I updated the article accordingly.

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20 Best Time-Travel Shows Ranked

If you could travel back and forth through time, where would you go? What would you do? Who would you talk to? Even better, if you were writing a book, making a movie, or working on a television show about time travel, what would you include? The best TV shows about time travel all feature characters who visit other eras for various compelling (or even life-threatening) reasons. Maybe it's to prevent a coming apocalypse, maybe it's just to save one person's life — but as many of these shows teach, small changes can have big effects, and many of these characters learn that their time-traveling can change the world.  

Now, there are some great time travel-adjacent shows that don't quite fit this list. A fun romp like "Early Edition," for example, utilizes a time-traveling newspaper and potentially a time-traveling cat, but doesn't in and of itself feature a lot of time travel. Likewise, something like "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" is rooted in a time travel premise, but stays mostly in one time. With all that said, here's a look at our choices for the 20 best time travel shows on TV.

Save the cheerleader, save the world. That's what future Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) tells present-day Hiro when he appears to him from the future, and that's what establishes "Heroes" as way more than just a superhero show.

The NBC series follows a group of regular people who develop special powers, not unlike mutants in the "X-Men" series, after a mysterious worldwide eclipse. Each character gains their own individual abilities. Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) develops the ability to heal from any injury. Senator Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) gains the ability to fly, while his brother Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) can temporarily absorb others' powers. Still, few of these characters have cooler abilities than Hiro, who can influence the space-time continuum. This means he can teleport, slow down time — and, of course, time travel.   

Understandably, Hiro's power set becomes a serious asset throughout the series, and his path to perfect his abilities is one of "Heroes'" strongest story arcs. The first few times he travels through time don't go as planned, and throughout the series, things can get in the way of him ending up where he wants to go or when he wants to be. While Hiro's time-traveling is just one part of the larger story, it's definitely one of the show's highlights – especially since Oka is so darn charming as the character.

19. 11.22.63

One of the best Stephen King TV series out there, the eight-episode "11.22.63" follows a man named Jake Epping (James Franco). He's a relatively normal guy who receives a chance to change history when his friend Al (Chris Cooper) tells him he's found a way to travel back in time. Al tells Jake that the portal he's discovered goes back to the year 1960 and that he's been working on a plan to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Al's age and advancing cancer diagnosis prevent him from following through on the plan, however, and he asks Jake to take over for him. Jake agrees, but soon his quest is met with pushback from a mysterious source. As it turns out, the past doesn't want to be changed, and every step Jake takes toward preventing JFK's assassination leads to more cracks in the timeline. 

A charming and exciting time travel drama, "11.22.63" is a well-executed, twisty tale that only ranks so low on this list because it's in such great company. If you're looking for a quick, self-contained time travel miniseries that revolves around one of modern America's most notable events, this show is well worth a watch. 

When Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crash lands on a deserted island, wacky and scary things start happening to the survivors. ABC's "Lost" deals with flashbacks, flash-forwards, mysterious groups that already have a presence on the island, a black smoke monster — and, as it turns out, an ancient battle between good and evil. One of the great appointment television shows before streaming broke through, "Lost" had fans talking about it and theorizing about its mysteries on a weekly basis.

The sci-fi drama captivated viewers for six seasons, and though time travel is referenced throughout the entire series run, it plays the biggest role in Season 4. As the island itself leaps from place to place and from time to time, the main group of characters jumps with it, encountering previous versions of themselves and island events that occurred in the past, and suffering from the effects of temporal displacement. The most beloved episode dealing with time travel is undoubtedly "The Constant," in which fan-favorite Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) figures out a way to stop his consciousness from jumping through time by finding his constant — his true love, Penny (Sonya Walger).

Of course, "Lost" is not just a time travel show, and famously covers such a wide variety of mysteries and sci-fi concepts that viewers might find it hard to keep up. As such, it ends up with this relatively low ranking. 

Like "Lost", "Fringe" is considered one of the most binge-worthy sci-fi shows of all time  but the fact that it isn't exclusively about time travel means it lands near the tail end of this particular list. The ABC show revolves around a science-fiction conglomerate that dabbles with interdimensional travel, wormholes, and alternate realities. Anna Torv stars as FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, who heads up the bureau's Fringe Division. With the help of "mad scientist" Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), his estranged son Peter (Joshua Jackson), and their lab assistant Astrid Farnsworth (Jakisa Nicole), Dunham explores cases involving fringe science — be they about time travel, mind control, experiments gone wrong or any other strange and obscure criminal activity.

Time travel is more of a looming presence early in "Fringe," particularly present in the character of the Observer (Michael Cerveris), a bald, pale, genetically advanced human from the future. While Season 1 and Season 2 deal with the battle between two dimensions and realities, time travel really becomes an element in Season 3. Seasons 4 and 5 then deal with alternate timelines and the Observers that infiltrate the world from the future, intent on wiping out humanity. As you might expect, things can get a bit confusing, but the show sure is fun.

16. The Umbrella Academy

You have to respect a show that's so high-concept that time travel doesn't even get top billing. "The Umbrella Academy" boasts mysterious events, family drama, dance numbers, a talking chimpanzee, some of the cleverest superpowers in superhero shows, and a robot mom — and that's just scratching the surface. Based on "The Umbrella Academy" comics created by Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance fame, the Netflix show is a saga that exploits everything from the butterfly effect to the grandfather paradox for emotional and comedic impact.

The central Hargreeves family consists of a group of kids all born on the same day, adopted by the same eccentric billionaire (Colm Feore). He has trained them to protect the world with their various superpowers, but they aren't particularly great at it, and their strict upbringing has left them with a wide array of issues and deep rifts between them. The dysfunctional bunch starts out fairly estranged, but slowly bonds to save humanity from an apocalyptic event ... only to cause another potential apocalyptic event by sprinkling themselves across time.

In between the tears in the space-time continuum, "The Umbrella Academy" is ultimately an ensemble story about found (and re-found) family, as well as a truly unique superhero show where personal failure and the side-effects of costumed crimefighter life play a huge role. However, since Season 1 largely approaches time travel through Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) and the Temps Aeternalis agency, and much of Season 3 focuses on a present-day alternate reality, only the 1960s-themed Season 2 goes truly all in on the concept of sending all main characters to a different era. 

15. Sliders

"Sliders" is a 1990s sci-fi adventure series that features Jerry O'Connell and friends getting lost across the multiverse. O'Connell ("Stand By Me") plays boy genius Quinn Mallory, inventor of the Timer — a device that lets him and his friends "slide" through a wormhole vortex into different versions of Earth. The thing about wormhole vortexes, though, is that they like to misbehave, meaning Quinn and his buds never know where they're headed next on their adventures. This makes their quest to get back home to their own Earth a tricky one.

"Sliders" starts off fun and strong, and is at its best when having bonkers fun — like when Rembrandt (Cleavant Derricks) discovers a world where he could have been Elvis-level famous — and when it's exploring real-world issues in a high-concept dimension, like when the crew visits an Earth that treats men worse than women. Even if you've seen it before, it's definitely worth a re-watch, because "Sliders" is one  TV show that's better than you remember.

14. Continuum

On "Continuum," Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) is a Protector – think futuristic government agent from even more futuristic equipment — from the year 2077. She gets transported to the year 2012 along with a group of murderous terrorists, forcing Kiera to remain in the past as she chases them down. Fortunately, her gadgets and knowledge of the past soon come in handy and she finds loyal allies. Unfortunately, her enemies also know their history and plan on altering it for their own gain. 

"Continuum" milks the premise for all it's worth, while avoiding the pitfall of becoming a run-in-the-mill procedural with an unchanging status quo. While Kiera does handle her share of case-of-the-week story arcs, they're often connected to the group she pursues, and she never lets go of her primary target of stopping the terrorists. In order to avoid disrupting the timeline, she also has to go to great lengths to avoid revealing that either she or her targets are time travelers — and when their actions inevitably end up changing the future, she has to deal with the consequences. 

13. Timeless

If ever there was a time travel show that was canceled too soon, it's Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan's "Timeless." The NBC sci-fi series stars Abigail Spencer as the historian Lucy, Matt Lanter as the soldier Wyatt, and Malcolm Barrett as Rufus, a scientist who makes up a team trying to prevent a mysterious organization from altering the courses of history through time travel. They're up againsts Garcia Flynn (Goran Višnjić), who travels throughout history intending to influence major events like the Hindenburg disaster. However, the team soon realizes that the villain they thought they were fighting is much larger and infiltrates the historical timeline in ways they never imagined. 

Instead of focusing on the usual historical suspects, "Timeless" often highlights forgotten people of color, women, and lesser-known historical figures, giving them their due and celebrating their contributions to society. This element of the show can be seen in the way Rufus, for instance, is reluctant to join the team because he knows how Black people are treated in the eras they visit. 

Despite its intriguing concept, the show was canceled after Season 1, but fans caused such an uproar that NBC reversed the decision of canceling "Timeless"  and renewed it for another season. After Season 2, NBC pulled the plug once more, and again, the fans cried foul. In a kind of compromise, NBC greenlit a special two-hour series finale that ties up loose ends and gives much-needed closure to the story. 

12. 12 Monkeys

The "12 Monkeys" SyFy series is based on the 1995 film of the same name that stars Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt — though the series makes a fair few changes to stretch the plot into a four-season sci-fi drama. The series stars Aaron Sanford as James Cole, a scavenger from the year 2024 who's tasked with traveling to 2015 in order to stop the release of a biological weapon. In the movie, James is helped by a psychologist named Kathryn Railly played by Madeleine Stowe, but here, he befriends a virologist named Dr. Cassandra "Cassie" Railly (Amanda Schull). Pitt's character, Jeffrey Goines, is also gender-swapped here, with Emily Hampshire playing Jennifer Goines.

Like the movie, the series deals with the Cassandra Complex, the idea that we have a hard time believing concerns about the future, no matter how likely and provable they are. It also deals with circular time and the idea that past events can be affected by future ones. If those aspects of the film lift your time travel antennae, the four-season show dives even deeper.

11. Paper Girls

"Paper Girls" is a brilliant time travel show that was canceled way ahead of its time. Based on the comics by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, this Amazon series tells the story of a group of 1990s tween girls who get attacked by futuristic invaders. They manage to escape into the future, where one of the girls, Erin (Riley Lai Nelet ), meets her adult self (Ali Wong).

The show dispenses with grandfather paradox hand-wringing and instead uses the concept of the girls confronting their past and future selves, to brutally honest and hilarious effect. Young Erin is horrified to find out how much of herself she's abandoned by the time she turns into Old Erin, and refuses to let life work out that way. It motivates Erin to want to return to her home time even more — this kid has a clock to beat. However, there are two sides to the coin, and Old Erin is also able to care for her young self in ways she never felt able to when she was younger. It's a beautiful and potent visual metaphor that other characters also make good on. 

All in all, "Paper Girls" is a feast for the eyes as much as its ensemble cast is a feast for the soul. Plus, Jason Mantzoukas playfully chewing scenery as the ominous Grand Father? This show could have lasted until the end of time — or at least until Season 2.

10. Timewasters

"Timewasters" is a time travel comedy about a Black British jazz band that accidentally time-slips back to 1920s London, among other timelines. The quartet stumbles into an earlier time perod via a disgusting elevator that, yes, doubles as a time machine. Once the crew shows up in the past, they're treated like freaks, but they gain some measure of success as musicians. While the crew eventually tries to return to the present, they also have a "Back to the Future" moment when they seemingly get stuck in the 1950s.

"Timewasters" is full of funny jokes and great music, and it's a groundbreaking show in a number of ways. "People like us never get to time travel — it's what white people do, like skiing or brunch," creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor told the Royal Television Society . "For me, race is so important." Taylor also stars in "Timewasters," along with Kadiff Kirwan ("Slow Horses"), Adelayo Adedayo ("Some Girls"), and Samson Kayo ("Our Flag Means Death"). The show is also an excellent destination if you're into spotting a variety of British actors and comedians ... including Joseph Quinn, who went on to rise to fame as Eddie Munson on "Stranger Things."

9. Outlander

Based on the series of novels by Diana Gabaldon, Starz's "Outlander" follows the story of a World War II nurse named Claire (Caitriona Balfe) who finds herself thrown back in time after visiting a circle of mysterious Druid stones. She arrives in 18th Century Scotland and, after being taken in by a band of gruff Scots, she marries the dashing young Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) in order to avoid being taken prisoner by her real husband's (Tobias Menzies) apparent evil ancestor, Black Jack Randall (Menzies). Claire lives through a time of great upheaval in Scotland when tensions with British control are rising and history-making battles loom in the near future. Despite being initially reluctant to stay, she and Jamie fall deeply in love, and their romance remains the backbone of the series.

The entire "Outlander" timeline  takes some time to explain, what with several 20th-century characters taking the trip to the 18th century and the show covering versions of notable real-world historical events. Without further spoilers, all there is to say is that if you enjoy time travel shows that lean heavily toward historical drama, "Outlander" is where it's at. Also, if you view Tobias Menzies as an incorrigible dweeb due to his performance as Edmure Tully on "Game of Thrones," his monstrous "Outlander" villain is guaranteed to erase that image.

8. Quantum Leap

"Quantum Leap" stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist who invents a way to travel through time. When the corporation funding his project threatens to shut it down, Sam uses himself as a guinea pig to test out the method. He finds himself thrown back in time, but in another person's body. The only other entity aware of his 'leap" is a hologram of his colleague and best friend, Admiral Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell). Al tells Sam that he must correct things that went wrong in the past before being allowed to leap back to his own time and body, and can only use the resources of the project's supercomputer, Ziggy.

With Sam leaping back and forth into different bodies at different times, the show uses a variant of the traditional procedural set up. New characters turn up to guest star and Sam gets to save the day, have a fling, and learn something new before leaping to the next destination, which just might be home one of these days.  

The series ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993, but its combination of time travel and case-of-the-week antics has proved enduring enough that "Quantum Leap" even gets a shout-out in "Avengers: Endgame." Despite being over three decades old, it remains a cool time travel series worth checking out.

7. The 4400

In the opening scenes of "The 4400," an enormous ball of light drops 4,400 people at the foot of Mount Rainier in Washington. They soon realize that they were all taken from some other point in time and deposited into the year 2004, unaged and without any memories of where they'd been. At first, everyone assumes that these people have been abducted by aliens. However, it soon turns out that the truth is far more time travel-related.

The returned people soon start developing "Heroes"-style powers that range from telekinesis to telepathy and super-strength, which people from the future have entrusted with to prevent various catastrophic events that they want to avoid in their timeline. Unfortunately, the 2004 government considers the powered folks a threat, and inhibits their powers with a neurological drug. 

The stories that unfold from this setup are exactly as complex and entertaining as you'd imagine, with various members of the titular group treating their powers in different ways and society having a hard time dealing with them. Unfortunately, "The 4400" ended abruptly after four seasons on a somewhat ambiguous note, but even so, it's a fun show to revisit.

6. Travelers

In Netflix's "Travelers," time-traveling operatives from a post-apocalyptic future are tasked with preventing certain events that have led to the downfall of society in their own present day of 2018. The travelers' consciousness takes over a person in the desired time who's just about to die, and the operative then lives out the rest of that person's days though with the mission in mind ... and a strict set of rules they must follow. Apart from a list of ways they're not allowed to interact with the past, they're also strictly forbidden from communicating with other known travelers outside their team, save for special circumstances dictated by the Director, who communicates by temporarily taking over children. 

It's a unique and complex premise, and the way the travelers scope out potential targets for takeover and learn to live as them is as timely as it comes — they use social media, GPS locations, and other readily available online information for their time-travel tricks. This adds a layer of present-day dread to the show's fascinating take on time travel. 

Loki Laufeyson (Tom Hiddleston) meets his match when he comes up against the Time Variance Authority in one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most ambitious Disney+ shows, "Loki." The TVA is so dedicated to maintaining a particular sacred timeline that they purge all alternate realities where someone made a choice they deem wrong, which might not always make sense, but precision isn't the point here. It's the idea of playfulness versus control. 

The Loki we see here is an alternate-timeline variant of the one the audiences are familiar with, and thus starts the show in full "The Avengers" villain mode before life — and time — starts grinding him down. Working with TVA agent Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson), he starts redeeming himself by tracking down an apparently evil version of himself, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) ... and ultimately tackling the biggest challenges time can offer.  

The God of Mischief's surprisingly human path of reckoning is the heart of a show that's deliciously stylish, silly, and sometimes scary. "Loki" takes a cops-and-robbers crime caper into time travel territory and explores hefty themes with a light touch, from mindless compliance to self-serving overseers to criminalizing anyone deemed different. "Loki" isn't just a time travel show — it's a show about everything time can offer and more, with characters dancing between eras as you might step from room to room. Also, it has Alligator Loki, who's objectively the best Loki of all. 

If "Loki" is too light-hearted for you, Netflix's "Dark" might be your jam ... provided you can make sense of its incredibly convoluted time travel storyline. Four families weave a tangled web of time travel in this German-language psychological thriller about missing kids, a rotten town, and how almost all of our secrets come out in time. In other words, it's a good time travel show, but it's definitely not a feel-good time travel show. 

"Dark" follows its many characters over the course of their lifetimes and, at one point, has three timelines going at once. Part of the intrigue and challenge of watching the show is trying to understand how (and when) each timeline threads into the other. If you decide to watch it, it's best to have an evidence board and plenty of red yarn ready to chart the relationships and betrayals the town of Winden sees over the years.

While "Dark" is as much a show about human connection and how frayed it can become as it is about time travel, it's also the MVP of using as many time travel paradoxes as possible during its three-season run. "Dark" is also an innovator in the field of wormhole placement. Wormholes are already not to be trusted, but a wormhole underneath a nuclear power plant? No, thank you.

3. Beforeigners

What happens when a bunch of Viking-era warriors, 19th-century figures, and Stone Age people pop up in modern-day Oslo? "Beforeigners" attempts to answer that question while navigating twisty murder mysteries with such efficiency that the Norwegian series may be best described as "crime travel." Adding to the intrigue is the way it focuses more on the present-day relationship between the time refugees and their modern counterparts than on how they showed up in the first place.

