Best tv shows like Red Dwarf
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The adventures of the last human alive and his friends, stranded three million years into deep space on the mining ship Red Dwarf.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, stylized, witty, feel good, not serious, apocalyptic, cliffhanger, funny, sexy, psychedelic
Best tv shows and movies like Red Dwarf (1988):
Similar in 82%
The Greatest American Hero (1981)
Plot Summary:
The chronicles of teacher Ralph Hinkley's adventures after a group of aliens gives him a red suit that gives him superhuman abilities. Unfortunately, Ralph, who hates wearing the suit, immediately loses its instruction booklet, and thus has to learn how to use its powers by trial and error, often with comical results.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: epic, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 79%
Spitting Image (1984)
Plot Summary:
Spitting Image is an award winning British satirical puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. The series was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Independent Television over 18 series which aired on the ITV from 1984 to 1996. The series was nominated and won numerous awards during its run including 10 BAFTA Awards, including one for editing in 1989, and even won two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts Category. The series featured puppet caricatures of celebrities famous during the 1980s and 1990s, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and fellow Tory politicians, American president Ronald Reagan, and the British Royal Family. The Series was the first to caricature the Queen mother.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, sitcom, political, absurd, controversial, surreal, parody, clever, realistic
Similar in 79%
Lexx (1996)
Plot Summary:
The tyrants who rule the Light Universe pass their essence onto their successor upon their demise, while their still-conscious brains are kept in a vault; their chief resource is Lexx, the most-powerful mobile weapon in the universe, which can only be commanded only by the keeper of the hand-key. The previous incumbent wiped out the Brunen-G race, except for Kai, whom he kept in a state of amnesiac suspended animation, to be revived by proto-blood for short periods and used as an assassin. Into this background comes anti-hero Stanley Tweedle, an ignored non-entity clerk, who misses an appointment and is branded a criminal. In the dungeons, overweight Zev has been convicted of not fulfilling wifely duties, and is being transformed into a gorgeous, svelt love-slave. Meanwhile, captured terrorist Thodin, due for public execution, escapes with his gang's help, and causes chaos, setting into motion Tweedle's accidental theft of Lexx and new ownership of the hand-key, Zev's escape with her.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: Canada, Germany, UK, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: futuristic, absurd, apocalyptic, dark, black comedy, gothic, spoof, computer animated, dark fantasy, parody
Similar in 86%
Space Cases (1996)
Plot Summary:
Space Cases is a science fiction television series that aired on Nickelodeon for two seasons. Created by Peter David and Bill Mumy, it premiered on March 2, 1996, and was cancelled a year later. It aired for a time on Nickelodeon's Saturday night block of shows known as SNICK, and on Nickelodeon UK, with reruns on Family and TVOntario in Canada. An episode aired on TeenNick in the US as part of its The '90s Are All That block on the night of October 14, 2011 for the block's U Pick with Stick line-up. Its premise revolves around a group of misfit students and two adults who are stranded far from home aboard an alien ship. Their attempts at journeying back see many dangerous adventures and controversies, with some occasionally more mature themes. Because of budget constraints, props from Are You Afraid of the Dark? and other Nickelodeon programs were used in the series. In other episodes, more mundane props were used, as in the episode "Homeward Bound," the character Suzee is sitting in a chair with compact discs pasted to either side. During the first season, electronic games such as Lights Out, were used as 'control panels' on walls. Season One's original theme song was orchestra-based, with an announcer voiceover giving a preamble. A vocal song telling the story of the Space Cases was used as the closing. For Season Two, this song was moved to the front and re-recorded to accommodate the removal of Catalina, the addition of Suzee, and some re-arranging to how the characters were presented. At some point after the series ended, Nickelodeon had the song re-recorded once more, using the same character arrangement as Season Two, but removing Suzee and adding Catalina back in, and created a new opening for the Season One episodes with this song.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 931
Genere: Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
Country: Canada
