time travel tv shows 2000s

The 32 Best TV Shows About Time Travel

Time traveling is a popular topic when it comes to all types of entertainment from books to films. But in recent years time travel has also become a popular theme in TV.

So let’s take a look at this list of the best time traveling TV shows and find out how each of them handles time travel and all the history that comes with it.

Doctor Who, BBC One (1963 – 1989, 2005 – present)

When it comes to time traveling and TV, probably the most notable name in this niche is Doctor Who  because this time travel series has been around for 39 seasons and is still going strong.

Hailing from British television channel BBC One, Doctor Who tells the tale of the Time Lord aka The Doctor, and his companions as they travel to different times and try to prevent evil forces from changing history and hurting innocent lives.

Once the Time Lord gets hurt beyond healing, he can transform into a new body and continue saving the world. Hence why at this point 13 (soon to be 14) different actors have played The Doctor.

Doctor Who is not only a huge part of the fabric of British popular culture but by now this time travel show has found its way into the hearts of many people all over the world.

It has inspired many spin-offs in the form of TV shows, comic books, movies, novels, you name it. But more than that, by now it has become an industry standard both when it comes to science-fiction television series and shows about time travel.

No wonder that Doctor Who continues to be successful after countless actor changes and plot twists.

Where to watch Doctor Who:

Timeless, nbc (2016 – 2018).

Another time travel TV series that has already become a cult classic and is adored by fans all over the world is NBC’s Timeless . And despite the turmoil that this show has gone through, it still is time traveling at its best.

Starring Malcolm Barrett, Matt Lanter, and Abigail Spencer as Rufus, Wyatt, and Lucy, Timeless  details the trio traveling to different times in an effort to stop their adversaries from rewriting history.

But as it later turns out, the conspiracy goes deeper than them just changing history. Since the people who our trio is chasing are traveling through time to take down a dangerous and all-powerful organization. The same one that helped build the time machine that Rufus, Wyatt, and Lucy are using.

And although Timeless went on for just two seasons (and a two-hour wrap-up movie), you should still check out the show because it’s not only entertaining but will make you think and want to know more about the events that each episode is exploring.

Where to watch Timeless:

Dc’s legends of tomorrow, the cw (2016 – present).

If you are a fan of superhero TV shows, then you will probably have heard about DC’s Legends of Tomorrow . It is a show that is a huge part of The CW’s Arrowverse. And has crossed over with shows like Arrow , The Flash , and Supergirl multiple times now.

And even if you don’t like the rest of the superhero series but do enjoy a good old time travel TV show, then I suggest you still give Legends of Tomorrow a watch.

The plot of this show is based around a team of superheroes that are traveling through time in their time machine christened the Waverider to prevent different catastrophes from happening. Both ones made by others and those created by the team’s previous adventures.

At the forefront, there are well-known DC heroes like Rip Hunter, Firestorm, The Atom, Kid Flash, Steel, and Vixen. Joined by some original characters like Caity Lotz’s White Canary among others.

One of the defining characteristics of Legends of Tomorrow is how fun it is. Because adjectives like unapologetic, witty, and entertaining are frequently used to describe this time travel series.

However, more than that, it adds an interesting layer to the whole Arrowverse universe. And above all, it is just a hoot to watch.

Where to watch Legends of Tomorrow:

12 monkeys, syfy (2015 – 2018).

Then there also is SyFy’s 12 Monkeys , which is a little darker take on time traveling. One that comes with mystery, drama, and apocalyptic stakes. But that doesn’t lessen how good this time travel TV series is.

Split between two timelines, 12 Monkeys centers on Aaron Stanford’s James Cole, who is tasked to travel back in time and stop the distribution of a virus that has the ability to end the human race as we know it.

In Cole’s real timeline, the year is 2043 and people are struggling to survive because of the terrible mutations caused by the virus. So Cole travels back to 2015 to find virologist Cassie Railly, played by Amanda Schull, that can help him stop the release of the virus and the organization that is behind it called The Army of the 12 Monkeys.

If you think about it, the post-apocalyptic setting and time travel really do go hand in hand. Because if you can go back in time to stop history from being changed, why not go back to change it if it prevents something terrible from happening?

And that is what this show explores. Beautifully combining elements of mystery, drama, and science fiction, to form a great TV show.

Where to watch 12 Monkeys:

Outlander, starz (2014 – present).

Want another show that mixes time travel with historical events and does it flawlessly? Then you should put Outlander on your must-watch TV show list!

The show starts in the 1940s when a combat nurse Claire Randall visits Inverness, Scotland as part of her second honeymoon with her husband Frank. Claire accidentally happens upon the standing stones at Craigh na Dun which transport her back in time to 1743.

To return to her own time she first has to survive 18th-century Scotland. And she does so by joining a group of rebel Highlanders from Clan MacKenzie and marrying one of the Highlanders, Jamie Fraser. But eventually, she falls in love with her new husband and aids the clan in evading British redcoats that are pursuing them.

Over the five seasons of Outlander that are currently out (with the sixth coming soon), we see Claire jump back and forth between the 20th and 18th centuries and her two families as she faces two pregnancies, wars, and much more. But eventually, Claire finds her way back to Jamie.

Where to watch Outlander:

Travelers, showcase (2016 – 2018).

Then we have Travelers , a joint venture between Netflix and Canada’s Showcase that will tick all of your time travel TV show boxes.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world , this show depicts the adventures of travelers – operatives who go back in time to prevent the collapse of society.

These travelers are transferred into the bodies of our current-day humans, who otherwise would die, to blend in with twenty-first-century people. And with the help of their artificial intelligence boss from the future, travelers carry out missions in order to stop many catastrophic events from happening.

Travelers is a great mix of sci-fi and drama, featuring a great cast and spine-tingling storylines. So if you love all that and love a good time-travel series, then look no further than Travelers .

Where to watch Travelers:

Dark, netflix (2017 – 2020).

Netflix’s first German original series was the science fiction series Dark , which mixes in some mystery drama with sci-fi: time travel, the apocalypse, wormholes, and parallel worlds.

Dark takes place in Winden, a fictional German town, and begins in 2019 after children begin to disappear from the town. As the show progresses, however, timelines jump drastically between as early as 1921 to as late as 2053.

As four families in Winden investigate the disappearances to reunite with their lost loved ones, they discover a wormhole beneath the local powerplant that allows them to travel between timelines, thus uncovering a generations-long conspiracy involving the town and their families.

Where to watch Dark:

The umbrella academy, netflix (2019 – present).

Netflix brings another to the list with The Umbrella Academy .

On October 1, 1989, 43 infants were suddenly born from unsuspecting women despite them not even being pregnant the day before.

7 of them were raised together as the Hargreeve siblings and trained in their respective abilities until their relationship became strained as teenagers and they drifted apart.

Now, as adults, they’re brought back together by the death of their adoptive father – and the threat of the end of the world, of course.

They’re forced to travel back in time but end up in different times and places, and must find each other again to stop the nuclear apocalypse.

Where to watch The Umbrella Academy:

Seven days, upn (1998 – 2001).

We know that the National Security Agency has its share of secrets, but what if one of those secrets was a time-traveling machine?

In UPN’s Seven Days , the plot centers on one such device made from alien technology found at Roswell.

The Chronosphere, as it’s called, can only be used in times when national security is at risk – the limited capacity of the device allows for just one human to go back in time by seven days in order to avert disasters.

Thus, when the White House is attacked, the NSA employs former Navy SEAL and CIA operative Frank Parker to go back and prevent it from happening.

Where to watch Seven Days:

Loki, disney+ (2021 – present).

Yes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the greatest gifts to the cinema of our time. Now, the MCU has expanded even further into the television medium and we’ve got a few series to accompany it!

One of those is Loki , which of course, centers on the God of Thunder’s mischievous adopted brother.

After the events in Avengers: Endgame , particularly his stealing of the Tesseract, Loki inadvertently creates another timeline that began in 2012, making him a “time variant” version of himself.

When confronted by the authorities, Loki is given two choices: face punishment and cease to exist, or travel through time to fix his own mess and the threat that has emerged.

Where to watch Loki:

Making history, fox (2017).

The thing about traveling back in time is, you have to be very careful that your actions in the past won’t affect the future (which is essentially your actual present).

Most of the time, that’s something you wouldn’t know until you go back to your time. In Making History , however, Dan Chambers travels back in time to right before the American Revolution and sets off a series of events that seriously mess up the future.

Being able to constantly travel between time periods, Dan recruits the help of history professor Chis Parrish to travel with him and ensure that the American Revolution still takes place.

Where to watch Making History:

Quantum leap, nbc (1989 – 1993).

The title of NBC’s sci-fi comedy-drama Quantum Leap is also the name of the time travel machine that accidentally sends its creator, physicist Dr. Sam Beckett, back into the past.

Now, he’s stuck – and not as himself, either!

Sam discovers that he jumped into the body of a stranger and because he’s still himself, doesn’t know all the details of his current identity.

With the help of his friend Al, who appears as a hologram only he can see, he must fix something that went wrong so he can jump in time again and eventually get back to his own body.

Where to watch Quantum Leap:

Quantum leap, nbc (2022 – present).

Speaking of Quantum Leap , in 2022 NBC revived the 1989 series into a more modern take on the cult classic.

In this new Quantum Leap , thirty years have passed since Dr. Sam Beckett vanished into the Quantum Leap accelerator, and the Quantum Leap project was put to rest.

Now the project is restarted with a new team, who tries to puzzle together the mysteries behind Beckett and his time-traveling machine.

So, we follow Ben Song, the lead physicist of the Quantum Leap time travel project, who gets lost in the past after leaping back in time.

As he tries to return to the present he is helped by his fiancée Addison Augustine, who appears to him as a hologram during each leap, and the team back in the present time.

Where to watch Quantum Leap reboot:

The way home, hallmark channel (2023 – present).

Among the newest time travel shows on this list is Hallmark’s The Way Home which has already been renewed for a second season.

The Way Home follows three generations of Landry women who learn that they can time travel after discovering a magic pond on their family’s farm in Port Haven.

When Kat and her daughter Alice return to Port Haven and are forced to move in with Alice’s estranged mother Del, the three women use time travel to uncover their family history, including what really happened to Kat’s little brother Jacob and whether they can prevent his disappearance.

Where to watch The Way Home:

Russian doll, netflix (2019 – 2022).

Netflix’s Russian Doll deviates from the traditional time travel theme of a willing traveler in one specific timeline because Russian Doll’s protagonist Nadia Vulvokov not only has absolutely no choice or control over her so-called time traveling, but hers is also a time loop.

She wakes up every day having to relive the day of her 36th birthday party in New York City; every time, she dies and comes back to the exact same moment.

Every time, Nadia scrambles to figure out what happens to her and tries to prevent her death, leading her to find Alan, a man who is experiencing the same time loop.

Where to watch Russian Doll:

Undone, prime video (2019 – present).

Undone may be an animated series, but it certainly isn’t geared toward younger audiences; though there is a touch of comedy, the series leans more towards the psychological drama genre and “explores the elastic nature of reality”.

The series follows Alma Winograd-Diaz right after she gets into a near-fatal car accident.

