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The Orville poster

Shows that feel likeThe Orville (2017–2022)

Follow the crew of the not-so-functional exploratory ship in the Earth's interstellar fleet, 400 years in the future.

If you loved The Orville, the closest series we have are Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022), ted (2024) and Dark Matter (2015). Most of the picks below share The Orville'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 Orville hit the spot, these will too

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds poster
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
2022– · 4 seasons · Paramount+
★ 8.2sci-fi & fantasy · dramaParamount+

Hopeful episodic exploration, the way classic Trek used to feel

The difference: Actual canon Trek — earnest where The Orville winks

Follow Captain Christopher Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.

ted poster
ted
2024–2026 · 2 seasons · Peacock
★ 7.9comedyPeacock

Seth MacFarlane's mix of dumb jokes and genuine sweetness

The difference: No spaceship in sight — pure crude nostalgia comedy

It's 1993 and Ted the bear's moment of fame has passed, leaving him living with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennett, who lives in a working-class Boston home with his parents and cousin. Ted may not be the best influence on John, but when it comes right down to it, he's willing to go out on a limb to help his friend and his family.

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

Both land stillness and ideas at once

The difference: Trades the wit of The Orville for an angle of its own

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?

Cosmos poster
Cosmos
2014–2020 · 2 seasons · FOX
★ 9.2documentary

Both are built on the same subject: curious

The difference: Leans harder into documentary than The Orville does

Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson provides clarity for the vision of the cosmos as he voyages across the universe with never-before-told stories that delve into the scientific concepts of the laws of gravity and the origins of space and time.

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

The same mix in both: dream logic, then awe

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

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

Space treated seriously — politics, physics and crews under strain

The difference: Rigorous and grim — humor is rationed like the air

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.

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

A flawed crew far from home, workplace friction and all

The difference: Dark and rationed — the optimism stayed on Earth

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

Both keep coming back to the same thing: the future

The difference: Sits closer to action & adventure than The Orville does

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.

Ahsoka poster
Ahsoka
2023– · 2 seasons · Disney+
★ 7.4sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventureDisney+

Cerebral sci-fi & fantasy, and it commits to that

Former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.

The Mandalorian poster
The Mandalorian
2019–2023 · 3 seasons · Disney+
★ 8.6sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventureDisney+

Common ground: space exploration

After the fall of the Galactic Empire, lawlessness has spread throughout the galaxy. A lone gunfighter makes his way through the outer reaches, earning his keep as a bounty hunter.

For All Mankind poster
For All Mankind
2019– · 5 seasons · Apple TV
★ 8.1drama · sci-fi & fantasy · war & politicsMaxApple TV+

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Explore an aspirational world where NASA and the space program remained a priority and a focal point of our hopes and dreams as told through the lives of NASA astronauts, engineers, and their families.

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

The same preoccupation in both: the future

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.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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