I haven’t quite figured out the reason why, but for the last few years, summer has become the moment for new science fiction shows on streaming services. And 2026 isn’t any different — aside from the fact that premiere dates seem to be moving up a little.
This year, the release schedule is nearly as full in the spring as it is in the summer, which should make it easier to check out everything you want to without having storylines overlap in your brain. In fact, a number of these shows are already streaming now: The alternate future of For All Mankind is currently in the midst of its penultimate season, as is the horror mystery box From. But things really kick off toward the end of May. As per usual, Apple TV is heavily represented.
Here’s a handy list of what’s coming so that you can plan accordingly.
Streaming on Netflix on May 21st
Since the end of Stranger Things, the Duffer brothers have stuck around to produce a few series at Netflix. And next up is a show that looks like it could capture some of the same classic sci-fi feeling of the early Stranger Things seasons — albeit with a slightly older cast. The Boroughs is set at a retirement community that also happens to be home to an extraterrestrial mystery. The premise is great, but the cast might be the most exciting part: The show features Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters, and Bill Pullman.
Streaming on Apple TV on May 29th
A lot has happened over the course of the first five seasons of For All Mankind, and while we know the show will wrap up soon, there’s also a spinoff that will take things back to the beginning. In the show’s alternate reality, the Soviet Union is the first country to land an cosmonaut on the Moon, and Star City will show that story from the Soviet perspective. And in a nice bit of synchronicity, the show premieres the same day that season 5 of For All Mankind wraps up.
Image: Apple
Streaming on Apple TV on June 19th
Sugar is an outlier in Apple TV’s lineup in that it’s definitely a sci-fi show, but it’s also a bit of a secret. On the surface it looks like a classic noir-inspired detective story about a private eye named John Sugar (played by Colin Farrell). But thanks to a major twist in season 1 — you can read all about it right here, though, obviously, spoiler warning — it became something much bigger. Season 2 sees John take on a new case “tracking the troubled older brother of an up-and-coming local boxer, though the search for his missing sister continues.
Streaming on Apple TV on July 3rd
If Fallout didn’t satiate your need for postapocalyptic stories, Silo is coming back with its own gritty take on the genre. The show is heading into its third season, and while it started out as a seemingly small mystery, its scope has steadily grown, and the new season will expand things further by detailing what happened in the distant past that destroyed the world. There’s a lot for Silo to wrap up in a small amount of time, as Apple has confirmed the series will end with season 4.
Streaming on HBO Max on August 16th
It may be about spacefaring cops with superpowers, but the initial trailers for Lanterns — which, for the non-comic book fans, is an HBO series about the Green Lantern — make it look like a surprisingly grounded police show. The network says that the show will follow “two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.”
Image: Apple
Streaming on Apple TV on August 28th
Based on the novel of the same name by Blake Crouch, Dark Matter is probably the trippiest entry in Apple TV’s sci-fi lineup. The first season centered on a scientist played by Joel Edgerton who… kidnapped himself, thanks to some multiverse shenanigans. According to the official description, season 2 picks up when things seem like they’re getting back to normal, though obviously they won’t stay that way for long.
