Television: The Sci-Fi Space Shows of 2026

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Image from the TV series Star City. (Apple TV)

It has already been a pretty good year for television shows set in space, with the following series already premiering their first or new season since January:

  • Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, first season, Paramount+, premiered on January 15, 2026
  • For All Mankind, fifth season, Apple TV, premiered on March 27, 2026
  • Star City, first season, Apple TV, premiered on May 29, 2026
  • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, fourth season, Paramount+, premiered on July 23, 2026
  • The Ark, third season, Syfy, premiered on July 29, 2026

So what else can we expect to see this year? Here is a list of other series that are due for their next season as well as a new series almost ready to go.

  • Blade Runner 2099, new series, Amazon Prime, premiering November 25, 2026 (see trailer)
  • 3 Body Problem, second season, Netflix, premiering later this year
  • Dune: Prophecy, second season, HBO Max, premiering later this year
  • Alien: Earth, second season, FX on Hulu, premiering in 2027
  • Foundation, fourth season, Apple TV, premiering in 2027
  • Murderbot, second season, Apple TV, premiering in 2027
  • Pluribus, second season, Apple TV, premiering in late 2027 or 2028

As shown, we can expect three more sci-fi space series to premiere new seasons this year, with more to follow later. Eight new seasons in 2026 is an impressive number.

If you break down these 12 television series by the parties producing them, you have the following count:

  • Apple TV – 5 shows
  • Paramount+ – 2 shows
  • Amazon Prime – 1 show
  • FX – 1 show
  • HBO Max – 1 show
  • Netflix – 1 show
  • SyFy – 1 show

Kudos to Apple TV for backing so many of these space series over the years.

And stay tuned for the 2026 release dates for 3 Body Problem and Dune: Prophecy. The dates will be posted here as soon as they are known.

Update: One more show needs to be added to the list – Star Trek: Ahsoka. It is expected to return on January 20, 2027.

Sci-Fi Quote: Lt. Erica Ortegas and Strange New Worlds

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“I say that it’s not over, it’s never done, it’s never done. Because I always say the fans are the other half of what we do. So, I there’s a world for Ortegas that still exists, without giving anything away. She’s a character who I think was just a wonder to play. I’m so happy that they created the character in the first place. And as a pilot, as a maverick, as somebody who I have gotten to see has influenced so many younger fans, older fans, I keep saying it’s not over. There’s many places yet for Ortegas, and the world that she lives in to go.”

-Statement by Melissa Navia, who plays Lt. Erica Ortegas on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, during an interview with Trekmovie. Season four of the Paramount+ series premieres on July 23rd. Filming for season five was completed late last year, with this final season of the series expected to be broadcast in 2027.

Sci-Fi Stories: Dune & Duncan, The Sixth Nik, and Foundational Theories

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Here are a few sci-fi stories of interest.

—Den of Geek: “Dune 3 Trailer Just Revealed the Most Important Character in the Franchise“

It’s not really about Paul Atreides. Paul may be Lisan al-Gaib, he may be the Kwisatz Haderach, but Paul is not actually the main character of the Dune franchise. Instead, that honor goes to the character introduced in the latest trailer for Dune: Part Three, the character you knew as Duncan Idaho. The latest trailer shows the internal fractures in Paul’s (Timothée Chalamet) life as he continues the Fremen jihad launched after he dethroned Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) at the end of the previous movie. His partner Chani (Zendaya) feels betrayed by his actions and his legal wife, Shaddam IV’s daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) joins the plot that the Face Dancer Scytale (Robert Pattinson) launches against him. Central to this conspiracy is the introduction of the man we first met as Duncan Idaho, played by Jason Momoa. Despite what he appears to be, this man is actually called Hayt, and he is the most important character in Frank Herbert‘s Dune novels.

—Chicago Review of Books: “Body Horror At Its Best: Daniel Kraus’s “The Sixth Nik”“

Imagine a future Earth where bodily and mental modifications are the standard. The internet, riddled with rogue AI, has become a sequestered and dangerous pseudo-entity known as the Snarl. Humanity has expanded beyond Earth to settle on other planets. The forefront of technology includes spaceships made from synthetic organic materials resembling internal human organs. In central focus of this society of the future, and in focus of the novel to be discussed today, are a collection of six metallic coin-shaped technologies called niks. Niks are implanted in the brains of a lineage of children, giving them incredible powers of intuition—and lifespans that end at the onset of puberty. When one child dies, the niks are removed from their head, and the next child is chosen. This initial description can hardly begin to cover the scope and depths of The Sixth Nik, a new science fiction novel from the accomplished Daniel Kraus.

—Movieweb: “5 ‘Foundation’ Theories That Will Change the Way You Watch Season 4“

Foundation Season 4 still has no official release date, but it is expected to arrive in 2027. The explosive Season 3 finale set up some great storylines that both extend what’s already been adapted from the Isaac Asimov novels and other subplots that are original to the Apple TV project. Like many familiar with the source material, I was caught massively off-guard by the writers changing the true identity of the Mule at the end of last season. It was one of the biggest twists in the novels, and the adaptation was bold enough to include a huge bait-and-switch. As such, I think it’s fair to say that reading the books doesn’t guarantee knowledge of what’s to come in Foundation Season 4.

Note: Do not forget to watch the third official trailer for the upcoming Dune: Part Three movie.

Space Quote: Every Day is Disclosure Day

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Credit: Image by Smim Bipi from Pixabay

“There’s no effort to keep it secret. If we [get] a signal, it’s going to be out there. The next step is transparency.”

-Statement by Dr. Carol Oliver, as quoted in a Scientific American article titled, “What Disclosure Day Gets Wrong About the Search for Aliens.” Dr. Oliver is a professor of science communication and astrobiology at the University of New South Wales in Australia. She is also involved with the latest version of the SETI Post-Detection Protocols, which establishes procedures for astronomers who believe they have detected evidence of an extra-terrestrial civilization.

Update: For more on Disclosure Day, check out this StarTalk podcast, Disclosure Day with Steven Spielberg & David Koepp.

Sci-Fi Stories: Grogu Goes Down, Spielberg’s Summer of Nonfiction Science Fiction, and Star City Shines

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

Here are a few sci-fi stories of interest.

—Forbes: “‘Mandalorian And Grogu’ Tumbles Out Of Top 5 After 61% Drop At Box Office“

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” is struggling at the box office, dropping 61% in its third weekend and falling out of the domestic top five. The Jon Favreau-directed film had a soft opening, earning $98 million over Memorial Day, less than 2018’s Solo, and suffered a 69% second-weekend drop. Now projected for $9.5 million, its domestic total nears $155.3 million against a $165 million production budget. It faces stiff competition from new releases like “Scary Movie” and “Masters of the Universe.” Furthermore, low-budget indie hits like A24’s “Backrooms” and Focus Features’ “Obsession” are outperforming it, alongside a strong $22.1 million debut from YouTube’s “The Amazing Digital Circus.”

—Associated Press: “Steven Spielberg on His Faith in Alien Life, the Future of the Movies and the Power of Empathy“

“It’s my first film that will be considered science fiction that I do not consider to be science fiction,” Spielberg said in a recent interview. “It’s much more reflective of the world as it is evolving and discoveries that are being made as we speak.” Spielberg, at 79, is trying to revive and reconsider the alien wonder that’s long lingered in his mind, from “E.T.” to “War of the Worlds.” “Disclosure Day,” Spielberg’s first summer movie in a decade, is already being hailed as one of his best in years. But this time, Spielberg is testing whether he can conjure some of his trademark movie magic less with imagination than with conviction.

—Variety: “Apple TV’s ‘For All Mankind’ Spinoff ‘Star City’ Is a Flawless Alt-History Thriller: TV Review“

While the talk of space, science and ships orbits surround the narrative, “Star City” is riveting because of its characters. For fear of sabotage, death or something even worse, no one in Star City can reveal who they truly are. Instead, the audience is offered glimmers of the truth here and there, which act as puzzle pieces throughout the eight-episode first season. (Critics received five for review.) Cloaked in a gloomy gray tone coloring for a prison-like setting, “Star City” creators unveil not simply a stifling world, but one on the verge of consuming itself and its genius with tyranny and ghastly rigidity.