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: children's program, exciting, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 80%
Quark (1977)
Plot Summary:
Quark is an American science fiction situation comedy starring Richard Benjamin broadcast on NBC. The pilot first aired on May 7, 1977, and the series followed as a mid-season replacement in February 1978. The series was cancelled in April 1978. Quark was created by Buck Henry, co-creator of the spy spoof Get Smart. The show was set on a United Galaxy Sanitation Patrol Cruiser, an interstellar garbage scow operating out of United Galaxies Space Station Perma One in the year 2226. Adam Quark, the main character, works to clean up trash in space by collecting "space baggies" with his trusted and highly unusual crew. In its short run, Quark satirized such science fiction as Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Flash Gordon. Three of the episodes were direct satires of Star Trek episodes. The series won one Emmy Award nomination, for costume designer Grady Hunt's work in the episode "All the Emperor's Quasi-Norms, Part 2". The complete series was released on DVD on October 14, 2008.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 745
Genere: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: spoof, sitcom, parody
Similar in 85%
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988)
Plot Summary:
A stranded spaceship pilot captured by mad scientists survives a blitz of cheesy B movies by riffing on them with his funny robot pals.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: anthology, dark comedy, black and white, skit, parody, futuristic, offbeat, humorous, surreal, witty
Similar in 76%
Avenue 5 (2020)
Plot Summary:
40 years in the future, space captain Ryan Clark and the crew of the luxury space cruise ship Avenue 5 navigate disgruntled passengers and unexpected events after experiencing technical difficulties onboard.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, UK
Duration:
Plot tags: funny, futuristic, light, feel good, humorous, captivating, entertaining, apocalyptic, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 89%
Mork & Mindy (1978)
Plot Summary:
Mork & Mindy is an American science fiction sitcom broadcast from 1978 until 1982 on ABC. The series starred Robin Williams as Mork, an alien who comes to Earth from the planet Ork in a small, one-man egg-shaped spaceship. Pam Dawber co-starred as Mindy McConnell, his human friend and roommate. In 1997, the episode "Mork's Mixed Emotions" was ranked #94 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time list.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, slapstick, game show, hilarious, offbeat, surreal, not serious, parody, spoof
Similar in 85%
My Favorite Martian (1963)
Plot Summary:
My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show starred Ray Walston as Uncle Martin and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. John L. Greene created the central characters and developed the core format of this series, which was produced by Jack Chertok.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, retro, offbeat, humorous, semi serious, detective, vintage
Similar in 76%
Space Station 76 (2014)
Plot Summary:
A comedic drama about a group of people (and several robots) living on a space station in a 1970’s-version of the future. When a new Assistant Captain arrives, she inadvertently ignites tensions among the crew, prompting them to confront their darkest secrets. Barely contained lust, jealousy, and anger all bubble to the surface, becoming just as dangerous as the asteroid that’s heading right for them.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: humorous, stylized, light, touching, captivating, retro, futuristic, offbeat, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 77%
ALF (1986)
Plot Summary:
A furry alien wiseguy comes to live with a terran family after crashing into their garage.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, sitcom, cliffhanger, game show, hilarious, feel good, not serious, light, funny, offbeat
Similar in 75%
Dark Star (1974)
Plot Summary:
A low-budget, sci-fi satire that focuses on a group of scientists whose mission is to destroy unstable planets. 20 years into their mission, they have battle their alien mascot, that resembles a beach ball, as well as a "sensitive" and intelligent bombing device that starts to question the meaning of its existence.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: futuristic, parody, grindhouse, philosophical, surreal, spoof, minimal cast, humorous, deep, space horror
Similar in 83%
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (1981)
Plot Summary:
An Earth Man and his alien friend escape an exploding Earth, and set forth on an odd adventure across the universe with a known fugitive. Based on the book by Douglas Adams, the dialog follows the book closely. This was originally a 6-part series from the BBC.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: UK
Duration: 152 min
