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Star Trek: The Next Generation poster

Shows that feel likeStar Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)

Follow the intergalactic adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his loyal crew aboard the all-new USS Enterprise NCC-1701D, as they explore new worlds.

If you loved Star Trek: The Next Generation, the closest series we have are Battlestar Galactica (2004), Stargate SG-1 (1997) and Firefly (2002). All three share Star Trek: The Next Generation's cerebral and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Quantum Leap (1989).

★ 8.7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗7 seasons · Syndicationcreated by Gene Roddenberrycerebraldreamlikekineticepiccontemplativetwisty
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu
Stream it:Paramount+ ↗
Buy seasons:Amazon see price ↗Apple TV$49.99 buyStar Trek: The Next Generation: The Complete Series · Apple price as of 2026-09-03

If Star Trek: The Next Generation hit the spot, these will too

Battlestar Galactica poster
Battlestar Galactica
2004–2009 · 4 seasons · Syfy
★ 8.7sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaParamount+

Command decisions with everyone's survival resting on the call

The difference: Grim, serialized and morally bruised — the inverse of TNG's optimism

When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.

Stargate SG-1 poster
Stargate SG-1
1997–2007 · 10 seasons · Showtime
★ 8.4sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventureNetflixPrime Video

A professional team meeting a new civilisation every week

The difference: Military rather than diplomatic, and much jokier

The story of Stargate SG-1 begins about a year after the events of the feature film, when the United States government learns that an ancient alien device called the Stargate can access a network of such devices on a multitude of planets. SG-1 is an elite Air Force special operations team, one of more than two dozen teams from Earth who explore the galaxy and defend against alien threats such as the Goa'uld, Replicators, and the Ori.

Firefly poster
Firefly
2002 · 1 season · FOX
★ 8.9drama · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyPrime VideoHulu

A ship, a crew, and the pleasure of watching capable people work together

The difference: Scrappy outlaws scraping by — no mission, no ideals, one season only

In the year 2517, the universe is a vast frontier where lawlessness reigns and adventure awaits! Join Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his ragtag crew aboard the spaceship Serenity as they navigate the fringes of society, battling the oppressive Alliance and facing off against ruthless bounty hunters.

Stargate Atlantis poster
Stargate Atlantis
2004–2009 · 5 seasons · Syfy
★ 8.2sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaPrime Video

A forward posting far from home, solving problems by committee

The difference: Breezier and more action-led, with a lower budget

With the Ancients' city of Atlantis discovered in the Pegasus Galaxy by Stargate Command, Dr. Elizabeth Weir and Major Sheppard lead a scientific expedition to the ancient abandoned city. Once there, the team not only find themselves unable to contact Earth, but their explorations unexpectedly reawaken the Ancients' deadly enemies, The Wraith, who hunger for this new prey. Now with the help of newfound local allies like Teyla Emmagan, the Atlantis Team sets about to uncover their new home's secrets even as their war of survival against the Wraith begins.

Stargate Universe poster
Stargate Universe
2009–2011 · 2 seasons · Syfy
★ 7.6sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaPrime Video

A crew stuck together on a ship with no way home

The difference: Serialised and gloomy, with none of the optimism

The adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way Galaxy. They evacuated there and are now trying to figure out a way to return to Earth, while simultaneously trying to explore and to survive in their unknown area of the universe.

Dark Matter poster
Dark Matter
2015–2017 · 3 seasons · Syfy
★ 7.5sci-fi & fantasy · drama

Strangers aboard a ship becoming a crew

The difference: Pulpier and much smaller, with an amnesia hook

The six-person crew of a derelict spaceship awakens from stasis in the farthest reaches of space. Their memories wiped clean, they have no recollection of who they are or how they got on board. The only clue to their identities is a cargo bay full of weaponry and a destination: a remote mining colony that is about to become a war zone. With no idea whose side they are on, they face a deadly decision. Will these amnesiacs turn their backs on history, or will their pasts catch up with them?

V poster
V
1983 · 1 season · NBC
🍅 70%★ 7.8action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasy

First contact and the politics that follow it

The difference: Alien-invasion allegory, tense and much darker

Planet Earth is visited by an alien race. Initially, they seem friendly and kind, but over time, their intentions become quite clear. Their peaceful façade quickly turns, also showing their true colors and their real intentions...

Terra Nova poster
Terra Nova
2011 · 1 season · FOX
★ 6.7sci-fi & fantasy · mystery · action & adventure

Cerebral and dreamlike in the same breath

The difference: Goes its own way on the stillness

In the year 2149, the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped and overcrowded, with the majority of plant and animal life extinct. The future of mankind is in jeopardy, and its only hope for survival is in the distant past. An ordinary family goes on an extraordinary journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a part of a massive expedition to save the human race.

The Twilight Zone poster
The Twilight Zone
1959–1964 · 5 seasons · CBS
★ 9sci-fi & fantasy · mystery · dramaParamount+

The same two preoccupations: space, and alien

The difference: 28 years apart, and the 1950s show

An anthology series containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and/or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist.

Quantum Leap poster
Quantum Leap
1989–1993 · 5 seasons · NBC
★ 8.2sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · drama

A self-contained moral problem each week, solved by decency not firepower

The difference: Small and personal, one life at a time; no crew, no starship, no frontier

Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.

The Expanse poster
The Expanse
2015–2022 · 6 seasons · Syfy
★ 8.5drama · mystery · sci-fi & fantasyPrime Video

Two things both keep coming back to: spacecraft and space travel

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

A thriller set two hundred years in the future following the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship's captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

Doctor Who poster
Doctor Who
2005–2021 · 13 seasons · BBC One
★ 8.5action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasy

Standalone trips into strange places powered by curiosity over firepower

The difference: Whimsical and emotional, led by one eccentric rather than a chain of command

The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.

In the mood for more cerebral?

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The best-reviewed series that share Star Trek: The Next Generation’s defining feeling.