If Stranger Things Is Your Vibe, These Top Best Sci-Fi Series 2025/2026

Stranger Things gave us more than monsters. It gave us friendship, nostalgia, eerie science labs, and a world just beneath our own. It asked what happens when regular kids face impossible danger — and win. Now that the show's final season has wrapped, you might be looking for something that captures that same energy.

The good news? Sci-fi series in 2025 and 2026 are stepping up. They're weird, thrilling, and packed with emotion. Whether you miss the mystery, the upside-down, or the mix of 80s charm with terrifying twists — these new shows bring the same vibes with fresh stories.

Here are the top best sci-fi series in 2025/2026 that will pull you in like Stranger Things did, with mind-bending plots, lovable characters, and worlds hiding just under the surface.

1. Echo Pines (2025) — Sci-Fi/Mystery

In a small Oregon town, kids start hearing strange voices coming from the forest after a military satellite crashes nearby. What they find buried in the woods connects to a forgotten government experiment. It's emotional, spooky, and full of that classic suburban sci-fi energy.

2. Loopfield (2026) — Sci-Fi/Thriller

A quiet town gets caught in a time loop after a failed test at the local particle lab. Teens are the only ones who remember each reset. They must piece together the pattern before everything collapses. Suspenseful, smart, and loaded with retro tech.

3. Ghost Frequency (2025) — Sci-Fi/Horror

A group of high school students unlock an old shortwave radio — and start receiving transmissions from missing people… and things that never existed. Creepy and stylish with serious Stranger Things energy.

4. Neon Hollow (2026) — Sci-Fi/Drama

An abandoned mining town lights up with color and life — but only after dark. Teenagers discover that the land holds an ancient energy source… and they’re not the only ones trying to control it. Moody and electric, with an amazing visual style.

5. Project: Elsewhere (2025) — Sci-Fi/Adventure

Children rescued from a secret lab start developing strange powers. But none of them remember what was done to them — or why they're being hunted. Gritty, sad, and full of heart, this one mixes conspiracy with found family.

6. Static Kids (2025) — Sci-Fi/Coming-of-Age

Kids in a coastal town begin seeing “static people” — glitching figures that walk through their lives like shadows. As they investigate, they realize their reality is collapsing. Deeply emotional and surreal.

7. Frequency Zero (2026) — Sci-Fi/Teen Mystery

A lost signal from the 1980s resurfaces in 2026 and begins playing through old TVs, radios, and phones. Four teens track it back to a long-dead engineer… and an experiment that never should’ve worked. Nostalgic and tense.

8. Crackling Glass (2025) — Sci-Fi/Thriller

Every mirror in a high school begins showing something slightly different — alternate versions of people, with small but terrifying differences. It starts fun. Then it gets dark. Fast. Great tension, strong cast.

9. The Rift Below (2026) — Sci-Fi/Horror

An earthquake reveals a hidden city beneath the suburbs. And it's not empty. With each descent into the underground world, the teens above start to change. This one is dark, smart, and filled with dread.

10. Dreamcode (2025) — Sci-Fi/Drama

Teens begin dreaming the same dream every night — a massive, broken city where something is calling to them. By day, they try to ignore it. By night, it gets stronger. Emotional and strange in the best way.

11. The Quiet Light (2026) — Sci-Fi/Suspense

Strange lights in the sky stop all sound in a small town — no voices, no music, no engines. Just silence. A group of teens investigates while the adults slowly lose their minds. A bold concept with strong mystery writing.

12. Last Bell (2025) — Sci-Fi/Apocalyptic

A school lockdown turns into something far weirder when the world outside disappears — literally. Windows show blackness. Phones go silent. The students and teachers are trapped… somewhere else. Part survival, part cosmic horror.

These top best sci-fi series in 2025/2026 give you everything Stranger Things fans want — a mix of mystery, emotion, retro tech, found families, and otherworldly fear. Some lean into horror. Some lean into wonder. All of them feel like a secret waiting to be uncovered.

If you miss the tension of dark basements, flickering lights, and the feeling that something isn’t quite right — these shows are waiting for you. Hit play. Turn off the lights. And get ready to go missing for a while.