5 Underrated Apple TV Sci-Fi Shows You Have To Watch

Apple TV has easily become the home for top-tier science fiction content. Leaning into the unexpected of the genre, the streamer has created new modern classics, with projects like "Severance," "Pluribus," and "For All Mankind" cementing them as the leading platform for great sci-fi. Notably, they aren't part of popular franchises like "Star Trek" or "Star Wars" — Apple TV is carving out its own niche, which is part of what makes the shows stand out.

While the popular series have solidified what the streamer can do, there are several underrated sci-fi shows that are worthy of just as much attention as the tentpoles. For the most part, they have strong reviews and continue the trend of interesting, mind-bending premises, but they didn't get the same amount of traction. Some of that is rooted in their release period competition, and for others, the timing just didn't work in their favor. If you think you've watched everything amazing Apple TV has to offer, think again, because these underrated sci-fi series should be on your watchlist.

"Calls" is a series that doesn't feature any of its characters on screen. Across nine episodes, the audience listens in to a variety of phone calls, all connected across time and space because the callers are experiencing the same strange phenomenon. As you listen to the calls, abstract visuals made of lines and shapes appear, ebbing and flowing with the conversation.

Not only does the Apple TV show have a stacked voice cast, including Mark Duplass, Aubrey Plaza, Pedro Pascal, and Rosario Dawson, it's truly an intriguing watch. Many may write it off because it's seemingly rooted in an audio format, but the visuals also play a part, even though it isn't the cast you're seeing. It helps reflect the feeling or tone of the call, rapidly changing to best represent each moment while also providing stylized captions. It's clear the team of animators and designers put a significant amount of thought behind their creative decisions, and they won the Emmy for outstanding motion design for their work.

The series boasts a 95% from critics and an 84% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, showing that, while "Calls" flew under the radar during its release in 2021, those who watched it enjoyed the unique project. "This is a show that recognizes that the only thing scarier than not having the words to describe the indescribable is not being able to know just how accurate someone's description might be," Steve Greene wrote for IndieWire.

What happens when the International Space Station is hit by something? That's what "Constellation" explores. Johanna "Jo" Ericsson (Noomi Rapace) is left alone after the other astronauts leave in a working exit vehicle. She has the exact same vehicle, but it's inoperable, so she needs to repair it to get off the ISS. While she eventually makes it back to Earth, there's something off about her life, with now-present holes in her memory.

Apple TV is home to amazing science fiction series, so it's unsurprising that shows about space are part of that docket. "For All Mankind" holds the top spot for that subgenre on the streamer, so "Constellation" didn't get as much attention during its release in 2024. However, it's one you have to watch because it isn't following an astronaut's journey in space. Jo trying to figure out what happened to her life while she was gone is a new playing field. How does her time in space and what they experienced on the ISS play a part? Are the gaps in her memory explainable, or is there something more paranormal or sinister going on?

"Constellation" has a 72% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 62% from audiences. Reviews highlight strong visual effects and effective twists, with Richard Roeper calling the series "a visually stunning, often disturbing and quite chilling psychological thriller" in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times. 

Apple TV's "Dr. Brain" is a Korean science fiction series following Sewon Koh (Lee Sun-kyun), a scientist solving an accident personal to him by using brains. Specifically, the brains of dead people. His intent is to use their memories to find clues that could help lead him to the truth, comparing them to his perfect recollection of the event.

"Dr. Brain" is the first Korean series from Apple TV, and it deserves more attention. While it only received one season, there was the intent for a second, but the lead actor died before filming began. "Squid Game" came out just a few weeks before, and while it helped increase the audience for other Korean shows on Netflix, that didn't extend to other streamers, so "Dr. Brain" was overshadowed and forgotten at the time, especially after Season 2 never came to fruition.

The project has strong reviews, boasting an 85% from critics and a 77% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. It's science fiction, but there's also strong mystery and thriller elements as Sewon tries to figure out both his past and present, and this combination worked well. RogerEbert.com's Brian Tallerico compliments director Kim Jee-woon's work on the series, writing that "Dr. Brain" is a "genre hybrid that's designed to mess with your head."

Aliens land and try to take over the planet in "Invasion." Not inherently a unique premise for a science fiction series, but the Apple TV show focuses on several people around the world, letting audiences see how it's impacting different areas and cultures. The events are shown in real time of the universe, making it feel like you're with the characters as they grapple with the invasion and other issues in their personal lives.

"Invasion" is a great example of a show that gets better with time. The first season has poor ratings, with rotten scores in the 40s from both audiences and critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviews discuss that the pacing just doesn't work. Despite the disappointing reactions, Apple renewed the series for a second season, and then a third. There's a significant jump in the ratings, with critics awarding the second season a 64%, up nearly 20% from Season 1's 48%. The score goes up a bit more with Season 3, with a 67% from critics.

While the poor reception to Season 1 may have discouraged people from starting or continuing the series, "Invasion" is one of the underrated shows on the streamer. It gets overlooked, especially after those initial scores, but it's an interesting approach to a popular story type, which helps set it apart from its peers. With the number of stories it's tackling, there's a character for everyone to connect with.

A man uses his past to solve his nephew's death in "The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey." The titular character, played by Samuel L. Jackson, has dementia and begins getting a new treatment. These enable him to remember more of his past, which gives him clues into who murdered his nephew. As a miniseries, "The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey" is not only a great combination of science fiction and drama, but it's a contained and complete narrative.

You will get to see where Grey's story lands, and what happens with his memories, by the end of the last episode, which is always a plus. The limited series released in 2022, right in the middle of the first season of "Severance," which has gone on to be one of Apple TV's largest projects, so it's unsurprising that the Jackson-led show flew under the radar at the time.

"The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey" boasts incredibly strong reviews, with a 95% from critics and a 94% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Jackson's performance is at the center of the praise, with Richard Roeper saying that the series is "a valuable reminder of Jackson's versatility" in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times. Empire's John Nugent writes that the actor has "rarely been better" in his career.