Right before the crash, she has a strange vision of her dead father, and right after it, she finds that she now has the ability to manipulate and move through time.

Using this newfound power, she travels between time periods to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding her father’s death.

Where to watch Undone:

Voyagers, nbc (1982 – 1983).

Premiering back in the early 1980s, NBC’s Voyagers! Is set in a world where time travel already exists.

In fact, there’s already a secret society in place that trains its members, called Voyagers, to go back in time and make sure that historical events happen exactly the way they’re supposed to – otherwise it could affect the present in unexpected ways.

One such Voyager is Phineas Bogg, although he isn’t exactly the best at the job.

During an accidental trip to 1982, he meets the young Jeffrey Jones and ends up bringing him along on one of his missions.

Having lost his Guidebook, Phineas now needs to rely on the extremely smart Jeffrey to get history right.

Where to watch Voyagers!:

Fringe, fox (2008 – 2013).

Fox’s Fringe is a series that was well into the science fiction genre, with parallel universes, supernatural abilities, biotechnology, doomsday predictions, and of course, time travel.

The title is taken from fringe science, which is a branch that deals with scientific theories riddled with skepticism or even having been disproven already.

In Fringe , Special Agent Olivia Dunham is assigned to oversee the FBI ’s Fringe Division, which is run by Peter Bishop and his father Walter.

Together, the team uses both fringe science and Olivia’s knowledge in investigative techniques to explore the unexplained.

In the process, they discover a larger mystery involving parallel universes and alternate timelines .

Where to watch Fringe:

Time after time, abc (2017).

ABC’s Time After Time is based on the novel of the same name written by Kevin Williamson in 1979.

In addition to that, each episode takes its title from a line in Cyndi Lauper’s song, which was inspired by the film (and subsequently, the same book!).

In Time After Time , we are taken to H.G. Wells’ home in 1893.

During a dinner party, he reveals his time machine – right before his guest John Stevenson is arrested for actually being Jack the Ripper .

John escapes through the time machine and Wells follows him straight into the present: 2017. Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game as John attempts to gain control of the machine.

Where to watch Time After Time:

11.22.63, hulu (2016).

When you have anything with Stephen King involved, you know it’s going to be great.

Hulu’s eight-episode miniseries 11.22.63 is based on King’s novel 11/22/63 and is a science fiction thriller like no other.

Starring James Franco in the lead role, 11.22.63 follows Jake Epping, an English teacher from Maine .

His best friend Al reveals a time travel machine and asks him to take over the mission he’s been working on: to travel to the 60s and prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Will Jake be successful in changing a past that simply refuses to be changed?

Where to watch 11.22.63:

The 4400, usa network/sky one (2004 – 2007).

The 4400 is yet another slightly different take on the idea of time travel, in that there has been just one (fairly significant) shift forward in time, to the present.

Beginning in 1946, individuals who were easily overlooked or marginalized by society slowly began disappearing through beams of green light.

Now, all 4400 of them (hence the title) have been returned to the present day – without having aged a day and in some cases, even manifesting supernatural abilities like telekinesis, healing, and telepathy.

Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris are assigned to investigate the phenomenon and find out why the 4400 have returned.

NOTE: For a fresher take on the show, you can also check out the reboot of the original series which is currently airing on The CW.

Where to watch The 4400:

Somewhere between, abc (2017).

When tragedy strikes our lives, we always wish there was something we could’ve done to prevent it.

In ABC’s Somewhere Between we meet Laura Price, a successful news producer with a great career, a loving husband who’s a district attorney, and a beautiful daughter named Serena.

However, her life changes when the serial killer she is helping the cops to catch kills Serena.

Distraught with grief , Laura attempts to complete suicide but is unsuccessful, instead waking up having time-traveled to a week before Serena’s death.

She teams up with Nico, a former SFPD detective who experienced the same reset and wants to find the real killer to change his brother’s fate as well.

Where to watch Somewhere Between:

Terra nova, fox (2011).

Terra Nova takes its viewers to both extremes of the time-traveling timeline.

The present-day is 2149, where overpopulation has threatened to deplete the Earth’s resources.

In an attempt to save Earth and mankind, scientists have found a way to travel back in time, sending groups of humans back to the Cretaceous Period to set up colonies.

Terra Nova focuses primarily on Elisabeth and Jim Shannon, and their three children, who have joined the 10th pilgrimage to Terra Nova.

They offer their expertise as a trauma surgeon and former narcotics detective and help those in charge with stopping those whose intentions go against the greater good.

Where to watch Terra Nova:

Frequency, the cw (2016 – 2017).

One concept in time travel is known as “the butterfly effect”, wherein one small change in time may have great effects elsewhere.

Frequency demonstrates this concept perfectly.

Raimy Sullivan is an NYPD detective who, after a strange weather phenomenon, discovers that she can communicate with her dead father through his old ham radio.

Believing he was a corrupt cop, she learns the truth and warns him of his murder, thus saving his life.

However, this has profound effects on the future – Raimy’s present.

Now, they must work together across time to save her father and preserve the present.

Where to watch Frequency:

Life on mars, bbc one (2006).

In many of the shows on the list so far, the protagonists experience a time loop that’s triggered at the point of their death.

It’s no different for Sam Tyler, the main character in the British series Life on Mars .

Sam is a Detective Chief Inspector with the Greater Manchester Police, but one day he accidentally gets hit by a car.

When he awakens, he’s in 1973 and working at one rank lower than he was: Detective Inspector.

The selling point of Life on Mars , however, is that we’re left unsure if Sam’s predicament is due to his actual death, a comatose, or time travel.

Where to watch Life on Mars:

Always a witch, netflix (2019 – 2020).

Always A Witch (or Siempre Bruja in its original Spanish title) is a Colombian series that is set in both present-day Colombia and the 17th century .

The series follows Carmen Eguiliuz, a young 19-year-old witch who, after committing the crime of falling in love with a white man in 1646 colonial Colombia, is scheduled to be burned at the stake.

She gets a chance to escape to a new life when the mysterious wizard Aldemar makes a deal with her: he will save the man she loves if she travels into the future to find the woman who can break his curse.

Where to watch Always a Witch:

Beforeigners, hbo (2019 – present).

HBO’s Beforeigners is a Norwegian sci-fi crime drama series and the first Norwegian original from HBO Europe.

The title is a clever play on words centered on the general plot: a group of “foreigners” has suddenly shown up at a neighborhood in Oslo, and they are all from “before” times, or several different time periods in history.

Whether from the Viking period , the Stone Age, or the more recent 19th century , each of these ‘Beforeigners’ tries to integrate in modern-day Norwegian society.

One of them even partners with a detective to investigate first a murdered Stone Age woman, then a series of murderers tied to Jack the Ripper.

Where to watch Beforeigners:

Alice, sbs tv (2020).

Alice was a South Korean sci-fi series that aired in late 2020.

In the lead-up to the main plot, the show’s background is explained to its viewers.

Set in 2050, time travel is monitored by an agency called Alice, which sends its clients to the past to help find closure with deceased loved ones.

Alice one day sends two agents to 1992 in order to find the Book of Prophecy, but one of them disappears with the book and her unborn child.

In 2020, the child becomes a detective and in his investigation into his mother’s death in 2010, discovers the existence of Alice and time travel.

Where to watch Alice:

Live up to your name, tvn (2017).

Yet another South Korean time travel series , Live Up to Your Name initially takes its viewers some 400 years into the past, right in the middle of the Joseon dynasty.

There we meet Heo Im, a doctor of traditional Korean medicine who also specializes in acupuncture.

On one of his treatments of the king’s migraines, he made a mistake and was charged with treason.

Chased by the king’s soldiers, he’s shot with an arrow and presumed dead when he falls into the river – except he ends up waking up in present-day Seoul instead, where he meets cardiothoracic surgeon Choi Yeon-kyung.

Where to watch Live Up to Your Name:

My only love song, netflix (2017).

Our third South Korean series is Netflix’s My Only Love Song , which aired in 2017.

We start off in modern-day Korea where we meet Soo-jung, a talented and top-level actress.

However, it seems that the fame may have gotten to her head as she’s arrogant, and believes fame and money make the world go round.

When things don’t go her way on her new show, she winds up in a time-traveling van that takes her to the 6th century.

There, she meets a man much like herself in terms of arrogance, but his hidden soft spot and generosity towards the poor changes her perspective on her own life and self.

Where to watch My Only Love Song:

Signal, tvn (2016).

Signal is based on the 2000 American film Frequency , but another thing that sets this South Korean series apart from others is that the cases investigated in the series are also based on real-life crimes in the country.

Signal follows a cold case profiler from 2015 and a detective from 1989 simultaneously; they discover they’re able to communicate with each other through an old walkie-talkie.

Using this unique ability to provide much-needed foresight in investigations, they team up to both solve and in some cases, even prevent these horrific crimes.

Where to watch Signal:

Rooftop prince, sbs (2012).

Last but not least, South Korea brings its last time-traveling series to the table with Rooftop Prince , a comedy-drama filled with intrigue, mixed identities, and possible reincarnations.

Crown Prince Lee Gak from the Joseon dynasty accidentally time travels to 2012 with three others from his entourage, and their lives are thrown into a whirlwind.

He crosses paths with Se-na, who looks exactly like his recently deceased wife.

In the hopes of getting answers about his wife’s mysterious drowning, he assumes the identity of another man who he also looks exactly like and attempts to marry Se-na in this timeline as well.

Where to watch Rooftop Prince:

11 comments.

Tomorrow people cw

You forgot The Time Tunnel, an Irwin Allen sci-fi show (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost In Space, Land of The Giants), all classic 60s sci-fi

Journeyman should also be on this list. It was only half a season on NBC but it wraps up to a satisfying conclusion.

Fantastic acting and interesting characters.

Glad someone else watched Journeyman. I thought I’d was a great spiritual successor to Quantum Leap.

Journeyman is one of the good shows u can watch but qunatum leap i watched and didnt like

Where is The Time Tunnel?????

Another show for your list is “Being Erica” (CBC, 2009-2011). Excellent writing, and very unique.

i was looking for this comment. such an underrated show

I concur. This was definitely a great one. It certainly provides a lot of food for thought.

Some of the information in the Doctor Who one is wrong. It started in 1963, it was only revived in 2005 (you put 2006), and it’s been going for 39 seasons, as of June 2022

Thanks for letting me know! I updated the article accordingly.

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20 Best Time-Travel Shows Ranked

If you could travel back and forth through time, where would you go? What would you do? Who would you talk to? Even better, if you were writing a book, making a movie, or working on a television show about time travel, what would you include? The best TV shows about time travel all feature characters who visit other eras for various compelling (or even life-threatening) reasons. Maybe it's to prevent a coming apocalypse, maybe it's just to save one person's life — but as many of these shows teach, small changes can have big effects, and many of these characters learn that their time-traveling can change the world.  

Now, there are some great time travel-adjacent shows that don't quite fit this list. A fun romp like "Early Edition," for example, utilizes a time-traveling newspaper and potentially a time-traveling cat, but doesn't in and of itself feature a lot of time travel. Likewise, something like "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" is rooted in a time travel premise, but stays mostly in one time. With all that said, here's a look at our choices for the 20 best time travel shows on TV.

