Best tv shows like The Outer Limits
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The Outer Limits is an anthology series of distinct story episodes, sometimes with a plot twist at the end. Unlike the original incarnation of the series, which was a pure anthology with each episode completely unrelated to the others, the revival series maintained an anthology format, but occasionally featured recurring story elements that were often tied together during season-finale clip shows.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: anthology, scary, cerebral, psychological, funny, mind bending, intellectual, dark, slasher, apocalyptic
Best tv shows and movies like The Outer Limits (1995):
Similar in 76%
The Tommyknockers (1993)
Plot Summary:
The small town of Haven becomes a hot-bed of inventions all run by a strange green power device. The whole town is digging something up in the woods, and only an alcoholic poet can discover the secret of the Tommyknocker.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, New Zealand
Duration: 181 min
Plot tags: scary, psychological, suspense, controversial, splatter, lovecraft, classic horror, atmospheric, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
The Invaders (1967)
Plot Summary:
The Invaders, alien beings from a dying planet. Their destination: the Earth. Their purpose: to make it their world. David Vincent has seen them, for him it began one lost night on a lonely country road, looking for a shortcut that he never found. It began with a closed deserted diner, and a man too long without sleep to continue his journey. It began with the landing of a craft from another galaxy. Now, David Vincent knows that the Invaders are here, that they have taken human form. Somehow he must convince a disbelieving world that the nightmare has already begun.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 51 min
Plot tags: apocalyptic, retro, anthology, serious, vintage
Similar in 78%
Masters of Science Fiction (2007)
Plot Summary:
Masters of Science Fiction is an American television anthology series by the same creators as Masters of Horror. The show debuted on ABC on August 4, 2007 at 10PM for a run of four episodes. It was originally scheduled to run in six parts, but two episodes were removed from the schedule for undisclosed reasons. The show follows a similar format as Masters of Horror, with each hour long episode taking the form of a separate short film adaptation of a story by a respected member of the science fiction community, hence the Masters in the title. In December 2007, the show was picked up by Space in Canada. This then allowed the North American premiere of the missing two episodes. A Region 1 DVD of all six episodes was released on August 5, 2008. On February 12, 2012, the Science Channel began airing the episodes, under the title "Stephen Hawking's Sci-Fi Masters", beginning with the first domestic airing of the episode "Watchbirds". The show is hosted off-screen by physicist Stephen Hawking.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: anthology, serious, suspenseful, suspense, intellectual, educational, experimental, scary, mind bending, offbeat
Similar in 84%
The Ray Bradbury Theater (1985)
Plot Summary:
A Canadian-produced fantastic anthology series scripted by famed science-fiction author Ray Bradbury. Many of the teleplays were based upon Bradbury's novels and short stories.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, France, Canada, New Zealand
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anthology, scary, dark, mysterious, dark fairy tale, spooky, semi autobiographical, vintage
Similar in 88%
Friday the 13th: The Series (1987)
Plot Summary:
Friday the 13th: The Series is an American-Canadian horror television series that ran for three seasons, from October 3, 1987 to May 26, 1990 in first-run syndication. The series follows Micki and Ryan, owners of an antiques store, and their assistant, Jack Marshak, as they try to recover cursed antiques, to put them into safety in the store's vault. Originally, the series was to be titled The 13th Hour, but producer Frank Mancuso, Jr. thought this would turn away viewers and instead took the name Friday the 13th to deliberately draw in audiences. Despite this title, the series has no story connections to the film series of the same name, as Jason Voorhees does not make an appearance, nor does any character connected to the films. In the United Kingdom it was listed on TV schedules as Fridays Curse, though when going to advertisement breaks on ITV it would show as Friday the 13th: The series. The two series have several cast and crew ties, however. The show's producer, Frank Mancuso, Jr., was producer of the movie series from Friday the 13th Part 2 until the final installment distributed by Paramount. The show's star, John D. LeMay, went on to star in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, guest star John Shepherd played Tommy Jarvis in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, and episode director David Cronenberg appeared in Jason X. Fred Mollin, Rob Hedden, and Tom McLoughlin worked behind the scenes of both series.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Canada
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: scary, anthology, slasher, dread, creepy, spooky, rough, serious, suspenseful, weird
Similar in 77%
The Hitchhiker (1983)
Plot Summary:
The Hitchhiker is a mystery anthology series that aired from 1983 to 1987 on HBO and First Choice in Canada. The series later moved to the USA Network from 1989 to 1991.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Canada, France
Duration: 26 min
Plot tags: anthology, scary, dark, creepy, dark fairy tale, spooky, twist ending, tense, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
The Day the Earth Stopped (2008)
Plot Summary:
Hundreds of massive intergalactic robots appear in all of the world's major capitals with an ultimatum: Prove the value of human civilization or be destroyed.