"Beforeigners" centers around the odd-couple partnership between hardened police detective Lars Haaland (Nicolai Cleve Broch) and eager new Viking police recruit Alfhildr Enginnsdóttir (Krista Kosonen), who investigate things like the murder of a Stone Age victim and even look into crimes with possible ties to Jack the Ripper.

The metaphor of time migration is an apt one for immigration, and this sci-fi show explores tricky real-life issues with plenty of scope. Creators Anne Bjørnstad and Eilif Skodvin got their start in comedy writing, and their commitment to the bit is evident in the show, including the language used. "Early on, I contacted researchers, professors who helped us. We also constructed the language that Stone Age people spoke, and even with the language from the 19th century: We worked on it to make it sound right," Bjørnstad told Variety . "Why not invest in language, which is such a big part of a person's identity?"

2. Russian Doll

"Russian Doll" could be pitched as "Natasha Lyonne's 'Groundhog Day,'" but that still wouldn't hint at half of the show's charm and emotion. This Netflix offering is a mind-bending time loop dramedy that's a stylish and surreal exploration of life, death, and all the trauma in between. Season 1 of "Russian Doll" features Nadia (Lyonne) stuck reliving her 36th birthday until she inevitably dies and resets back to her friend's bathroom. Later in the season, she discovers a fellow time traveler (Charlie Barnett). They quickly realize that the way out of their dead ends and into a new life is through helping each other.

Season 2 takes some departures from the recursive reality set up in the first season, bending viewers' minds even more thoroughly. "Russian Doll" goes deep, but keeps a sense of humor even as it twists the knife in its characters' hearts — and their timelines. The show keeps audiences just oriented enough by linking its time loops to recognizable spaces and sound cues. You will never look at the subway the same way again, and you will probably never get Harry Nilsson's "Gotta Get Up" out of your head.

1. Doctor Who

Really, could any other show top a list like this?  The untold history of "Doctor Who"  goes all the way back to 1963, when the show premiered on the BBC. The series follows the adventures of a Time Lord who calls themselves the Doctor — an alien being from the planet Gallifrey who travels through space and time on a craft called the TARDIS, which is charmingly disguised as an old-fashioned British police call box and is famously bigger on the inside.  Every Doctor has their own companions  – humans who follow the Doctor throughout space and time, helping people, battling new and recurring villains, and dealing with the assorted wibbly-wobbly stuff on the Doctor's timeline .

The original series ran from 1963 through 1989 and established the neat trick of recasting the Doctor every few years or so, thanks to the premise that the character has multiple lives and can reincarnate himself into different physical bodies. The modern series was revived in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, and talented actors like David Tennant (twice), Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whitaker, and Ncuti Gatwa have followed in his footsteps. Even without the fact that no other show has time travel quite as integrated into its very premise as "Doctor Who," the show's sheer longevity and cultural impact are more than enough to make it the king of the time travel hill. 

80 of the Best Entertaining Time Travel TV Shows You Need To Watch

With romance, adventure, and fun plot twists, these time travel TV shows are sure to entertain.

The time travel trope is quintessentially romantic, with different themes and elements giving it a desperate, romantic air. There is the lone time traveler, bouncing across time in search of lost love. Or a group of travelers unable to return home due to a rift in the space/time continuum. Better yet, the star-crossed lovers fated only to get snatches of time together.  Swoon . There is so much to love about time travel TV shows!

At  The Silver Petticoat Review , we love time travel TV shows so much that we thought a list of binge-worthy shows was necessary.

Depending on your taste in time travel stories, below are 21 binge-worthy dramas, romantic comedies, and Sci-Fi/Fantasy stories (plus 59 bonus recommendations at the end). Not all are traditional versions of the trope, but each one includes an element of time travel.

Get ready! Your watch list is about to become longer!

Note:  Availability for the “Where to Watch” sections are for the US and are subject to change at any time. It was last updated in December 2022.

BINGE-WORTHY TIME TRAVEL TV SHOWS (#1-21)

(in no particular order).

#1 Timeless *

Synopsis:  With history threatened by an evil consortium, a historian, soldier, and scientist join forces to travel through time to save history.

Their adventures take them across history, where they cross paths with some famous and lesser-known figures in history. Yet, each time they save history, they risk changing the future.

Where to Watch:  The NBC series is available on Hulu or to buy on Digital and DVD.

* Timeless  is one of my favorite time travel shows! A lovely,  action-adventure romance  with time travel!

#2 Doctor Who

Synopsis:   Doctor Who   follows the trials of an extraterrestrial Time Lord. Known as the Doctor, he/she travels through time to solve problems and battle injustice across the universe.

Using the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space) to travel, the Doctor recruits companions to assist him/her. With various incarnations,  Doctor Who  is a sweeping adventure in space and time.

Note: There are many iterations of  Doctor Who . Any would make our list of time travel series. Pick your favorite! The newer Doctors include Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker. The new Doctor will be Ncuti Gatwa in 2023.

Where to Watch:  You can stream the classic series on Britbox and the 2005 revival on HBO Max. Both series are available to buy digitally and on DVD.

#3 DC’s Legends of Tomorrow   

Synopsis:  Time-traveler Rip Hunter sets out to save the world with the timeline in catastrophic danger. 

Rip brings together an unlikely group of heroes and villains previously seen in  Arrow  and  The Flash.  

These heroes and villains must come together before they can save the planet. But can they put their differences aside before time runs out?

See our  review of  Legends of Tomorrow .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Netflix or buy digitally and on DVD.

#4 12 Monkeys * 

Synopsis:  Cole travels from a post-apocalyptic future to save the world from a lethal plague. He meets Dr. Cassandra Railly, a virologist, who joins him in his crusade.

It’s a race against time, as they trace the epidemic to its source and discover that appearances are deceiving and time itself is an enemy.

Where to Watch:  Stream on Hulu or buy digitally and on DVD.

Related Post  Romantic Moment of the Week: 12 Monkeys: Cassie and Cole  

*Another personal favorite! When it comes to time travel shows,  12 Monkeys  hits all the right notes!

#5 El Ministerio del Tiempo (The Department of Time)

Synopsis:  A secret government agency recruits three people from different eras to protect Spain’s history.

They bounce through time, chasing time-traveling intruders bent on manipulating history for their own purposes.

Where to Watch:  Stream on Pantaya or buy on DVD.

#6 Travelers 

Synopsis:  Several hundred years into the future, the last humans discover a way to send their consciousness back in time. These “travelers” assume the lives of random individuals.

With only their knowledge of history and social media profiles to guide their way, the travelers quickly discover that experience in the 21st Century is as challenging as their mission.

Content Warning:  Rated TV-MA, the show has strong language, violence, and implied nudity.

#7 Scarlet Heart / Scarlet Heart: Ryeo

Synopsis of Scarlet Heart : A near-fatal accident sends Zhang Xiao, a 21st Century woman, back in time to the Qing Dynasty. It is Kangxi Emperor’s reign, and Xiao is now the teenage daughter of a Manchu general.

Known as Ma’ertai Roux, Xiao attempts to return to the future. Navigating new relationships and love, Xiao adjusts to her new life until, one day, it disappears.

Where to Watch:  Stream on  Viki .

Note: There is also a Korean version of  Scarlet Heart  called Scarlet Heart: Ryeo .  Read our review here . It is only available to buy on DVD.

#8 Making History  

Synopsis:  Misunderstood college facilities manager Dan Chambers discovers time travel, using pop culture to become a beloved 18th Century figure. However, Dan fails to realize the impact time travel has on the present.

When Dan causes Paul Revere to delay his famous ride, he alters the events of the American Revolution. Dan then recruits well-liked history professor Chris Parish for help in correcting history.

Where to Watch:  Rent on Amazon Video or buy Digital.

#9 Sleepy Hollow  

Synopsis:  Ichabod Crane comes back to life 250 years in the future, where he must solve a mystery going back to the time of the founding fathers.

However, he is not alone. Due to a blood curse, the headless horseman also returns to the living. The headless horseman begins a slaying spree in present-day Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod realizes that the headless horseman is the first of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Enter Detective Abbie Mills. Familiar with the supernatural, Abbie joins forces with Crane to stop the evil infecting Sleepy Hollow.

Where to Watch:  Stream  Sleepy Hollow  on Hulu, the CW app, CW Seed, and Tubi. You can also buy the series on Digital and DVD.

#10 Torchwood

Synopsis:  Former time agent, Captain Jack Harkness, leads the Torchwood Three to investigate unexplained extraterrestrial events on Earth.

The group, part of a covert agency called the Torchwood Institute, battles supernatural threats outside the protection of the British government and law enforcement.

Where to Watch:  Stream on HBO Max or buy on Digital and DVD.

Content Warning:  The series is TV-MA for strong language in a few episodes. It also includes occasional explicit sensuality, suggestive content, and violence.

#11 Being Erica *

Synopsis:  During therapy, Erica Strange shares her list of regrets with her therapist. In a twist in treatment, Erica goes back in time to those moments with a chance to make different decisions.

Faced with rewriting her past or leaving things as they are, Erica faces each moment with humor and a new appreciation for her choices.

Where to Watch:  Stream on Hulu, Roku, Hoopla, Plex, and Crackle, and buy digitally and on DVD.

*The writing in this show is fantastic!

Content Warning:  Rated TV-14, it is, at times, TV-MA. There is sensual content, as well as nudity and some bad language.

#12 Heroes 

Synopsis:  Around the world, a group of ordinary people is discovering they have superpowers. One man wants their powers for himself.

To protect themselves, they must learn to help each other before he destroys them all.

Where to Watch:  Stream the superhero series on Peacock or buy digitally and on DVD. 

#13 The Librarians * 

Synopsis:  Based on popular TV movies,  The Librarians  are a group of people who protect magical items throughout time.

Consisting of an art historian, a thief, a mathematician, and a warrior, they travel through time to find supernatural objects and bring them under the protection of the Library.

Related:  Read our  romantic moment between Eve and Flynn from  The Librarians .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Hulu, Hoopla, and Amazon’s Freevee. You can also buy it digitally and on DVD.

#14 Early Edition *

Synopsis:  Having lost his job and his marriage, Gary Hobson wakes up one morning to find a cat sitting on a newspaper bearing the next day’s date.

Gary quickly learns that this early edition allows him 24 hours to try and save many people’s lives.

Where to Watch:  All seasons are available for DVD purchase on Amazon Prime.

*This one is an outlier when it comes to time travel TV shows. The only thing that travels in time is the newspaper. Still, it’s Kyle Chandler….. swoon!

#15 Erased 

Synopsis:  Satoru goes back 18 years to prevent the passing of his mother and three classmates.

Where to Watch:  Netflix

#16 Outlander

Synopsis:  British Army Nurse Claire Randall is on her second honeymoon and looking forward to a career as an Oxford historian. Suddenly transported back to 1742, Claire finds her freedom and life are in danger.

RELATED: ‘Midnight at the Pera Palace’ Review: The Time Travel Romance is Irresistibly Good

To survive, she marries Jamie Fraser. An unexpected passionate relationship develops, and Claire becomes caught between two very different men in two very different lives.

See  our review of  Outlander .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Netflix and STARZ or buy on Digital and DVD.

Content Warning:  TV-MA with   explicit sensual content, nudity, assaults, and graphic violence.

#17 The Eternal Love 

Synopsis:  Unhappy with a forced marriage, Qu Tan Er attempts to end her life. She awakens from her failed attempt with the spirit of another woman inside her body. The modern Xiao Tan is Tan Er’s opposite.

Stuck in the past world, she cannot return to the present day. Whenever one of the women lies, the other person takes control. Soon, complications in love arise as the differing women fall in love with two different men.

What will become of the foursome? And will Xiao Tan be able to find her way back to her own time?

Where to Watch:  Viki

#18 Lost in Austen *

Synopsis:  This smart take on Jane Austen’s  Pride and Prejudice  finds modern, working girl Amanda Price trading places with Elizabeth Bennet.

Unable to return to her time, Amanda must try her best to fit in among the Bennets, Bingleys, and Darcys. Yet, her presence in the lives of these beloved characters sets changes to the course of the classic tale.

See our  Lost in Austen review .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Britbox Amazon Channel, Freevee, and Pluto TV, and buy digitally on Amazon or DVD.

#19 Continuum 

Synopsis:  Detective Kiera Cameron, a cop from the year 2077, and a group of dangerous criminals called Liber8 are trapped in present-day Vancouver. Kiera must stop Liber8 before they destroy the corporate world, altering the future as she knows it. She enlists the help of tech genius Alec Sadler to find a way back home.

In the meantime, Kiera takes a job with the Vancouver Police Department. With help from her partner, detective Carlos Fonnegra, they keep tabs on Liber8. Different beliefs and backgrounds lead to suspicion, but slowly, Kiera and Carlos learn to trust each other.

Where to Watch:  Buy digitally from the Microsoft Store or on DVD.

#20 Frequency

Synopsis:  Detective Raimy Sullivan has lived with the pain and resentment of her father’s passing for 20 years. She believes her father, NYPD Officer Frank Sullivan, was corrupt, resulting in his passing. However, everything changes when she hears his voice coming from an old ham radio.

With Raimy’s warning in his ears, Frank survives the attempt on his life. Yet, the change in the past ends in tragedy for the future. Separated by time, connected by an old radio, the two detectives work together to find a way to rewrite the past without losing the ones they love.

Where to Watch:  Stream on the CW app and CW seed.

#21 Seven Days

Synopsis:  CIA Agent Frank Parker receives a special assignment from the NSA. He must travel back in time to prevent current-day catastrophes.

Yet, there is a catch – he must do so within seven days. Using a time machine built from alien technology, Frank races against time in the past to save the future.

Where to Watch:  Buy on DVD.

Whether you are a fan of pure romance or romantic comedies or love the adventure of time travel, there is something for everyone on our list of binge-worthy time travel TV shows. So dip in and travel back in time with some of the most swoon-worthy characters out there.

*Denotes a personal favorite of mine.

EVEN MORE TIME TRAVEL TV SHOWS TO WATCH (#22-80)

This section was updated in 2022 by Amber and Autumn (co-owners and editors of  The Silver Petticoat Review ). 

Numerous time travel TV series exist, and you can never have enough to watch! So, we thought adding a lot more to the list would be fun. 

Enjoy! We included a *star next to our personal favorites.

• #22:  356: REPEAT THE YEAR  (2020) – Korean Drama about ten people traveling back in time one year.
• #23: * THE 4400  (2004; 2021) – We recommend the original series over the reboot. Both shows have 4400 people appearing in the present day from different time periods, not having aged a day since they originally disappeared.
• #24: * AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.   (2013) – The later seasons of this fun Marvel series are all about time travel – and they are marvelous! The love story  between Daisy and Daniel Sousa  is perfect.
• #25:  ALCATRAZ  (2012) – Prisoners from Alcatraz disappeared in 1963 – only to reappear in the present day. The short-lived drama lasted only one season.
• #26:  ALICE  (2022) – A new time travel romance TV series on Kocowa and Viki.
• #27:  ALWAYS A WITCH  (2019) – A time-traveling witch in this Colombian series ends up in the present day.
• #28: * CHARMED (1998; 2018) – The original and new series about three sisters (and witches) include time travel episodes. Both shows are entertaining – but the original is superior.
• #29:  THE CROSSING  (2018) – Refugees from the future travel back in time to seek asylum.
• #30:  DARK  (2017) (TV-MA) – The German sci-fi thriller series deals with a time travel conspiracy in this hugely popular Netflix drama.

RELATED: 50 of the Best Romantic Period Drama TV Series of All Time to Watch

• #31:  DIRK GENTLY/DIRK GENTLY’S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY   (2010; 2016) – Time travel is involved in these two versions of the story about a detective investigating supernatural cases.
• #32:  * A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES   (2018) (TV-MA – mild) – A witch and a vampire fall in love while trying to unravel the secrets of witches, vampires, and demons. She can time travel and much of  Season 2  takes place in Elizabethan times.
• #33:  FAITH  (2012) – Lee Min-ho stars in this time travel Korean series.
• #34: * FELICITY  (1998) – The coming-of-age romance drama from J.J. Abrams ends with a time travel twist.
• #35:  FIND ME IN PARIS  (2018) – A children’s show about an Edwardian ballet dancer who transports into the future with a mystical necklace.
• #36:  THE FLASH (AND OTHER ARROWVERSE SHOWS)  (2014)   – The CW superhero show is fun, likable, and regularly has time-travel storylines.
• #37:  FLASHFORWARD  (2009) – Joseph Fiennes stars in this canceled too-soon series about people having visions of their future.
• #38: * FRINGE  (2008) – An FBI agent explores unexplained fringe science with a scientist and his son in this brilliant sci-fi series.
• #39:  JOURNEYMAN  (2007) – Kevin McKidd stars in this show about a time traveler who helps people.
• #40:  KAIROS (2020) – The fantasy thriller K-drama series is available to stream on Viki and Kocowa.

• #41:  LA BREA  (2021) – A sinkhole in Los Angeles sends a group of people to an ancient world. Soon, a family becomes enmeshed in a time-travel conspiracy. It’s super fun (if illogical) and crazy – especially by Season 2.
• #42:  LEGION  (2017) (TV-MA) – Dan Stevens stars in this bizarre Marvel series about a man with abilities. Time travel becomes a significant element in Season 3.
• #43: * LIFE ON MARS/ASHES TO ASHES  (2006; 2008) (TV-MA – mild) – DCI Sam Tyler wakes up in 1973 after being in a car accident. The spinoff series  Ashes to Ashes  is about another Detective who wakes up in 1981.
• #44:  LIVE UP TO YOUR NAME (2017) – It’s a rom-com time travel K-drama series about a Joseon doctor transported into the present day.
• #45: * LOST  (2004) – Survivors of a plane disaster discover they’re stranded on a mysterious island. Time travel plays an essential role in the  brilliant romantic series .
• #46: * LOKI  (2021) – Loki ends up at the Time Variance Authority – agents who stop time variants and monitor the timeline. Loki soon must fight for his survival as he travels through time.
• #47: * MANIFEST (2018) – The mystery genre series begins when a missing airplane reappears five years later – and no one has aged.
• #48:  MY ONLY LOVE SONG (2017) – An actress time travels to the past in a magical van in this historical fantasy romance show.
• #49:  NINE: NINE TIMES TIME TRAVEL  (2013) – A TV anchorman tries to change his past in this romantic K-drama.
• #50:  THE OUTER LIMITS  (1963; 1995) – The sci-fi show includes episodes about time travel.

