Top 10 Sci-Fi TV series for Futurists

Published in

Predict

4 min readAug 2, 2023

What is the difference between Science-Fiction (sci-fi) and Speculative Fiction (future fiction)? Can sci-fi always be a good tool in the futurist toolbox?

Allow me to share a few favorite recent TV shows, that I believe are both excellent sci-fi pieces and futures thinking objects! I ranked my top 10 along three criteria:

Worldbuilding: creation of a universe, rules, roles, rites, artifacts, image quality;
Storytelling: capacity to develop a plot, solid characters, dramatic effects, and to generate empathy;
Futures Thinking: presentation of a credible scenario, based on signals of the futures, introduction of plausible artifacts, ability to evoke reactions and provoke into action towards the future.

Let’s discover my “best of TV series for futurists” in countdown.

10. Hello Tomorrow

In a retro-futuristic world, charismatic salesman Jack Billings leads a team of fellow sales associates determined to revitalize their customers’ lives by hawking timeshares on the moon.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14596212/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Worldbuilding: 4/5
Storytelling: 2/5
Futures Thinking: 2/5

9. Devs

A computer engineer investigates the secretive development division in her company, which she believes is behind the disappearance of her boyfriend.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8134186/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Worldbuilding: 3/5
Storytelling: 3/5
Futures Thinking: 3/5

8. Foundation

A complex saga of humans scattered on planets throughout the galaxy all living under the rule of the Galactic Empire.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804484/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Worldbuilding: 5/5
Storytelling: 2/5
Futures Thinking: 2/5

7. Westworld

At the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, waits a world in which every human appetite can be indulged without consequence.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475784/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Worldbuilding: 4/5
Storytelling: 3/5
Futures Thinking: 3/5

6. Silo

Men and women live in a giant silo underground with several regulations which they believe are in place to protect them from the toxic and ruined world on the surface.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14688458/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Worldbuilding: 4/5
Storytelling: 3/5
Futures Thinking: 3/5

5. Severance

Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11280740/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Worldbuilding: 4/5
Storytelling: 5/5
Futures Thinking: 3/5

4. The Handmaid’s Tale

Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5834204/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Worldbuilding: 5/5
Storytelling: 4/5
Futures Thinking: 4/5

3. Extrapolations

Unanticipated stories of how the upcoming changes to our planet will affect love, faith, work and family on a personal and human scale.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13821126/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Worldbuilding: 5/5
Storytelling: 3/5
Futures Thinking: 5/5

2. Black Mirror

An anthology series exploring a twisted, high-tech multiverse where humanity’s greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2085059/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Worldbuilding: 5/5
Storytelling: 4/5
Futures Thinking: 5/5

1. For All Mankind

In an alternative version of 1969, the Soviet Union beats the United States to the Moon, and the space race continues on for decades with still grander challenges and goals.