Science fiction is a genre that seems to be perpetually popular in both film and television, and since the world has entered something of a golden age of television in recent years, it's hard not to notice that the quality of many science fiction shows have rivaled or even surpassed the quality of feature films in both content and production value.

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When it comes to creativity in sci-fi, the sky is truly the limit. But which recent science fiction shows have taken their productions to another level? Namely, which 21st century TV shows are the most visually stunning, appealing, and unique?

Dark

There are two meanings behind the title of Netflix Dark

Streaming platform giant Netflix is home to many of the most innovative and edgy television shows in existence today, so it comes as no surprise that it's German TV series Dark is both visually stunning and intensely creative.

Through it's story the series explores the nature of time itself, and it is both thought provoking and very visually beautiful to watch.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Clone Wars The Final Season Official Poster

Really all of the Star Wars animated series deserve their own accolades for being so pleasing to the eye, but as the first serious foray into Star Wars animated TV shows, The Clone Wars is more than worthy of higher praise simply for being a trailblazer.

Unsurprisingly, the show focuses on the titular Clone Wars, and it offers a much deeper and more complex look into the world that George Lucas first delved into with the prequel trilogy.

Black Mirror

Black Mirror is yet another visually appealing Netflix science fiction series. In this case, the series is an anthology that specifically focuses on the potential effects of new and misunderstood forms of technology, often times with a darker and more dystopian bend to it.

The show uses it's premise to it's full potential when it comes to creating new and interesting visual styles and concepts, and it's attention to detail makes it's imaginary world feel all the more real.

Watchmen

watchmen

Despite the title of the show, this HBO miniseries isn't really an adaptation of the iconic Alan Moore graphic novel Watchmen. Rather, it's a series that takes place in the same overall universe, but tells a different and new story from the one that comic fans are already familiar with.

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But the show is extremely entertaining, and it very effectively recreates the world that Alan Moore originated while making it feel realistic enough to suspend disbelief.

The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian Season 1 poster image of Mando walking away from the suns

After years of being the most iconic sci-fi film franchise in the world, Star Wars finally began a serious transition to the small screen in the 21st century.

And while many wouldn't have believed it possible, The Mandalorian handily demonstrates that the grandeur and scope of Star Wars can be beautifully and effectively adapted to television, as the series has expertly translated this epic galactic drama into one of the best sci-fi shows in years.

The Umbrella Academy

AJ Carmichael Umbrella Academy

Adapting any comic book series into a live action movie or television show is no easy task, but The Umbrella Academy has managed to create a visually stunning series that both feels true to it's comic book roots and at least feels like it's somehow grounded in the real world while still retaining a tinge of comic book strangeness.

The Umbrella Academy looks like the real world but cooler, which is all any comic fan could ask for.

Westworld

Westworld season 2 - Bernard with drone host

Westworld is a unique sci-fi series in that the basis of the show revolves around a theme park that is hyper-realistic. So then, the show needs to both appear real and fake, and within the narrative of the show itself, it's already understood that most of what is seen isn't real.

But the show very deftly balances that dichotomy, all while creating some of the most visually striking imagery on television today.

Raised By Wolves

Mithraic group walking in the desert in Raised by Wolves.

Produced and partially directed by Ridley Scott, the recently released Raised By Wolves lives up to the visual expectations that this legendary director has set out throughout his feature film career.

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Raised By Wolves is a futuristic dystopia that manages to make the desolate planet on which most of the story takes place somehow look both primitive and futuristic, and the simple surroundings still look completely alien.

Stranger Things

Joyce puts Christmas lights in her house to communicate with Will

Most people associate science fiction with futuristic and imaginary settings, but Stranger Things bucks that trend in that it takes place in the very mundane town of Hawkins in the 1980's.

However, to say that the series leans into the 80's visual style would be an understatement. The show manages to take what has been traditionally seen as tacky or dated and make it into something nostalgic and extremely visually appealing.

The Handmaid's Tale

handmaids-tale-elizabeth-moss-still

The Handmaid's Tale is a horrific dystopia that revolves around the concept of a fundamentalist religious takeover of the United States that results in unimaginable human rights abuses.

But the repugnant subject matter feels directly opposed to the absolutely visually stunning nature of the series. Despite being a nightmarish hellscape, the world of Gilead is home to some of the most beautiful cinematography, set design, and costume design in 21st century television.

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