RELATED: 10 Romantic Time Travel Movies to Binge Watch: I’ll Love You to the End of Time

• #51: * PRIMEVAL/PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD (2007; 2012) – Primeval and its spinoff (not nearly as good) follow a team of agents and scientists capturing prehistoric creatures traveling to the present day through mysterious anomalies.  Doctor Who  fans should like this one.
• #52:  * QUEEN IN-HYUN’S MAN   (2012) – A scholar travels into the future and connects with an actress in this charming Korean fantasy rom-com.
• #53:  QUANTUM LEAP  (1989; 2022) – A scientist (Scott Bakula) becomes trapped in the past and must leap between bodies and various times. The original show is superior to the new one, but the revival is still entertaining.
• #54:  THE PERIPHERAL  (2022) (TV-MA for violence and profanity) – Chloë Grace Moretz stars in this new science fiction series with an original time travel twist.
• #55:  ROOFTOP PRINCE  (2012) – The popular fantasy rom-com Korean drama follows a Crown Prince from the past transported to the present day.
• #56:  *ROSWELL  (1999) – Two episodes of the iconic paranormal romance series deal with time travel.
• #57:  RUSSIAN DOLL  (2019) (TV-MA for lots of profanity and some explicit content) – A woman from NYC finds herself stuck in a time loop in this Emmy-winning series.
• #58:  *THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES  (2007) – The  Doctor Who  spinoff is a teen series with fantastic writing about the Doctor’s former companion, journalist Sarah Jane Smith, and her adventures with a group of teens.
• #59:  SHINING GIRLS (2022) (TV-MA) – Time travel plays into this mystery/crime drama starring Elisabeth Moss. The ending could have been better, but it’s an intriguing, well-acted series.
• #60:  SIGNAL  (2016) – This is South Korea’s version of  Frequency .

• #61: SISYPHUS: THE MYTH  (2021) – A woman from a war-torn future journeys to the past to change future events.
• #62:  SLIDERS  (1995) – A group of friends travels into parallel worlds.
• #63:  SOMEWHERE BETWEEN  (2017) – A woman relives a week to stop tragic events from happening.
• #64:  *SPLASH SPLASH LOVE (2015) – This adorable rom-com miniseries follows a teenage girl as she travels back in time to the Joseon Era.
• #65:  *STARGATE: SG-1  (1997) – A military team and scientists are part of a secret group that travels to other planets and occasionally different times through Stargates.
• #66:  *STAR TREK TV SHOWS (INCLUDING THE NEW SHOWS, PICARD, AND STAR TREK: DISCOVERY)  (Some series are TV-MA)   – Time travel plays an essential role in the  Star Trek  universe.
• #67:  STEINS;GATE  (2011) – An animated series about time travel.
• #68:  *TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES ( 2008) – This is an underrated romantic sci-fi series starring Lena Headey.
• #69:  TERRA NOVA  (2011) – A family from a dying future is transported to the prehistoric era to a colony of humans trying to survive.
• #70:  THE KING: ETERNAL MONARCH  (2020) – A romantic K-drama series about two parallel worlds where time travel plays a part.

RELATED: The Day of the Doctor – An Impossible Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Theory

• #71:  THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE  (2022) (TV-MA) – Steven Moffat’s new (but short-lived) romance series is about a married couple dealing with the problems of time travel.
• #72:  TIME AFTER TIME   (2017) – A short but sweet romantic series about a young H.G. Wells.
• #73:  THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959) – The iconic classic series includes episodes about time travel.
• #74:  TOMORROW, WITH YOU  (2017) – A man can time travel with a subway and tries to avoid his future fate while also falling in love.
• #75:  TUNNEL (2017) – A detective travels 30 years into the future when chasing a suspect through a tunnel.
• #76:  *TRU CALLING  (2003) – A medical grad student develops an ability to relive the previous day and help people. 
• #77:  *THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY  (2019) – The quirky series follows former child heroes as they try to save the world.
• #78:  VOYAGERS!  (1982) – The classic family series follows a young boy and a team of time travelers as they fix history.
• #79:  11.22.63 (TV-MA for violence and profanity)   – James Franco stars in this mystery series based on the novel by Stephen King about a teacher who travels back in time to stop the JFK assassination.
• #80: MR. QUEEN (2020) – A chef is transported to the Joseon Era into the body of a queen in this Korean Comedy series.

What are your favorite time travel TV shows? What do you think is the best time travel show of all time? Drop me a line below!

Featured image credit: Doctor Who (BBC), Continuum (Showcase), 12 Monkeys (NBCUniversal Television Distribution), Torchwood (BBC), and Timeless (Universal Television/Sony Pictures Television/NBC). 

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Catherine is an avid reader and a self-declared professional binge watcher. It's not uncommon to find her re-watching a series or movie for the umpteenth time and still be crying into a box of tissues. When she's not hiding in her closet to read or watch a show or movie, Catherine is a wife, mother, and, in her spare time, a lawyer.

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26 thoughts on “80 of the Best Entertaining Time Travel TV Shows You Need To Watch”

thank you – have beeen looking forever for timetravel— y r we soooo fascinated– et me out of here i do not belon in this time — beeen this wy sincei ws 9 and read a book of a little boy being sent to mars after climbing a tree—- love fairies also — ok i am an old fashioned girl they used to call my pollyanna – then i became an out law—- my son in law does not beleive in annnnnythin but $$$$ and power– borrrrrring give me a gooood romance to live in.. oxoxoxoxoxoxox

This is a great list! I love the Korean drama Time Travel series. My favorites are Faith, Rooftop Prince, I love Lee Tae Ri, Signal and Tunnel.

Have you ever seen “Voyagers!”? It was like a predecessor to Quantum Leap and lasted 1 season on NBC. It stared one of the most beautiful men to ever grace television, the late Jon-Erik Hexum. He’s a roguish time-traveling pirate, Phineas Bogg, a Voyager that travels throughout time with a smart young boy and they have to fix moments where history’s gone wrong. It was a fun show. It’s definitely binge-worthy and Hexum was such a charming young actor. Although it was made with kids and education in mind, (Co-Produced by Scholastic) there’s plenty of romantic moments for Bogg!

He and Meeno Peluce (the boy, Jeffrey Jones) made a great team. I run a fansite and FB page for the series. You can watch it on Amazon Prime, and it’s currently free on NBC.com.

I own the series and I was heartbroken when Jon died. I recently bought the 30 episode tv show from the 60’s The Time Tunnel…. Now this was where most time travel shows spawned from. Especially Quantum Leap.

Nice list! Back to the Future made me a sucker for time travel plots. So would the cartoon count as one?

How can Outlander be #16?

You NEED TO READ – It clearly states that the shows are in No Particular Order!

You forgot ‘The Time tunnel’ – The first American time travel show

Goodnight Sweetheart is THE ultimate time travel show!

Maybe you guys can help me….. I’m looking for a series perhaps a movie….. not sure. only saw a piece of it and have been searching ever since. I even looked trough all the male actors to cross reference, nothing. It seem to involve time travel an attempt to shift history. Almost achieve the goal by manipulating the son of the leader – I know its horribly vague…. but he ends up speaking to his son. He explains the situation from a watchmakers point of view- His hobby is watchmaking….the comparison he draws between ‘leading’ or directing humans where they need to be is similar to the watchmaker making a clock. its been almost two years…. but so far no luck finding this series. Help 🙂

think you may be thinking of inception (link removed)

How could you not have Netflix’s Dark on this list?

I agree. Dark is a pretty good series (3 seasons on Netflix). It’s a German show so you have to up with English lip syncing, but once you get used to it, it’s a good show.

Absolutely the best time travel show ever made imo

It is on the list (#30).

12 Monkeys needs to be #1 … Pretty sure it’s the only show that properly does time travel and causality! Love it

Continuum seems to be right on the money as we see a few corporations [e.g., Amazon] displacing small business, and taking over government. Science Fiction frequently becomes Science.

Looks like Continuum is no longer on Amazon Prime (unless you want to buy it. Is it anywhere else?

It looks like it’s only available to buy on Digital and DVD/Blu-ray now.

Netflix’s DARK is the best Time Travel show ever made. Never believe anything else!

Timeslip UK kids show from 60`s predates all these and deals with past , future, global cooling(remember that) and cloning.

I’ve never heard of it! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

It’s a indian movie named Time

Brødrene Dal og Spektralsteinene and Brødrene Dal og Mysteriet om Karl XIIs Gamasjer both have time travel as a key element. I prefer the former but both are pretty well planned out, although only the latter seems to remember concequences.

Thanks for the recommendations! 🙂

I like some others am trying to find a “Time Travel” movie that’s kind of like “If Only” Where a mans’ wife (Possibly Girlfriend) is killed in an auto accident an he keeps traveling back to that time to make her avoid it. He finds every time that it is avoided she is killed in another way. After so many attempts he goes back and gets in the car with her and they both die. So sort of like “If Only “ and sort of like the first part of “The Time Machine”(2002). I think the movie time-line was between 1970 and 2000 only guessing. I didn’t see the start of the movie. Always wanted to see it but the same accident happens or is averted only to have a new death.

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16 Out of This World Sci-Fi TV Shows to Stream on Netflix Right Now

Jump back in time, get lost in another dimension and travel to new worlds with Netflix.

Aidan Gallagher, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda and Elliot Page star in The Umbrella Academy on Netflix.

For many people, science fiction is the perfect form of escapism. And when it comes to streaming, Netflix's immersive library is where it's at for sci-fi TV shows. Whether it's a drama, comedy, supernatural adventure or off-beat mystery, the streamer's content selection never disappoints.

Stranger Things is a shoo-in for this list, but we've got you covered if you want to take a trip beyond Hawkins, Indiana and the Upside Down. Want a high-concept outer space tale?  3 Body Problem will quench your thirst. Have a desire for a bleak, sometimes horrific, science fiction series?  Black Mirror is where it's at.

You may be seeking out something a bit more fringe. Titles like Maniac,  The OA and Dark are must-see for those looking for out-of-the-box narratives.

The quality suggestions above are a great starting point for your sci-fi journey. But these titles merely scratch the surface. Grab your favorite snack, pour yourself a refreshing beverage and prepare for an out-of-this-world binge. Here are the best Netflix sci-fi TV shows you should stream right now.

Read more:   The Best Sci-Fi TV Shows to Watch on Prime Video Right Now

3 Body Problem

3 Body Problem was created by Game of Thrones alums David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with The Terror showrunner Alexander Woo, and is based on the Hugo Award-winning novel by Liu Cixin. The high-concept sci-fi series connects a watershed moment in 1960s China to present day, where a group of scientists must face emerging global threat unlike anything humanity has ever seen.

The Umbrella Academy

Inspired by the comic book created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, the series follows a group of adopted superhero siblings who have been raised to save the world. From time travel to saving humanity from multiple apocalyptic events, the ongoing adventures of the dysfunctional Hargreeves flips the script on expected genre tropes. It's weird, off-beat, hilarious and poignant. 

Stranger Things

Stranger Things caught on like wildfire when the genre series quietly premiered its first season to Netflix in 2016. What began as an homage to '80s cinema, with callouts to E.T., Dungeons & Dragons, Goonies and the works of Stephen King, has blossomed into a layered and sweeping sci-fi adventure. The program follows a group of kids in Hawkins, Indiana, who, after meeting a mysterious girl they name Eleven, discover a sinister dimension hiding right under their feet. Government cover-ups, demonic hell-beasts and a cast full of beloved misfit characters make-up this tour-de-force genre series.

Black Mirror

Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror set the standard for what a modern-day genre anthology series can do. Each story featured throughout the series, which currently has six seasons and an interactive standalone movie worth visiting, takes place in a near future world where technology has impacted humanity in wonderful, strange and terrifying ways. Uplifting to horrific, Black Mirror is a brain bug of a television show that'll keep you thinking long after the credits roll.

They broke the mold when they made The OA. The two-season series created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij follows the story of Prairie Johnson (Marling), a young blind woman who, after being missing for seven years, returns to her family with her sight restored. Where was she all these years? How can she see? Parallel existence across multiple dimensions, that's how. Okay, that answer barely scratches the surface of this extremely unique and layered program. Come for the Quantum Physics, stay for the interpretive dance routines.

Like Stranger Things, Dark kicks off with the inexplicable disappearance of a child. Instead of another version of the Upside Down plaguing the town, the German series dabbles with time travel to explore how a family and community can be impacted by the event of a kid going missing. A noir slow burn than leans heavily on the horrors of generational trauma, Dark lasted three seasons on Netflix. It will definitely get under your skin.

1899 was created by Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar -- the same duo who brought Dark to Netflix -- and follows a group of passengers on a ship heading to New York during the turn of the century. This is more than a run-of-the-mill period piece, though. As soon as things kick off, the show throws time travel, multiple dimensions, reality simulations and other bits of sci-fi craziness at the screen. It may not have gotten a season 2, but there's still a lot of genre goodness to mull over here.

Parasyte: The Grey

In Parasyte: The Grey, alien parasites land on Earth and begin turning people into shape-shifting monsters. To battle this growing Invasion of the Body Snatchers-style threat, survivors -- otherwise known as "The Grey" -- rise up to save humanity and the planet. Inspired by the manga by Hitoshi Iwaaki, this Korean series should please any horror and sci-fi fan.

The Wachowskis teamed up with Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski to bring Sense8 to Netflix. The supernatural drama follows eight random people from across the globe who learn they are emotionally and mentally linked. Labeled "sensates," the group learns from each other as they literally are forced to walk in each others' shoes and take on new and exciting skills. Of course, things wouldn't be complete without the inclusion of a shadowy organization who's hunting them all down. Over two seasons, the program explored timely issues like gender, sexuality and identity.

Altered Carbon

Based on the book by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon exists in a future world where consciousness can be moved from one body to the other. Joel Kinnaman starred in the first season as ex-soldier Takeshi Kovacs. His mission to solve a murder evolves into a journey of self-discovery as he works to track down his lost love and answers regarding his previous life. Season 2 finds Anthony Mackie stepping into the role to further the cyberpunk noir tale. 

Love, Death + Robots

Mixing different animation styles with live-action, Love, Death + Robots is an anthology unlike many others. The series, which has drawn comparisons to Black Mirror, dips into a multitude of standalone stories that explore a world where sentient robots, creatures and other such beings have more humanity than humanity itself. 

Lost in Space

Using the 1965 series as inspiration, this Lost in Space follows the Robinson family on a space mission to colonize a new planet as humanity's teeters on the brink of collapse. The show is heavy on the family drama, which can be off-putting at times. But thanks to the sociopolitical conflict, a cool alien robot friend and Parker Posey's deliciously villainous Dr. Smith, the show holds up.  

Emma Stone and Jonah Hill star in this mind-bending drama from Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective) and Patrick Somerville (The Leftovers). The 10-episode series follows Annie (Stone) and Owen (Hill) as they enter a drug trial for a medication that will allegedly cure all their problems. As you can probably guess, it doesn't. Stone and Hill look like they're having crazy fun throughout the program, as they get to try on a variety of different characters. The addition of Sonoya Mizuno, Justin Theroux and Sally Field to the cast make this an under-appreciated gem worth your attention.

For its first three seasons, Manifest was an NBC original. After it was canceled by the network, Netflix swooped in to revive the series. The story follows the passengers of Flight 828, who arrive at their destination five years after originally taking off. The survivors begin having premonitions and visions that help them save others from disasters that have yet to happen. It's sorta like Lost and Final Destination had a baby, kinda.

Eric McCormack leads this tightly plotted sci-fi series that follows a group of "travelers" who send their consciousnesses back to various periods in time to various hosts nearing the end of their lives with the goal of minimizing their death's impact on the future. After three seasons, Netflix pulled the plug on this engaging, character-driven show. 

Alice in Borderland

Alice in Borderland is based on the manga by Haro Aso and follows a group of characters in a parallel version of Tokyo forced to compete in a bunch of twisted games to stay alive. This battle royale-style thriller will appeal to fans of life-or-death competition titles like Squid Game, The Hunger Games and, obviously, Battle Royale. 

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15 Time Travel TV Shows You Should Be Watching Right Now, From ’12 Monkeys’ to ‘Dark’ (Photos)

Prehistoric monsters, dangerous meta-humans and confused scientists — these time travel shows have it all

You’re not imagining it — there really is a mess of time travel shows available right now. Whether you’re watching on TV, cable or streaming, there’s no shortage of time-hopping shows that are messing up history.

Here are 14  time travel shows you should be watching right now.

“Frequency” (season 1 on Netflix) A police detective believes her father was killed 20 years earlier while undercover. When a HAM radio somehow connects her to her father in the past, the pair set out to change things — but a serial killer alters the past and their plans. The first season just ended, making this the perfect time to catch up.

“Dark” (season 1 on Netflix)

“Dark” is a German, English-dubbed sci-fi show that’s about a small town where local kids keep disappearing. Things get weird in a hurry as different time periods are introduced, but “Dark” is one of the best time travel shows out there at keeping everything straight and making sense, but with tons of nearly paradoxical twists and turns. 

“Future Man” (season 1 on Hulu)

Even though it’s a time travel comedy with the same goofball sense of humor as Executive Producer Seth Rogen’s movies, “Future Man” is surprisingly in-the-know about time travel. It’s also hilarious, particularly when it hits its stride toward the middle, jumping around to the 1950s, the 1980s, and the futuristic home of “The Terminator” Director James Cameron. Plus, it has one of the best, most intelligent “Back to the Future” parodies ever.

“The Flash” (season 1 on Netflix, new episodes on CW) DC Comics hero Barry Allen can run so fast, he can travel through time. Once he does, he realizes that time travel is central to what turned him into a hero, and to the plans of his nemesis.

“11.22.63” (series on Hulu) James Franco goes back in time to try to stop John F. Kennedy’s assassination in this adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. Trouble is, he’s stuck in the ’60s for years before the actual event, and the universe keeps trying to kill him. The complete miniseries is on Hulu.

“Outlander” (seasons 1-3 on STARZ) A woman is magically sucked through time from the 1940s to the 1740s in “Outlander.” She falls in love and tries to stop some historically awful events, but mostly spends her time trying to avoid getting raped. It comes up a lot, actually.