Save the cheerleader, save the world. That's what future Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) tells present-day Hiro when he appears to him from the future, and that's what establishes "Heroes" as way more than just a superhero show.

The NBC series follows a group of regular people who develop special powers, not unlike mutants in the "X-Men" series, after a mysterious worldwide eclipse. Each character gains their own individual abilities. Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) develops the ability to heal from any injury. Senator Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) gains the ability to fly, while his brother Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) can temporarily absorb others' powers. Still, few of these characters have cooler abilities than Hiro, who can influence the space-time continuum. This means he can teleport, slow down time — and, of course, time travel.   

Understandably, Hiro's power set becomes a serious asset throughout the series, and his path to perfect his abilities is one of "Heroes'" strongest story arcs. The first few times he travels through time don't go as planned, and throughout the series, things can get in the way of him ending up where he wants to go or when he wants to be. While Hiro's time-traveling is just one part of the larger story, it's definitely one of the show's highlights – especially since Oka is so darn charming as the character.

19. 11.22.63

One of the best Stephen King TV series out there, the eight-episode "11.22.63" follows a man named Jake Epping (James Franco). He's a relatively normal guy who receives a chance to change history when his friend Al (Chris Cooper) tells him he's found a way to travel back in time. Al tells Jake that the portal he's discovered goes back to the year 1960 and that he's been working on a plan to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Al's age and advancing cancer diagnosis prevent him from following through on the plan, however, and he asks Jake to take over for him. Jake agrees, but soon his quest is met with pushback from a mysterious source. As it turns out, the past doesn't want to be changed, and every step Jake takes toward preventing JFK's assassination leads to more cracks in the timeline. 

A charming and exciting time travel drama, "11.22.63" is a well-executed, twisty tale that only ranks so low on this list because it's in such great company. If you're looking for a quick, self-contained time travel miniseries that revolves around one of modern America's most notable events, this show is well worth a watch. 

When Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crash lands on a deserted island, wacky and scary things start happening to the survivors. ABC's "Lost" deals with flashbacks, flash-forwards, mysterious groups that already have a presence on the island, a black smoke monster — and, as it turns out, an ancient battle between good and evil. One of the great appointment television shows before streaming broke through, "Lost" had fans talking about it and theorizing about its mysteries on a weekly basis.

The sci-fi drama captivated viewers for six seasons, and though time travel is referenced throughout the entire series run, it plays the biggest role in Season 4. As the island itself leaps from place to place and from time to time, the main group of characters jumps with it, encountering previous versions of themselves and island events that occurred in the past, and suffering from the effects of temporal displacement. The most beloved episode dealing with time travel is undoubtedly "The Constant," in which fan-favorite Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) figures out a way to stop his consciousness from jumping through time by finding his constant — his true love, Penny (Sonya Walger).

Of course, "Lost" is not just a time travel show, and famously covers such a wide variety of mysteries and sci-fi concepts that viewers might find it hard to keep up. As such, it ends up with this relatively low ranking. 

Like "Lost", "Fringe" is considered one of the most binge-worthy sci-fi shows of all time  but the fact that it isn't exclusively about time travel means it lands near the tail end of this particular list. The ABC show revolves around a science-fiction conglomerate that dabbles with interdimensional travel, wormholes, and alternate realities. Anna Torv stars as FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, who heads up the bureau's Fringe Division. With the help of "mad scientist" Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), his estranged son Peter (Joshua Jackson), and their lab assistant Astrid Farnsworth (Jakisa Nicole), Dunham explores cases involving fringe science — be they about time travel, mind control, experiments gone wrong or any other strange and obscure criminal activity.

Time travel is more of a looming presence early in "Fringe," particularly present in the character of the Observer (Michael Cerveris), a bald, pale, genetically advanced human from the future. While Season 1 and Season 2 deal with the battle between two dimensions and realities, time travel really becomes an element in Season 3. Seasons 4 and 5 then deal with alternate timelines and the Observers that infiltrate the world from the future, intent on wiping out humanity. As you might expect, things can get a bit confusing, but the show sure is fun.

16. The Umbrella Academy

You have to respect a show that's so high-concept that time travel doesn't even get top billing. "The Umbrella Academy" boasts mysterious events, family drama, dance numbers, a talking chimpanzee, some of the cleverest superpowers in superhero shows, and a robot mom — and that's just scratching the surface. Based on "The Umbrella Academy" comics created by Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance fame, the Netflix show is a saga that exploits everything from the butterfly effect to the grandfather paradox for emotional and comedic impact.

The central Hargreeves family consists of a group of kids all born on the same day, adopted by the same eccentric billionaire (Colm Feore). He has trained them to protect the world with their various superpowers, but they aren't particularly great at it, and their strict upbringing has left them with a wide array of issues and deep rifts between them. The dysfunctional bunch starts out fairly estranged, but slowly bonds to save humanity from an apocalyptic event ... only to cause another potential apocalyptic event by sprinkling themselves across time.

In between the tears in the space-time continuum, "The Umbrella Academy" is ultimately an ensemble story about found (and re-found) family, as well as a truly unique superhero show where personal failure and the side-effects of costumed crimefighter life play a huge role. However, since Season 1 largely approaches time travel through Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) and the Temps Aeternalis agency, and much of Season 3 focuses on a present-day alternate reality, only the 1960s-themed Season 2 goes truly all in on the concept of sending all main characters to a different era. 

15. Sliders

"Sliders" is a 1990s sci-fi adventure series that features Jerry O'Connell and friends getting lost across the multiverse. O'Connell ("Stand By Me") plays boy genius Quinn Mallory, inventor of the Timer — a device that lets him and his friends "slide" through a wormhole vortex into different versions of Earth. The thing about wormhole vortexes, though, is that they like to misbehave, meaning Quinn and his buds never know where they're headed next on their adventures. This makes their quest to get back home to their own Earth a tricky one.

"Sliders" starts off fun and strong, and is at its best when having bonkers fun — like when Rembrandt (Cleavant Derricks) discovers a world where he could have been Elvis-level famous — and when it's exploring real-world issues in a high-concept dimension, like when the crew visits an Earth that treats men worse than women. Even if you've seen it before, it's definitely worth a re-watch, because "Sliders" is one  TV show that's better than you remember.

14. Continuum

On "Continuum," Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) is a Protector – think futuristic government agent from even more futuristic equipment — from the year 2077. She gets transported to the year 2012 along with a group of murderous terrorists, forcing Kiera to remain in the past as she chases them down. Fortunately, her gadgets and knowledge of the past soon come in handy and she finds loyal allies. Unfortunately, her enemies also know their history and plan on altering it for their own gain. 

"Continuum" milks the premise for all it's worth, while avoiding the pitfall of becoming a run-in-the-mill procedural with an unchanging status quo. While Kiera does handle her share of case-of-the-week story arcs, they're often connected to the group she pursues, and she never lets go of her primary target of stopping the terrorists. In order to avoid disrupting the timeline, she also has to go to great lengths to avoid revealing that either she or her targets are time travelers — and when their actions inevitably end up changing the future, she has to deal with the consequences. 

13. Timeless

If ever there was a time travel show that was canceled too soon, it's Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan's "Timeless." The NBC sci-fi series stars Abigail Spencer as the historian Lucy, Matt Lanter as the soldier Wyatt, and Malcolm Barrett as Rufus, a scientist who makes up a team trying to prevent a mysterious organization from altering the courses of history through time travel. They're up againsts Garcia Flynn (Goran Višnjić), who travels throughout history intending to influence major events like the Hindenburg disaster. However, the team soon realizes that the villain they thought they were fighting is much larger and infiltrates the historical timeline in ways they never imagined. 

Instead of focusing on the usual historical suspects, "Timeless" often highlights forgotten people of color, women, and lesser-known historical figures, giving them their due and celebrating their contributions to society. This element of the show can be seen in the way Rufus, for instance, is reluctant to join the team because he knows how Black people are treated in the eras they visit. 

Despite its intriguing concept, the show was canceled after Season 1, but fans caused such an uproar that NBC reversed the decision of canceling "Timeless"  and renewed it for another season. After Season 2, NBC pulled the plug once more, and again, the fans cried foul. In a kind of compromise, NBC greenlit a special two-hour series finale that ties up loose ends and gives much-needed closure to the story. 

12. 12 Monkeys

The "12 Monkeys" SyFy series is based on the 1995 film of the same name that stars Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt — though the series makes a fair few changes to stretch the plot into a four-season sci-fi drama. The series stars Aaron Sanford as James Cole, a scavenger from the year 2024 who's tasked with traveling to 2015 in order to stop the release of a biological weapon. In the movie, James is helped by a psychologist named Kathryn Railly played by Madeleine Stowe, but here, he befriends a virologist named Dr. Cassandra "Cassie" Railly (Amanda Schull). Pitt's character, Jeffrey Goines, is also gender-swapped here, with Emily Hampshire playing Jennifer Goines.

Like the movie, the series deals with the Cassandra Complex, the idea that we have a hard time believing concerns about the future, no matter how likely and provable they are. It also deals with circular time and the idea that past events can be affected by future ones. If those aspects of the film lift your time travel antennae, the four-season show dives even deeper.

11. Paper Girls

"Paper Girls" is a brilliant time travel show that was canceled way ahead of its time. Based on the comics by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, this Amazon series tells the story of a group of 1990s tween girls who get attacked by futuristic invaders. They manage to escape into the future, where one of the girls, Erin (Riley Lai Nelet ), meets her adult self (Ali Wong).

The show dispenses with grandfather paradox hand-wringing and instead uses the concept of the girls confronting their past and future selves, to brutally honest and hilarious effect. Young Erin is horrified to find out how much of herself she's abandoned by the time she turns into Old Erin, and refuses to let life work out that way. It motivates Erin to want to return to her home time even more — this kid has a clock to beat. However, there are two sides to the coin, and Old Erin is also able to care for her young self in ways she never felt able to when she was younger. It's a beautiful and potent visual metaphor that other characters also make good on. 

All in all, "Paper Girls" is a feast for the eyes as much as its ensemble cast is a feast for the soul. Plus, Jason Mantzoukas playfully chewing scenery as the ominous Grand Father? This show could have lasted until the end of time — or at least until Season 2.

10. Timewasters

"Timewasters" is a time travel comedy about a Black British jazz band that accidentally time-slips back to 1920s London, among other timelines. The quartet stumbles into an earlier time perod via a disgusting elevator that, yes, doubles as a time machine. Once the crew shows up in the past, they're treated like freaks, but they gain some measure of success as musicians. While the crew eventually tries to return to the present, they also have a "Back to the Future" moment when they seemingly get stuck in the 1950s.

"Timewasters" is full of funny jokes and great music, and it's a groundbreaking show in a number of ways. "People like us never get to time travel — it's what white people do, like skiing or brunch," creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor told the Royal Television Society . "For me, race is so important." Taylor also stars in "Timewasters," along with Kadiff Kirwan ("Slow Horses"), Adelayo Adedayo ("Some Girls"), and Samson Kayo ("Our Flag Means Death"). The show is also an excellent destination if you're into spotting a variety of British actors and comedians ... including Joseph Quinn, who went on to rise to fame as Eddie Munson on "Stranger Things."

