If you thought the most innovative sci-fi shows were on SYFY, think again: These days, they’re more likely to be on Apple TV+.
Over the past decade, the premium streamer has quietly amassed a library of sci-fi shows that offer new ways to explore the genre.
These shows are based on the classics, but very much depends on how we experience life in the present.
Apple TV+ is definitely not the only champion of science fiction today, but its hit shows Foundation and Silo are two excellent examples of the new directions the genre seems to be heading.
Hard science fiction and soft science fiction
Like other broad entertainment genres, science fiction contains a ton of different subgenres, depending on how nerdy you want to be. The largest of these subcategories are hard science fiction and soft science fiction.
A super basic shorthand for “tight on the right and loose on the left” is that hard sci-fi focuses on science, while soft sci-fi focuses on fiction.
A lot of shows can blur the distinction between the two, and ultimately it doesn’t matter all that much other than figuring out what kind of science fiction you like.
For example, I would put The Foundation squarely in the soft sci-fi camp because of its multiple religions, never-ending dawn-dawn-dusk clones, and Hari Seldon’s disembodied consciousness that pops up every few hundred years Show up once and be like the worst jack in the box ever.
However, “Foundation” is clearly considered hard science fiction, mainly because of its realistic mathematical predictions. Because the most important thing here is to check the math, not check Lee Pace.
Foundation is a bit of a curve ball because it encompasses so many different style elements. A more direct example of hard science fiction is The Expanse , a show revered for its scientific accuracy.
Soft science fiction focuses more on interpersonal relationships and sociology. Star Wars is arguably the gold standard example of the subgenre, where technology serves the characters rather than being the focus itself.
Of course, technology plays a big role in Star Wars and many other soft science fiction shows like Firefly. It’s just that the science behind the technology doesn’t rely on accuracy the way hard science fiction does.
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Speculative, dystopian, and alternate history are all subgenres of soft science fiction, but these categories often overlap.
While “Severance” is fairly straightforwardly speculative, you could also say the same about “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which is often described as a dystopia.
Again, none of these categories or subgenres is “better” than any other. But it’s interesting to see how many different shows fall into the realm of science fiction.
Has science fiction been surpassed by reality?
Science fiction has long predicted real-world technological advances.
We may not have flying cars like The Jetsons yet, but plenty of innovations we take for granted today were predicted by science fiction novels, short stories, and TV shows decades ago.
Credit cards, the internet, cell phones – at some point, all of these were just words on a page rather than tangible objects in our real lives.
It seems to be an accepted fact that science fiction is always one step ahead of what we actually see around us. Until the premiere of “Black Mirror” on Netflix brings the technological horrors of the future closer to us.
Black Mirror operates against the same near-future or alternate history presentation that films like Ex Machina and TV shows like Devs explore.
It’s characterized by a delightfully plausible nightmarish existence that seems too far-fetched to be worth worrying about—until it isn’t.
We’re effectively in a post-Black Mirror world now, and our current reality has pretty much surpassed any scares the show might have given us.
How science fiction has changed to suit our needs
Sci-fi shows have expanded to accommodate recent viewing trends.
“The Foundation” may be based on a series of books written nearly seventy-five years ago, but its use of low-tech tribal culture and alternate timelines delights in Marvel shows like “Game of Thrones” and “Loki” Audience aspects echo.
The fusion of genres, time periods and well-crafted backstories does not alienate contemporary audiences who are inundated with content online.
They are accustomed to dealing with large amounts of seemingly unrelated information on a daily basis and are more tolerant of narratives without a clear endpoint.
This comfort level of ambiguity lends itself particularly well to dystopian shows based on video games, such as Fallout and The Last of Us.
Rather than broadening its scope to include everything, The Silo is a more traditional dystopian show that narrows its focus to the point of claustrophobia.
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It also hides its advanced technology in simulation traps, obscuring the specific time period and history of the world in question.
Many dystopian works share this feature, giving them a timeless quality and providing the characters with a greater sense of agency.
Technologists also thrive in this sci-fi environment, but people of all classes are able to use at least the basics of existing technology.
This approachable, back-to-basics dystopian spirit blends our reliance on current technology with our perceived ability to survive.
The world as we know it may be crumbling, but even if we’re not computer engineers, we have a chance of survival because we can (maybe?) light a fire and change the batteries in our walkie-talkies.
Dystopians also upend perceptions of the power of technology.
In many science fiction works, technology is synonymous with progress and enlightenment, just like “Star Wars” and “Quantum Leap”. But in a dystopian setting, those with the power of technology will use it to conquer.
If both the sublime, transcendent vastness of “Foundation” and the gritty, limited individualism of “The Silo” resonate with audiences, what does that mean for the future of science fiction?
There’s always room for more
Science fiction may have lost some of its edge in predicting our future, but it remains unrivaled as a snapshot of our current moods.
Alternate timelines are not new, but their mainstream acceptance in non-sci-fi genres has become more common in the past decade.
For All Mankind is fully committed to this sub-genre, taking the concept of America’s failure in the space race into the distant future.
The show is based on real history, unlike “Foundation,” where alternate timelines branched off from historical threads that began as fiction.
Science fiction shows based on reality also provide tangible benefits to viewers, who are more likely to invest in the “what ifs.” This makes it easier to imagine what is actually happening.
The idea of being in the “wrong timeline” is both comforting and terrifying. But it also offers a non-sectarian view of immortality, in which different versions of yourself coexist on infinite timelines.
This is appealing on many levels, including the idea of potentially jumping into different realities in an expansion of the sliding door concept.
This concept relates to our constant deluge of information, where we have embraced the idea of infinite complexity, but we also long for an escape to a simpler reality.
Can we still have spaceships?
Just because science fiction is bleeding into realism (noir suspense in “Sugar,” workplace thriller in “Severance”) doesn’t mean we have to leave the stars behind.
There will always be a place for “traditional” science fiction novels that take place in outer space and encounter alien civilizations.
After all, these have been icons of the genre for decades. But it’s exciting to see science fiction branching out into other areas new areas even it Didn’t see it coming.
Science fiction has never been more relevant to our current times.
Perhaps the most important shift in the genre is now, as we face the future together.
Do you think science fiction is going in a new direction?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