“Quantum Leap” (seasons 1-5 on Hulu) Thrown through time, Sam Beckett finds himself inhabiting the bodies of people throughout history. Each time he leaps, he has to figure out why he’s arrived when he has to try to fix a variety of situations for the better.

“Continuum” (seasons 1-4 on Netflix) Sixty years in the future, corporations have taken over the world. A group of terrorists travel back in time to start a class war to keep it from happening, along with a cop who tries to stop them.

“Travelers” (season 1-2 on Netlix) The future is bleak, so time travelers are trying to fix it by beaming themselves into the bodies of people in 2016 who are about to die. Taking over their lives, the travelers work like sleeper cells in an attempt to alter history. They have no idea if it’s working.

“Timeless” (season 1-2 on Hulu) There’s a bad guy time traveler who keeps trying to mess up American history, and good guy time travelers try to stop him. Every time they do, the present gets a little more messed up.

“12 Monkeys” (season 1-2 on Hulu) Based on the Terry Gilliam-directed, Bruce Willis-starring movie, “12 Monkeys” explores and expands on the original with Willis seeing his own death. There are a lot more time travel shenanigans here, especially for fans of the movie.

“FlashForward” (season 1 on Watch ABC) An unknown event gives everyone in the world a six-second look into their future. In the aftermath, the FBI tries to find out what caused the event, and everyone else tries to figure out if they can change their future.

“Primeval” (seasons 1-5 Hulu) Dinosaurs are turning up in the UK, thanks to strange time anomalies. A team of scientists tries to figure out what’s going on, and battle a few huge creatures along the way.

“Legends of Tomorrow” (new episodes on The CW) The world is headed toward disaster, so a rogue time traveler jumps back in time to gather super humans to stop it. They go on to fight to protect history from the supervillains who are trying to change it.

“Doctor Who” (BBC) More whimsical than scientific, the titular Doctor recruits companions from Earth to travel with him through time and space. Mostly, it’s to battle monsters, robots, cyborgs and aliens to save the planet.

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The 25 Best Time Travel TV Shows, From ‘Doctor Who’ to ‘Timeless’

There are a few reasons we’re obsessed with time travel TV shows. For one, the high-stakes adventures promise plenty of mystery and thrills. And better yet, they span across a variety of genres, from historical dramas and comedies to mystery thrillers.

So, for our next binge-watching session, we're living vicariously through our favorite characters as they journey through time, whether they're exploring a major period in history or visiting a futuristic society. From Doctor Who to Timeless, keep reading for the best time travel TV shows you can stream right now.

The 20 Best Time Travel Movies to Stream Right Now (That Aren’t ‘Back to the Future’)

1. Dc’s Legends Of Tomorrow

• Rating: TV-14
• Who’s in it: Victor Garber, Brandon Routh, Arthur Darvill. Caity Lotz, Franz Drameh

Set in the Arrowverse, this superhero series includes several familiar DC characters, like White Canary, Captain Cold, Firestorm and Vixen. But fortunately, you don’t have to be well-versed on all things DC comics to enjoy this one. The CW series documents the adventures of a diverse team of superheroes as they travel through time to prevent disasters. And naturally, there’s no shortage of epic combat scenes.

2. Doctor Who

• Rating: TV-PG
• Who’s in it: Jodie Whittaker, Peter Capaldi, Matt Smith, David Tennant

Given that Doctor Who has become synonymous with time travel, it would be a crime to not include this classic. Over the span of 13 seasons, the show offered several versions of the Time Lord as they step into the infamous TARDIS and get swept through time. Seeing these heroes fight to save humanity and protect history just never gets old.

3. Timeless

• Who’s in it: Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett

An unlikely team travels through time to stop the criminal mastermind, who stole an experimental time machine. And as they pursue him, they learn that he plans to change the course of history. Though it's not 100 percent perfect in terms of historical accuracy, it delivers plenty of action and thought-provoking themes.

4. Outlander

• Rating: TV-MA
• Who’s in it: Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton

Set during World War II, Outlander tells the story of a married army nurse named Claire, who time travels to the year 1743 while in Scotland and starts a passionate relationship with a Highlander. Steamy intimate scenes, feminist themes and breathtaking scenery are just a few things you can expect from this beloved period drama.

5. Manifest

• Who’s in it: Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J. R. Ramirez

Can you imagine hopping on a plane and landing five and a half years in the future? That’s exactly what happens to the passengers of a turbulent flight in this gripping supernatural drama. When they all return, they discover that their plane went missing and mysteriously returned years later. But what really happened? (You’ll have to wait until season 4 to get that answer, but until then, enjoy the first three seasons on Netflix.)

6. Beforeigners

• Who’s in it: Krista Kosonen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Stig R. Amdam

HBO Nordic's first-ever original series follows a group of people from different time periods, who mysteriously land in 21st-century Norway. Dubbed the "beforeigners," these migrants attempt to blend in with the modern-day world—although it proves to be more challenging for some than others.

• Who’s in it: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Lance Reddick

A cross between The X-Files and The Twilight Zone , Fringe follows the FBI's Fringe Division, where the team uses fringe science (a branch that explores the most bizarre or far-fetched theories) to investigate a series of mysterious cases—some of which are connected to alternate timelines. Fun fact: The show spawned three novels and a comic book series.

8. Quantum Leap

• Who’s in it: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Deborah Pratt

Bakula plays the iconic Dr. Sam Beckett in this five-time Emmy Award-winning series, and his random adventures will give you major Doctor Who vibes. Join the physicist as he “leaps” through time to fix historical errors.

9. My Only Love Song

• Who’s in it: Lee Jong-hyun, Gong Seung-yeon, Lee Jae-jin

Soo-jung (Seung-yeon), a self-obsessed movie star, accidentally time travels to 6th-century Gogurye after falling into a portal. There, she meets the handsome On-dal (Jong-hyun), a guy who appears to be just as obsessed with his wealth as she is. But his generosity towards people in need forces her to reconsider her own values.

• Who’s in it: Yuki Furukawa, Mio Yuki, Jin Shirasu

Based on Kei Sanbe’s Japanese manga series of the same title, Erased revolves around a man named Satoru Fujinuma, who has the ability to go back in time and stop life-threatening events right before they happen. But when his mother gets murdered, he’s sent back nearly two decades, giving him the opportunity to save even more lives.

• Who’s in it: Tom Hiddleston, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Eugene Cordero

Loki picks up right where Avengers: Endgame left off, with the God of Mischief accidentally creating a new timeline as a result of stealing the Tesseract. And now, the authorities present him with two options: to either accept his punishment or to travel back in time to correct his mistakes. Almost any Marvel fan will agree that this series is full of charm and a welcome change from the pacing and tone of the Marvel films.

12. Terra Nova

• Who’s in it: Jason O'Mara, Shelley Conn, Christine Adams, Allison Miller

Humanity gets a major do-over in this fascinating series, and there’s more than enough compelling themes to keep you invested (like Utopias gone terribly wrong). Terra Nova follows the Shannon family as they flee from a dying Earth in 2149 and travel to prehistoric Earth, where they join a colony of people known as Terra Nova and attempt to rebuild a civilization.

13. 11.22.63

• Who’s in it: James Franco, Sarah Gadon, Cherry Jones

Inspired by Stephen King’s novel 11/22/63 , the show details one time traveler’s efforts to go back in time and stop the assassination of former president John F. Kennedy. But when he goes to the year 1960, he builds a new life that could threaten the success of his mission. It’s worth noting that James Franco gives an unforgettable performance as Jake Epping/George Amberson.

14. Making History

• Who’s in it: Adam Pally, Leighton Meester and Yassir Lester.

Pally, Meester and Lester star as three friends from different time periods, who take full advantage of their ability to time travel—until they realize the ramifications of their adventures. The show is humorous and silly in the best possible way.

15. Somewhere Between

• Who’s in it: Paula Patton, Devon Sawa, JR Bourne

Laura Price (Patton) has it all: a successful career, a loving husband and a delightful young daughter. But when a serial killer murders her child, she falls into depression and attempts suicide. After the incident, Laura is stunned to find that she time traveled to the week before her daughter’s death. Can she save her daughter?

16. Umbrella Academy

• Who’s in it: Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman

The Haragreeves have become our favorite dysfunctional family, and for good reason. In this Netflix series, the seven adopted superhero siblings team up to investigate their father’s death and save the world from an apocalypse. But when they try to travel back in time, they end up in different periods, which only complicates things.

• Who’s in it: Natasha Lyonne, Charlie Barnett, Greta Lee

Amy Poehler teamed up with Natasha Lyonne ( Orange Is the New Black ) and Leslye Headland ( Bachelorette ) to create this critically acclaimed comedy drama. The series follows a game developer named Nadia (Lyonne), who finds herself trapped in a time loop after she dies at a party. As she tries to escape this trap, however, she discovers that she isn’t the only one. Yes, it sounds a bit like a modernized version of Groundhog Day , but trust us, it’s unpredictable and incredibly refreshing.

18. Travelers

• Who’s in it: Eric McCormack, Mackenzie Porter, Jared Abrahamson

A surviving group of humans, who live centuries in the future, have figured out how to send their consciousness back in time. Known as “Travelers,” they all go back to the 21st-century and assume the identities of random people with one mission in mind: to save the future of humanity.

19. Continuum

• Who’s in it: Rachel Nichols, Victor Webster, Erik Knudsen

The year is 2077, and the U.S. has officially become a corporatocracy. But three criminals, known as Liber8, are determined to go back in time and change the course of history by stopping corporations from replacing the government. As they time travel to the year 2012, a police officer joins them and does everything in her power to stop their violent plans—all while hiding that she’s from the future.

20. 12 Monkeys

• Who’s in it: Aaron Stanford, Amanda Schull, Barbara Sukowa

Follow the exploits of scavenger James Cole (Aaron Stanford) as he time travels from 2043 to the year 2015 to stop a deadly virus from wiping out most of the human race. Expect plenty of twists and complex themes that’ll spark interesting convos, from corporate greed to the downsides of technological progress.

21. The Ministry Of Time

• Who’s in it: Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Juan Gea, Francesca Piñón

Welcome to The Ministry of Time, a top-secret Spanish organization that’s responsible for guarding the doors of time and reporting all time travel incidents to the Prime Minister. The series focuses on the Ministry’s patrol as they carry out their assignments, and while there’s no shortage of thrills, the show also does a phenomenal job of weaving in bits of Spain's history.

• Who’s in it: Louis Hofmann, Julika Jenkins, Andreas Pietschmann, Maja Schöne

Set in the fictional German town of Winden, Dark centers on four families who are connected to the mysterious disappearance of two children. Aside from exploring their relationships, the show takes viewers on a wild journey that involves a major time travel conspiracy—one that spans multiple generations.

23. Always A Witch

• Who’s in it: Angely Gaviria, Sofia Bernal Araujo, Dylan Fuentes, Valeria Henríquez

The Colombian series follows Carmen, a 19-year-old 17th-century witch who gets sentenced to death for falling in love with her master's son. However, she escapes her fate by time-traveling to modern day Cartagena as part of a deal with a wizard. Her task? To help him break his curse.

24. Voyagers!

• Rating: TV-G
• Who’s in it: Jon-Erik Hexum, Meeno Peluce, David Cadiente

Phineas Bogg (Jon-Erik Hexum) and his partner in crime, Jeffrey Jones (Meeno Peluce), are members of a secret group known as the Voyagers, who are tasked with making sure that history doesn’t change. The feel-good cult classic only lasted for one season, but all 20 episodes are simply delightful and worth the watch.

• Who’s in it: Rosa Salazar, Angelique Cabral, Constance Marie

This animated drama revolves around a young woman named Alma (Rosa Salazar), who, per the official logline , explores "the elastic nature of reality" after surviving a dangerous car accident. She then uses her newfound ability to investigate her father's death. (Psst, look out for the second season, which premieres on April 29 on Amazon Prime.)

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Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

The 10 Most Rewatchable Time Travel Shows, Ranked

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Travel time is probably one of the more popular plot devices within sci-fi (and some fantasy) TV shows. Fans of sci-fi and fantasy are familiar with various forms of time travel, including time loops, arguably made famous in pop culture by Groundhog Day , and traveling to the past to alter the future, reminiscent of Back to the Future . There are also time doors, time portals, wormholes, and your standard time machine. Sometimes, even events are triggers for time travel.

With all the different ways time travel can occur in fiction, there are plenty of television shows with interesting time-travel plots to choose from. However, some time-travel shows are more rewatchable than others because of plot holes, unrelatable characters, or repetitive plot devices. Luckily, there are time-travel television shows out there that are worthy of a rewatch by sci-fi and fantasy fans. These TV shows make time travel interesting with intricate storylines, loveable characters, and mind-bending timelines.

10 'Ashes to Ashes' (2008-2010)

Created by matthew graham and ashley pharoah.

Ashes to Ashes , in the same vein as Life on Mars , is a British crime drama series that ran for three seasons on BBC One. The series stars Keeley Hawkes as DI Alex Drake; it was shot in 2008 by Arthur Layton, and she is sent back to 1981. She comes face-to-face with DCI Gene Hunt (played by Philip Glenister ), whom she had read about during her investigation into the bizarre incidents surrounding Sam Tyler, the protagonist of Life on Mars . Alex is determined to figure out how to get back to her own time, but in the meantime, she teams up with Gene to solve cases.

While Ashes to Ashes tends to settle into a case in each episode, it stands out from a standard police procedural. The mystery of why Alex has been sent back in time permeates through the plot and keeps viewers intrigued about what is going to happen next. Life on Mars leaves the ending of Sam's story ambiguous, and Ashes to Ashes provides an explanation of Alex and Sam's time travel. There are so many interesting details within Ashes to Ashes that provide hints of what is coming in the show’s finale that it makes for a great rewatch. Viewers can pick up on things that they might have missed leading up to the big reveal. Not only are these hints fascinating for viewers to find and try to connect everything together, but the chemistry between the main characters, the moody Gene and the witty Alex, is magnetic, which gives fans a potential romance to invest in. After all, any police procedural needs a good dynamic relationship to keep viewers engaged with the show. Therefore, the Alex and Gene moments alone make A shes to Ashes worth watching again and again.

WATCH ON BRITBOX

9 'Russian Doll' (2019-2022)

Created by leslye headland, natasha lyonne, and amy poehler.

After getting hit by a car and dying, 37-year-old Nadia Vulvokov ( Natasha Lyonne ) finds herself reliving the day of her birthday over and over again in Netflix's comedy-drama series, Russian Doll . But, Natasha isn't alone in being caught in a time loop; Alan ( Charlie Barnett ) is also reliving the same day. And this is just season one of Russian Doll . In the second season, Nadia and Alan find themselves going between the past and present day. Nadia is taken back to the 1970s to "visit" her mother, x (y), and Alan goes to West Germany before the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.

When sci-fi fans think of time loops, they might picture the movie, Groundhog Day . Russian Doll separates itself from Groundhog Day by taking the monotony out of its plot with surprising twists and creating space for complex character development. The complexity of the time loops (and eventually time travel) really makes fans think about how everything is connected. Lyonne and Barnett give incredible performances in Russian Doll . Nadia and Alan are flawed characters, but this only makes them extremely relatable. Viewers will want them to escape the time loop and get back to their normal lives they are missing out on. The second season does away with the time loops and brings in time travel. Both Nadia and Alan want to change the past in order to make the future better .

Russian Doll

WATCH ON NETFLIX

8 'Quantum Leap' (1989-1993)

Created by donald p. bellisario.

Before Scott Bakula helmed the Enterprise as Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise , he played a physicist named Dr. Sam Beckett. Dr. Beckett is working to make time travel a reality, but after a few years and lots of money, he discovers that the government is planning to pull the plug on his work. He decides to use himself as a test subject. Ever since he stepped into the Quantum Leap Accelerator, Sam has been living other people's lives in the past. But he isn't alone, as he has a little help from AI (Dean Stockwell), a hologram from his own time.

Firstly, Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell are really a great dynamic duo in Quantum Leap . The banter between Sam and Ai is one of the biggest reasons that this popular time travel show is worthy of rewatching. This is a formula for each episode, which can make it predictable but comforting at the same time. Sam finds himself in the body of someone else, and he must figure out how to help the person with a problem. Once he solves the problem, Sam then time travels to the next place. The show weaves in a lot of history and famous figures, which makes room for some great guest star appearances, like Bruce McGill as Al the Bartender in “Mirror Image” and Debbie Allen as Joanna Chapman in "Private Dancer."

Quantum Leap

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7 'The Lazarus Project' (2022-2023)

Created by joe barton.

The Lazarus Project is an action-packed time travel show that, unfortunately, only had two seasons. The show stars Paapa Essiedu as George Addo and Charly Clive as Sarah. George is happily living his best life with his wife, Sarah, but he notices something strange happening—a time loop. No one else seems to realize that the time loop exists, except for George. George is contacted by a secret organization, and it is told that he is one of the few people on Earth who can recall time-reversion events. He is invited to join the Lazarus Project team. Their mission is to prevent mass extinction events by any means necessary and then do a time reset. When Sarah is in a life-threatening car accident that results in her death, George wants to go back in time to save her. However, the Lazarus Project team doesn't approve of this, and George decides to save Sarah, even if it means breaking the rules. George's actions cause a cascade of events that threaten humanity.

Unfortunately, The Lazarus Project only ran for two seasons, but it made an impression on sci-fi fans. The show explores thought-provoking questions around topics like morality, as any good sci-fi TV show should, and brings up interesting dilemmas around time travel, which some shows might hesitate to address because of their complexity. The characters of The Lazarus Project, especially George, are put in high-stakes situations, which makes each episode like a mini-action movie. This sci-fi show has also been praised for the cast's intense performances. It's thrilling to rewatch The Lazarus Project to see how George's character changes throughout the show.

The Lazarus Project

6 '12 monkeys' (2015-2018), created by travis fickett and terry matalas.

