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The Expanse poster

Shows that feel likeThe Expanse (2015–2022)

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.

If you loved The Expanse, the closest series we have are Dark Matter (2015), Project Blue Book (2019) and Firefly (2002). All three share The Expanse's contemplative and cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Stargate Universe (2009).

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If The Expanse hit the spot, these will too

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

Strangers aboard a ship, working out who to trust

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?

Project Blue Book poster
Project Blue Book
2019–2020 · 2 seasons · History
★ 7.6sci-fi & fantasy · mystery · drama

Official investigations that keep bumping into something being covered up

The difference: Retro Earthbound UFO cases, episodic and small — no ships, no scale

A chronicle of the true top secret U.S. Air Force-sponsored investigations into UFO-related phenomena in the 1950s and ’60s, known as “Project Blue Book”.

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

A working crew on a battered ship, out where nobody is coming to help

The difference: Space western, warmer and funnier, 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.

American Gods poster
American Gods
2017–2021 · 3 seasons · STARZ
★ 7.6drama · mystery · sci-fi & fantasyPrime Video

A hidden war being waged just under the surface of ordinary life

The difference: Mythic surrealism over plot, with nothing scientific holding it down

An ex-con becomes the traveling partner of a conman who turns out to be one of the older gods trying to recruit troops to battle the upstart deities. Based on Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel.

Foundation poster
Foundation
2021– · 3 seasons · Apple TV
★ 7.6sci-fi & fantasy · dramaApple TV+

Civilisational stakes told through factions rather than heroes

The difference: Grander and stranger, and much less grounded

Follow a band of exiles on their monumental journey to save humanity and rebuild civilization amid the fall of the Galactic Empire.

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

Politics, religion and war carried by people who make bad calls

The difference: A fleet in flight, and mysticism rather than physics

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.

Sense8 poster
Sense8
2015–2018 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.2sci-fi & fantasy · dramaNetflix

The same preoccupation in both: conspiracy

The difference: Takes it somewhere less twisty than The Expanse does

One gunshot, one death, one moment out of time that irrevocably links eight minds in disparate parts of the world, putting them in each other's lives, each other's secrets, and in terrible danger. Ordinary people suddenly reborn as "Sensates."

Star Trek: Enterprise poster
Star Trek: Enterprise
2001–2005 · 4 seasons · UPN
★ 7.6sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaParamount+

Humanity out past its own capability, meeting something bigger

The difference: Federation optimism, episodic and lighter

During the mid-22nd century, a century before Captain Kirk's five-year mission, Jonathan Archer captains the United Earth ship Enterprise during the early years of Starfleet, leading up to the Earth-Romulan War and the formation of the Federation.

Lost in Space poster
Lost in Space
2018–2021 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.3sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaNetflix

People stranded where the environment itself is the antagonist

The difference: A family adventure, warm and family-facing

After crash-landing on an alien planet, the Robinson family fights against all odds to survive and escape. But they're surrounded by hidden dangers.

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

A mismatched crew trapped aboard something they do not control

The difference: Gloomier and smaller, with no solar-system politics

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.

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

Common ground in both: spacecraft and the future

The difference: Trades the twists of The Expanse for an angle of its own

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.

The Night Agent poster
The Night Agent
2023– · 4 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.4action & adventure · drama · mysteryNetflix

One thread runs through both: conspiracy

The difference: Leans harder into action & adventure than The Expanse does

Brought together by a midnight phone call, an FBI agent and a cybersecurity expert must unravel an ever-growing web of political conspiracies.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed series that share The Expanse’s defining feeling.