9. Outlander

Based on the series of novels by Diana Gabaldon, Starz's "Outlander" follows the story of a World War II nurse named Claire (Caitriona Balfe) who finds herself thrown back in time after visiting a circle of mysterious Druid stones. She arrives in 18th Century Scotland and, after being taken in by a band of gruff Scots, she marries the dashing young Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) in order to avoid being taken prisoner by her real husband's (Tobias Menzies) apparent evil ancestor, Black Jack Randall (Menzies). Claire lives through a time of great upheaval in Scotland when tensions with British control are rising and history-making battles loom in the near future. Despite being initially reluctant to stay, she and Jamie fall deeply in love, and their romance remains the backbone of the series.

The entire "Outlander" timeline  takes some time to explain, what with several 20th-century characters taking the trip to the 18th century and the show covering versions of notable real-world historical events. Without further spoilers, all there is to say is that if you enjoy time travel shows that lean heavily toward historical drama, "Outlander" is where it's at. Also, if you view Tobias Menzies as an incorrigible dweeb due to his performance as Edmure Tully on "Game of Thrones," his monstrous "Outlander" villain is guaranteed to erase that image.

8. Quantum Leap

"Quantum Leap" stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist who invents a way to travel through time. When the corporation funding his project threatens to shut it down, Sam uses himself as a guinea pig to test out the method. He finds himself thrown back in time, but in another person's body. The only other entity aware of his 'leap" is a hologram of his colleague and best friend, Admiral Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell). Al tells Sam that he must correct things that went wrong in the past before being allowed to leap back to his own time and body, and can only use the resources of the project's supercomputer, Ziggy.

With Sam leaping back and forth into different bodies at different times, the show uses a variant of the traditional procedural set up. New characters turn up to guest star and Sam gets to save the day, have a fling, and learn something new before leaping to the next destination, which just might be home one of these days.  

The series ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993, but its combination of time travel and case-of-the-week antics has proved enduring enough that "Quantum Leap" even gets a shout-out in "Avengers: Endgame." Despite being over three decades old, it remains a cool time travel series worth checking out.

7. The 4400

In the opening scenes of "The 4400," an enormous ball of light drops 4,400 people at the foot of Mount Rainier in Washington. They soon realize that they were all taken from some other point in time and deposited into the year 2004, unaged and without any memories of where they'd been. At first, everyone assumes that these people have been abducted by aliens. However, it soon turns out that the truth is far more time travel-related.

The returned people soon start developing "Heroes"-style powers that range from telekinesis to telepathy and super-strength, which people from the future have entrusted with to prevent various catastrophic events that they want to avoid in their timeline. Unfortunately, the 2004 government considers the powered folks a threat, and inhibits their powers with a neurological drug. 

The stories that unfold from this setup are exactly as complex and entertaining as you'd imagine, with various members of the titular group treating their powers in different ways and society having a hard time dealing with them. Unfortunately, "The 4400" ended abruptly after four seasons on a somewhat ambiguous note, but even so, it's a fun show to revisit.

6. Travelers

In Netflix's "Travelers," time-traveling operatives from a post-apocalyptic future are tasked with preventing certain events that have led to the downfall of society in their own present day of 2018. The travelers' consciousness takes over a person in the desired time who's just about to die, and the operative then lives out the rest of that person's days though with the mission in mind ... and a strict set of rules they must follow. Apart from a list of ways they're not allowed to interact with the past, they're also strictly forbidden from communicating with other known travelers outside their team, save for special circumstances dictated by the Director, who communicates by temporarily taking over children. 

It's a unique and complex premise, and the way the travelers scope out potential targets for takeover and learn to live as them is as timely as it comes — they use social media, GPS locations, and other readily available online information for their time-travel tricks. This adds a layer of present-day dread to the show's fascinating take on time travel. 

Loki Laufeyson (Tom Hiddleston) meets his match when he comes up against the Time Variance Authority in one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most ambitious Disney+ shows, "Loki." The TVA is so dedicated to maintaining a particular sacred timeline that they purge all alternate realities where someone made a choice they deem wrong, which might not always make sense, but precision isn't the point here. It's the idea of playfulness versus control. 

The Loki we see here is an alternate-timeline variant of the one the audiences are familiar with, and thus starts the show in full "The Avengers" villain mode before life — and time — starts grinding him down. Working with TVA agent Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson), he starts redeeming himself by tracking down an apparently evil version of himself, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) ... and ultimately tackling the biggest challenges time can offer.  

The God of Mischief's surprisingly human path of reckoning is the heart of a show that's deliciously stylish, silly, and sometimes scary. "Loki" takes a cops-and-robbers crime caper into time travel territory and explores hefty themes with a light touch, from mindless compliance to self-serving overseers to criminalizing anyone deemed different. "Loki" isn't just a time travel show — it's a show about everything time can offer and more, with characters dancing between eras as you might step from room to room. Also, it has Alligator Loki, who's objectively the best Loki of all. 

If "Loki" is too light-hearted for you, Netflix's "Dark" might be your jam ... provided you can make sense of its incredibly convoluted time travel storyline. Four families weave a tangled web of time travel in this German-language psychological thriller about missing kids, a rotten town, and how almost all of our secrets come out in time. In other words, it's a good time travel show, but it's definitely not a feel-good time travel show. 

"Dark" follows its many characters over the course of their lifetimes and, at one point, has three timelines going at once. Part of the intrigue and challenge of watching the show is trying to understand how (and when) each timeline threads into the other. If you decide to watch it, it's best to have an evidence board and plenty of red yarn ready to chart the relationships and betrayals the town of Winden sees over the years.

While "Dark" is as much a show about human connection and how frayed it can become as it is about time travel, it's also the MVP of using as many time travel paradoxes as possible during its three-season run. "Dark" is also an innovator in the field of wormhole placement. Wormholes are already not to be trusted, but a wormhole underneath a nuclear power plant? No, thank you.

3. Beforeigners

What happens when a bunch of Viking-era warriors, 19th-century figures, and Stone Age people pop up in modern-day Oslo? "Beforeigners" attempts to answer that question while navigating twisty murder mysteries with such efficiency that the Norwegian series may be best described as "crime travel." Adding to the intrigue is the way it focuses more on the present-day relationship between the time refugees and their modern counterparts than on how they showed up in the first place.

"Beforeigners" centers around the odd-couple partnership between hardened police detective Lars Haaland (Nicolai Cleve Broch) and eager new Viking police recruit Alfhildr Enginnsdóttir (Krista Kosonen), who investigate things like the murder of a Stone Age victim and even look into crimes with possible ties to Jack the Ripper.

The metaphor of time migration is an apt one for immigration, and this sci-fi show explores tricky real-life issues with plenty of scope. Creators Anne Bjørnstad and Eilif Skodvin got their start in comedy writing, and their commitment to the bit is evident in the show, including the language used. "Early on, I contacted researchers, professors who helped us. We also constructed the language that Stone Age people spoke, and even with the language from the 19th century: We worked on it to make it sound right," Bjørnstad told Variety . "Why not invest in language, which is such a big part of a person's identity?"

2. Russian Doll

"Russian Doll" could be pitched as "Natasha Lyonne's 'Groundhog Day,'" but that still wouldn't hint at half of the show's charm and emotion. This Netflix offering is a mind-bending time loop dramedy that's a stylish and surreal exploration of life, death, and all the trauma in between. Season 1 of "Russian Doll" features Nadia (Lyonne) stuck reliving her 36th birthday until she inevitably dies and resets back to her friend's bathroom. Later in the season, she discovers a fellow time traveler (Charlie Barnett). They quickly realize that the way out of their dead ends and into a new life is through helping each other.

Season 2 takes some departures from the recursive reality set up in the first season, bending viewers' minds even more thoroughly. "Russian Doll" goes deep, but keeps a sense of humor even as it twists the knife in its characters' hearts — and their timelines. The show keeps audiences just oriented enough by linking its time loops to recognizable spaces and sound cues. You will never look at the subway the same way again, and you will probably never get Harry Nilsson's "Gotta Get Up" out of your head.

1. Doctor Who

Really, could any other show top a list like this?  The untold history of "Doctor Who"  goes all the way back to 1963, when the show premiered on the BBC. The series follows the adventures of a Time Lord who calls themselves the Doctor — an alien being from the planet Gallifrey who travels through space and time on a craft called the TARDIS, which is charmingly disguised as an old-fashioned British police call box and is famously bigger on the inside.  Every Doctor has their own companions  – humans who follow the Doctor throughout space and time, helping people, battling new and recurring villains, and dealing with the assorted wibbly-wobbly stuff on the Doctor's timeline .

The original series ran from 1963 through 1989 and established the neat trick of recasting the Doctor every few years or so, thanks to the premise that the character has multiple lives and can reincarnate himself into different physical bodies. The modern series was revived in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, and talented actors like David Tennant (twice), Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whitaker, and Ncuti Gatwa have followed in his footsteps. Even without the fact that no other show has time travel quite as integrated into its very premise as "Doctor Who," the show's sheer longevity and cultural impact are more than enough to make it the king of the time travel hill. 

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The 50+ Best Time Travel TV Shows, Ranked, Ranked

Are you ready to unravel the threads of time? This remarkable selection of the best time travel shows is filled with gripping narratives, memorable characters, and intriguing explorations of humanity's most complex enigma. These phenomenal series have not only captivated audiences but have also left an indelible mark on television history. Prepare to be taken on a thrilling ride through past, present, and future as these amazing tales challenge the limits of human imagination. 

The best time travel shows mesmerize viewers with their unique, thought-provoking explorations of temporal themes. With their gripping, groundbreaking, and original stories, these series immerse viewers in worlds where the rules of time are bent and broken. These exceptional shows have impacted the television industry at large, earning both pop culture prominence and critical acclaim for their unique takes on time-hopping adventures. 

Each offering in the best time travel TV shows selection offers a unique insight into the fascinating realm of temporal navigation. Embark on a mind-bending journey through different eras with Dark , where intricate storytelling keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. Delve into the heart-pounding mission to save humanity in 12 Monkeys , a show that blends compelling character arcs with stunning visuals and complex narrative. Experience the race against time in Timeless , a thrilling adventure filled with historical intrigue, unexpected twists, and powerful emotions. These remarkable shows are just a few of the outstanding lineup waiting to transport you through the ages. 

Time travel shows are popular and have had a profound impact on television culture because of the engaging narratives, dynamic characters, and thought-provoking themes. By providing riveting stories, unforgettable characters, and thought-provoking insights into the nature of time, these phenomenal series have solidified their places in the pantheon of the greatest time travel TV shows. So, sit back and prepare to lose track of time as audacious heroes take you on unforgettable voyages through the ages. 

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  For those who appreciate intricate storytelling, Dark is the perfect fit as it masterfully explores themes of time travel, human relationships, and existentialism. This German-language Netflix original gained immense popularity globally for its complexity and mind-bending narrative structure. Don't miss out on this modern sci-fi masterpiece that has been compared to Stranger Things  with a darker twist.