IMDB Rating: 2.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: rough, suspenseful, bleak, mockbuster, apocalyptic, serious, disaster movie
Similar in 75%
Goosebumps (1995)
Plot Summary:
Goosebumps is a Canadian-American children's horror anthology television series based on R. L. Stine's Goosebumps books. It was one of the two popular television horror anthology children's series in the 1990s.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: anthology, dark, sitcom, dark fairy tale, scary, dark fantasy, teen horror, epic fantasy, atmospheric, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Millennium (1989)
Plot Summary:
An investigator seeking the cause of an airline disaster discovers the involvement of an organisation of time travellers from a future Earth irreparably polluted who seek to rejuvenate the human race from those about to die in the past. Based on a novel by John Varley.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: apocalyptic, atmospheric, offbeat, bleak, serious, suspenseful, tech noir, grindhouse, psychological, ambiguous ending
Similar in 80%
Amazing Stories (2020)
Plot Summary:
Each episode transports the audience to worlds of wonder through the lens of today’s most imaginative filmmakers, directors and writers. A reimagining of the original anthology series by Steven Spielberg.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 52 min
Plot tags: anthology, enigmatic, romantic, exciting, sincere, captivating, intellectual
Similar in 82%
The Whispers (2015)
Plot Summary:
We love to play games with our children. But what happens when someone else starts to play with them too? Someone we don't know. Can't see. Can't hear. In The Whispers, someone or something -- is manipulating the ones we love most to accomplish the unthinkable. An unseen alien force has figured this human weakness out. They have invaded earth and are using our most unlikely resource to achieve world domination – our children.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, scary, tense, bleak, apocalyptic
Similar in 84%
Space: Above and Beyond (1995)
Plot Summary:
Space: Above and Beyond is a short-lived mid-1990s American science fiction television show on the FOX Network, created and written by Glen Morgan and James Wong. Originally planned for five seasons, it ran only for the single 1995–1996 season. It was nominated for two Emmy Awards and one Saturn Award. It was ranked "50" in IGN's top 50 Sci-Fi TV Shows, described as "yet another sci-fi show that went before its time". Set in the years 2063–2064, the show focuses on the "Wildcards", members of the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Cavalry, 58th Squadron. They are stationed on the space carrier USS Saratoga, and act as infantry and pilots of SA-43 Endo/Exo-Atmospheric Attack Jet fighters.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: apocalyptic, cliffhanger, atmospheric, thrilling, exciting, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
The Twilight Zone (2019)
Plot Summary:
Tales of science fiction, fantasy and the occult, exploring humanity's hopes, despairs, prides and prejudices in metaphoric ways. Next stop ahead The Twilight Zone.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: anthology, atmospheric, enigmatic, bleak, suspense, twist ending, psychological, intellectual, slasher, dark fairy tale
Similar in 80%
Amazing Stories (1985)
Plot Summary:
A truly amazing, fantastical, science fiction, funny and odd, and sometimes scary, sad and endearing anthology series presented by Steven Spielberg with guest appearances by many famous actors, actresses, and directors.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: anthology, atmospheric, mind bending, serious, suspenseful, retro, dark, twist ending, sitcom, dark fairy tale
Similar in 85%
Tales from the Darkside (1983)
Plot Summary:
Tales from the Darkside is an anthology horror TV series created by George A. Romero; it was released in 1984. Similar to Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, Tales From The Crypt, and Lee Martin's The Midnight Hour, each episode was an individual short story that ended with a plot twist. The series' episodes spanned the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and some episodes featured elements of black comedy or more lighthearted themes.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: anthology, scary, atmospheric, humorous, suspenseful, surreal, semi serious, spooky, psychological, dark
Similar in 88%
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction (1997)
Plot Summary:
