The Best Futuristic TV Shows on Hulu

What it's about: 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.

Where to Watch: 14 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 14 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a theonomic dictatorship. A TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel.

Where to Watch: 35 episodes (97%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 36 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: The adventures of a late-20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who, after being unwittingly cryogenically frozen for one thousand years, finds employment at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company in the retro-futuristic 31st century.

Where to Watch: 131 episodes (94%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu). 8 episodes (6%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Syfy & Comedy Central). 139 episodes (99%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: They’re not righteous, they’re wrongteous! Hook up with Finn and Jake as they travel the Land of Ooo searching for adventure. But remember, adventure isn’t always easy. Sometimes you’ve got to battle fire gnomes that torture old ladies, save a smelly hot dog princess from the Ice King, and thaw out a bunch of frozen businessmen. What the cabbage?!

Where to Watch: 1 episodes (0%) are available to watch free online (Cartoon Network). 5 episodes (2%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 1 episodes (0%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (Cartoon Network). 156 episodes (50%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Follows the crew of the not-so-functional exploratory ship in the Earth's interstellar fleet, 400 years in the future.

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (19%) are available to watch free online (FOX). 26 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 9 episodes (35%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (FOX). 26 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The provocative story of Cole, a time traveler from a decimated future in a high-stakes race against the clock. Utilizing a dangerous and untested method of time travel, he journeys from 2043 to the present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will all but annihilate the human race.

Where to Watch: 47 episodes (98%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 48 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: What did the world look like as it was transforming into the horrifying apocalypse depicted in "The Walking Dead"? This spin-off set in Los Angeles, following new characters as they face the beginning of the end of the world, will answer that question.

Where to Watch: 53 episodes (77%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 16 episodes (23%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (AMC). 69 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: In 2071, roughly fifty years after an accident with a hyperspace gateway made the Earth almost uninhabitable, humanity has colonized most of the rocky planets and moons of the Solar System. Amid a rising crime rate, the Inter Solar System Police (ISSP) set up a legalized contract system, in which registered bounty hunters (also referred to as "Cowboys") chase criminals and bring them in alive in return for a reward.

Where to Watch: 26 episodes (96%) are available to watch free online (Adult Swim, Crunchyroll & Tubi TV). 26 episodes (96%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 26 episodes (96%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Their mission is simple: Find a cure. Stop the virus. Save the world. When a global pandemic wipes out eighty percent of the planet's population, the crew of a lone naval destroyer must find a way to pull humanity from the brink of extinction.

Where to Watch: 56 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 5 episodes (9%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (TNT). 56 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Josh Futturman, a janitor by day/world-ranked gamer by night, is tasked with preventing the extinction of humanity after mysterious visitors from the future proclaim him the key to defeating the imminent super-race invasion.

Where to Watch: 26 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 26 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Trigun takes place in the distant future on a deserted planet. Vash the Stampede is a gunfighter with a legend so ruthless he has a $60,000,000,000 bounty on his head. Entire towns evacuate at the rumor of his arrival. But the real Vash the Stampede, the enigmatic and conflicted lead character in Trigun, is more heroic, even though he usually acts like a complete idiot.

Where to Watch: 26 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi TV). 26 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 26 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: The year is 2022, and after an unlikely event, only one man is left on earth: Phil Miller, who used to be just an average guy who loved his family and hated his job at the bank. Now, in his RV, Phil searches the country for other survivors.

Where to Watch: 66 episodes (99%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 18 episodes (27%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (FOX). 67 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series that revolves around a corporation running numerous underground establishments across the globe which program individuals referred to as "Actives" with temporary personalities and skills. Wealthy clients hire Actives from Dollhouses at great expense for various purposes. The series primarily follows the Active known as Echo, played by Eliza Dushku, on her journey towards self-awareness.

Where to Watch: 26 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 26 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: 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.

Where to Watch: 40 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu). 40 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: 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.

Where to Watch: 101 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu). 101 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Psycho-Pass is a Japanese anime television series that takes place in the future where it is possible to instantaneously measure a person's mental state, personality, and the probability that a person will commit crimes with a device installed on each citizen's body called the Psycho-Pass. It follows members of Unit One of the Public Safety Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division and the crimes they investigate.

Where to Watch: 11 episodes (29%) are available to watch free online (Sony Crackle & Crunchyroll). 36 episodes (95%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu). 33 episodes (87%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: She has a loving family and best friends, laughs and cries from time to time... Madoka Kaname, an eighth grader of Mitakihara middle school, is one of those who lives such a life. One day, she had a very magical encounter. She doesn't know if it happened by chance or by fate yet. This is a fateful encounter that can change her destiny. This is a beginning of the new story of the magical witch girls.