Is Dark Worth Your Time?

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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Inspired by Terry Gilliam's cult classic film, Syfy's 12 Monkeys raises the stakes in science fiction television by expertly weaving together elements of time travel, suspense, and character-driven drama. The show boasts an incredibly talented cast led by Aaron Stanford and Amanda Schull, whose performances earned rave reviews from critics. Be prepared to be hooked on this intense yet thoughtfully crafted series that redefines the boundaries of traditional sci-fi storytelling.

Is 12 Monkeys Worth Your Time?

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Quantum Leap

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Quantum Leap is a beloved sci-fi classic well known for its unique premise and episodic adventures filled with heart and humor. Scott Bakula stars as Dr. Sam Beckett, who leaps through time to inhabit various lives while solving problems and altering history for the better. An essential watch for any fan of vintage television or science fiction, don't miss out on this entertaining journey through time.

Is Quantum Leap Worth Your Time?

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• # 22 of 280 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Drama meets adventure in Timeless as viewers follow a team of unlikely heroes tasked with chasing a dangerous fugitive through time. Tackling important historical events and figures, the show offers an enjoyable, educational, and thoughtfully presented fictional journey into America's past. Watch Timeless for its engaging pace, well-developed characters, and clever mix of history and science fiction.

Is Timeless Worth Your Time?

• # 69 of 281 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Based on Diana Gabaldon's best-selling novels, Outlander captivates viewers with its lush historical backdrop combined with elements of fantasy and romance. Set primarily in 18th century Scotland, the show seamlessly melds genres to create a visually stunning and emotionally poignant experience for fans of both history and fantasy alike. Tune in for the passionate love story between Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), but stay for the epic tale that unfolds across centuries.

Is Outlander Worth Your Time?

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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  A refreshing take on the time travel genre, Travelers introduces viewers to a compelling story about operatives sent back in time to prevent humanity's dystopian future. With standout performances from Eric McCormack and Mackenzie Porter, this Canadian-produced series delivers thrilling suspense while exploring themes of sacrifice and responsibility. Stream Travelers for an intelligent sci-fi experience that will leave you questioning your own reality.

Is Travelers Worth Your Time?

• # 57 of 280 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
• # 341 of 646 on The 500+ Best Drama Shows
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The Twilight Zone

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  With its timeless blend of horror, fantasy, and science fiction storytelling, The Twilight Zone remains one of television's most influential series ever created. From the mind of Rod Serling, this anthology program invites viewers to explore strange new worlds filled with eerie twists and social commentary still relevant today. Step into The Twilight Zone for a classic dose of unpredictable entertainment that defies convention.

Is The Twilight Zone Worth Your Time?

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• # 8 of 281 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Adapted from Stephen King's mesmerizing novel by J.J Abrams' Bad Robot Productions, 11.22.63 stars James Franco as a high school teacher tasked with preventing JFK's assassination via time travel in this limited series event from Hulu Originals. This thrilling eight-part drama combines high-stakes intrigue with poignant character development for both fans of King's work or those new to time-travel mysteries.

Is 11.22.63 Worth Your Time?

• # 4 of 111 on The 80+ Best Originals On Hulu, Ranked By Fans
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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Featuring an ever-changing lineup of talented actors as the titular Doctor, this long-running British TV staple has captivated generations with its fantastical adventures through time and space. Doctor Who is beloved for its imaginative storytelling, eccentrically brilliant characters, and endearing camaraderie between the Doctor and their various companions—making it a must-watch institution in science fiction television history.

Is Doctor Who Worth Your Time?

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• # 11 of 281 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  This award-winning Canadian sci-fi series offers a fresh take on the time-travel genre by blending compelling crime drama with thought-provoking futuristic elements. Led by Rachel Nichols as a time-traveling cop from 2077, Continuum delves into themes of morality, power dynamics, and shifting allegiances—making it a must-watch for fans seeking intelligent science fiction grounded in human emotion.

Is Continuum Worth Your Time?

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Paper Girls

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Based on the acclaimed graphic novel series by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, Amazon Prime's Paper Girls follows a group of young girls in the 1980s who become entangled in a time-traveling war that spans across multiple eras. Fans can look forward to a thrilling adventure infused with nostalgic charm, heartfelt friendships, and thought-provoking themes about growing up amid extraordinary circumstances.

Is Paper Girls Worth Your Time?

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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  A captivating medical drama wrapped in mystery, Bodies focuses on two doctors working in different eras who find themselves linked through their patients' inexplicable illnesses. With thoughtfully constructed storylines that focus on ethics within the medical profession and a riveting look at how past actions can impact present realities, Bodies offers an intense viewing experience well worth diving into.

Is Bodies Worth Your Time?

• # 99 of 677 on The 600+ Best TV Shows Of The Last 5 Years
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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  From the creators of The Simpsons comes Futurama —an animated sci-fi/comedy series that has amassed a dedicated fanbase since its debut in 1999. Set in the year 3000, this hilarious show explores themes like fate versus free will while delivering biting social commentary and unpredictable storylines befitting any fan of adult animation or science fiction.

Is Futurama Worth Your Time?

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Russian Doll

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Nominated for nine Emmy Awards including Outstanding Comedy Series , Russian Doll is an inventive blend of dark comedy and existential exploration set within a seemingly endless time loop premise. Starring Natasha Lyonne as Nadia Vulvokov, this critically acclaimed Netflix original showcases sharp writing, brilliant performances, and unexpected twists that will keep audiences guessing until the very end.

Is Russian Doll Worth Your Time?

• # 38 of 677 on The 600+ Best TV Shows Of The Last 5 Years
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• # 21 of 39 on The 25+ Best Current Sci-Fi Shows

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Based on the 2000 film of the same name, Frequency follows NYPD detective Raimy Sullivan as she discovers an old ham radio that allows her to communicate with her deceased father in the past. This CW series digs deep into themes of family, redemption, and fate while providing viewers with a thrilling mystery and gripping emotional drama. Watch Frequency to explore the unbreakable bond between parent and child across both time and space.

Is Frequency Worth Your Time?

• # 183 of 280 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
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The Umbrella Academy

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Superheroes meet family dysfunction in Netflix's adaptation of Gerard Way's comic book series The Umbrella Academy —an enthralling mix of dark humor, action-packed sequences, and heartfelt character development set against a backdrop of impending apocalypse scenarios involving time travel elements. With a stellar ensemble cast led by Ellen Page and Robert Sheehan, this series stands out as an engaging alternative to traditional superhero fare.

Is The Umbrella Academy Worth Your Time?

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• # 7 of 681 on The 600+ Best TV Shows Of The Last 5 Years

Watch This Show If You Love :  Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Prepare for an awe-inspiring journey through time as Quantum Leap masterfully combines science fiction, drama, and adventure while addressing thought-provoking social issues. The series has been widely praised for its innovative concept, strong performances, and compelling storylines. Embrace the opportunity to watch this influential show that pushes the boundaries of television entertainment in today's era.

• # 249 of 681 on The 600+ Best TV Shows Of The Last 5 Years
• # 31 of 38 on The 25+ Best Current Sci-Fi Shows

Legends of Tomorrow

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  For viewers craving an action-packed adventure filled with superheroes and time travel shenanigans, look no further than DC's Legends of Tomorrow . This CW spin-off showcases fan-favorite characters from Arrow and The Flash as they embark on missions throughout history while grappling with their own personal demons along the way. Watch Legends of Tomorrow for its delightful blend of comedy, drama, and high-flying heroics.

Is Legends of Tomorrow Worth Your Time?

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• # 116 of 281 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Lost remains one of the most influential television series in recent history thanks to its groundbreaking storytelling techniques, complex character development, and thrilling suspense. The show delves into themes of survival, morality, and the nature of human connection through a multi-layered narrative that keeps fans guessing from episode to episode—a must-watch for anyone seeking thoughtful entertainment with a touch of mystery.

Is Lost Worth Your Time?

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• # 110 of 281 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Undone is an Amazon Prime original set apart by its unique rotoscope animation style and compelling exploration of mental illness within the framework of time travel-based storylines. Featuring Rosa Salazar's captivating performance as Alma Winograd-Diaz alongside Bob Odenkirk (star from Breaking Bad ), fans can expect thought-provoking content grounded in raw emotion with visually stunning visuals sure to draw them in.

Is Undone Worth Your Time?

• # 329 of 409 on The Best TV Shows Returning In 2022
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• # 42 of 52 on The Best 2019 Original Streaming Platform Shows

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  This NBC mystery-drama explores themes such as destiny and interconnectedness when passengers aboard Montego Air Flight 828 return home after a seemingly routine flight only to find that five years have passed. Manifest's intriguing premise, coupled with strong performances from Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh, will keep viewers invested in the characters' journeys of self-discovery and unraveling the truth behind their miraculous return.

Is Manifest Worth Your Time?

• # 167 of 280 on The 260+ Best SciFi Shows Of All Time
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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  A sinkhole appears in Los Angeles, swallowing up numerous individuals who then find themselves transported back millions of years into a prehistoric world unknown to modern humanity. La Brea offers a thrilling mix of survival drama, action, and science fiction elements while delving into themes such as family bonds and human resilience—an ideal watch for those seeking high-stakes adventure with heart.

Is La Brea Worth Your Time?

• # 645 of 646 on The 500+ Best Drama Shows
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Being Erica

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  With a unique blend of humor, drama, and time-traveling therapy sessions, Being Erica offers an entertaining yet introspective look at the life of Erica Strange (Erin Karpluk) as she revisits her past while grappling with the challenges of her present. The series skillfully tackles themes like personal growth, regret, and self-discovery—making it a must-watch for fans seeking relatable characters and thought-provoking stories.

Is Being Erica Worth Your Time?

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Picking up where the second film left off, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles expands upon the rich mythology established in James Cameron's iconic film franchise—offering fans a deep dive into the lives of Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and her son John (Thomas Dekker) while introducing new characters alongside familiar faces from previous installments. Watch this gripping series for its well-executed blend of action-packed sequences and emotional character development that does justice to its cinematic predecessors.

Is Terminator: The Sarah ... Worth Your Time?

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The Outer Limits

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Often compared to The Twilight Zone for its anthology format and genre-defying narrative style, The Outer Limits explores themes like fear, identity, and what it means to be human through chilling tales that transcend space and time. Originally airing in 1963 before being revived in 1995, this cult classic continues to captivate fans with its unnerving storylines and unforgettable twists.

Is The Outer Limits Worth Your Time?

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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  Following the fan-favorite character's unexpected escape in Avengers: Endgame , Marvel's Loki delves into the God of Mischief's adventures through time and space under the watchful eye of the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA). Starring Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson alongside a strong supporting cast, this Disney+ original series does not disappoint with its clever writing, stunning visuals, and expert blend of humor and intrigue.

Is Loki Worth Your Time?

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Time Tunnel

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  This classic 1960s sci-fi series takes viewers on a spellbinding journey through time as two scientists become trapped within their experimental time-travel device known as "The Time Tunnel." With its combination of fascinating historical settings and adventurous storylines, this show is an essential watch for fans of vintage television or those interested in exploring early explorations of time travel onscreen.