Plot tags: humorous, offbeat, light, futuristic, talky, stylized, not serious, witty, sitcom, melancholic
Similar in 81%
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Plot Summary:
'We come in peace' is not what those green men from Mars mean when they invade our planet, armed with irresistible weapons and a cruel sense of humor. This star studded cast must play victim to the alien’s fun and games in this comedy homage to science fiction films of the '50s and '60s.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 240000
Genere: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: parody, dark comedy, absurd, humorous, spoof, futuristic, funny, black comedy, stylized, melancholic
Similar in 77%
Black Books (2000)
Plot Summary:
Black Books centres around the foul tempered and wildly eccentric bookshop owner Bernard Black. Bernard’s devotion to the twin pleasures of drunkenness and wilful antagonism deepens and enriches both his life and that of Manny, his assistant. Bearded, sweet and good, Manny is everything that Bernard isn’t and is punished by Bernard relentlessly just for the crime of existing. They depend on each other for meaning as Fran, their oldest friend, depends on them for distraction. Black Books is a haven of books, wine and conversation, the only threat to the group’s peace and prosperity is their own limitless stupidity.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: humorous, sitcom, talky, not serious, offbeat, witty, surreal, realistic, funny, hilarious
Similar in 80%
The Young Ones (1982)
Plot Summary:
The Young Ones is a British sitcom, broadcast in Great Britain from 1982 to 1984 in two six-part series. Shown on BBC2, it featured anarchic, offbeat humour which helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers. In 1985, it was shown on MTV, one of the first non-music television shows on the fledgling channel.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 35 min
Plot tags: sitcom, funny, psychedelic, absurd, dark comedy, hilarious, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty
Similar in 81%
Space: 1999 (1975)
Plot Summary:
The crew of Moonbase Alpha must struggle to survive when a massive explosion throws the Moon from orbit into deep space.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, futuristic, suspenseful, spooky, bleak, cult classic, vintage, cult film
Similar in 84%
Blake's 7 (1978)
Plot Summary:
A group of convicts and outcasts fight a guerrilla war against the totalitarian Terran Federation from a highly advanced alien spaceship.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: cult classic, futuristic, serious, suspenseful, stylized, vintage
Similar in 90%
Babylon 5 (1993)
Plot Summary:
Babylon 5 is a five-mile long space station located in neutral space. Built by the Earth Alliance in the 2250s, it's goal is to maintain peace among the various alien races by providing a sanctuary where grievances and negotiations can be worked out among duly appointed ambassadors. A council made up of representatives from the five major space-faring civilizations - the Earth Alliance, Minbari Federation, Centauri Republic, Narn Regime, and Vorlon Empire - work with the League of Non-Aligned Worlds to keep interstellar relations under control. Aside from its diplomatic function, Babylon 5 also serves as a military post for Earth and a port of call for travelers, traders, businessmen, criminals, and Rangers.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: serious, saga, suspense, philosophical, retro, uplifting, apocalyptic, futuristic, offbeat, bleak
Similar in 82%
Earth 2 (1994)
Plot Summary:
Earth 2 is an American science fiction television series which aired on NBC from November 6, 1994 to June 4, 1995. The show was canceled after one season of 22 episodes. It follows the journey and settlement of a small expeditionary group called the Eden Project, with the intent to journey to an Earth-like planet called G889 in an attempt to find a cure to an illness called "the syndrome". The series was created by Michael Duggan, Carol Flint, Mark Levin, and Billy Ray, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Universal Television, and filmed primarily in northern New Mexico around the Santa Fe area. The series' music was composed by David Bergeaud, and the executive producers were Michael Duggan, Mark Levin, and Carol Flint. Initially, the show's audience was quite large, reaching eighth place; however, by April 23 of the next year, Nielsen ratings share had dropped from 23% to 9%. During its run, it had been nominated for a Primetime Emmy, Saturn, and other awards. In 2005, the entire series was released on DVD in a 4-disc set.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: futuristic, apocalyptic, exciting, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Plot Summary:
Ten years before Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise there was Discovery. Star Trek, one of the most iconic and influential global television franchises, returns 50 years after it first premiered featuring a new ship, new characters and new missions, while embracing the same ideology and hope for the future that inspired a generation of dreamers and doers.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 131000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, tense, breathtaking, epic, dystopian
