5 Must-Watch Netflix Sci-Fi Shows You Can Binge In A Few Days

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Binge-watching content is one of the best things to come about with the proliferation of streaming services like Netflix. Rather than waiting, like in the old days, for shows to "air" one episode at a time on a weekly basis (at least in most cases), we can finally consume entire seasons and runs in one fell swoop. The thing is, not every show lends itself well to binging every episode back-to-back. Committing to one show for upwards of 10 seasons can be a big ask. Binge watching is much more palatable when done in smaller chunks spread out over a few days, with a clear ending in sight.

Of course, digging up the best shows that suit binging best can be challenging, especially if you are unfamiliar with the shows, the length of their constituent episodes, or how many seasons are offered. This is why we've done the hard work for you, uncovering some of the top sci-fi shows on Netflix that lend themselves well to binge-watching. By carefully considering professional and user reviews, along with season counts and episode length, these are five must-watch Netflix sci-fi shows you can binge in only a few days.

Remake fatigue is certainly a thing. It often feels like Hollywood is out of ideas, as studios continually regurgitate the same plotlines. This is perhaps why remakes often get a bad rap, sometimes perceived as being a pale imitation of a better-told original. This is not the case for Netflix sci-fi exclusive "Lost in Space." While it is something of a reboot, it follows only a few beats from the original 1965 show, such as including an evil doctor and a giant robot. This time around, things are much more serious, with acting and story quality that suit the many dire situations the Robinsons are often thrust into.

As far as the acting goes, Parker Posey is an absolute standout as the evil Dr. Smith, but rest assured, the rest of the cast — including the children — hold their own. This makes for a solid adventure that focuses on family dynamics through character exploration. The solid pacing, where new story arcs rarely outlast their welcome, also aids the series.

Each episode averages 50-60 minutes, similar to the original show, just without all the campiness. There are three seasons in total, with the first two offering 10 episodes and the third and final season offering eight. That averages out to a little under 28 hours of TV, and if you binge that at four episodes a day, you'll finish in a week. Bump that up to six episodes a day, and you'll be done in four days, proving "Lost in Space" a top choice for binge-watching.

If "Lost in Space" isn't your bag, perhaps you'll enjoy the sci-fi comedy drama of "Resident Alien," based on the Dark Horse comic series. For a TV show that started on the SyFy network in 2021, all four seasons are now available on Netflix — and let's be clear, the show is an absolute hidden gem that offers an enticing blend of dark humor with a science fiction twist.

Alan Tudyk (of "Firefly" fame) is the star of the show, and he steals just about every scene as a goofball alien trapped on Earth: a classic fish-out-of-water story. Better yet, the supporting cast all have their own troubles and faults that get explored as each season progresses, breathing life into what would normally be a fairly basic premise (remember "Alf"?). The characters and their problems feel real, which keeps the story engaging because you care about what happens to them.

While the show is now over, without any new episodes planned (though there are rumors of a revival), there's a total of four seasons to watch. Each episode averages 45-60 minutes. The first season offers 10 episodes, the second 16, and the last two contain eight episodes each. That's a total of 42 episodes, or a little over 35 hours of binge-watching. Should you watch six episodes a day, you'll be done in a full week.

If you're a die-hard sci-fi fan who demands complex fictive themes all wrapped up in the legitimacy of real physics, then "3 Body Problem" might be right up your alley. The show, run by producers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff of "Game of Thrones" fame, is an adaptation of the Chinese book series Remembrance of Earth's Past. While the show deviates from the books by changing characters and locations to expand the story beyond China, the writing remains a strong point, with strong performances by Benedict Wong and Rosalind Chao.

The story is a complex one, following many characters and spanning decades, but it's arguably much more digestible than the books. The plot: It's discovered that aliens are real (and a threat), eventually resulting in humanity splitting into factions as it prepares to deal with said threat. All the while, the story leans on real scientific problems for a true air of legitimacy that goes deeper than your typical sci-fi fare. The books are considered hard sci-fi, and so is the show. At the end of the day, complexity helps the story shine, though the overall pacing does take a hit.

So far, "3 Body Problem" offers a single season of eight episodes, each averaging 44-63 minutes apiece. While you can rest assured that more episodes are headed your way as Season 2 and 3 are filmed back-to-back, sitting down to binge-watch the first season is fairly easy. It'll only take you two days to run through all eight episodes if you binge-watch four each day.

If you're a fan of The Animatrix and its short story sci-fi anime format, then you'll likely enjoy the similar style of "Love, Death & Robots." Unlike "The Animatrix" and its short-form stories, overseen by The Wachowskis, "Love, Death & Robots" was created by Tim Miller (director of Deadpool) and produced by David Fincher (director of Fight Club).

Each episode features a different animation team, ensuring every episode offers a unique look. The plotlines work similarly, with shifting writers attached to each episode — thematically jumping from humor to drama to mind-bending, depending on which episode you watch. In other words, "Love, Death & Robots" is a roller coaster that's constantly changing speed, so even if one episode doesn't intrigue, the next very well could. Watching the show is basically a journey, and it's one worth taking if you're a fan of speculative fiction.

In total, there are four seasons of "Love, Death & Robots," and that may be it since Netflix has yet to renew the show for a fifth season. While Season 1 offers a whopping 18 episodes, Season 2 drastically cuts this to eight. The third season offers nine episodes, with Season 4 being comprised of 10. The good news is that these 55 episodes last only 6-20 minutes, making them easy to binge. Even if every episode was 20 minutes long, it would only take 18 hours to finish all four seasons, which means you can binge-watch "Love, Death & Robots" over a few days and easily finish.

Similar to "Resident Alien," "The Eternaut" started its life as a comic. Specifically, it started as a serialized comic strip in the late '50s that was eventually collected into a "The Eternaut" graphic novel. Tragically, the writer was literally disappeared by Argentina's military dictatorship in 1977. This bit of backstory vaulted writer Héctor Germán Oesterheld into martyrdom, and may be part of the reason his story is still famous to this day.

Unlike real life, the comic — and more pertinently, the Netflix TV show — revolves around aliens prepping to attack Earth with a deadly snowfall that will kill anyone who touches it. Just like the comic, the show is Argentine-made, which means it's dubbed or subtitled (your choice). Since the show was made on a low budget of $15 million, you may have seen news that generative AI was used to assist with some of its special effects. Despite all of this, if you dig alien invasion stories like "War of the Worlds," then "The Eternaut" should definitely be on your binge-watch list.

"The Eternaut" is a fairly new show, released in 2025, which means there is currently only one season available. Luckily, Netflix has picked it up for a second season, which is filming, so more episodes are on the way. There are only six episodes in Season 1, each averaging 45-60 minutes. This adds up to an average watch time of five to six hours, which makes "The Eternaut" the easiest show to binge-watch in this roundup, as it can be completed in a day or two. If you're looking to take your time, however, perhaps consider winding down with a list of the best Netflix TV shows of 2025.