Science fiction television has been flourishing for several years. A decade or so ago, big-budget sci-fi was made exclusively for the big screen but it's becoming increasingly common to see groundbreaking science fiction stories on the small screen too. Prestige television ended up being a very good thing for the genre, as makers can secure larger budgets with smaller episode lengths.
2022 is shaping up to be a big year for fans of sci-fi, with many shows returning to screens as well as some long-in-development series finally coming to fruition. From video game adaptations to new and returning Star Trek shows and a big showing from Star Wars, sci-fi fans will have plenty to keep them glued to the screen this year.
Sweet Tooth (Season 2)
Part sci-fi, part fantasy Sweet Tooth was one of the best Netflix shows of 2021 and is one of many Netflix originals returning in 2022. The Jeff Lemire comic book adaptation took the world by storm with a lighter take on a dystopia. The show follows a hybrid named Gus as he travels the United States with his friend Jepperd searching for his mother after the world had been devastated by a strange virus.
Releasing a series about a worldwide pandemic, during a worldwide pandemic was a bold move and it seems to have paid off. Its sweet Spielberg-esque tone resonated with audiences and the charismatic leads helped propel the show to a hit. The second season is expected this year, and it should provide the same pandemic level of comfort that the first season did.
Star Trek: Picard (Season 2)
Patrick Stewart's return to the role of the beloved Captain Jean-Luc Picard provided a great deal of hype for Star Trek: Picard. The first season followed Picard as he got a crew together to solve the mystery of Data's "daughter." Now that that mystery is done, Q has returned to test the former Starfleet captain once again. The trailer promises a fun time travel adventure that only Star Trek can deliver.
Reception for the first season was somewhat mixed, with many wondering why the future they were familiar with had grown so dark and forlorn. The return of the fan-favorite John DeLancie as Q has created a new sense of excitement for the returning show. No matter the circumstances, getting to see Q and Picard on screen together for the first time since the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation is something that can't be passed up.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Star Trek has entered a new golden age thanks to the success of Star Trek: Discovery. With four shows currently, it seems like there shouldn't be room for another, but Star Trek: Strange New Worlds would disagree. Hot off their appearance in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, the series will follow the adventures of the Enterprise's second captain, Captain Christopher Pike. Not much is known about the plot of the series but many returning characters are expected.
Captain Pike was a fan favorite character even before his appearance in Star Trek: Discovery, but ever since he walked off that transporter pad in season 2, fans have been begging for CBS to give him and his Enterprise crew their show. This year sees that show come to fruition and a promise of a more episodic Trek series.
The Orville: New Horizons
The status of Seth MacFarlane’s Star Trek love letter has had fans on the edge of their seats for years now. The show follows Captain Ed Mercer and the crew of the USS Orville as they carry on their mission to explore the vastness of space. It's essentially a Star Trek workplace comedy. Many have claimed it's a better Star Trek show than the current crop of official shows.
The show was a huge expensive passion project for MacFarlane and after season 2, the Disney execs decided to move it to Hulu with the understanding that MacFarlane and company had plenty of time to get the next season ready. It seems like the next season is coming, but in the form of a soft reboot, with The Orville: New Horizons.
Andor
One of the many new Star Wars shows coming to Disney+, Andor will follow Diego Luna's character from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and will explore the events that led him to the events in that film. As of now, Alan Tudyk claims that his character, K2SO is not in the series, so it seems the show has been given plenty of room to explore many years before the events of their debut film.
There's no denying that The Mandalorian has changed the landscape of Star Wars forever. Lucasfilm has now put almost 100% of its energy into making Star Wars content for Disney+, with many shows in the works. Cassian Andor was a fan favorite character coming out of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story so him getting his show seems like an easy win for Star Wars fans.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
The self-titled series about the fan-favorite Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi has been something that fans have been asking for since the end of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Ewan McGregor returns to the role to detail the life of Obi-Wan before fans meet him next in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is probably the most anticipated Star Wars series. With many fan-favorite characters such as Boba Fett and Ahsoka getting their own shows, it only seemed right that Obi-Wan deserved one too. The promise of a rematch between him and his former apprentice, finally making good on the line "Obi-Wan once thought as you did" has greatly heightened anticipation for this series.
Halo
One of the biggest sci-fi video game franchises of all time, Halo, will finally see a live-action adaptation in one of the most highly anticipated shows streaming in 2022. The series will follow Master Chief and Cortana as they fight the Covenant and try and save the universe from their wrath. The brief teaser shown at the Video Game Awards didn't give much away, but it's an exciting time for Halo fans nonetheless.
A Halo adaptation has been in the works for more than a decade and its move to a Paramount+ TV show seems to have given it the budget it needs to keep the grand scope that fans of the games are familiar with. Some questions still linger though: is this a straight adaptation of the games, or a story that follows the continuity?
Ark: The Animated Series
This animated series has been a long time coming. Ark: The Animated Series was announced during the 2020 Video Game Awards and will serve as an animated spin-off within the world of Ark: Survival Evolved. Not much is known right now about the plot of the animated series but the game is a strategy survival game where players can traverse terrain on Dinosaurs to survive the island they're stranded on.
The animation seen in the trailers provides some glimpse at the type of series audiences could expect. Between DOTA: Dragon's Blood and League of Legends: Arcane, Netflix has enjoyed bringing these types of games to an animated format on their streaming service. Not to mention, this show sports an impressive voice cast with the likes of David Tennant and Michelle Yeoh.
Paper Girls
Based on the comic of the same name Paper Girls follows 4 young girls as they deliver newspapers only to be caught up in a time travel war. The comic series ran for 30 issues and was written by Brian K. Vaughn with art by Cliff Chiang. Legendary Pictures picked up the series after Brian K. Vaughn inked out a major first-look deal with the company. While the adaptation of Vaughn's Y: The Last Man is amongst the shows that won't be returning in 2022, fans of his work will surely be hoping Paper Girls is more successful.
Amazon has already delivered two of the best comic book adaptations with The Boys and Invincible, so Paper Girls feels like it's in good hands. The adaptation is being handled by the co-writer of Toy Story 4, Stephany Folsom, which gives the impression that this won't be as dark as the other two Amazon adaptations but fans will have to wait and see the results.
The Peripheral
The Peripheral is a wild card when it comes to sci-fi in 2022. Adapted from the book of the same name by William Gibson, it's not a hugely well-known property. The book focuses on a character named Flynne who believes she witnessed a murder in cyberspace and tries to find out what happened.
The show is being adapted by Scott Smith for Amazon and is executive produced by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, who created Westworld for HBO. Fans of Westworld should keep an eye out for this one. Chloë Grace Moretz brings star power to the series, featuring as main character Flynne, but it remains to be seen if The Peripheral continues Amazon's trend of major hits.