Adapted from the 1995 film directed by Terry Gilliam, which is one of the most rewatchable 90s sci-fi movies , Syfy's 12 Monkeys is a sci-fi television show starring Aaron Stanford as James Cole and Amanda Schull as Dr. Cassandra Railly. In a post-apocalyptic world in the year 2043, a group of scientists from Spearhead, led by Dr. Katrina Jones (Barbara Sukowa), discovers the abandoned Project Splinter. After many unsuccessful attempts to time travel, Dr. Jones recruits James Cole, a scavenger, to be a time traveler. She sends Cole back in time (also known as "splintering") to try to stop a pandemic of Kalavirus from happening. Cole meets Dr. Railly, a virologist, and they discover the virus was created by an organization known as the Army of the 12 Monkeys.

One of the biggest challenges for any time travel show is making it believable, and 12 Monkeys manages to do exactly that. There isn't anything off with the way the show weaves in different timelines. The elements of realism woven into the show's intricate plot are what make 12 Monkeys such a great show to rewatch. The writers put lots of hints within the dialogue, and 12 Monkeys fans love rewatching the show because they are able to catch the significance of these lines when they weren't able to before.

5 'Undone' (2019-2022)

Created by raphael bob-waksberg and kate purdy.

After she almost dies in a car accident, Alma Winograd-Diaz ( Rosa Salazar ) discovers that she can manipulate time and sees her deceased father, Jacob Winograd ( Bob Odenkirk) . Alma investigates the truth about her father’s death. This is all just the first season of Undone . In the second season, Alma and her sister, Becca ( Angelique Cabral), go through a time-bending journey into their family’s generational trauma.

Undone is done in rotoscope, and the visuals in both seasons are breathtaking. It's like artwork coming to life. Besides the breathtaking visuals, Undone' s time-bending plot is intriguing, especially so during the second season, when Becca also experiences what Alma has been going through. The best moments of the show are the chemistry between Salazar and Cabral, who brilliantly portray the Winograd-Diaz sisters. This chemistry brings out the show’s best dark humor moments, making it worth watching.

4 'The Ministry of Time' (2015-2020)

Created by pablo olivares and javier olivares.

The Ministry of Time ( El ministerio del tiempo) , also called The Time Department , is a Spanish fantasy drama in which a secret organization, known only to the Spanish Monarchy and the Prime Minister, is in charge of guarding time doors and preventing anyone from changing history through time manipulation. Julián Martínez ( Rodolfo Sancho ), a paramedic from the 21st century, is recruited by The Ministry of Time, along with Amelia Folch ( Aura Garrido ), a university student from 19th century Barcelona, and Alonso de Entrerríos ( Nacho Fresneda ), a solider from 16th century Seville, to make sure that events in history go as planned.

The Ministry of Time is a fun rewatch for history buffs, as this time travel TV show focuses on historical events in Spain and around the world. With its focus on history, there are plenty of opportunities for significant figures, like Salvador Dalí and Isabella II of Spain, to make appearances throughout the show's four seasons. It's also entertaining to watch characters from different time periods interact together, especially Julián, Amelia, and Alonso.

WATCH ON VIX

3 'Dark' (2017-2020)

Created by baran bo odar and jantje friese.

Dark is a German television series on Netflix about generations of families, including the Kahnwalds, Nielsens, Tiedemanns, and Dopplers, over a span of time. In the town of Winden, Germany, children go missing, and there is a connection between the missing children and a cave underneath a nuclear power plant. The show’s main families discover a wormhole within the cave, and soon their secrets unravel.

The families in Dark are very elaborate and complex, just like the show’s plot, so it's easy to miss connections during the first watch through. The cast does a remarkable job of amplifying the show’s intensity with their acting. While the intensity can make it hard to binge-watch, it’s worth rewatching to experience the emotional journey that these families go on. Watching this sci-fi thriller is an emotional rollercoaster, as there are so many layers within the stories that cross different eras.

2 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'

Created by max landis.

It's rare to have a sci-fi show that has humor without being cheesy (or puny), especially one that is also a crime drama. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency takes the absurdity and hilarity of Douglas Adams' novel of the same name to a whole new level. Elijah Wood plays Todd Brotzman, a bellhop whose life is changed forever after he stumbles upon the body of a millionaire, Patrick Spring. Detective Dirk Gently, played by Samuel Barnett , meets Todd, and the two begin to investigate the murder. However, it won't be an easy investigation as Dirk has made some enemies who want him dead.

What makes Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency so rewatchable is just how absurd it is, and the strangeness in the plot (with its eventual dash of time travel) just adds to the show's great sense of humor. Elijah Wood and Samuel Barnett make a great comedic duo, and they go above and beyond to roll with any weirdness that is thrown their way. The "villains" in Dirk Gently are just as hilarious with their wicked sense of dark humor. One of the standout "villains" is Bart Curlish ( Fiona Dourif ), a holistic assassin who believes that the universe brings people for her to kill.

WATCH ON SLING

1 'Doctor Who'

Created by sydney newman, donald wilson, and c. e. webber.

One of the most beloved time travel shows is Doctor Who , which first premiered on November 23, 1963. The Doctor is a time lord, and they have been played by multiple actors over the years, including David Tennant and Jodie Whittaker . The current actor who plays the Doctor is Ncuti Gatwa , who gave a stunning performance in his first season debut . As a time lord, the Doctor travels in a Tardis, a time-traveling machine disguised as a police box. The Doctor doesn't travel alone; they are often accompanied by companions, humans who want to see the universe. Currently, the Doctor's companion is Ruby Sunday, played by Milie Gibson .

With over 800 episodes so far, there is so much history and lore in Doctor Who . That means there is a lot to rewatch! What makes this show such a great rewatch is the variation in storytelling and iconic characters. As Doctor Who fans are well aware, time travel makes for great adventures for the Doctor and their friends, which means rewatching episodes doesn't get old at all.

The show follows the adventures of a Time Lord, “The Doctor,” who is able to regenerate, and the Doctor’s human friends. The Doctor and his companions journey through time and space in the TARDIS – a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box – saving the universe with a combination of wit, bravery, and kindness.

NEXT: The Best Time Travel Movies That Aren't Sci-Fi

Den of Geek

Travelers: why you should watch Netflix’s new time travel show

Canadian sci-fi series Travelers presents a genuinely fresh and fascinating vision of time travel, and boasts a strong cast...

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Warning: contains some episode one plot details.

Television’s love affair with time travel goes back a long way. Naturally, Doctor Who was one of the early proponents of the genre and since then there have been many successful (and many less so) series bringing time travel to the small screen. Quantum Leap mixed science with humour, drama and humanity, Continuum brought some genuinely intelligent ideas and Legends Of Tomorrow has thrown a whole lot of heroes into a mainstream tale of time travel and derring-do.  

Over the past twelve months, time travel has been something of a go-to for TV schedules with Timeless, Frequency and mini-series 11.22.63 all coming up with something fresh to say. One show that seems to have slipped under the radar, however, is Travelers , a twelve-part Canadian series that first premiered in October 2016 before Netflix picked it up at the end of the year. Headed up by Will & Grace ’s Eric McCormack, Travelers might not have anything particularly ground-breaking to add to the genre, but it’s a fun, absorbing series while it lasts. Presuming it is handed a second series – and there are enough loose ends to tie up come the series finale to suggest that there most likely will be – Travelers deserves a place on your Netflix to-watch list.

McCormack plays FBI agent Grant MacClaren – only, not really. MacClaren’s body is actually playing host to the consciousness of Traveler 3468, a ‘traveler’ from the future sent back to the twenty-first century in order to carry out missions by order of the mysterious ‘Director’. He’s not alone. In the opening episode we also get to meet Travelers 3569, 3465, 3326 and 0115, all with their own specific skillset. One’s a medic, one’s an engineer, another is a tactician and the final chap is the team’s historian, armed with all knowledge of events that occur in that particular timeline. Again, each of these travelers’ consciousness is actually hosted in the body of another human being and they ultimately have to assume their identity (just a small note here, I appreciate I’m also adopting the US/Canadian spelling of travelers but let’s just go with that for ease).

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Fortunately, these host bodies were specifically chosen as they were going to die anyway so no grievous murders to worry about for the travelers. This central premise, of people inhabiting other people’s bodies whose time was already up, is hammered home in the first episode when we are shown in graphic detail how each of the host bodies dies. Accompanied by a graphical device first counting down the time of death and then counting forward the time from when the host body is taken over, the actual mind-swap process is particularly well-executed. It’s replicated again and again throughout the series as other travelers appear and it never fails to have the desired impact, whether it’s a farmer in a sticky situation with a hole digger or, in a particularly standout scene, a group of elderly men and women on the brink of a mass suicide. With a nod to Cronenberg’s Scanners , the transformation from host to traveler is certainly memorable and it accounts for a good chunk of the series opener to bed you in.

Another point worth noting about the host bodies is that they are researched beforehand by the higher powers-that-be that are driving our travelers on, using social media and technology of the twenty-first century to ascertain as much knowledge about them as possible so that the traveler can carry on their life without raising suspicion. Making a point about our digital footprint is hardly cutting-edge stuff but this device does also allow the show to reveal the full scope of its ambition. Like Quantum Leap , it’s fair to say that while Travelers is clearly a science fiction show, it’s just as much a drama about the characters and how they assimilate to their new lives. Once the missions are over, what happens then?

MacClaren struggles to keep his home life together with his wife, Kat. Traveler 3465, Carly, is suddenly a mother to a young baby with an abusive husband in tow, who also happens to be a cop. Travelers 3326 and 0115, Philip and Trevor, struggle with the lives of younger men, Philip in particular saddled with the added trouble of being in the body of a heroin addict. And then there’s Marcy, traveler 3569. Clearly earmarked as the heartbeat of the show, Marcy is the character you’re most inclined to root for and it’s her who we’re first introduced to when she is brutally beaten by a group of louts outside a library. It turns out that the Director got this host wrong, with knowledge gathered on her proving wildly incorrect as it was garnered from a fake social media profile set up on her behalf as part of an experiment. In fact, Marcy’s host has learning disabilities so when she suddenly shows no signs of her former self to those close to her, her behaviour proves far harder to explain away.

And so you have the makings of a series that’s part science fiction, part human drama, part Outer Limits . When it chooses to go there, Travelers is very good at delivering on the darker side of fiction. In particular, Room 101  proves a standout episode, placing MacClaren’s team in grave, Saw -like peril while the mysteries keep piling up. Why should the team trust the faceless ‘Director’? Can they even trust each other? While the actual gore is kept to a minimum, the sense of threat is palpable. It’s little surprise to learn that creator Brad Wright worked on and wrote for The Outer Limits as well as his higher-profile fame for Stargate. The episode is also a real high-point for Jared Abrahamson’s Trevor who takes the spotlight in a pressure-cooker storyline that drips with foreboding and tension. His old-man-in-a-young-man’s-body routine doesn’t always hold together throughout the series but it’s well-served here.

Having the whole series to binge-watch serves the show well as while individual episodes do explore different, self-contained stories, the series as a whole additionally benefits from an approach to story-telling that isn’t afraid to let an over-arching narrative be told over its twelve-episode run. Recurring themes like Philip’s heroin addiction and Marcy’s relationship with her care worker, David – a lighter, comedic role handled excellently by Patrick Gilmore, also from the Stargate Universe – are allowed to breathe and develop naturally without any need to force the issue.

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The series isn’t without some misfires. Nesta Cooper’s Carly is under-written with her new-found mothering skills and testing relationship with the father never really explored as fully as it could have been and despite heading the team (and the billing), MacClaren’s own personal life problems are far less interesting than those of his team. The series finale is something of a letdown too, with so many of the mysteries that have been brewing either unanswered, expanded on or added to that you’re left slightly befuddled as to what exactly is happening. There are also a few other plot points seemingly left hanging in the air – for example, Trevor’s troubled school and home life is never truly expanded upon or resolved – and minor recurring characters seem to drop out of the show without notice.

On the whole, though, Wright should be applauded for presenting a genuinely fresh and interesting vision. The acting is excellent across the board, with particular nods to Abrahamson and Reilly Dolman (Philip) and while Travelers always has something interesting to say, it never takes itself too seriously. There is plenty of lightness among the darker undertones and by the series-end I found myself hoping that series two isn’t too far away.

Mark Oakley

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The Best New Shows About Time Travel

Engage in a riveting journey as we propel you into the captivating spectrum of compelling series that unfurl through time. Seamless blends of suspense, heart-thumping action, and mesmerizing storytelling characterize our carefully curated catalog of ongoing time-travel shows, promising more than a mere dalliance with the past, present, and future. 

Spanning more than 30 tantalizing shows, our lineup paints a fascinating tapestry of narratives that intrigue and inspire. From adrenaline-amplifying temporal adventures to spine-chilling thriller series that transcend perceived temporal realities, these narratives prod at the seams of the temporal fabric, offering a peek into the labyrinth of time. 

Ensuring comprehensive viewer engagement, our list is dynamically shaped by the collective preferences of an ever-evolving fandom. Check out the reviews, cast your vote using the interactive feature, and ensure your voice is heard in these crowd-sourced rankings. 

Your journey from selection to viewing is set to be a hassle-free adventure. Supporting a multi-streaming setup, each listing in our assortment comes equipped with dedicated service buttons for prominent streaming platforms. Spot these shortcuts for streaming giants like Amazon Prime, Max, Netflix, Hulu, Paramount+, and Disney+ conveniently positioned for each series for an easy, immersive viewing escapade. 

Our diverse suite is not merely a compilation of TV shows but is a passion-fueled, expertly curated assembly of storytelling genius. Different genres, directions, and dimensions coalesce under the broad umbrella of time travel, bringing you a rich slice of what imaginative authors and ingenious producers have dared to conceive. Steer clear of temporal paradoxes and let engaging narratives piloted by charismatic characters guide you safely through the river of time. Prepare for an exhilarating rollercoaster ride that defies the arrows of time, prying into the past, future, and everything in between.

Spanning over an incredible six decades, Doctor Who has solidified its legacy as one of the most influential television shows centering around time travel. With a seemingly endless roster of captivating characters, innovative storylines, and complex relationships that transcend time and space, this long-running British series pushes the bounds of conventional storytelling to dazzling new heights. The protagonist's ability to regenerate into different forms throughout the series adds a refreshing dimensionality rarely seen in other shows. Following the various incarnations of the enigmatic Time Lord known as the Doctor, viewers are treated to an array of thrilling adventures through past, present, and future worlds.

Is Doctor Who Worth Your Time?

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Outlander masterfully intertwines elements of historical fiction, romance, and fantasy for a riveting exploration of love across centuries. Based on Diana Gabaldon's best-selling novels, the show follows Claire Randall as she unexpectedly journeys from post-World War II Scotland back to 1743—a period fraught with political intrigue and danger. As Claire navigates this unfamiliar landscape while desperately seeking her way back home, she finds herself drawn into a passionate affair with highlander Jamie Fraser that defies not only societal norms but also challenges the very fabric of time itself.

Is Outlander Worth Your Time?

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Marvel enthusiasts can revel in Loki’s compelling foray into time manipulation as the mischievous god—played by Tom Hiddleston—navigates his way through an intricate web of quantum possibilities under duress from the Time Variance Authority (TVA). This gripping expansion of Marvel’s cinematic universe delves into themes such as destiny versus free will and examines how manipulation of timelines can have far-reaching consequences in a multiverse teetering on chaos. Combining action-packed sequences with moments brimming with existential introspection makes Loki essential viewing for fans of both superhero epics and thought-provoking sci-fi dramas.

Is Loki Worth Your Time?

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The Flash showcases themes including alternate realities, time paradoxes, and cosmic consequences through the prism of a classic superhero story. Centered on Barry Allen, a forensic scientist endowed with supernatural speed after a freak accident, the show follows his efforts to protect Central City from malevolent forces while grappling with the repercussions of manipulating timelines. Brimming with well-developed characters, emotional depth, and captivating story arcs that stretch across multiple timelines, The Flash delivers an exhilarating exploration of how even the most well-intentioned acts can have unforeseen consequences.

Is The Flash Worth Your Time?

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Quantum Leap

Quantum Leap remains an iconic entry in time travel television due in part to its innovative premise: Dr. Sam Beckett's consciousness leaping through time within various people's lives in order to correct historical wrongs—often discovering profound personal insights along the way. This 90s cult classic skillfully blends elements of drama, comedy, and science fiction while providing valuable commentary on societal issues still relevant today. Aided by his endearing holographic guide Al Calavicci, Dr. Beckett's heartrending journey back to his present offers poignant reflections on humanity’s capacity for redemption.

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The Lazarus Project

The Lazarus Project probes the depths of human morality by presenting its characters with an irresistible opportunity: a chance to rewrite their own personal histories free from pain or regret—a tantalizing premise fraught with unforeseen consequences. As these ordinary people grapple with questions surrounding fate versus free will and assess their true desires when granted absolute power over their destinies, viewers are treated to a thematically rich exploration of humanity’s potential for both greatness and self-destruction.

Is The Lazarus Project Worth Your Time?

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Twinkling Watermelon

A hidden gem in time travel television is Twinkling Watermelon —a fantastical journey into mysticism and interdimensional realms led by a pair of endearing protagonists. This whimsical tale explores deep existential questions as it weaves through parallel existences, challenging viewers' perceptions of reality while maintaining a quirky charm that sets it apart from traditional sci-fi fare. As our heroes navigate both temporal and metaphysical quandaries to unravel the secrets behind their entwined destinies, audiences are enchanted by this unforgettable adventure that pushes the boundaries of storytelling with each unexpected twist.

Is Twinkling Watermelon Worth Your Time?

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La Brea presents a unique spin on time travel by plunging its diverse cast into an uncharted prehistoric world following a catastrophic sinkhole event in modern-day Los Angeles. Armed with only their wits and survival instincts, these involuntary time travelers must navigate the treacherous landscapes of this primeval realm while grappling with impossible choices that could disrupt the fragile balance of time itself. This ambitious series provides a fresh take on the genre, seamlessly blending action-packed adventure with emotionally resonant human stories.

Is La Brea Worth Your Time?

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Back to 15 draws upon its protagonist’s journey back in time as an opportunity for poignant self-discovery and a reflection on the decisions that shaped her life. Employing clever narrative devices and emotionally charged storytelling, this Brazilian series offers relatable musings on adolescence, love, friendship, and personal growth—all wrapped up within a captivating exploration of time travel's potential consequences.

Is Back to 15 Worth Your Time?