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction is an American television anthology series created by Lynn Lehmann, presented by Dick Clark Productions, and produced and aired by the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. Each episode featured five stories, all of which appeared to defy logic, and some of which were allegedly based on actual events. The viewer was offered the challenge of determining which are true and which are false. At the end of the show, it was revealed to the viewer whether the tales were true or works of fiction. The series was hosted by James Brolin in season one and later by Jonathan Frakes for the remainder of the series. The show was narrated by Don LaFontaine for the first three seasons and by Campbell Lane for the fourth and final season.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: anthology, scary, mindfuck, mind bending, clever, offbeat, serious, suspenseful, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Night Visions (2001)
Plot Summary:
Night Visions is an hour-long, American television horror anthology series, with each episode comprising two half-hour stories dealing with themes of the supernatural or simply the dark side of human nature. Henry Rollins was the uncredited host of the show. The series aired on Fox from July 12 to September 6, 2001, after which it was picked up by the Sci Fi Channel, which reran the series beginning June 14, 2002. Sci Fi later aired the three remaining original episodes that produced for, but unaired, on Fox. One of these, "Cargo / Switch", ran as part of the Night Visions series, while the two other episodes' segments were edited into the Sci Fi Channel film Shadow Realm, minus the Rollins introductions and the Night Visions name. The show's directors included some best known for feature films, including Tobe Hooper and Joe Dante, and others, such as Brian Dennehy, JoBeth Williams, and Bill Pullman, known primarily as actors.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: anthology, scary, atmospheric, bleak, suspenseful, enigmatic, captivating, disturbing, dark, detective
Similar in 76%
Darkroom (1981)
Plot Summary:
Darkroom is an American television thriller series which ABC transmitted from November 27, 1981 to January 15, 1982. It was an anthology horror/thriller series, similar in style to Rod Serling's Night Gallery. Each 60-minute episode featured two or more stories of varying length with a new story and a new cast, but each of the episode wraparound segments was hosted by James Coburn. Among the performers who appeared on the series were Steve Allen, Esther Rolle, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, David Carradine, Billy Crystal, and June Lockhart.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 336
Genere: Horror, Thriller, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: anthology, scary, dark, slasher, dark fairy tale, rough, bleak, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Night Gallery (1969)
Plot Summary:
Night Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although he did not have the same control of content and tone as he had on The Twilight Zone.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: anthology, psychological, supernatural thriller, scary, retro, mysterious, dread, mythical, creepy, dark fairy tale
Similar in 85%
Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006)
Plot Summary:
A television mini-series adaptation of Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Stephen King's collection of short horror stories.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 480 min
Plot tags: anthology, scary, serious, suspenseful, stylized, clever, dark fairy tale, classic horror, spooky, weird
Similar in 77%
Creepshow (2019)
Plot Summary:
A young boy's horror comic book comes to life in this anthology series of terrifying tales.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: anthology, mystical, bleak, scary, captivating, suspense, entertaining, disturbing, semi serious, psychological
Similar in 80%
Threshold (2003)
Plot Summary:
Alien seeds hitch a ride to earth in a space shuttle crew and begin to grow. When their numbers reach the Threshold amount they will be an unstoppable swarm.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 667
Genere: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, scary, disaster movie
Similar in 82%
The Day of the Triffids (2009)
Plot Summary:
It's an up-to-date setting of the 1951 sci-fi thriller. With the world blinded and the Triffids set loose, it falls upon a band of scattered, sighted survivors to fight this carnivorous plant invasion. With a brave new world of maniacs, warring factions and renegades, the battle on the streets is not only directed at the purple-headed organisms but a battle to survive the sinister street-army headed by megalomaniac Torrence.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 186 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, disturbing, apocalyptic, scary, disaster movie