Is Time Tunnel Worth Your Time?

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  This action-packed sci-fi comedy from Hulu follows the misadventures of Josh Futturman (Josh Hutcherson), an ordinary janitor enlisted by two warriors from 2162 to save humanity from extinction. With its winning combination of slapstick humor, thrilling action sequences, and compelling character development, Future Man is a can't-miss series for fans who crave lighthearted fun with a futuristic twist.

Is Future Man Worth Your Time?

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Land of the Lost

Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  A staple of Saturday morning television in the 1970s, Land of the Lost chronicles a family's journey through time to a prehistoric world inhabited by dinosaurs and other dangers unknown to modern civilization. This iconic children's show offers viewers nostalgic escapism combined with imaginative storytelling that has inspired generations since its debut over four decades ago.

Is Land of the Lost Worth Your Time?

• # 16 of 91 on The 90+ Best Cartoons from the '70s
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Watch This Show If You Love : Pineapple Express, Half Baked, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, How High, Friday Why Should I Stream?  This short-lived sci-fi gem from the 1980s follows Phineas Bogg (Jon-Erik Hexum) as he travels through time with his young companion, Jeffrey Jones (Meeno Peluce), to ensure history unfolds as it should. Voyagers! offers viewers a charming mix of adventure, humor, and educational content that makes it well worth revisiting for fans of vintage television or those looking to discover hidden gems in the world of time-traveling entertainment.

Is Voyagers! Worth Your Time?

• Entertainment
• Time Travel
• Watchworthy

As they say in well-written scripts, "You mean... like time travel?" + also a few bizarre stories about real people who have claimed, despite every law of physics, they have traveled through time.

Screen Rant

10 best time travel shows, ranked.

Time travel has been used in television since the medium began, but with all of those choices, some time travel shows stand above the rest.

• Key takeaways:
• Time travel is a versatile plot line that can be used in various genres, from superhero shows like DC's Legends of Tomorrow, to survival dramas like Lost, to romantic series like Outlander.
• Different shows approach time travel in unique ways, such as integrating it with video games in Future Man or exploring familiar time periods in Timeless.
• Time travel shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Star Trek: Next Generation successfully incorporate time travel into their plot lines, keeping it interesting even after multiple seasons.

Time travel is a timeless media trope, and there are so many TV shows that use it successfully. From the superhero genre to more artistic miniseries, every genre has taken a crack at bending time and space for their characters. It's an interesting method to test the will and hearts of characters because, while it's based in humanity, it's nothing viewers have experienced themselves.

Time travel stays a relevant and interesting plot line because of how versatile it is. The time travel could refer to a place that's specifically stuck in one time, like the casino in Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. It could also manifest as a superpower for an individual. There are several shows that create organizations around protecting time and have their protagonists interact with them. While several of these formats are used repeatedly, the variety keeps them fresh every time they're reused in new media. It's hard to narrow down so many great shows, but there are standouts in the time travel, science fiction genre.

10 DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016-2022)

DC's Legends of Tomorrow was a part of the iconic era of CW television when the Arrowverse was on every weeknight. This show follows a group of ragtag antiheroes as they travel through time to stop magical villains. This series has the quintessential elements of a time travel show, like weird creatures and the butterfly effect impacting all of their lives, but it is on the cornier side. Given the CW's nature, there's a lot of emphasis on morality and the use of obvious jokes. The show does have some great, unexpected reveals that are engaging. The main character is also part of the LGBTQ+ community, which is nice to see at the forefront of a series.

9 Lost (2004-2010)

It's not an overstatement to say this show changed television when it was on. Lost followed a group of stranded passengers after their plane crashes and they find themselves on a mysterious island. The first two seasons of Lost focused on the struggles of living on the island, and it felt like a survival show, but in season 2, episode 13, "The Long Con", time travel is introduced. It is eventually shown how Lost 's island travels through time and the series changed from there. However, the use of time travel in this show did feel confusing and eventually got convoluted. There's still a lot of debate about what even happened in the series finale of the show. While it was revolutionary, there were still kinks to be worked out.

8 Outlander (2014-Present)

Based on the book series by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander is a hit series on Starz that follows Claire—a 1940s army nurse—who travels through time to 18th-century Scotland. She meets Jamie Fraser, a Scottish soldier, and they fall in love. Their romance is complicated as Claire has a husband in her original time that she thinks she'll never see again. Throughout the seasons, they travel back and forth between Claire's past and present all while trying to raise a family and keep their romance alive. The repetition of time travel is bound to feel tiresome—and a little ridiculous—after 7 seasons and a final one on its way. Outlander 's timeline was not exempt from that.

7 Timeless (2016-2018)

Timeless is a show that follows a group of unexpected allies as they try to stop a man from changing the course of history for his own benefit. The best part of this show is the relationships between the characters. The three leads are a history professor, a scientist, and a soldier respectively, which builds a team with every skill base covered. Another interesting part of this show is that the characters explore familiar time periods. One example is the episode that centered around Marie Curie, which was not only compelling to see play out on TV, but it also gave the characters ample space to nerd out.

6 Future Man (2017-2020)

Josh Hutcherson plays a custodian named Josh Futturman in this time-traveling series. After beating a video game, mysterious and dangerous visitors start appearing from the future to tell Josh that he's the only one who can protect the world from an impending alien attack. The aliens were called to him because his video game was a tactic to recruit only the best soldiers for war. Pairing a video game and time travel isn't used very often, so it did help to make this show even more intriguing. Future Man is hilariously crude and uses bright colors for sets and wardrobe to make this a refreshing addition to the time travel show roster.

5 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-2020)

While Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't the traditional time travel show, it absolutely counts. Time travel was a theme in the first couple of seasons, but became the sole transport method in the last three seasons. The show didn't start with time travel in its plot line, but it has the perfect platform to make that shift since superhero content leaves little for impossibility. The series adapted well to time travel. It integrated its characters seamlessly into every era they were in with costumes, sets, and individual development. The final season had the team in a different time each episode, which returned the series to its episodic case pattern from season 1.

4 Star Trek: Next Generation (1987-1994)

The Star Trek universe has to be on this list in some way, and Star Trek: Next Generation is the perfect option. This show is set 100 years after the era of Captain Kirk, and it follows a group of new officers through time and space on their adventures. One notable episode is season 5, episode 18, “Cause and Effect”, when the crew is trapped in a loop that teaches them about the dangers of messing with time. Star Trek shows all have the same basic understanding of time travel, but Star Trek: Next Generation manages to keep it interesting, even after so many iterations before it.

3 The Umbrella Academy (2019-Current)

As a show that centers around a group of seven siblings with superpowers, it only makes sense that one of them can travel through time. Number Five, played by Aidan Gallagher, appears at the beginning of season 1 after being missing for several years. He travels through time to his family home, still stuck as a 13-year-old, while his siblings are all now 30-year-olds. At the end of every season, and often throughout seasons as well, time travel is effortlessly worked into the plot. Five carries the weight of the world, and often has to save it using time travel. There are changes to how he uses the skill within The Umbrella Academy 's time travel rules , so it doesn't feel overused.

2 Loki (2021-Current)

Time travel is used all over MCU canon-compliant media, and the hit show Loki is no different. Loki is captured by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) at the end of the alternate timeline from Avengers: Endgame. He spends season 1 traveling through time and space with Mobius, a TVA agent, to stop threats to the Sacred Timeline. Since time travel is so embedded in the idea of this show, it doesn't feel out of place. While it's a serious series with a complicated plot, it also stays loyal to the Marvel style and uses Loki's sardonic humor to balance it. The sets are really successful in establishing different times, and it always feels like being in a different world.

1 Russian Doll (2019-Current)

Russian Doll is a Netflix original series that follows Natasha Lyonne's character, Nadia, as she is stuck in a time loop of her 36th birthday party as she repeatedly dies. This show has pieces from every genre, which keeps it funny, intense, and unpredictable. Russian Doll explains the time travel rules in its universe effortlessly, making it feel natural without being too complicated. This show uses time loops, which are a specific type of time travel that can feel really repetitive, especially when it goes on for an entire season. With all of this, Russian Doll escapes that repetitive and tiresome feeling and keeps the plot moving.

15 Time Travel TV shows: past, present and future

Time travel has been a television mainstay for at least fifty years and has, appropriately enough, gone through the decades (sometimes) growing more sophisticated along the way. There have been at least fifty such shows, but Empire has distilled them to a sampling of fifteen that span from 1963 ( Doctor Who ) to 2017 ( Time After Time ).

1963-1989, 2005-08, 2010-15, Specials Airing between 2005 and 2016

If you’re thinking of traveling through time, best utilize a TARDIS, the safest way to move through the ages, and certainly a lot more reliable than, say, a souped-up DeLorean. After all, the Doctor and his various companions have been using it for over half a century, much to the delight of generations of viewers. And part of the genius of the show is the fact that the Doctor can regenerate, so when an actor decides he wants to move on (or even if he demands too much of a raise), it’s easy enough to explain why someone else is playing the role. Doctor Who remains the longest-running time travel series, initially spanning twenty-six straight seasons between 1963 and 1989, and resurrected in 2005 for an all-new ten-plus-year run. Additionally, it’s spawned almost as many series spin-offs as Star Trek : Torchwood (2006-2011), The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007-2011), K-9 (2009-2010) and this year’s Class .

It’s About Time

Gilligan’s Island creator Sherwood Schwartz came up with this little “gem” about a pair of astronauts whose space capsule travels back to prehistoric times, where they begin interacting with a cave family, getting involved in one wacky adventure after another (some involving stop motion dinosaurs). The premise quickly ran out of steam and was retooled mid-season to have the astronauts return to the 20th Century, cave family in tow, thus thrusting them into their own wacky adventures. Trust us when we say the theme song (below) was more entertaining than the show.

The Time Tunnel

Producer Irwin Allen ruled much of the sci-fi airwaves throughout the 1960s with shows like Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea , Lost In Space , Land Of The Giants and this show, The Time Tunnel . The premise is kind of cool: Project Tic-Toc (okay, that part definitely diminishes much of the cool) has developed an experimental time machine (which remains a great visual) in which Dr. Douglas Philips (Robert Colbert) and Dr. Anthony Newman (James Darren — hey, Vic Fontaine from Deep Space Nine !) enter, and are plunged through time. The Tic-Toc team (okay, it’s sounding sillier by the minute) are able to communicate with them in the different eras they arrive in, and attempts to pull them back to the present but send them instead to different periods in history. But, hey, these guys with knowledge of the future can actually influence history, can’t they? Unfortunately, they frequently get this close before being yanked back into the time stream. The pilot for a new series was produced in 2002, but never went forward.

Quantum Leap

Oh go ahead, bitch and complain that Scott Bakula wasn’t your idea of a starship captain on Star Trek: Enterprise , but there’s a reason the actor was chosen for the part, and much of it had to do with what he brought to Quantum Leap . The premise for the series is that physicist Sam Beckett (Bakula) is performing experiments in time travel when he finds himself traveling backwards in time where he “leaps” into the bodies of different people and takes their place to, as the opening narration proclaims, “make right what once went wrong.” To the audience, those people look like Bakula, but to everyone else — as revealed whenever he looks into a mirror — he looks like the person whose body he is in control of. This was not a big effects show, but instead a more intimate drama with plenty of humor, and a genuine opportunity for Bakula to showcase his acting skills as he became different men, women, a mentally challenged youth and even a chimpanzee . Dean Stockwell co-stars as Admiral Al Calavicci, who appears to Sam as a hologram.