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Tales from the Loop

Inspired by Simon Stålenhag's hauntingly evocative artwork, Tales from the Loop explores the lives of individuals living in an alternate reality where advanced technology is integrated into daily existence. The show's subtle approach to time manipulation offers viewers a refreshing departure from more overtly fantastical entries in the genre. Featuring a captivating ensemble cast and expertly crafted narratives that delve into themes such as love, loss, and longing across temporal dimensions, this mesmerizing anthology series invites contemplation of life's most profound mysteries.

Is Tales from the Loop Worth Your Time?

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Secrets of Sulphur Springs

Secrets of Sulphur Springs offers a unique perspective on time travel by presenting it through the eyes of teenagers experiencing its miraculous possibilities first-hand as they uncover dark secrets within their small town. Blending elements of mystery, adventure, and heartache, this family-friendly series demonstrates how even seemingly insignificant choices can have far-reaching implications across generations while delivering a poignant message about the power—and potential peril—of friendship when faced with life-altering decisions.

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The Ministry of Time

Hailing from Spain, The Ministry of Time expertly weaves elements of historical fiction with thrilling adventures through past and future eras as agents work to maintain the integrity of history itself. From ancient Rome to futuristic utopias, each episode immerses viewers in meticulously crafted worlds rich with intrigue and danger—all while maintaining a keen focus on character development that keeps audiences invested in every twist and turn. Blending humor and drama seamlessly, this international gem boasts enthralling storytelling that transcends both language barriers and conventional expectations for television.

Is The Ministry of Time Worth Your Time?

The Story of Park's Marriage Contract

The Story of Park's Marriage Contract seamlessly combines elements of time-bending supernatural intrigue with tender romance in this captivating Korean drama. When a mysterious contract sends the main protagonist spiraling back through time, she becomes entwined in an emotional love triangle that forces her to confront the limits of her own heart and the true nature of fate itself. This well-crafted narrative invites viewers to marvel at both fantastical temporal twists and authentic character connections that make for an unforgettable viewing experience.

Is The Story of Park's Ma... Worth Your Time?

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A Time Called You

A Time Called You delves into the intricacies and implications surrounding second chances as its protagonist unexpectedly finds herself transported 10 years into her past—a pivotal moment that forever altered her life's trajectory. Torn between the desire to rewrite a painful chapter and an innate understanding of the delicate balance governing temporal order, she faces impossible choices that challenge both her own sense of identity and viewers' preconceived notions about the nature of time itself.

Is A Time Called You Worth Your Time?

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Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. provides an unexpected twist on time-travel tropes by exploring them within an offbeat animation series centered around a megalomaniacal supervillain striving for world domination. As M.O.D.O.K.’s hapless attempts at conquering humanity repeatedly face setbacks—including encounters with alternate versions of himself from different timelines—he ultimately learns valuable lessons about personal growth and self-reflection amidst his twisted quest for power. Striking a perfect balance between irreverent humor and heartfelt character moments, this quirky show appeals not only to fans of superhero tales but anyone seeking a fresh take on familiar themes.

Is M.O.D.O.K. Worth Your Time?

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Is T. P Bon Worth Your Time?

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Time Hustler

Time Hustler flawlessly combines elements of crime drama with thrilling temporal adventures as its protagonists bend the rules of time in pursuit of ill-gotten gains—only to find themselves increasingly entangled in moral ambiguities along the way. As both law enforcement forces and their own consciences close in on them, these enterprising criminals must grapple with the true cost of their actions while navigating an ever-shifting web of temporal possibilities. Intriguing plotlines, compelling character arcs, and high-stakes suspense make Time Hustler essential viewing for fans seeking new twists on familiar themes in television.

Is Time Hustler Worth Your Time?

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As they say in well-written scripts, "You mean... like time travel?" + also a few bizarre stories about real people who have claimed, despite every law of physics, they have traveled through time.

“I seem to have fallen through time .”

You need to watch the best time-travel epic ever on Netflix ASAP

'Outlander' weaves a sci-fi tapestry made of time-travel, love, and action like no other show. There's no better time than now to watch this epic romance on Netflix.

Unexpected time travel is one of the more fascinating motifs in science fiction. While many time-travel stories have time machines and other mechanisms that allow a person to maneuver through the past or future, the most exciting ones are when the characters have zero control. They either fall into a mysterious hole , are born with an erratic genetic ability , or unknowingly come into contact with an ancient time portal .

Falling through time aptly describes the impetus for one of the most famous time-travel stories of the last three decades. First capturing the hearts in 1991, Diana Gabaldon’s sci-fi/fantasy book series gave readers a star-crossed (time-crossed?) romance for the ages. It would eventually earn an ardent fanbase and get the attention of Hollywood — specifically Battlestar Galactica producer Ronald D. Moore.

Since premiering in 2014 on Starz, Moore’s TV adaptation of Outlander has only increased its fan following. The series has become one of the cable network’s most popular shows ever, partly aided by the fact that Outlander is also available to stream on Netflix. With Season 5 dropping on the streaming giant this week, there’s no better time to catch up on the best time-travel epic on TV.

THE RULES OF TIME TRAVEL is an Inverse special issue exploring the evolution of science fiction's most imaginative sub-genre. From Marty McFly to Avengers: Endgame .

Outlander begins in 1945, following Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), a former British army nurse, on a belated honeymoon trip to Scotland with her husband Frank (Tobias Menzies). As Claire plays tourist and explores the area, she encounters the standing stones at Craigh na Dun. Hearing them call out to her, she touches one of the stones, and it suddenly thrusts her two centuries into the past.

Now in 1743, Claire immediately finds herself in dangerous territory, with political tensions rising between Scotland and England. She runs into Captain Jack Randall, a British officer identical to her husband (also played by Tobias Menzies) in looks but not demeanor. She is eventually saved from the villainous Jack and taken in by a Scottish clan. That’s how she meets Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), and their love story slowly but surely begins.

Outlander goes to France in Season 2.

While Claire and Jamie’s romance is a significant part of Outlander , the series expands further in scope after its first season. Once Claire tells Jamie that she traveled from the future (and he believes her), the two unite on a path to test the limits of time. With Claire’s knowledge of what’s come in the 1740s — in this case, the Battle of Culloden — the couple try to change the course of history. This is Outlander at its most riveting when it fully leans into the ideas and mysteries of Claire’s time-travel ability.

As the series progresses, the time-travel rules of Outlander become a little clearer but also more complex. As is (and should be) the case with time travel, manipulating time isn’t easy. Time travel in Outlander requires a series of conditions to be in place — which I won’t spoil here — for it to be possible. And even then, it doesn’t always go as planned. It sustains the show’s high narrative stakes, as time travel is less a solution and more of a problem.

But beyond the actual time travel, the series also finds clever and poignant ways to marry Claire’s past and present together. Sometimes, Outlander’s sci-fi concepts get lost amid the show’s growing ensemble of characters and subplots, but then an episode will drop a fantasy sequence where time merges together, and we remember that this isn’t just a richly told historical drama — there’s magic to it, too.

Outlander covers the events leading up to the American Revolution in later seasons.

Outlander comes from a nine-book series, with another installment on the way. Considering Season 6 just wrapped on Starz and Season 7 is in production, there is plenty of Claire and Jamie’s story left to tell. And that includes even more time-travel mysteries that will complicate their lives in unexpected ways.

Their journey isn’t always pleasant (expect Season 5 to be a particularly rough one to get through), but the spirit of the show truly lies in how well-developed Claire and Jamie are. As fantastic and gripping as the sci-fi is, it’s the characters who draw you in and make you feel like you, too, have fallen through time.

Outlander Seasons 1 - 4 are streaming on Netflix, with Season 5 arriving on May 10.

Season 6 is available to watch on Starz.

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Adventures through time: A look at the best time travel shows on Netflix

By deepak kumar | apr 6, 2023.

Time travel is a fascinating concept that has captured the imagination of science fiction enthusiasts for decades. This theme has been explored in several television series and has provided viewers with some of the most thrilling and thought-provoking storylines.

Time travel series have been a popular genre for both old and young audiences. The best of them have captured the attention of millions of viewers around the world.

With the advent of streaming services like Netflix , this fascination has only grown stronger. These shows generally revolve around a set of characters that travel through time, in order to change the course of history or prevent a disaster from occurring.

The main characters are often faced with moral dilemmas as they struggle with the consequences of their actions and the potential repercussions that their choices may have on the future. In many cases, the characters are forced to confront their own personal demons and past traumas, making for a compelling and emotionally resonant narrative.

The best time travel web series on TV are those that manage to balance thrilling action and mind-bending concepts, with deep emotional storytelling and compelling characters. They take viewers on a journey through time and provide a unique perspective on the human experience that can only be achieved through science fiction.

Another aspect of these series that has been appreciated by viewers is the depth and complexity of the characters. Time travel is a theme that allows for a lot of character development and growth and the shows on Netflix have used this to great effect.

From flawed heroes to complex villains, these shows have brought a range of characters to life, each with their own struggles, motivations and backstories. Here are some of the best time travel web series on TV.

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10 best time travel shows, ranked.

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• Key takeaways:
• Time travel is a versatile plot line that can be used in various genres, from superhero shows like DC's Legends of Tomorrow, to survival dramas like Lost, to romantic series like Outlander.
• Different shows approach time travel in unique ways, such as integrating it with video games in Future Man or exploring familiar time periods in Timeless.
• Time travel shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Star Trek: Next Generation successfully incorporate time travel into their plot lines, keeping it interesting even after multiple seasons.

Time travel is a timeless media trope, and there are so many TV shows that use it successfully. From the superhero genre to more artistic miniseries, every genre has taken a crack at bending time and space for their characters. It's an interesting method to test the will and hearts of characters because, while it's based in humanity, it's nothing viewers have experienced themselves.

Time travel stays a relevant and interesting plot line because of how versatile it is. The time travel could refer to a place that's specifically stuck in one time, like the casino in Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. It could also manifest as a superpower for an individual. There are several shows that create organizations around protecting time and have their protagonists interact with them. While several of these formats are used repeatedly, the variety keeps them fresh every time they're reused in new media. It's hard to narrow down so many great shows, but there are standouts in the time travel, science fiction genre.

10 DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016-2022)

DC's Legends of Tomorrow was a part of the iconic era of CW television when the Arrowverse was on every weeknight. This show follows a group of ragtag antiheroes as they travel through time to stop magical villains. This series has the quintessential elements of a time travel show, like weird creatures and the butterfly effect impacting all of their lives, but it is on the cornier side. Given the CW's nature, there's a lot of emphasis on morality and the use of obvious jokes. The show does have some great, unexpected reveals that are engaging. The main character is also part of the LGBTQ+ community, which is nice to see at the forefront of a series.

9 Lost (2004-2010)

It's not an overstatement to say this show changed television when it was on. Lost followed a group of stranded passengers after their plane crashes and they find themselves on a mysterious island. The first two seasons of Lost focused on the struggles of living on the island, and it felt like a survival show, but in season 2, episode 13, "The Long Con", time travel is introduced. It is eventually shown how Lost 's island travels through time and the series changed from there. However, the use of time travel in this show did feel confusing and eventually got convoluted. There's still a lot of debate about what even happened in the series finale of the show. While it was revolutionary, there were still kinks to be worked out.

8 Outlander (2014-Present)

Based on the book series by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander is a hit series on Starz that follows Claire—a 1940s army nurse—who travels through time to 18th-century Scotland. She meets Jamie Fraser, a Scottish soldier, and they fall in love. Their romance is complicated as Claire has a husband in her original time that she thinks she'll never see again. Throughout the seasons, they travel back and forth between Claire's past and present all while trying to raise a family and keep their romance alive. The repetition of time travel is bound to feel tiresome—and a little ridiculous—after 7 seasons and a final one on its way. Outlander 's timeline was not exempt from that.

7 Timeless (2016-2018)

Timeless is a show that follows a group of unexpected allies as they try to stop a man from changing the course of history for his own benefit. The best part of this show is the relationships between the characters. The three leads are a history professor, a scientist, and a soldier respectively, which builds a team with every skill base covered. Another interesting part of this show is that the characters explore familiar time periods. One example is the episode that centered around Marie Curie, which was not only compelling to see play out on TV, but it also gave the characters ample space to nerd out.

6 Future Man (2017-2020)

Josh Hutcherson plays a custodian named Josh Futturman in this time-traveling series. After beating a video game, mysterious and dangerous visitors start appearing from the future to tell Josh that he's the only one who can protect the world from an impending alien attack. The aliens were called to him because his video game was a tactic to recruit only the best soldiers for war. Pairing a video game and time travel isn't used very often, so it did help to make this show even more intriguing. Future Man is hilariously crude and uses bright colors for sets and wardrobe to make this a refreshing addition to the time travel show roster.

5 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-2020)

While Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't the traditional time travel show, it absolutely counts. Time travel was a theme in the first couple of seasons, but became the sole transport method in the last three seasons. The show didn't start with time travel in its plot line, but it has the perfect platform to make that shift since superhero content leaves little for impossibility. The series adapted well to time travel. It integrated its characters seamlessly into every era they were in with costumes, sets, and individual development. The final season had the team in a different time each episode, which returned the series to its episodic case pattern from season 1.

4 Star Trek: Next Generation (1987-1994)

The Star Trek universe has to be on this list in some way, and Star Trek: Next Generation is the perfect option. This show is set 100 years after the era of Captain Kirk, and it follows a group of new officers through time and space on their adventures. One notable episode is season 5, episode 18, “Cause and Effect”, when the crew is trapped in a loop that teaches them about the dangers of messing with time. Star Trek shows all have the same basic understanding of time travel, but Star Trek: Next Generation manages to keep it interesting, even after so many iterations before it.

3 The Umbrella Academy (2019-Current)

As a show that centers around a group of seven siblings with superpowers, it only makes sense that one of them can travel through time. Number Five, played by Aidan Gallagher, appears at the beginning of season 1 after being missing for several years. He travels through time to his family home, still stuck as a 13-year-old, while his siblings are all now 30-year-olds. At the end of every season, and often throughout seasons as well, time travel is effortlessly worked into the plot. Five carries the weight of the world, and often has to save it using time travel. There are changes to how he uses the skill within The Umbrella Academy 's time travel rules , so it doesn't feel overused.

2 Loki (2021-Current)

Time travel is used all over MCU canon-compliant media, and the hit show Loki is no different. Loki is captured by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) at the end of the alternate timeline from Avengers: Endgame. He spends season 1 traveling through time and space with Mobius, a TVA agent, to stop threats to the Sacred Timeline. Since time travel is so embedded in the idea of this show, it doesn't feel out of place. While it's a serious series with a complicated plot, it also stays loyal to the Marvel style and uses Loki's sardonic humor to balance it. The sets are really successful in establishing different times, and it always feels like being in a different world.

1 Russian Doll (2019-Current)

Russian Doll is a Netflix original series that follows Natasha Lyonne's character, Nadia, as she is stuck in a time loop of her 36th birthday party as she repeatedly dies. This show has pieces from every genre, which keeps it funny, intense, and unpredictable. Russian Doll explains the time travel rules in its universe effortlessly, making it feel natural without being too complicated. This show uses time loops, which are a specific type of time travel that can feel really repetitive, especially when it goes on for an entire season. With all of this, Russian Doll escapes that repetitive and tiresome feeling and keeps the plot moving.

The Way Home Season 3: Confirmation & Everything We Know

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An unlikely trio travels through time to battle unknown criminals and protect history as we know it. An unlikely trio travels through time to battle unknown criminals and protect history as we know it. An unlikely trio travels through time to battle unknown criminals and protect history as we know it.

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• Trivia The date in time that the team will travel to during each episode is displayed in the numbers on the Flip Clock in the opening credits where the word TIMELESS eventually appears.
• Goofs As is the case with many fictional depictions of historians, Lucy is treated as if she had encyclopedic knowledge of huge swaths of history. In reality, Lucy would have very deep knowledge about her specific subject area, but only moderate levels of knowledge about other times and places, particularly of things which were far away, geographically, temporally, or thematically, from her area of concentration.
• Connections Featured in History Buffs: Timeline (2017)

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The Best Travel Shows You Can Stream Right Now

By Paris Wilson and Meredith Carey

Curiosity for new travelers often starts at home. We want to travel because of the books we read , people we talk to, and shows we watch. The best travel shows teach us about the world we live in and get us excited about our next adventures, but still make us feel like we get to experience that destination with each new episode.

Travel shows also lean on a wide range of hosts that really help to guide the audience from one destination to the next, some of our favorite shows are hosted by Shay Mitchell, Eugene Levy, Gordon Ramsay, and of course the late Anthony Bourdain. Most of the best travel shows can be found on Netflix, Hulu, and Max, and features a wide range of excursions, from watching the northern lights in Iceland, trekking through the rainforest in Sumatra, hopping onto fishing boats in Louisiana, and seeing sumo wrestling in Japan.

Below, find some of our favorite travel shows that you should stream now, or at least add to your watchlist to watch at a later time. Maybe on a plane to a new destination.

This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date.

The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy

Eugene Levy is back with season two of The Reluctant Traveler . The first season of the series followed the actor as he steps out of his comfort zone to explore the world’s most popular destinations: Costa Rica , Finland , Japan, the Maldives , and more. In season two, Levy embarks on a grand tour of Europe, traveling from the north of the continent to the very south, with stops off the beaten path in Spain, Sweden, Scotland, Germany, and France. Along the way, he stumbles into local gems, uncovers his family tree, and attempts to broaden his palate while experiencing the continent’s most unique destinations along the way.

Watch now: Free with an Apple TV+ subscription ( sign up for Apple TV+ here )

Thirst With Shay Mitchell

Shay Mitchell , the actor, Béis founder, and a star of our Women Who Travel Power List , travels the world one sip at a time in her new show, Thirst . In the first three episodes, we see Mitchell travel to Peru, Colombia , and Argentina, where she tries the latest drink trends: espresso beer, flaming cocktails, and sour mixtures. In each episode, she also dives into the agricultural history of the location to better understand how the local libations have been perfected over thousands of years.

