Sci-fi seems to be undergoing a bit of a renaissance at the moment. We had a bunch of fantastic shows, movies, and games last year, and that train is showing no signs of slowing down in 2026. Don't believe me? Check out our roundup of the upcoming sci-fi TV shows for 2026, and see what I mean.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was the headline act for January, and while the Hogwarts in space premise left a lot of Trekkies feeling apprehensive, we'll be damned if the show isn't starting to hit its stride. Looking forward, things are about to get very smashy, with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Invincible, and The Boys all getting new seasons over the next month or so.
Further on the horizon, there are a bunch of exciting shows with nebulous "TBA 2026" release dates that we're keeping a close eye on too (most of them coming from Apple TV, which has sneakily become the home of amazing sci-fi).
Oh, and we haven't forgotten the silver screen; check out our upcoming sci-fi movies for 2026 for the theatrical releases, too. Right, now let's dive in — here are all the upcoming sci-fi TV shows you need to be excited for in 2026.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy — January 15, 2026
Release date: January 15, 2026 | Cast: Holly Hunter, Bella Shepard, Karim Diane, George Hawkins | Where to watch: Apple TV
Set in the 32nd century, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a Star Trek: Discovery spin-off that follows the first new class of Starfleet cadets in over a century. The cadets are training to be officers after ‘The Burn’, a cataclysmic event that caused the near-collapse of the United Federation of Planets.
In a similar way that Alien: Earth skewed the franchise’s focus to young adults, Starfleet looks set to do the same as the cadets navigate life in the academy, as well as their own personal turmoils.
The show debuted on January 15 and is still currently running its weekly release schedule, with the finale due to land on March 12.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Season 2) — Feb 27, 2026
Release date: February 27, 2026 | Cast: Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Kurt Russel | Where to watch: Apple TV
Legendary Entertainment's shockingly entertaining MonsterVerse continues with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters S2, which promises the return of everyone's favorite kaiju, Godzilla, along with a bunch of other recognisable titans.
Season one saw siblings Cate (Anna Sawai) and Kentaro Randa (Ren Watabe) learning about their father's connection to the eponymous organization Monarch. In season 2, the duo has more secrets to uncover, and we have more epic monster battles to watch.
Invincible (Season 4) — March 18, 2026
Release date: March 18, 2026 | Cast: Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, J. K. Simmons | Where to watch: Prime Video
Invincible returns for a fourth outing in March, bringing his unique combat strategy of *checks notes* getting his ass kicked.
The ridiculously tough Mark Grayson ventured a bit too close to the dark side in season 3, so it'll be interesting to see if he reins that in or embraces the brutality of his father, Omni-Man.
According to "Invincible" co-creator Robert Kirkman, Mark is set to undergo a major transition. Oh, he's such a tease, but we won't have long to wait to find out, as the new season drops in March.
For All Mankind S5 — March 27, 2026
March also has some alternative history fun in store for us as For All Mankind returns to our screens for its fifth season.
Set in a "what-if" world where the Soviet Union beat the US to the Moon, the show started off as an interesting alt-history drama and has since spiralled into one of the most compelling sci-fi stories out there. Humanity now has a joint Mars base (keep up, Elon), and the former international foes are now working together... mostly.
Now it looks like tensions between Earth and the fledgling Martian colony will be at the center of season 5. We can't wait for this one to drop, and now Artemis 2 has been delayed yet again, it's going to be the best way to get your spacewalking fix in March.
The Boys (Season 5) — April 8, 2026
Release date: April 8, 2026 | Cast: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Anthony Starr, Erin Moriarty | Where to watch: Prime Video
We've had one brutal superhero show on Amazon Prime, yes, but what about second brutal superhero show?
The blood feud between Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and Homelander (Antony Starr) will finally come to an end in season 5 of The Boys. Vought is toast, the good guys have been captured, and Homelander is effectively the ruler of the United States. It's not looking good for team Starlight.
It's been a wild ride filled with violence, gore, explosions, milk, and people climbing inside each other, but it all comes to a head on April 8. Butcher and Homelander promised us scorched earth, and we believe them.
Daredevil: Born Again (Season 2) — March 24, 2026
Release date: March 24, 2026 | Cast: Charlie Cox, Margarita Levieva, Vincent D’Onofrio | Where to watch: Disney+
We're pushing the sci-fi definition with this one, but Daredevil was Spider-Man's lawyer, and he went to space, so it counts. Also, Daredevil rules.
Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) is a blind lawyer looking to fight justice through his work. But with heightened senses from radioactive exposure (and a lot of martial arts training), he also serves violent street justice as his alter ego, Daredevil. Disney’s Daredevil: Born Again returns for season 2 in March, just 12 months after the original season premiered.
Daredevil originally ran for three seasons on Netflix from 2015-2018, and has been given new life in the Disney MCU in this revival that carries on his tale (hence the Born Again moniker). It’s also a subtitle of one of the Daredevil comic books, but the show isn't actually adapted from the story.
In season 1, Daredevil continued his favorite pastime of fighting ex-mob boss turned mayor of New York City, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). But Fisk is not easily defeated, so Daredevil will be back in season 2, gathering allies to take him down. There was a trailer shown to attendees of New York Comic Con that hasn't been officially released to the general public yet, but we're expecting it any day now.
Spider-Noir — May 25, 2026
Release date: May 25, 2026 | Cast: Nicolas Cage, Brendan Gleeson, Li Jun Li, Jack Hutson | Where to watch: MGM+ / Amazon Prime Video
The MCU is well-versed in the multiverse, and your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is one Marvel character that delicately straddles alternate timelines and realities. If you’ve seen the animated Spider-Verse, you’ll have already met Spider-Noir, a character in keeping with his name as a black-and-white Spidey, but now he's getting his own live-action show on Prime Video.
In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Nicolas Cage voiced Noir, and he’ll be reprising that role, in person, in his very own spin-off. Not much is known about the plot beyond the synopsis; Spider-Noir is an aging and struggling private investigator who reminisces about his vigilantism as the only superhero in 1930s New York City.
With that said, if the pitch is Cage as a brooding Spider-Man with a Sin City-esque backdrop, then you can sign me up. The show will strangely debut on MGM+ before landing on Amazon Prime Video a few days later.
3 Body Problem (Season 2) — TBA 2026
Release date: TBA, 2026 | Cast: Jovan Adepo, Eiza Gonazález, Jess Hong, Benedict Wong | Where to watch: Netflix
This thrilling sci-fi series, adapted from the trilogy book series by Cixin Liu, really made its mark on Netflix’s original content slate when it premiered in 2024. And, with a trilogy of books as source material, it’s no surprise that 3 Body Problem is coming back for season 2. Heading into production in July, it’s been reported that season 2 will also be shot back-to-back with the third and final season, so there’s plenty more to come.
Season 1 saw the San-Ti, an advanced extraterrestrial civilization, enacting their plans to colonise the Earth to escape their own unstable homeworld (which is caught in a trinary solar system). While their threat seemed imminent, as it turns out, the invasion fleet is actually 400 years away. But that hasn’t stopped our protagonists, the "Oxford Five," from preparing Earth to defend itself.
If you loved season 1, the show’s co-creators told Tudum: “The tone really changes once you get to the second season. It’s much bigger. Things get wilder, the conflicts get more cosmic.” There is no trailer for season 2 yet, but we'll keep you posted.
Blade Runner 2099 — TBA 2026
Release date: TBA, 2026 | Cast: Hunter Schafer, Michelle Yeoh | Where to watch: Netflix
A live-action sequel TV series to Blade Runner 2049 is coming to Amazon Prime, set 50 years after the movie, and aptly named Blade Runner 2099. In keeping with the rest of the franchise, the show will continue to follow the concept of the "blade runners" — humans who hunt bioengineered humanoids called "replicants".
Not much is known about the plot other than that, but Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) has been confirmed to play a replicant called Olwen, and Hunter Schafer (Euphoria) will co-star, although her character details have also been kept under wraps.
It’s definitely on the way, though, as filming for the six-episode mini-series wrapped in December 2024. We're excited to see more on this one later in 2026.
Lanterns — TBA 2026
Release date: TBA 2026 | Cast: Aaron Pierre, Kyle Chandler, Kelly Macdonald, Nathan Fillion | Where to watch: HBO Max
Some superheroes wear capes, and some… suffer from strained attempts at making it onto the big/small screens.
Green Lantern doesn’t have the best history when it comes to on-screen adaptations, but that hasn’t put the DCU off giving it another go. This time, though, while Green Lantern has usually appeared as a one-off member of the Green Lantern Corps, this time, we’re getting two.
Both Hal Jordan, the experienced Lantern of the pair, and John Stewart, the new recruit, are investigating a murder in Nebraska that leads them on the path of a much darker and sinister mystery. James Gunn has described it as similar to True Detective, but this time with space cops. I don’t know about you, but I really like the sound of that.