Similar in 82%
The Twilight Zone (2002)
Plot Summary:
The Twilight Zone is a 2002 revival of Rod Serling's 1950/60s television series, The Twilight Zone. It aired for one season on the UPN network, with actor Forest Whitaker assuming Serling's role as narrator and on-screen host. The series was produced by New Line Television, which since 2008 is a division of Warner Bros., which released Twilight Zone: The Movie.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: anthology, atmospheric, serious, mind bending, stylized, surprise ending, offbeat, psychological, intellectual, dark
Similar in 81%
The Langoliers (1995)
Plot Summary:
On a red eye flight from LA to Boston, 10 people wake up to a shock. All the passengers and crew have vanished. When they try to contact the ground they make no connections. They land the plane only to discover that things haven't changed. But its like the world is dead. No one is there, the air is still, sound doesn't echo, the food is tasteless. A distant sound is getting louder, something is coming closer.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, suspenseful, exciting, cult horror, atmospheric, mind bending, clever, intellectual, dark
Similar in 87%
The Outer Limits (1963)
Plot Summary:
The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is often compared to The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction stories. The Outer Limits is an anthology of self-contained episodes, sometimes with a plot twist at the end. The series was revived in 1995, airing on Showtime from 1995 to 1999, then on Sci-Fi Channel from 1999 until its cancellation in 2002. In 1997, the episode "The Zanti Misfits" was ranked #98 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 51 min
Plot tags: anthology, serious, psychotronic, scary, bleak, psychological, retro, dark, experimental, dramatic
Similar in 79%
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990)
Plot Summary:
Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a joint Canadian-American horror/fantasy-themed anthology television series. The original series was a joint production between the Canadian company Cinar and the American company Nickelodeon. The show was filmed in Richmond, British Columbia and in Montreal, Quebec including their suburbs. The episode "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" was aired as a pilot on the evening of October 31, 1991 in the USA and in October 1990 in Canada. Are You Afraid of the Dark? was aired from August 15, 1992 to April 20, 1996 on Nickelodeon's SNICK. The series also aired on the Canadian television network YTV from October 30, 1990 until June 11, 2000. A revived series with new directors, writers, and cast was produced by Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2000 and also aired on SNICK. The sole member from the original lineup to return for the sixth and seventh seasons was Tucker, although Ross Hull returned for the concluding miniseries, which notably broke from the show's established format by blurring the line between story and "reality".
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: scary, anthology, suspenseful, semi serious, spooky, exciting, bleak, sitcom, dark, slasher
Similar in 90%
The Twilight Zone (1985)
Plot Summary:
The Twilight Zone is the first of two revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1950/60s television series of the same name. It ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, Canada, USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, anthology, psychological, scary, atmospheric, suspenseful, intellectual, dark, mysterious, tripping
Similar in 79%
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams (2017)
Plot Summary:
A diverse anthology of ambitious, moving tales inspired by Philip K Dick's short stories.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: anthology, psychological, exciting, suspenseful, sentimental, intellectual, realistic, thrilling, futuristic, interesting
Similar in 87%
Fringe (2008)
Plot Summary:
FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, brilliant but formerly institutionalized scientist Walter Bishop and his scheming, reluctant son Peter uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 254000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 46 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, scary, surreal, detective, thrilling, exciting, dramatic, psychological thriller, inspirational