Tru Calling

Having had her fill of slaying vampires, and actually turning down the potential to star in a spin-off series featuring her Buffy character of Faith, Eliza Dushku moved on to this show, which had a unique procedural time-travel twist. She plays Tru Davies, a medical student by day who, following the collapse of her internship, takes a job at the city morgue where bodies that are brought in start to open their eyes, look in her direction and utter the words, “Help me.” This projects her back to the beginning of the day (which sucks if you're having a particularly good day), providing the opportunity for her to either stop or solve the crime. The show’s mythology expanded to include another time traveler ( Jason Priestley ) who is determined to put the timeline back on its natural course and stop Tru. Zack Galifianakis co-stars as Davis, her employer at the morgue. Definitely underrated.

Life On Mars

You’ve got to applaud any time travel shows that bring with them a unique twist (no, seriously, you have to applaud. Thank you). After being struck by a car in 2006, policeman Sam Tyler ( John Simm ) awakens in 1973, working for the Manchester And Sealford Police in the same building where he works for the Greater Manchester Police in the future. What follows is Sam’s attempts to use his expertise in crimefighting from the future to apply to crimes of the era, and the conflicts that arise from interactions with commanding officer Gene Hunt ( Philip Glenister ),who obviously feels that Sam doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does. The big question hanging over the show is whether all of this is real, or if Sam is actually lying in a coma in 2006. Impressively, the show spawned the spin-off Ashes To Ashes , focusing on the Hunt character; a 2006 American version with Jason O’Mara as Sam, a Spanish version named La Chicade Ayer , which translates to The Girl From Yesterday ; and a Russian version under the title The Dark Side Of The Moon .

Rachel Nichols (she was the green Orion Starfleet cadet, and Uhura’s promiscuous roommate, in 2009’s Star Trek ) is City Protective Services officer Kiera Cameron, who is inadvertently brought back in time from 2077 to the present with a group of “terrorists”. Their goal: to stop future corporations from taking the place of the government, and hers is to prevent them from changing history and potentially wiping her family in 2077 out of existence. A well crafted series bringing together action and sci-fi concepts with intelligence.

Quite literally a love that spans the ages, married World War II nurse Clare Randall ( Caitriona Balfe ) is mysteriously transported from 1945 to 1743 Scotland. There she is forced to start a whole new life, and connects with Jamie Fraser ( Sam Heughan ), a Highland warrior. What follows is their growing relationship as Clare struggles to survive in a far harsher time than her own, as the two of them become a part in, and try to influence, the Jacobite risings. The show is based on the bestsellers by Diana Galbaldon, and the showrunner is Battlestar Galactica ’s Ron Moore .

What’s it’s not is a gathering of a dozen denizens of the Planet Of The Apes. What it is , is the television version of Terry Gilliam’s 1995 film, utilizing the strength of the medium to expand and elaborate on the premise. Aaron Stanford is James Cole, who has traveled to the present from 2043 to try and stop The Army Of The Twelve Monkeys from unleashing a virus that is destined to wipe out nearly ninety-four percent of humanity. Things begin with him collaborating with virologist Cassandra Railly ( Amanda Schull ) and psychologically challenged math genius Jennifer Goines (Emily Hampshire) and expand from there, with the team moving on to different eras in their efforts to save the human race.

One of the fun time travel games to play is to ponder what you would change if you could actually go back to the past. Preventing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy ranks high on that list (though, personally, we’d show George Lucas reviews of the Prequel Trilogy before they went into production, but that’s us). That notion certainly intrigued Stephen King , the resulting novel of which was adapted into the Hulu series 11.22.63 . James Franco is English teacher Jake Epping, who is shown a portal in a diner that leads to Dallas, Texas circa 1960. Jake is begged by a close friend to use the portal to prevent the assassination of Kennedy, and is gradually convinced of the validity of the plan. What he does’t expect is to fall in love back in time, or the ramifications that saving Kennedy could have on history. Produced by King and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow

Born out of the success of Arrow and The Flash , this spinoff series focuses on a group of characters that travel through time, initially to stop immortal Vandal Savage from taking over the world in the future, and then to serve as time cops (no relation to Jean Claude van Damme ) to police the space-time continuum. Characters include The Atom ( Brandon Routh ), Firestorm ( Victor Garber and Franz Drameh ), White Canary ( Caity Lotz ) and Heat Wave ( Dominic Purcell ), among others. A sporadically successful first season has led to far more solid footing in season two.

Ah, nothing like a good old-fashioned pursuit through time! There’s the bad guy who’s stolen the time machine “mothership” ( Goran Visnjic’s Garcia Flynn), intent on destroying history; and the team (Abigail Spencer’s Lucy Preston, a history professor; Matt Lanter’s Master Sergeant Wyatt Logan, a soldier; and Malcolm Barrett’s Rufus Carlin, an engineer) determined to stop him in a prototype device. So far they’ve dealt with the Hindenburg, the assassination of President Lincoln, Nazis (what’s a time travel series without Nazis?) and the Alamo, among others. Creators are Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan .

Based on the 2000 film, this story has gone through a sex change with Jim Caviezel’s John Sullivan being replaced by Peyton List’s Raimy Sullivan. Coming across the old ham radio of her deceased father ( Dennis Quaid then, Riley Smith now), Raimy finds that she can actually communicate with him before he died some twenty years earlier. Seeing this as an opportunity to save his life — he was an undercover New York detective killed in the line of duty — she inadvertently triggers a butterfly effect, they key to which seems to be within an unsolved murder case that they have to work together over time to solve.

Making History

In what seems like a throwback silly time travel show (see It’s About Time above — okay, maybe not that silly), a college professor (Adam Pally) creates a time machine that he hopes can be used to improve both his life and that of a fellow teacher (Yassir Lester). But things go awry when one of them starts dating Paul Revere’s daughter, Deborah ( Leighton Meester ), threatening all of American history. Exec producers are Lego Movie maestros Phil Lord and Chris Miller . The series has not been given a 2017 debut date yet.

Time After Time

Based on the 1979 Karl Alexander novel and Nicholas Meyer film, this show, debuting in 2017, begins in Victorian England when John Stevenson/Jack The Ripper (Josh Bowman) steals a time machine created by author H.G. Wells ( Freddie Stroma ) and travels to the present. Wells follows him there intent on returning him to justice, and gets involved in a series of adventures that will reportedly prove inspiring to Wells in the writing of his other novels. The series is developed by Kevin Williamson ( The Vampire Diaries , The Following ).

Bonus (Not Really)

How-To Geek

The best time travel tv shows and movies.

We have to go back!

Quick Links

Bill & ted's excellent adventure, the time machine (1960), back to the future.

Time travel is a concept that's been around since the 1800s. Countless movies and TV shows have featured time travel, but it's not easy to pull off. Let's flip the switch and look back at a few of the best.

What qualifies a TV show or movie as being about time travel? Many shows and movies use a single time jump or time loops to set up the main plot---time travel isn't necessarily the focus. I tried to lean more toward shows and movies that make time travel an integral part of the story.

This list is made up of five movies and five TV shows in no particular order. Some choices are based on my personal opinion, others are based on the general consensus.

We can't talk about time travel TV shows without mentioning the one that features a main character who is literally called a "Time Lord." Doctor Who kicked off in 1963 and ran until 1989, but was later rebooted in 2005.

The show is not only about time travel. The Doctor's time machine---the TARDIS---can travel through both time and space. Each episode takes the characters to a specific time in history, often on different planets, and interacting with aliens and other creatures.

Primer is undoubtedly the most "realistic" time travel movie/show on this list. The story revolves around two engineers who accidentally discover time travel when researching electromagnetic reduction of an object's weight.

This is a movie that demands your full attention if you want to follow what's happening. Primer was made on a budget of only $7,000, and that low-budget feel really helps ground the movie in reality. It's fascinating.

Watch on Amazon Video

Timeless is a TV series that aired on NBC from 2016-18. The show follows a history professor, soldier, and engineer as the work together to stop an organization that plans to rewrite history with a stolen time machine.

This show really dives into the historical aspect of time travel. You learn about different moments throughout history and meet historical figures along the way. It's a bit of a cat-and-mouse chase through time, and you'll be sympathetic to the bad guys at times.

If you're looking for a comedy that heavily features time travel, there's no better choice than  Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure . A man from the distant future is tasked with going back in time to make sure Bill and Ted pass history class.

Bill and Ted use his time machine to go back in time and talk to a handful of classic historical figures, then bring them back to the current day to help pass their history report. There are tons of time travel-related gags throughout, and it's just a very silly, fun movie.

Travelers is one of the more unique time travel shows on the list. In a post-apocalyptic future, special operatives attempt to go back in time and prevent the collapse of society.

The "travelers" travel through time by sending their consciousness to "host" bodies of people who are just about to die. Not only do they have to work on their mission to save society, but they also have to blend in as the person whose body they now inhabit.

It wouldn't be a complete list without a love story. About Time is about a man, Tim, who has the ability to travel through time. However, he can only change past events and the future of his own life, not history.

The story follows Tim as he uses time travel to improve his life and those around him. He falls in love with a girl and uses time travel to fix his mistakes and marry her. However, he discovers things that can't be changed along the way, and has to make some tough decisions.

Loki is very different from most Marvel movies and TV shows. Time is the core component of the show. At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Loki gets away with the Tesseract. In doing so, he created a new timeline.

He is captured by the Time Variance Authority, an organization tasked with maintaining the timeline. The TVA gives Loki the choice of being erased from existence or helping them fix the timeline. He chooses the latter.

We can't talk about time travel without mentioning one of the very first time-travel stories, dating back to 1895. H.G. Wells' The Time Machine has been adapted to film a few times, but the 1960 version is probably the best.

The Time Machine is about an inventor in Victorian England who creates a time machine. He uses the time machine to travel far into the future, where he finds a dark and very different society. If you prefer newer movies, there's a remake from 2002 .

11.22.63 is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. For those that don't know, November 22nd, 1963 is the day John F Kennedy was assassinated. This story revolves around a man who is trying to prevent that from happening.

Time travel in this story works differently than most others. There's no time "machine" or anything like that, just a mysterious spot that sends people back to a specific day in 1960. You get a fascinating look at the build-up to the assassination and a pretty good love story too.

For my money, there is no better time travel story than Back to the Future . Many people consider it to be a perfect movie, and I'd have to agree. Time travel is a core part of the plot, but it doesn't get wrapped up in the technical aspects. The story is grounded in real life with relatable stakes.

An eccentric scientist, Doc Brown, builds a time machine out of a DeLorean. Through a string of events, his friend, Marty McFly ends up traveling back to 1955, when his parents were in high school. Marty then has to make sure his parents end up together to save his own existence. It's funny, action-packed, dramatic, and easy to watch.