Watch now: Free with a Max subscription ( sign up for Max here )

Searching For Soul Food

The term soul food means so much to so many people across the globe. Chef Alisa Reynolds starts the series in Mississippi to understand the connection between the slavery and the traditional dishes that are staples in American comfort food. In later episodes, Reynolds visits Jamaica, Italy , South Africa, and Peru. Along the way, she connects the dots between soul food’s African roots to other Indigenous cultures and the way customs traveled across the globe, due in part to the slave trade. Food history is a large part of the show but Reynolds also taps into the cultural, agricultural, and political significance of ingredients and dishes.

Watch now: Free with a Hulu subscription ( sign up for Hulu here )

Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones

Bestselling author and researcher Dan Buettner has spent much of his career conducting research on Blue Zones: communities with large numbers of people that live to be age 100 or more. Throughout the series, Buettner explores Blue Zones in Okinawa, Japan ; Ikaria, Greece; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California. Buettner sits down with the centenarians in these communities to discuss their diets, day-to-day lives , relationships, and lessons they’ve learned.

Watch now: Free with a Netflix subscription ( sign up for Netflix here )

Gordon Ramsey: Uncharted

We finally get to see Gordon Ramsay outside the kitchen. On Uncharted , we see Ramsay connect with Indigenous peoples across the world to learn about their culture through—you guessed it—food, teaming up with chefs from the community to make a feast for everyone while using native and endemic ingredients from the area. We also see Ramsey trek through the rainforest of Sumatra, capture rattlesnakes, and hunt for eels with his bare hands. It’s quite a treat to see the renowned chef as a beginner for once.

The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals

When planning a trip, sometimes the hardest decision to make is where to stay. So many factors go into picking the right accommodation and the choices are endless. A travel trio composed of hosts Jo Franco, Megan Batoon, and Luis D. Ortiz embark on the task of showcasing their favorite rental properties across the world. Franco has a passion for travel and picks the most unique rentals she can find; Bantoon is an avid DIY-er and finds the best budget options; Ortiz has a background in New York real estate and has an eye for luxury rentals that travelers will want. The three work together to create a curated roster of rentals that travelers can actually book after each episode.

Taste the Nation

It’s always a good idea to explore our own backyard—which is exactly what host Padma Lakshmi does on her Hulu show Taste the Nation . The show's first season follows the host and author as she quite literally tastes the nation , stopping at restaurants around the United States to sample the foods of a variety of Indigenous and immigrant groups. Expect to see some familiar faces, like comedian Ali Wong and spearfisher Kimi Werner , along the way.

Never Say Never With Jeff Jenkins

Travel journalist Jeff Jenkins lives by the philosophy that “life truly happens at the end of your comfort zone.” We see this as he tests his mental and physical limits as he does sumo wrestling in Japan, swims with whale sharks in Mexico, and treks up the more-than-2,000 miles of the Adirondack Mountains. Throughout this global odyssey, Jenkins connects with locals in every destination, from immersing himself in Maori culture to catching king crabs with multi-generational fishermen—learning more about the world around him and himself each step of the way.

Watch now: Free with a Hulu subscription ( sign up for Hulu here ), Disney+ subscription ( sign up for Disney+ here ), and Apple TV+ subscription ( sign up for Apple TV+ here )

Planet Earth and Planet Earth II

We had to wait 10 years between the debut of Planet Earth , a groundbreaking natural history show narrated by Sir David Attenborough, and its sequel Planet Earth II , but it was worth it. The first season, which focus on a specific biome and the flora and fauna that live there in each episode, spotlights smooth coated otters in Southeast Asia, Tibetan foxes, critically endangered Ethiopian ibex, and blue whales, among so many others. Our two favorite episodes, though, come from part II. In the sixth episode, the high-def cameras turn to cities to show how leopards in Mumbai, monkeys in Jodhpur, and catfish in southern France live alongside humans. And in what may be the most heart-racing episode of nature television, the islands episode of Planet Earth II follows a lone iguana racing against time—and a horde of snakes.

Watch now: Free with a Discovery+ subscription ( sign up for Discovery+ here )

Long Way Up

Believe it or not, actor Ewan McGregor has been in the travel show business for some 16 years. It all started with Long Way Round , a 2004 series that followed McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman on a motorcycle journey from London through Europe, Asia—and then after a flight to Alaska—Canada, and the U.S. all the way to New York City. The show was followed by 2007's Long Way Down, which took the duo from Scotland to South Africa, on motorcycles once again. Now, they've turned their bikes (electric this time) towards South and Central America, with the latest iteration following the duo some 13,000 miles from Ushuaia, Argentina, on the continent's southernmost tip, to L.A. As usual, hijinks, pitfalls, and stunning scenery are all on view. Neither of the earlier shows are available to stream in the U.S. currently (though you can find them on Apple TV+ in the U.K.), but Long Way Up is an Apple TV+ original and on view for all.

Somebody Feed Phil

This Netflix original follows host Phil Rosenthal, the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond , as he eats his way through cities like Bangkok , Lisbon, Mexico City , New Orleans , Buenos Aires , Cape Town, and Dublin. The hyper-positive show was called "impossibly optimistic," by former Traveler editor Paul Brady, who spoke with Rosenthal before the first season's premiere in 2018. The seventh season, takes Rosenthal from Mumbai to Kyoto to Iceland to eat even more delicious grub.  Watch now: Free with a Netflix subscription ( sign up for Netflix here )

Parts Unknown

You simply cannot have a list of the best travel shows and not feature the late Anthony Bourdain. In fact, he's on our list more than once. In Parts Unknown , the chef and travel personality circled the world many times over, in search of music, culture, humor, history, and—of course—really good food. Over 12 seasons (the last aired posthumously), Bourdain visited the indigenous Andes with Eric Ripert, the Sochi Winter Olympics, the Mississippi Delta, and, most famously, Hanoi with then-president Barack Obama. (That's season eight, episode two, if you want to jump right to it.)

Watch now: Free with an Apple TV+ subscription ( sign up for Apple TV here )

Street Food

Made by the same folks behind Chef's Table (spoiler: it's also on this list), this show moves away from formal restaurant kitchens and onto the streets, for a guide to some of the world's best curbside meals and snacks . The show's first season is all about Asia, traveling to nine different countries to meet the people behind the food, like Jay Fai from Bangkok's Raan Jay Fai , a Michelin-starred street stall serving up tom yum soup, and Truoc (pictured left), who serves a variety of snail dishes in Ho Chi Minh City . The second season, which hit Netflix in July, zeroes in on Latin America, with stops at Doña Vale's in Oaxaca for memelas and Las Chicas de las Tres food stall in Buenos Aires, run by chef Pato Rodriguez.

Lost Cities With Albert Lin

In this National Geographic –produced show, explorer and scientist Albert Lin tracks down some of the world's most famous lost cities. We're talking buried Knights Templar caves in Israel, El Dorado in the jungles of Colombia, and ancient, forgotten island cities in Micronesia. Along the way, he speaks with archaeologists, historians, and other experts to discover the origins of the legends and, in turn, the reality of those places today.

Watch now: Free with a Disney+ subscription ( sign up for Disney+ here )

Ugly Delicious

The second season of the David Chang –hosted Netflix series debuted in March 2020, taking viewers from Istanbul (pictured), to Tokyo , to Sydney , to… Outback Steakhouse? Along the way, he tackles balancing parenthood with restaurant life, cooks with Top Chef 's Padma Lakshmi , rubs elbows with comedians like Nick Kroll and Aziz Ansari, and gets a lesson in not calling all Indian food curries from Traveler contributor Priya Krishna . (If you want more Chang, try your hand at a recipe from his Momofuku cookbook, or watch Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner , also on Netlfix, where he joins one famous friend on a food tour of a city, like Chrissy Teigen in Marrakech.)

Produced by Vice , this show is about the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. In it, actor Elliot Page and their film director friend Ian Daniel travel to learn about what it's like to be LGBTQ+ around the world. They meet with two-spirit Native Americans, head to ballroom scenes in New York City, and visit the gay bars of Tokyo to dive deep into the vibrant gay and queer culture. But the duo also spends time in Rio de Janeiro, Jamaica, and Ukraine, speaking with LGBTQ+ locals to learn about the discrimination and threats they face just by existing. Expect tears, both happy and sad.

Carmen Sandiego

Many of us got our first lesson in geography from this trench coat–wearing master thief, and today's kids can too, thanks to the Netflix reboot of this animated series. This high-flying, Robin Hood–style caper takes kids (and parents) with Sandiego as she jet sets between Rio de Janeiro , Matsumoto in Japan, Amsterdam, Mumbai, and more. There are three seasons available and plenty of educational value here for mapheads—plus pretty stellar animation. This year, an interactive choose-you-own-adventure style show, called Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal, came to Netflix and provides endless entertainment as Sandiego fights off the Villains International League of Evil (V.I.L.E.), with your (kid's) help. Watch now: Free with a Netflix subscription ( sign up for Netflix here )

If Planet Earth and Planet Earth II weren't enough Attenborough for your liking, get your fix on Netflix, thanks to Our Planet . This docuseries, made by the creators of Planet Earth in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund and narrated by Attenborough, is almost a mix of the two, taking armchair travelers from the North American grasslands and the Everglades to the Arctic tundra and deepest parts of our oceans. Once you're done with the nine 50-minute episodes, switch over to Our Planet: Behind the Scenes to see how the 600-person crew filmed the series. Watch now: Free with a Netflix subscription ( sign up for Netflix here )

No Reservations

If you want even more Bourdain, Hulu has you covered with No Reservations and The Layover, two of his travel shows that preceded Parts Unknown . In No Reservations, Bourdain takes us to both familiar—Maine, Prague, the Philippines—and unfamiliar—Kurdistan, Mozambique, and deep into the Amazon—corners and kitchens of our world, introducing us to new foods, cultures, and personalities over nine seasons. The Layover takes that same premise, but shortens the time line drastically, knocking down Bourdain's time to explore to just 24 to 48 hours. Both are must-sees—it's Bourdain after all.

Chef's Table: BBQ

While you can watch some of world’s most extraordinary chefs (like Dominque Crenn ; Peruvian Virgilio Martínez , the owner of Lima's Central restaurant; and Swede Magnus Nilsson ) as they create impossibly complicated dishes in the original Chef's Table, we've become partial to its latest iteration, which is all about barbecue. The Netflix original docuseries follows pitmasters like Tootsie Tomanetz—the 85-year-old spitfire pictured above who minds the brisket and sausage at Snow's, outside of Austin—and Rodney Scott, known for his Low Country–style pulled pork and ribs. But the show doesn't stick to the American South. You'll head to Rosalia Chay Chuc's Yucatán home and visit the grills of Lennox Hastie in Sydney, too.  Watch now: Free with a Netflix subscription ( sign up for Netflix here )

Travels with My Father

The first season of this Netflix original, which came out in 2017, follows British stand-up comedian Jack Whitehall and his father, Michael, across Southeast Asia, tracking the duo as they finish the gap year Jack never got to complete, just a few years late (eight, to be exact). It's everything you'd expect: a Thai full moon party and, of course, a trip to Cambodia's Angkor Wat, but the moments in between are what make the show really worth watching. Now, in the three seasons that have followed, the father-son pair have road tripped through Transylvania , visited Chernobyl , and gotten into drag with Sydney queens. Needless to say, it's a romp.  Watch now: Free with a Netflix subscription ( sign up for Netflix here )

Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories

Set in a tiny Tokyo diner that's only open from midnight to 7 a.m., the fictional show follows the Midnight Diner's owner and clientele as they share their trials and joys, all while eating whatever the owner, called Master, dishes up. In the diner, pork miso soup is the go-to, but Master will cook visitors anything they order, as long as he's got the goods to make it. Episodes are a little over 20 minutes long, so it's the most bingeable of the bunch. Watch with subtitles and don't—seriously, don't—watch while hungry. Watch now: Free with a Netflix subscription ( sign up for Netflix here )

Get your international fix by watching Antoni , Karamo , Jonathan , Tan , and Bobby makeover the wardrobes and lives of everyday “heroes” in Yass, Australia , and Tokyo in their Queer Eye specials. That said, we're partial to the U.S.-based seasons, where the Fab Five hits up Atlanta, Kansas City, and, most recently, Philadelphia to give new life to regular folks. Whether they're making over the sisters behind Jones Bar-B-Q in Kansas City or the small town mayor of Clarkston, Georgia, we're on board. Have tissues on hand, as you're all but guaranteed to shed a tear (who are we kidding, you'll sob). Watch now: Free with a Netflix subscription ( sign up for Netflix here )

Places to Love

For many years, Samantha Brown was the only female host on travel TV , period. And while some, albeit small, growth has been made in this regard (Nosrat and Kellee Edwards are among the new faces), Brown is still one of the few women on the go on our screens. While she made her start on the Travel Channel with Passport to Europe, Passport to Latin America, and Passport to China , you should really be checking out her latest show, Places to Love. Now in its third season, the show sees Brown discovering off-the-beaten-path spots in some of the world's most loved destinations as far-flung as Seoul and Auckland, and right in our backyard, like Phoenix and Dallas . 

Watch Places to Love now: Free on PBS

Watch Passport to Europe now: $2 per episode, $35 per season; amazon.com

The World According to Jeff Goldblum

Ok, so this isn't as much of a travel show as it is a “what is Jeff Goldblum curious about” show—but it doesn't mean they don't travel all over the U.S. With each episode focusing on the actor's ceaseless interest in the minutiae of one specific thing (like tattoos, or pools, or RVs, or ice cream—it really runs the gamut). Over the course of the show, Goldblum visits Hawaii , Las Vegas , NASA’s neutral buoyancy lab in Houston , and so much more. If you love Goldblum, you'll probably love this show. 

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The Best Travel Shows Of All Time (TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime & More)

If you are like me and always yearning to travel, then one of the best ways to do this from home is to watch amazing travel shows on TV.

Over the years I have spent way too much of my spare time consuming every travel show under the sun. And, I thought it was high time I shared some of them with you.

So, without further ado, here are some of the best travel shows on TV – whether it be DVD, Netflix or Amazon.

1. Long Way Round

I remember watching the Long Way Round years ago (2004), which is still clear in my memory. The world-famous Ewan McGregor and one of his best friends Charlie Boorman, pursue their passion for BMW motorbikes and adventure travel and head east from London, as far as possible.

The journey was nearly 19 thousand miles (33,000 kms) and took them through Europe, overland through Asia (Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia) to the USA and New York.

Of course, they do take a crew with them, but this is hardcore overland travel at its best. No script, all the hardships are shown. Boy, they had a difficult time in some parts of Asia!

Update: They have the latest episode in this series, Long Way Up, which features the boys riding from Ushuaia in Argentina to Los Angeles. This is more or less the classic Pan-American Highway route that travelers love!

2. Long Way Down

Following on from the 2004 success, Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman set out again in 20017. This time North to South from Scotland to Cape Town in the Long Way Down . This is yet another infamous overland route and also not a simple one.

Many of the roads and countries in Africa are not in the same state as their European counterparts, so they had some challenges with their suspension. They also had quite some adventures and exciting visits, even with presidents!

If you liked the first one of the series, then this is an equally good follow-up.

It’s also available on Amazon.

Below is a quick intro to the show. It’s worth taking a look.

3. Anthony Bourdain (Parts Unknown, No Reservations, A Cook’s Tour & The Layover)

With the sad news of his recent passing, how can I not include one of the food travel show classics from Anthony Bourdain and his team at CNN? This series was still being filmed at the time of this death, and they have since tried to finalise it without being able to use him for voiceovers. However, there is so much material in this series, you won’t be stressed looking for things to watch.

Anthony was actually made famous by his book, Kitchen Confidential , where he revealed how things work in the restaurant business. I actually read this book over 20 years ago, long before I even realised he was on TV.

Parts Unknown is a unique take on travel from Anthony where he visits various countries around the world that interest him and explores all the great food they have on offer. But, he does not go for the classy restaurants and showy food, he looks for the best of what locals enjoy.

And dives right in himself! It’s super-inspiring to see someone so famous get down and dirty and have absolutely zero pretence. He loves food. He loves people. And he loves to travel. What more could you ask for in a TV Show.

Some of the series from Parts Unknown is available on Amazon .

As are some of his older series like No Reservations , A Cook’s Tour , The Layover

And here is a quick preview of season 7 from CNN.

4. Departures – with Scott Wilson and Justin Lukach

Two best friends from Canada decide they need a little excitement in their lives and head off for a year of adventure.  They end up exploring vast areas of the world and looking for as many unique experiences as possible.

The series is quite in-depth, covering 43 episodes , and almost as many countries. And by the time you have finished it, I will be surprised if you don’t just get up and go traveling yourself.

You can grab it on Bluray on Amazon.

Here is a quick intro to the series.

5. Simon Reeve Travels

I absolutely love to watch Louis Theroux on TV. His bumbling, almost nerd-like charm somehow disarms all the crazy nut-jobs that he interviews.

Simon Reeve, at least to me, seems like his equal in the BBC travel world. He is not a gung-ho daring, Tom Cruise look-alike. He is a down-to-earth, easy-to-like, bumbling reporter who takes to the most interesting places on earth. And makes you fall in love with them all as much as he does.

We have started watching some of his earlier shows. We have started with his crazy trip around the Equator. But some of the others are available on the BBC (if you live in the UK) including such trips as: the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Australia, Africa, Colombia and many more.

Here is a quick intro to the Caribbean series.

6. Rick Steves Travel Series

Another prolific traveler and creator of travel-related content both on and offline is Rick Steves. If you type in many European-related travel searches in Google, you will often find his website in the top ten.

He seems to have been everywhere worldwide and made a TV show about most of it. He appeals to an older demographic in my opinion, as his commentary is a little stiffer, but you can certainly learn a lot from this guy.

You can check them out on his website.

And below is an intro to Season 9 of his European series.

7. Michael Palins (Various Adventures around the world)

Michael Palin, a former Monty Python member and Jon Cleese, has been producing top-notch travel series for years and is a little more old-school than Rick Steves. His shows focus on longer adventures, similar to A Long Way Round, although perhaps not as challenging.

They are fun to watch, and you certainly get to see some of the lesser-explored regions of the world. Although some of these series will be a little dated by now – I remember watching some decades ago!

And just as I said that I took a look and saw he has since made some new series on Channel 5 in the UK, including a trip into the forbidden land of North Korea !