Where to Watch: 12 episodes (92%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 12 episodes (92%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu).

What it's about: Ergo Proxy is a science fiction suspense anime television series, produced by Manglobe, which premiered across Japan on 25 February 2006 on the WOWOW satellite network. It is directed by Shukō Murase, with screenplay by Dai Satō et al.. Ergo Proxy has been described as a dark sciencefiction mystery with philosophical underpinnings. It features a combination of 2D digital cel animation, 3D computer modeling, and digital special effects.

Where to Watch: 23 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll & Tubi TV). 23 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 23 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: After failing his college entrance exams, 18 year-old Tsukasa Mizugaki is offered a position at the renowned SAI Corporation, known for its production and management of Giftia, androids that possess human emotions. Tsukasa’s position is in the terminal service department where the main job is to recover Giftias that are close to their expiration, a graveyard department in every sense. To make matters worse, Tsukasa is ordered to work with Isla, a female Giftia who is never given any responsibility other than serving tea to co-workers.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu).

What it's about: 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.

Where to Watch: 83 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 83 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A richly romantic action-adventure fantasy, set in a world where retro-futuristic vehicles permeate the skies. Against this lavish background are the lives of young and heroic van ship sky porters - Claus and Lavie - who are forced to take on the mission to deliver a mysterious girl, Alvis, to the battle ship Silvana. Before they know it, they become entangled in an aerial adventure between two countries gripped in an eternal war of magnificent air battleships.

Where to Watch: 2 episodes (4%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 26 episodes (53%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 49 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The story revolves around Shu Ouma, a high school boy who inadvertently obtains an ability called "The Power of the Kings" that enables him to draw out items called "Voids" from other people. He is then thrown into the conflict between a resistance group called Funeral Parlor which aims to restore Japan's independence from a quasi-governmental organization known as the GHQ. In the process, Shu has to deal with the burden his ability puts on his shoulders and the horrific mystery of his past.

Where to Watch: 22 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 22 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Jeremiah is an American television series starring Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner that ran on the Showtime network from 2002 to 2004. The series takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where most of the adult population has been wiped out by a deadly virus.

Where to Watch: 35 episodes (81%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu). 35 episodes (81%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: A short, overweight student uses the Neuro Link, an evolution of the Nerve Gear, to escape himself from the reality. But his skills in the virtual world brings him to the attention of Kuroyukihime, a popular student who introduces him to the Brain Burst.

Where to Watch: 24 episodes (92%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 24 episodes (92%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: In the early 2050s, unknown life forms called “Oracle cells” begin their uncontrolled consumption of all life on Earth. Their ravenous appetite and remarkable adaptability earn them first dread, then awe, and finally the name “aragami”. In the face of an enemy completely immune to conventional weapons, urban civilization collapses, and each day humanity is driven further and further toward extinction. One single ray of hope remains for humanity. Following the development of “God Arcs”—living weapons which incorporate Oracle cells—their wielders are organized into an elite force.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu).

What it's about: Set in the future, Major Lazer is a Jamaican superhero who fights against the dystopian forces that have ruined society that are led by President Whitehall and General Rubbish. Major Lazer is assisted in his fight by President Whitehall's daughter Penny and hacker Blkmrkt.

Where to Watch: 11 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 11 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Return to the Planet of the Apes is a short-lived animated series, by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises in association with 20th Century Fox Television, based upon Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle. Boulle's novel had previously inspired five films and a TV series, beginning with the 1968 film Planet of the Apes starring Charlton Heston. Unlike the film, its sequels, and the 1974 live action TV series, which involved a primitive ape civilization, Return to the Planet of the Apes depicted a technologically advanced society, complete with automobiles, film, and television; as such it more closely resembled both Boulle's original novel and early concepts for the first Apes movie which were changed due to budgetary limitations in the late 1960s.Produced following the last of the big-screen features and a short-lived live-action television series, this series was among the last Planet of the Apes projects for several years following a number of comic books from Marvel Comics and a series of audio adventures from Power Records in 1974. Aside from a number of comic book series published by Malibu Comics in the early 1990s, the next project based upon Boulle's concepts would be Tim Burton's reimagining in 2001.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu).

What it's about: Tom and Suze, two nineteen-year-olds both dreaming of the future, have sex when nuclear war strikes. Unfortunately, they then survive. Awkward. Cockroaches is a post-apocalyptic comedy about one family trying to survive in a wasteland of cannibals, perverts and one insufferable-ex. Our heroes struggle with boredom, fear and the ethics of cooking with their own body fluids.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu).