There are only a handful of completed sci-fi TV shows onHBO Max, but they’re almost all worth watching. Of the fewscience fiction TV shows on HBO Max, only a few of them have wrapped up, whether because their story is all told or because HBO (or another network) decided to cut it short.
Finding a finished sci-fi series is more important than you might initially presume, because the ending of science fiction stories often carries a lot more weight than in other genres. Sci-fi stories often have an element of mystery that needs to be revealed, making these finished sci-fi HBO shows all the more satisfying.
6Doom Patrol (2019-2023)
Based on the DC Comic superhero team of the same name,Doom Patrolis a four-season series that follows the titular group of rebellious, powered-up, reluctant heroes.Doom Patrolfeatures a cast of strange heroesplayed by an impressive ensemble, including Brendan Fraser, Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby, and Timothy Dalton.
The heroes of the Doom Patrol all received their powers through a series of tragic accidents that reset the course of their lives and ostracized them from friends and loved ones. Alone and afraid, they are taken in by doctor Niles Caulder (Dalton), who treats them with respect and helps them learn to protect the world with their powers.
Doom Patrolis a strange show. If the MCU succeeded in accepting the weirdness of its universe, thenDoom Patrolshould be regarded as a masterpiece because nothing is too odd for the series. Along with its delightful weirdness,Doom Patrolis also extremely funny, and has a surprisingly deep well of emotion.
5Fired On Mars (2023)
InFired on Mars, humanity has managed to make it to the Red Planet, and what do they do when they get there? Well, they begin a start-up company, of course, complete with redundant employees, do-nothing managers, and a corporate culture that smiles while they let you know you no longer work there.
Luke Wilson voices Jeff Cooper, a slacker graphic designer who is let go as soon as he arrives and discovers that getting back to Earth will not be easy. So begins a series of efforts by Jeff to find purpose on this remote planet, and also not be thrown into a sleep tank for observational purposes.
Life on Marspaints a picture of humanity’s future that is frustratingly similar to our present, just with more voice-activated doorways and spacesuits. It’s extremely biting and funny, and the bright animation makes the dull workplace a kaleidoscope of interesting details and touches that bring the series to life.
4Years And Years (2019)
The six-part miniseries from the BBC and HBO,Years and Years, takes place over… years and years. This science-fiction dystopian drama follows the members of the Lyons family of London. The start of the series sees their lives converge on a crucial night in 2019, and then jumps forward through 15 years of their lives.
Along with the lives of each member of the Lyons family,Years and Yearsalso stars Emma Thompson as Vivienne Rook, a charismatic and controversial businesswoman and celebrity turned politician. Her election as Prime Minister results in political and economic turmoil to match the rest of the world.
It’s a remarkably prescient series, with several events in the series coming true.Years and Yearsis funny, and often sweet, but what it says about the direction of the world is alarming, even more so because it is now 2025 and some of the fears of the series are occurring in one way or another in our own timeline.
3Watchmen (2019)
Damon Lindelof’sWatchmenis one of thebest miniseries to be found on HBO. A sequel to Alan Moore’s comic book of the same name, and taking some lingering threads from Zack Snyder’s 2009 film,Watchmenthe series is a masterpiece of superhero storytelling and a perfect union of creator and themes.
The series is set 34 years after the events of the comics, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.Watchmenfollows detective Angela Abar (Regina King), a Tulsa police officer who dresses in a mask and calls herself “Sister Night”, which is official policy after an attack by a white supremacist group on the city’s police force.
Watchmenis a special sort of series, filled with humor, clever writing, a wickedly smart plot that wraps up just about every question it poses, and also moves you in ways you might not expect. There’s an incredible amount of emotion expressed beneath masks and face paint, and the most inhuman characters are given personality.
2Scavengers Reign (2023)
There aren’t many shows likeScavengers Reign. This is a sci-fi series for people who have seen it all. There’s a level of visual and biological creativity to this adult animated series that maybe hasn’t been seen since something like Frank Herbert’sDune. It’s a show that needs to be seen to be believed.
At some point in the far future, an interstellar cargo ship, theDemeter 227, is damaged and ejects its survivors onto the unmapped planet of Vesta. There, flora and fauna have adapted to their surroundings in ways completely unrelated to how our own world works. It’s dangerous, but it’s also beautiful.
As the few survivors venture through Vesta, they encounter entire ecosystems they have no words for that are beautifully animated and illustrated.The end ofScavengers Reignis of particular note, bringing together themes of survival, guilt, and the beauty of all life in a satisfying and moving fashion.
Station Elevengets a post-apocalyptic event dystopiaright in a way that few other sci-fi TV shows do. InStation Eleven, a pandemic-level event and the chaos afterward wiped out most of humanity. 20 years later, the survivors have settled into a sort of feudal-like way of life.
It’s certainly no safe haven, but as far as dystopias go, it could be a lot worse. In fact, there’s even enough peace and downtime for a traveling caravan of actors to make a living performing Shakespeare plays for all the major towns in what was once a section of the United States.
Station Elevenis a beautiful sci-fi miniseries and one of the best TV showsHBO Maxhas ever produced. This insightful and thematically rich kind of sci-fi is as important to the genre as anything that includes spaceships and energy guns. It’s about how, even in an unknowable future, we can rely on a shared past to guide us.