Michael Palin’s Around the World in 80 Days

8. An Idiot Abroad

Venturing into a little bit of Travel Comedy, An Idiot Abroad is the brainchild of the creator of the British (original) The Office, along with a few co-creators. The idea is to send someone who has almost never left their town, let alone lifestyle and send them to some very foreign destinations.

Along the way, they experience some extremely challenging destinations and situations all in the name of broadening their horizons. Karl Pilkington will never be the same again, and maybe neither will you.

You can grab Season 1 and Season 2 on Amazon.

Here is a quick Best Of from the China episode to give you a taste of the show.

9. Travel Man with Richard Ayoade

Another long-running comedy travel show from the UK, Travel Man is very short episode focused on 48 hours in various cities, mainly in Europe. Of course, now that he is on about his 10th season, he has started to venture a little further afield. Apart from his sarcasm, one of the best things about the show for me is the wacky things he (or his team) finds in every location. Not your run-of-the-mill tourist attractions.

Each episode is extremely sarcastic and accompanied by another usually British comedian, so people outside the UK may have trouble laughing or even understanding what he is saying. His accent is strong and his vocabulary is broad. You might have seen him as one of the wacky IT experts in t he IT Crowd (which you can see on Netflix ), a little like the British version of Silicon Valley, albeit filmed years before.

There are various seasons up for grabs on Amazon .

If you want to see if it’s up to your alley, here is a quick taste of Richard with some of his fellow comedians on the show.

10. Top Gear

Intended as a bit of a petrolhead’s show about cars, Top Gear has also done a significant amount of travel-related shows over the years too. From the drives down the most dangerous roads in the world to almost killing themselves in places like Switzerland. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May will show you a great time on the road and while traveling.

You can check out Season 1 here on Amazon and other seasons that follow.

11. Joanna Lumley’s Travel Series

Joanna Lumley became famous back in the 70s, but for me, she became even more famous for her role in Absolutely Fabulous. Since then, she has traveled and filmed it all for us. She has also done a “making of” series that I enjoyed. She may seem very posh and British when you first see her shows, but if you love sarcasm and comedy then just wait a bit and she will deliver!

Here is a list of her extensive travel shows you can catch on BBC or other online streaming services:

• Joanna Lumley’s Hidden Caribbean
• Joanna Lumley in the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon
• Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights
• Joanna Lumley’s Japan
• Joanna Lumley: The Quest For Noah’s Ark
• Joanna Lumley’s India
• Jennifer & Joanna: Absolutely Champers

The Best Travel Shows On Netflix

Netflix is a bit of a special category in this post because they don’t have many of the more famous shows above at the moment.

12. Dark Tourist

One of the more recent and perhaps more infamous trends in travel right now is called Dark Tourism. With the recent airing of the series about Chornobyl, it seems to have accelerated even more.

One wacky New Zealand traveler, David Farrier heads to some quirky and sometimes dangerous locations in eight episodes of Dark Tourist , which sees him head to most continents. From the recent Japanese nuclear disaster to perhaps shooting a cow in Cambodia, he tries it all.

13. Street Food: Asia

If you like to combine mouth-watering food and travel, a popular past-time, then this is a recent addition to Netflix that I am currently devouring. It shows you some amazing chefs who are almost always out on the street and serving the locals with something of an obsession. From Thailand to India, you get to see it all – no-frills cooking from some of the best street food vendors in the world.

14. Tales By Light

Another show I have been checking out lately is Tales By Light , a travel and photography-based series up to season 3. It follows a famous Australian photographer all around the world, delving into the lives of the people he meets and how he experiences travel through the lens.

15. Jack Whitehall: Travels with my Father

A show I have not had a chance to see, but it certainly looks like a travel comedy worth checking out. It involves a comedian and his stuffy father taking far-flung adventures to foreign lands and trying to teach each other a thing or two.

16. Somebody Feed Phil

A more modern version of a travel & food show, Somebody Feed Phil , is about exploring the places and food no one talks about. Phil is quite the quirky and loveable character, so you will either love him or loathe him. I watched half the first season and did not fall in love with it. However, given that Netflix has commissioned 6 seasons of the show, there must be a lot of people who love it.

17. Conan Without Borders

Following famous TV night show host Conan O’Brien to some adventurous destinations around the world, this is yet another travel and comedy combination you won’t want to miss. From Haiti and Cuba to K-Pop in South Korea this is as wacky as it is travel.

18. Restaurants on the Edge

“Restaurants on the Edge” is a Canadian reality TV series premiered in 2020. It showcases chef Dennis Prescott, designer Karin Bohn, and restaurateur Nick Liberato assisting struggling restaurants in scenic, remote locations like seashores, lakes, and mountains. This is a little like Gordon Ramsay’s old show Kitchen Nightmares, but more travel related.

The goal of the visits on this show is to rejuvenate these places by integrating them with the local culture. Additionally, the show offers a travel experience, with episodes featuring the experts exploring local areas, meeting artisans, and tasting authentic local foods.

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About the author roger timbrook.

Roger is a little obsessed with travel. He has been to over 40 countries, broken 3 suitcases and owned over 10 backpacks in 12 months. What he doesn't know about travel, ain't worth knowing!

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27 Fantasy Shows That'll Transport You to a Whole New World

Posted: June 28, 2024 | Last updated: June 28, 2024

A good episode of a fantasy TV show at the end of a long, hard day is sometimes the only thing standing between me and a total meltdown. Unlike reality TV shows or sexy Netflix shows , fantasy shows give me the unique ability to watch romantic or horrible things happen to characters without my anxiety kicking in and asking me, "What if this happened to you?" Sure, it's unlikely that I'll ever be competing with 20+ other women for a rose on The Bachelor , but the odds I'll have to fight a dragon are literally 0.

Just so we're clear: Fantasy shows usually take place in another world where fantastical creatures and/or magical abilities are pretty much expected, whereas supernatural shows are all about super-powered creatures existing within the real world—though there is for sure some crossover between the genres. (Don't even get me started on the difference between fantasy and sci-fi , 'cause that's where things get REAL complicated.) And while fantasy series are sometimes lighter in tone than supernatural series, they are definitely not just for kids.

So sit back, relax, and escape reality with these 27 best fantasy shows.

1) Wednesday

What if Wednesday Addams was an aspiring detective and high school student? This is the question posed in Wednesday , the Tim Burton Netflix show that somehow turned Wednesday Addams' emo vibe into a moving coming-of-age story. Jenna Ortega is phenomenal, and she leads a great cast, which includes Emma Myers as her upbeat roommate, Christina Ricci as a teacher at Wednesday’s kooky boarding school, and Gwendoline Christie as the mysterious principal.

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2) Pushing Daisies

Lee Pace is 6’5”, and for two seasons on Pushing Daisies , he worked with a private investigator, bringing people back from the dead for 30 seconds to help solve their murders for reward money. It’s less gruesome than it sounds. The fantastical show takes place in a whimsical universe where a man can make a living running a pie shop, and a woman can come back from the dead with very few complications…unless you count the man who had to die for her to live.

3) Galavant

If you love musicals, you’ll love Galavant , a satirical musical comedy about a once revered knight, Galavant, who fell from grace after the woman he loved chose to marry a hapless king over him. But when Princess Isabella comes to recruit him to help save her people, he picks the sword back up to be the hero he once was. Or at least, he tries to. The show features songs written by legendary Disney composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater, and each one will make you laugh and get stuck in your head.

4) The Umbrella Academy

The Umbrella Academy checks a lot of fantasy boxes. It’s got super powers, time travel, an eccentric billionaire pulling the strings, possible apocalypses, and alternate universes. More importantly, it’s the story of how seven estranged and super-powered siblings have to come together to save the world…again, and again, and again.

5) Once Upon a Time

Disney put a twist on the live-action adaptations of the studio’s classic animated films by sticking all the fairy tales into one show. Over the seasons, OUAT featured every character imaginable, from Cinderella to Robin Hood. But it began with fairy tale characters cursed by Snow White’s evil stepmother to live in a quaint American town called Storybrooke with no memory of who they really are. Her rule is threatened, however, when her adopted son brings his biological mother, who just happens to be the daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White, to Storybrooke.

6) House of the Dragon

You know how we said there are other shows other than Game of Thrones ? Well, there's also a spinoff of GoT that's pretty good, too. House of the Dragon follows the House Targaryen about 200 years before the original series. Things quickly heat up and we're not just talking about all the dragon fire.

7) The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

It looks like everyone is getting a prequel these days as Amazon brings back the iconic Lord of the Rings series. The show will take place thousands of years before the Peter Jackson films, bringing some of the most well-known characters in Tolkien's tales to life for the first time.

8) Locke & Key

Based on the comic book series of the same name , travel to Mattheson, Massachusetts with the Locke family who move into the illustrious Keyhouse. There they discover a set of magical keys that give them extraordinary abilities while also dealing with some very scary villains who are out to use the keys for themselves.

9) The Sandman

Neil Gaiman's The Sandman comics finally come to our screens in this highly-anticipated adaptation that is fully approved by the big man himself. Get ready to follow the life of The King of Dreams as he suddenly becomes imprisoned for hundreds of years, causing grave consequences to both the world of the Dreaming and the Living.

10) The Magicians

Welcome to Brakebills University, a magical post-graduate school where only the best get the chance to hone their craft. Quinten Clearwater has always believed in magic and now has the chance to go. He slowly discovers that there's more to the magical world that he is now a part of than the fairytales he grew up with.

11) Shadow and Bone

This epic series (which is based on Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse novels) revolves around an orphan mapmaker and soldier named Alina who unleashes an extraordinary power that could potentially set her war-torn country free. Shadow and Bone was cancelled after two stellar seasons, but fans are still campaigning for it to return. #SaveShadowAndBone!

12) The Wheel of Time

Like many of the best fantasy shows, The Wheel of Time is based on a book series , following a powerful leader as she takes five teens on a journey, believing one of them to be the reincarnation of the Dragon who can save the world...or destroy it.

13) The Witcher

The v handsome Henry Cavill stars as Geralt of Rivia, a sorcerer, outcast, and killer whose job is to rid the world of monsters. And, boy, does he take his work seriously. The show has lots of action, but it's not all about Geralt. At the core of the series is a political drama about inter-species wars between elves, sorcerers, and mortals. Cavill left the show after Season 3, but The Witcher will live on for another season, with Liam Hemsworth taking over the role in The Witcher season 4 .

14) Outlander

Based on Diana Gabaldon's bestselling series, Outlander tells the story of a former World War II combat nurse, her MI6 officer husband, and the time-travel incident that lands her in 18th-century Scotland (and in the arms of a sexy Scottish Highland warrior). I'm ready for ya, season 6 .

15) Fate: The Winx Saga

This teen drama follows five fairies attending Alfea, a magical boarding school in the Otherworld where students learn how to master their magical powers. The show was cancelled after two seasons, so it's perfect for a weekend marathon.

16) Carnival Row

Starring Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne, this dark series tells the story of what happens after the homelands of mythological immigrant creatures are invaded, forcing them to coexist with humans.

17) Sweet Tooth

Based on the comic book series of the same name, Sweet Tooth tells the story of a young human/deer hybrid named Gus as he struggles to find his place in a post-apocalyptic landscape alongside his reluctant protector, Big Man.

18) Good Omens

In the mood for something that'll make you lol? Watch Good Omens , which follows a tightly-wound angel named Aziraphale and a carefree demon named Crowley as they team up to stop the approaching Armageddon. And, while it is a show firmly based in Biblical stories, it's not actually a religious show, so anyone can enjoy it!

19) Brittania

This hiiighly underrated series is set in 43 AD, following the attempts of Aulus Plautius and the Roman Imperial Army to conquer the mythical land of Britannia after Julius Caesar failed. It's like a history lesson with some magic thrown in.

20) The Underground Railroad

Another historical fantasy series, The Underground Railroad (which is based on Colson Whitehead's novel of the same name) imagines an alternate reality where the hidden routes and safe houses that helped African Americans escape slavery in the South was an actual railroad.

21) The Letter for the King

This coming-of-age series revolves around a young wannabe knight as he sets off on a mission across the Great Mountains to deliver a secret letter to the King, and it's a lot more fun than it sounds.

22) Noughts + Crosses

Set in a parallel universe where white people (Noughts) are the oppressed and Black people (Crosses) are the dominant majority, Noughts + Crosses follows the story of two star-crossed lovers in the midst of a growing rebellion.

23) His Dark Materials

Based on Philip Pullman's epic trilogy, His Dark Materials tells the story of a young woman from another world who—while attempting to find her missing friend—uncovers a series of mysterious and possibly sinister kidnappings. The show ended after three satisfying seasons.

24) American Gods

Okay, yes, this fan fave series (which takes place in a hidden America where magic is real and a battle is waging between the Old Gods and the New) was technically canceled by Starz after season 3 in 2021, but a legion of die hard fans—including people who worked on the project—are still trying to bring it back.

25) A Discovery of Witches

What happens when a young scholar (who also happens to be the descendent of witches) unearths a long-lost alchemical manuscript in Oxford's library? She gets caught in an ancient war between vampires and witches, obvs.

26) Invisible City

This Brazilian fantasy series revolves around a detective who—while investigating a murder—stumbles upon a world inhabited by mythical entities typically invisible to humans.

27) Schmigadoon!

This super-fun series (which follows a couple as they stumble upon a magical town trapped in an old-timey musical) may be *officially* considered more "musical-comedy" than "fantasy" series, but it still counts. Honestly, it's worth watching for the stacked cast alone.

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Netflix in 2024: the 9 most unmissable shows so far and what’s coming next

The finest shows so far – and the ones that are coming

When you're the biggest streaming company in the world and make as many new Netflix movies and shows as it does, there's bound to be a few misfires – and this year has seen its fair share already, including J-Lo-in-space AI thriller Atlas , which has been inexplicably popular despite terrible reviews, and Zach Snyder's Rebel Moon Part 2 , which was not the epic sci-fi sequel we were hoping for.

Suffice to say, there haven't been that many new entries in our best Netflix movies guide, but when it comes to TV shows, Netflix has been delivering winner after winner this year in pretty much every genre: we've had swooning rom-coms, terrifying tales of obsession, quirky fantasy and some brain-melting sci-fi too – all of which have earned a place on our best Netflix shows list.  

As we hit the mid-point of 2024, the good news is that there's plenty more where that came from. Later this year, we'll see the final seasons of some of our very favorite shows as well as the debuts of some series we think are worth getting excited about. And we'll also see the return of the biggest show Netflix has ever produced – although as yet we don't know exactly when.

These are the shows we think have been among Netflix's biggest and best this year, and the shows we think you'll be talking about for the rest of the year.

Netflix in 2024: what have been this year's biggest shows?

If by "biggest" we mean "most talked about", then the biggest Netflix show of the year so far has been Baby Reindeer . It's a tale of a suffocating, life-wrecking obsession that begins by saying it's a true story – and that's turned out to be a problem, because Netflix is currently being sued for defamation to the tune of $170 million by Fiona Harvey, of whom the show's key character Martha appears to have been based.

For many viewers, the must-see shows this year have been romantic ones: season 3 of Bridgerton has been an absolute joy, while One Day very successfully turned David Nicholl's best-selling novel into 14 episodes of romantic comedy.

If you prefer darker shows, it doesn't get much darker than Ripley . The neo-noir crime thriller, which arrived in April, is a tale of a 1960s New Yorker pulled into a life of deceit and murder. It got some great reviews – The Guardian called it "spellbinding" – and was watched by millions, although its 2.5 million first-week views were low by Netflix standards. 

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The quirky, Benedict Cumberbatch-starring psychological thriller Eric did much better, rocketing to the top of Netflix's charts in its very first week.

It's been a good year for fantasy fans, too. Neil Gaiman's Dead Boy Detectives has been a lot of fun with its tale of ghostly investigations, and 3 Body Problem is a largely effective adaptation of the brain-melting sci-fi books by Liu Cixin. 

But for many viewers the stand-out sci-fi show of the year so far is the animated Scavengers Reign , axed by Max and brought to Netflix last month. It's currently that rare thing, a show with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 100% ratings might be rare, but Netflix has another one for Chicken Nugget , the truly bizarre show about a young woman who gets turned into – yes! – a chicken nugget. 

Of course, it wouldn't be Netflix without a few loved shows getting canned. And so far this year one of the saddest cancelations is The Brothers Sun , featuring Michelle Yeoh in an action comedy. Despite great reviews Netflix pulled the plug after just one season, so that particular Sun isn't going to shine again this year.

Netflix in 2024: what new Netflix shows are coming next?

One of the most talked-about shows of the coming months is likely to be the fourth and final season of The Umbrella Academy , which will stream from August 8 – just after Cobra Kai season six , another hit show coming to an end this year. That'll be streaming from 18 July. 

Emily In Paris is returning for a fourth season in August, but it will be split into two parts: the first five episodes will be available from August 15 but the second five won't be streaming until September 12. Another returning favorite is Heartstopper , the sensitive coming of age drama centering on teens Charlie and Nick. Heartstopper season three is due in October. 

Dramas won't be the only source of drama in the months to come. The UK version of reality dating show Love Is Blind will hit streaming in August with its very distinctive take on dating: contestants are placed into pods to isolate them from the outside world and they get to know their potential soulmates without knowing what they look like. 

If a match is made, the would-be couple have to get engaged before they actually get to meet in person and find out if love really is blind. The show will be presented by former Big Brother contestant Emma Willis and her husband Matt, formerly of the pop band Busted. 

Netflix is continuing to invest in animation, and one of the most anticipated new shows is Terminator: The Animated Series . Based on the world of the Schwarzenegger movies but telling a whole new story, the anime will be streaming from August 29. And Zack Snyder's Twilight of the Gods , an animated series based on Norse mythology, will arrive the following month in September.

Some shows have yet to get a streaming date other than 2024 such as the Kiera Knightley-starring spy drama Black Doves , which could be as much fun as Apple TV Plus' Slow Horses . Knightley is joined by Happy Valley's Sarah Lancashire, Bond actor Ben Whishaw and Peaky Blinders ' Andrew Koji in a tale of secrets, skullduggery and a vast global conspiracy. And that's all we know so far: there isn't even a trailer yet, just a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in Netflix's 2024 preview trailer.

And there's one more big show without a streaming date just yet: Squid Game 2 . We're going to go out on a limb here and suggest that a few people might watch that one.

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Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man , is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind .

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