Similar in 75%
Lost in Space (1965)
Plot Summary:
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968. The first TV season was filmed in black and white, but the remainder were filmed in color. In 1998, a Lost in Space movie, based on the TV series, was released. Though the original TV series concept centered on the Robinson family, many later story lines focused primarily on Dr. Zachary Smith, played by Jonathan Harris. Originally written as an utterly evil but extremely competent would-be saboteur, Smith gradually becomes the troublesome, self-centered, incompetent foil who provides the comic relief for the show and causes most of the episodic conflict and misadventures. Smith was not in the un-aired pilot and neither was the robot. A meteor storm in the un-aired pilot put them off course. In the first aired episode, Smith's sabotage and unintended presence caused them to go off course so that they encountered the meteors. In the un-aired version, they were going at such a relatively slow speed that they wondered if they were on Mars, while in the first aired episode, just seconds of hyper-drive and they were lost, unknown light years from Earth.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: retro, uplifting, epic, saga, sitcom, cult classic, serious, futuristic, vintage, campy
Similar in 90%
Crusade (1999)
Plot Summary:
Crusade is an American spin-off TV show from J. Michael Straczynski's Babylon 5. Its plot is set in AD 2267, five years after the events of Babylon 5, and just after the movie A Call to Arms. The Drakh have released a nanovirus plague on Earth, which will destroy all life on Earth within five years if it is not stopped. To that end, the Victory class destroyer Excalibur has been sent out to look for anything that could help the search for a cure.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: apocalyptic, thrilling, futuristic, exciting, tense, bleak, serious, suspenseful, stylized, gloomy
Similar in 87%
The Orville (2017)
Plot Summary:
Follow the crew of the not-so-functional exploratory ship in the Earth's interstellar fleet, 300 years in the future.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 97000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: futuristic, feel good, exciting, humorous, funny, parody, uplifting, sitcom, hilarious, interesting
Similar in 82%
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
Plot Summary:
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. The show is set in the nearby regions of the Milky Way galaxy, approximately during the 2360s and features a new crew and a new starship Enterprise.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 132000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, intellectual, epic, captivating, funny, inspirational, retro, philosophical
Similar in 89%
Farscape (1999)
Plot Summary:
A freak accident during an experimental space mission catapults Astronaut John Crichton across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: futuristic, serious, exciting, bleak, cliffhanger, funny, retro, uplifting, mysterious, apocalyptic
Similar in 82%
Firefly (2002)
Plot Summary:
Firefly is set in the year 2517, after the arrival of humans in a new star system and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship. The ensemble cast portrays the nine characters who live on Serenity.
IMDB Rating: 9.0
IMDB Votes: 278000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 616 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, witty, futuristic, neo western, clever, epic, apocalyptic, cult classic, cliffhanger
Similar in 80%
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Plot Summary:
Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.".
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 206000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: light, parody, cult classic, funny, philosophical, clever, humorous, witty, stylized, intellectual
Similar in 90%
Star Trek (1966)
Plot Summary:
Space. The Final Frontier. The U.S.S. Enterprise embarks on a five year mission to explore the galaxy. The Enterprise is under the command of Captain James T. Kirk with First Officer Mr. Spock, from the planet Vulcan. With a determined crew, the Enterprise encounters Klingons, Romulans, time paradoxes, tribbles and genetic supermen lead by Khan Noonian Singh. Their mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: exciting, futuristic, intellectual, retro, epic, cult classic, philosophical, uplifting, political, mysterious
Similar in 75%
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Plot Summary:
Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 13000000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: futuristic, exciting, humorous, suspenseful, captivating, epic, witty, entertaining, heroic, stylized