New Netflix Show Is Eerily Similar To 1 Apple TV Sci-Fi – But There’s A Clear Winner On Rotten Tomatoes

Warning! Contains spoilers for The Signal and Constellation.

A new Netflix sci-fi show shares many narrative threads with an Apple TV series, but as their Rotten Tomatoes scores suggest, one is clearly better than the other. In recent years, Apple TV has seemingly dominated the sci-fi genre by constantly churning out innovative and highly ambitious science-fiction dramas. From dystopian book adaptations like Silo to alternate-history space operas like For All Mankind, Apple TV’s vast sci-fi roster seems to have something for everyone.

However, while Apple TV has been gradually building its science fiction repertoire, Netflix, too, has been secretly catching up by giving several risky but intriguing sci-fi projects a chance. For instance, Game of Thrones creators’ new sci-fi show, 3 Body Problem, is one of Netflix’s most ambitious projects to date. Another recent German Netflix sci-fi series has also been gaining traction for its exploration of some interesting sci-fi concepts. Strangely, this Netflix series seems to have a lot in common with a high-concept Apple TV sci-fi show.

Narrative Parallels Between Apple TV’s Constellation & Netflix’s The Signal Explained

While their central ideas are different, Constellation and The Signal have many similar sub-plots and character beats

Despite being distinct shows from two different streaming platforms, Apple TV’s Constellation and Netflix’s The Signal are strangely very similar. Both feature a narrative arc where a woman travels to space while leaving her young daughter behind. In both shows, the female leads, Paula and Jo, leave for space and experience some strange events on the International Space Station that make them question the nature of their reality. Upon returning home to Earth from the space mission, the characters from both shows are declared mentally ill after they reveal what they saw up there.

Thematically, the two shows are distinct because while Constellation revolves more around quantum mechanics and parallel universes, The Signal focuses on extraterrestrial life and UFOs. However, even when it comes to certain subplots and character beats in the two original series, it is hard not to notice some clear parallels. For instance, both shows feature an older character who records the sound of eerie outer space events on cassette tapes to prove their existence. What is even more surprising is that another relatively obscure but equally captivating miniseries focuses on similar plot lines.

2022’s Infiniti Was Also Surprisingly Similar To Constellation & The Signal

Another show that combines outer space travel with alternate universe travel

Like Apple TV’s Constellation and Netflix’s The Signal, a 2022 miniseries, Infiniti, also uses the International Space Station as a primary setting for one of its main storylines. Like the Apple TV series, the 2022 show also presents a paradoxical mystery where an American astronaut’s body is found on a roof in Kazakhstan, but he is found to be alive and well on the ISS. These story intersections between Constellation, The Signal, and Infiniti highlight that the outer space and parallel universe subgenres in sci-fi television are going through significant shifts and evolutions.

There was a time when outer space and parallel universe narratives were not usually intermixed. However, since both subgenres have consistently been explored by filmmakers and showrunners, limiting the number of stories that can be churned out by solely using them as the core concept, a new subgenre that infuses the two is starting to emerge. Despite all these story convergences between the three shows, however, one of them is relatively superior because of how it handles its exploration of space and inter-universe travel.

Constellation & The Signal – How Do The 2 Sci-Fi Shows Compare?

Constellation is the clear winner

When it comes to Rotten Tomatoes scores, Constellation is evidently the superior show, with a critics’ rating of 71% and an audience rating of 78% (via RT). Unlike Constellation, which has received positive reviews from most viewers, The Signal seems to have gotten a more negative response, with an audience score of 35% on Rotten Tomatoes (via RT). Constellation has critially succeeded because it dares to be different. While its narrative is primarily driven by its exploration of parallel universes, which is one of the most common modern sci-fi tropes, it merges it with complex quantum mechanics concepts.

In its eight-episode runtime, Constellation uses everything from quantum superposition to the interference effect as plot devices to keep viewers intrigued. Even though quantum physics can be hard to understand, the Apple TV show does an incredible job at making its complex ideas and science more accessible by sticking to the golden rule of storytelling: “Show, don’t tell.” Like Netflix’s The Signal, Apple TV’s Constellation may have its share of flaws and plot inconsistencies but remains captivating enough through its runtime to keep viewers guessing and hooked.