Neuromancer — TBA 2026
Release date: TBA 2026 | Cast: Callum Turner, Briana Middleton, Mark Strong, Peter Sarsgaard | Where to watch: Apple TV
Another epic, multi-award-winning sci-fi novel turning into a TV show is William Gibson's Neuromancer. The story follows Case, a washed-up but excellent hacker, who is hired to complete one last job. While Neuromancer has seen adaptations into a graphic novel, an '80s video game, and even an opera, Apple TV is finally bringing it to the small screen with a 10-episode run.
We won’t spoil the plot of the book, but Case’s investigation sees him clashing with a powerful AI, high-stakes crime, and a web of digital espionage alongside his partner/assassin, Molly.
Callum Turner (Masters of the Air) has been signed up as Case, and Briana Middleton as Molly, alongside other big casting announcements, including Mark Strong and Peter Sarsgaard.
Silo (Season 3) — TBA 2026
Release date: TBA 2026 | Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Robert Sims, Tim Robbins, Harriet Walker | Where to watch: Apple TV
Sci-fi thriller Silo is based on Hugh Howey’s dystopian trilogy of novels, depicting a world where the last people on Earth live in a silo, hidden underground and away from the harmful substances of the Earth’s surface. Sort of like a grittier, more serious version of Fallout.
While most of the silo residents are happy to adhere to the rules, others begin to ponder what’s really being hidden from them. In pursuit of the truth, Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson), a silo engineer, embarks on a mission to uncover the truth, no matter how deadly it is. Season 2 concluded with Juliette returning back to her home Silo, only to get caught in a tense confrontation with Holland (Tim Robbins), which results in them both getting trapped in a burning airlock. Certainly a hot cliffhanger to finish on.
We also got a sneaky tease in the form of a flashback sequence, showing a man and woman discussing a dirty bomb attack. This was our first glimpse into the world before the apocalypse, and we're expecting to see more of this for season 3.
Star City — TBA 2026
Release date: TBA 2026 | Cast: Rhys Ifans, Anna Maxwell Martin, Solly McLeod | Where to watch: Apple TV
Sci-fi mystery thriller For All Mankind has delighted fans with its tales of an alternative world. A world where the Soviet Union beat the US to the Moon, and the space race continues down the road of "what if," and ultimately, the repercussions of this twisted reality. While the show has been renewed for a fifth season, a spin-off series, Star City, has also been announced.
For Star City, the show will tell the stories of the cosmonauts, engineers, and intelligence officers serving in the Soviet space program at the home of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.
In an official announcement, showrunners Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert said, "The more we learned about this secret city in the forests outside Moscow where the Soviet cosmonauts and engineers worked and lived, the more we wanted to tell this story of the other side of the space race."
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Season 4) — TBA 2026
Release date: TBA 2026 | Cast: Anson Mount, Christina Chong, Ethan Peck, Melissa Navia | Where to watch: Paramount+
The prequel series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, follows Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and his crew on the USS Enterprise, and while season 3 only finished in September with an explosive finale, you’ll be pleased to know that season 4 has already wrapped production. Oh, and the show has already been renewed for a fifth and final season, too.
No stranger to unusual episodes, like the crossover animated episode with 'Lower Decks,' we’ve already seen a teaser for the new season, and it features Captain Pike as a puppet. How he turns into a puppet, that’s yet to be revealed.
We also got a first look at a clip of a more conventional episode at New York Comic Con. Season 4 will bring another ten episodes to look forward to as we approach the show's final frontier.
Vision Quest — TBA 2026
Release date: TBA 2026 | Cast: Paul Bettany, James Spader, Emily Hampshire, T’Nia Miller | Where to watch: Netflix
After the success of WandaVision and its rather open-to-interpretation ending, Marvel’s Vision is finally getting his own spin-off show. Whether we’ll see Wanda return as part of this next chapter, there’s been no word yet.
While Vision died in Avengers: Infinity War, the Wandavision show brought him back to life… twice… kinda. It's complicated, but the show ends with the antagonistic ‘White Vision’ regaining his memories before flying off to parts unknown.
James Spader and T'Nia Miller have been cast as Ultron and Jocasta, respectively, giving a little hint at where the Vision Quest plot may take us. And there’s huge potential for Vision to find his very own narrative, isolated for the first time for his own spin-off. Fans at New York Comic Con got an exclusive sneak peek at the show's first trailer, but the rest of us are still waiting.
