With Star Trek: Discovery coming to an end, it will be a long wait before another live-action Star Trek series is available to stream, but there are several great science fiction shows available to watch in the meantime. As one of the longest-running science fiction franchises, Star Trek currently includes 11 television series and 13 movies, with multiple new projects in the works. Not only did Star Trek: The Original Series spawn a mega-franchise, but it also inspired countless other films and television shows that came after.

While the wait for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 or the premiere of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy may seem long, there are plenty of other compelling sci-fi shows out there. While space operas like The Expanse capture the space exploration aspects of Star Trek, procedural dramas like The X-Files have a case-of-the-week structure similar to a lot of early Trek. For viewers who have already watched every available Star Trek story, here are seven other science fiction shows worth checking out.

7

The X-Files

All 11 seasons streaming on Hulu & Disney+

Following FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), The X-Files takes place in a version of our world where aliens and other paranormal creatures exist. Throughout the series, Mulder and Scully travel across the country investigating strange cases, while also working to uncover a massive government conspiracy. One of television’s best will-they-won’t-they couples, Mulder and Scully’s relationship alone makes The X-Files worth watching.

Considering The X-Files aired throughout the 1990s alongside multiple Star Trek shows, it’s no surprise that the shows are similarly structured. Like the Star Trek: The Next Generation-era shows, The X-Files is mostly comprised of episodic, standalone stories, with the occasional two-parter and a loose overarching storyline. With its numerous close encounters, alien coverups, and bizarre creatures, The X-Files has plenty for Star Trek fans to love.

6

Fringe

All 5 seasons streaming on Max

A spiritual successor to The X-Files, Fringe follows FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) and her task force as they investigate cases relating to fringe science. Brilliant and eccentric scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his son Peter (Joshua Jackson) work alongside Olivia after she recruits them to her team. Although Fringe begins with case-of-the-week stories involving strange phenomena, the show later explores a more serialized story involving parallel universes.

Fringe’s most significant Star Trek connection is Leonard Nimoy himself, who portrays Dr. William Bell, the former lab partner of Walter Bishop and the founder of Massive Dynamic. A shady research corporation, Massive Dynamic ends up connected to many of the cases investigated by the Fringe team. While Fringe may not feature space travel, Star Trek is no stranger to parallel universes and weird science.

5

Farscape

All 4 seasons streaming on Peacock

Produced by The Jim Henson Company, Farscape tells the story of astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder), who accidentally flies into a wormhole that sends him to a distant part of the galaxy. Crichton ends up on a sentient ship named Moya, with a ragtag group of escaped prisoners who are running from the brutal and militaristic Peacekeepers. As he searches for a way home, Crichton befriends his fellow crewmembers and makes his fair share of enemies.

Along with runaway Peacekeeper pilot, Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), Crichton and his crew do their best to evade the Peacekeepers, often finding themselves in absurd situations. Thanks to animatronic puppets from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, as well as make-up and prosthetics, Farscape’s creatures look truly alien. After Farscape’s abrupt cancelation at the end of season 4, a three-hour miniseries called Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars wrapped up the series.

4

12 Monkeys

All 4 seasons streaming on Hulu

Created by Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas, 12 Monkeys offers a unique take on time travel and post-apocalyptic stories. When scavenger James Cole (Aaron Stanford) is brought into Project Splinter, he must travel back in time to prevent a devastating plague. Things don’t quite go as planned, which results in numerous trips through time and a complicated search for a mysterious group known as the Army of the 12 Monkeys.

With its compelling characters (Todd Stashwick’s Theodore Deacon and Emily Hampshire’s Jennifer Goines are particular standouts) and twisty storylines, 12 Monkeys is an incredibly fun show that comes to a satisfying conclusion at the end of its four seasons. Although the first season of 12 Monkeys received mixed reviews, the show hit its stride in season 2 and didn’t let up until the end.

3

The Expanse

All 6 seasons streaming on Amazon Prime

For those who enjoy Star Trek’s intergalactic politics, The Expanse tells a complex, often dark story of ruthless leaders and competing factions. When James Holden (Steven Strait) and his makeshift crew aboard the Rocinante become embroiled in a massive conspiracy, they fight to uncover the truth. Over six seasons, The Expanse grows in scope as war looms between Earth and Mars and alien technology complicates matters.

Based on the series of novels by James S.A. Corey, The Expanse is incredibly intelligent sci-fi with a cast of bold, realistic characters. Although The Expanse was canceled after three seasons on Syfy, it was picked up by Amazon Prime for three more seasons. The Expanse ended with season 6, without adapting the last three books in the series, leaving several storylines unresolved.

2

Stargate SG-1 / Stargate: Atlantis

All 10 seasons of SG-1 & 5 seasons of Atlantis streaming on Amazon Prime

• 

  Stargate SG-1

  Cast

  amanda tapping
  , Richard Dean Anderson
  , Michael Shanks

  Release Date

  
  July 27, 1997
  

  Seasons

  10

  Streaming Service(s)

  Prime Video

  Showrunner

  Brad Wright

• 

  Stargate Atlantis

  Cast

  Chuck Campbell
  , David Hewlett
  , David Nykl
  , Rachel Luttrell
  , Paul McGillion
  , Joe Flanigan
  , Jason Momoa
  , Torri Higginson

  Release Date

  
  July 16, 2004
  

  Seasons

  5

  Streaming Service(s)

  Hulu
  , Prime Video
  , Apple TV+

  Showrunner

  Brad Wright

With three films and three television series, the Stargate franchise has many similarities to Star Trek. Beginning with the 1994 film, the franchise follows an Air Force special operations team as they investigate various planets by traveling through an alien portal known as a Stargate. Stargate SG-1 has the most in common with Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation, as Colonel Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) leads his team to explore strange planets and keep Earth safe.

The first spin-off of SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, takes after Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. When Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) discovers the lost alien city of Atlantis in the distant Pegasus Galaxy, Stargate Command sends a team to investigate. Major John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) and his military team spend the next five seasons exploring planets in the Pegasus Galaxy and fighting off the dangerous Wraith.

1

Battlestar Galactica

All 4 seasons streaming on Amazon Prime

Widely regarded as one of the best sci-fi television shows of all time, 2004’s Battlestar Galactica follows the last remnants of a human civilization as they search for a new home after a devastating attack. With a fleet of ships led by the Battlestar Galactica, Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos) and President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) do their best to hold humanity’s survivors together.

As the orchestrators of the attack, the Cylons continue to plague the survivors, as sentient robots indistinguishable from humans infiltrate the fleet. Developed by Ronald D. Moore (who worked on Star Trek: TNG, DS9, and Voyager), Battlestar Galactica offers a gritty and realistic take on science fiction, without any of the colorful aliens or technobabble Star Trek is known for. Still, both franchises have left their mark on popular culture and established themselves as science fiction classics.

Every live-action Star Trek show is available to stream on Paramount+.