There are plenty of other time travel movies, TV shows, and books to enjoy. It's one of the best plot devices for experiencing different time periods and taking a peek into the future. Now you just have to hope your favorite streaming service has them !

Related: Which Streaming Service Has the Best Movies, By the Numbers

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• POP CULTURE

Time Travel TV Shows That Will Take You Through History

Go on an adventure with these epic sci-fi series. 

• Photo Credit: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

What would you do if you could travel through time? Where (or rather when) would you go, and who would you want to meet? Would you hang out with your past self or meet your future kids? Maybe you’d want to change the world for the better. 

It’s something we’ve all thought about, and the magical possibilities of time travel have fueled science fiction for decades. 

These eight time travel TV shows are full of timey-wimey adventure, and will sate your desire to travel through history. 

We can’t talk about TV shows with time travel and not discuss the absolute granddaddy of them all. Doctor Who has been a staple of British television for close to 60 years. It's less a mere series than an undeniable pop culture phenomenon. Without it, the longest-running sci-fi TV series of all time, entertainment simply wouldn't be the same. 

That can make watching Doctor Who somewhat daunting for newbies. Where do you start with a show about an alien who has the ability to journey through space and time , played by at least 13 different actors, depending on which continuity you accept? 

But Doctor Who isn't elitist fare. It's good old-fashioned fun, and so undeniably charming that even sci-fi skeptics will be won over. With Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa set to take over the title role, there's no better time to jump into the TARDIS and join the ride! 

RELATED: Timey-Wimey Books for Doctor Who Fans

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• Photo Credit: MiddKid Productions

While it only lasted two seasons, the NBC series Timeless managed to accrue a dedicated fan-base who are still campaigning on Twitter for a renewal. 

Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, and Malcolm Barrett star as a trio of experts—a professor, a soldier, and an engineer, respectively—who are tasked with traveling through time to capture a villainous figure with plans to amend history for his own nefarious schemes. 

It's a classic kind of adventure show, a suitable throwback to '80s programming like Quantum Leap , only with sharper special effects and appropriately witty banter between its good-looking central trio. 

While Timeless ' run was cut short, it at least received a fan-servicey finale that wrapped up all the loose ends.

RELATED: The 10 Greatest Time Travel TV Series Ever

• Photo Credit: Tall Ship Productions

Every romance lover knows the world of Outlander.  

Based on the wildly popular series of novels by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander follows the story of Jamie Fraser and Clare Randall across centuries and continents. Their love has enraptured millions for many decades on both the small screen and the written page, and it's not hard to see why. Combine the visceral passion of its central pair with the high-stakes tension of historical change, and you’ve got pure time travel catnip. 

In the most recent season, the Frasers are parents, with an adult daughter of their own who tags along for the ride. The series is currently renewed through to its seventh season, and there’s also a prequel in the works. In other words, Sassenach, Outlander fans won’t go hungry any time soon. 

RELATED: Great Time Travel Movies Worth Being Present For

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

• Photo Credit: DC Entertainment

After an immortal tyrant conquers Earth and kills his wife and son, Time Master Rip Hunter swears revenge and promises to save humanity. To do so, he recruits a ragtag team of some of DC's lesser-known heroes and villains to take on the nefarious figures hoping to shred the universe.

It sounds like heavy stuff. But over the course of seven seasons, the CW series DC's Legends of Tomorrow became one of network TV's most impressively layered and entertaining series. 

As much a comedy as it was a sci-fi series, this show was utterly distinct from anything else on TV, including the current glut of superhero content. You don't have to be a comic book aficionado to enjoy it either. It's that much of a good time! 

Life On Mars

It's 2006. Sam Tyler is a regular police officer working in Manchester when he is hit by a car. He wakes up, lying on the ground, only to discover that it's now 1973. Sam is still an officer at the station he works for in his timeline, but now he's a rank lower and under the command of the stern DCI Gene Hunt. 

Has Sam died? Is he in a coma? Or did he actually travel back in time, and if so, why? 

Life On Mars is one of the best British TV shows of the 2000s, and it spawned an equally strong sequel series, Ashes to Ashes , set in the '80s. The fashion is amazing, the music choices classic, and Sam's hunt for the truth is surprising at every turn.

RELATED: Time Travel Movies Ranked by How Much Sense the Time Travel Makes

• Photo Credit: Atlas Entertainment

Terry Gilliam’s film Twelve Monkey s spawned a fascinating SYFY series that ran for four seasons and won a few awards along the way. 

12 Monkeys starts in 2043, where James Cole has been selected by a team of scientists to travel back in time to 2015 and stop the release of a deadly virus that killed no fewer than seven billion people. He finds himself embroiled in the mystery of the Army of the 12 Monkeys, a mysterious organization credited with releasing the plague. 

If you've seen the movie, you may think that you know where the 12 Monkeys series is going. You'd be deadly wrong. The series is its own beast, a fascinating dive into the mysteries of premeditation versus free will, all wrapped up in a cycle of thrills and shocks that will keep you on edge for four seasons.

RELATED: Unique Time Travel Books Fans Shouldn't Miss

• Photo Credit: Point Grey Pictures

Joel Hutcherson, A.K.A. Peeta from The Hunger Games , headlines this Hulu series executive-produced by Seth Rogen. 

Hutcherson plays a bored janitor named Josh who, upon successfully completing his favorite and notoriously-difficut video game, is recruited by its two main characters to save the world through time travel. 

Future Man is joke-heavy, as is befitting a show with Rogen's name in the credits. But it's also a classic nostalgia trip that proudly borrows from '80s sci-fi classics and layers plenty of silly gags on top of it. 

RELATED: Movies Like Ready Player One for Pop Culture Addicts

Tomorrow, With You

• Photo Credit: Celltrion Entertainment

Time travel is a pretty common feature of K-Dramas, especially the romantic ones, so we could have made an entire list of them. For now, we’ll focus on Tomorrow, With You , a 2017 series starring Shin Min-a and Lee Je-hoon. 

Yoo So-joon is the CEO of a real estate company. He possesses the ability to travel through time via his local subway. After seeing a future version of himself who is alone and miserable, he decides to marry Song Ma-rin, a former child star and amateur photographer whom he saved from an accident. 

Their marriage starts off as one of convenience, a way for So-joon to avoid his fate; but soon, he learns to love Ma-rin for whom she is. Yet avoiding one's future is easier said than done, and there are obstacles that stand in the way of their possible happy-ever-after.

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The Best Time Travel Shows to Watch on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon, and More

We've all dreamed of living in another period

Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, Outlander

At this point, there's no shortage of shows that deal with time travel in some capacity. It's a popular subject, and for good reason! Now more than ever you might be looking for an escape from your daily life, or from this era altogether, and no one in their right mind could blame you for that. If you're of the belief that existing in one timeline is overrated, you've arrived at the right list.

Some of the shows here are action-packed dramas, while others take a more whimsical approach to history, but all of them are absolutely binge-worthy masterpieces. Whether you want to travel back hundreds of years or just a couple of decades, you'll find the perfect time travel show recommendation in the list below!

Looking for more recommendations of what to watch next?  We have a ton of them!  And if you're looking for more hand-picked recommendations based on shows you love,  we have those too .

Tom Hiddleston, Loki

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU for short) already know that Loki ( Tom Hiddleston ) is a master trickster. He is literally the god of mischief, and for years his role in these movies was relegated to villain, nuisance, and foil to his brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth), but with Loki , he races through time and space in a series that puts him at the forefront of his own story. The series is a crime thriller that follows an alternate version of Loki who stole the Tesseract in  Avengers: Endgame , an event that basically broke reality. And, as these things go, it's now his responsibility to fix what he started. He's recruited by  Owen Wilson 's Mobius M. Mobius at the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA) to travel through history and correct the timeline he messed up. The series is the closest thing to putting an actual comic book on screen, full of madcap twists and turns, and seemingly self-contained, without having to place so much emphasis on setting up for future MCU installments. - Allison Picurro   [Watch on  Disney+ ]

Jodie Whittaker, Doctor Who

This one is a gimme, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Doctor Who , and honestly, if you haven't watched this long-running British sci-fi series already, we're not sure you can even call yourself a fan of time travel. Doctor Who follows a centuries-old alien known as the Doctor who has the ability to regenerate and take on different faces (hence the "long-running" bit). The Doctor, currently portrayed by Jodie Whittaker , takes unsuspecting ladies (and a few dudes) on ridiculous trips through time and space. Yep, this one checks the space travel box too! If you do choose to watch Doctor Who though, be warned -- you will end up in a fight with someone on Tumblr about which Doctor is the best. It's unavoidable.  [Watch on   HBO Max ]

Eric McCormack, MacKenzie Porter, Nesta Cooper, Jared Abrahamson, and Reilly Dolman, Travelers

Netflix's   Travelers , initially a co-production with Canada's Showcase, doesn't get even half the recognition it deserves for constructing impossibly complex time travel mythology that is still understandable and engaging for its audience, so we're recognizing it by putting it on this list. In the series, squads of elite soldiers travel to the present from hundreds of years in the future in order to change history and save the human race. If that doesn't sound cool enough, let us just add that they do so by sending their consciousnesses into the bodies of people about to die and assuming their identities. So. Freaking. Cool.  [Watch on  Netflix ]

Aaron Stanford and Amanda Schull, 12 Monkeys

Based on the 1995 movie with the same name, 12 Monkeys follows a time traveler who travels from 2043 to 2015 to stop a deadly virus from wiping out most of the planet's population. However, what starts out as a simple mission to the past turns into a mind-boggling journey through some of the biggest historical events of the 20th century and a pretty epic love story. This series really digs into the rules of time travel like causation and paradoxes, so while it may give you one of the aforementioned headaches, it's seriously worth it.  [Watch on  Hulu ]

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Caity Lotz, Matt Ryan, Olivia Swan, Dominic Purcell and Nick Zano, DC Legends of Tomorrow 

In a sea of series that focus on saving the world with time travel, DC's Legends of Tomorrow easily could have gotten lost in the shuffle. Luckily, this CW series quickly established itself as one part nonsense, two parts pure fun, which set it apart from all the rest. If you're looking for a lighter series to help you while the days away, this one is definitely for you. The Legends team does end up saving the world quite a few times, but most of the time they just wind up turning themselves into singing puppets or fighting giant stuffed animals.  [Watch on  Netflix ]

If you're looking for something a little more romantic to binge-watch, Outlander is your ticket. This series follows Claire Beauchamp ( Caitriona Balfe ), an English WWII nurse who accidentally travels from 1945 back to 1743 while on a trip to Scotland with her husband ( Tobias Menzies ). Thrown into the past and desperate to get home, Claire finds herself embroiled in a Scottish uprising while slowly but surely falling in love with a ruggedly handsome redhead named Jamie Fraser ( Sam Heughan ).  [Watch on   Netflix ,  Starz ,  Hulu with Starz add-on ,  Amazon Prime with Starz add-on ]

Abigail Spencer, Malcolm Barrett, Matt Lanter; Timeless

Though Timeless was canceled twice , its devoted fanbase, known as Clockblockers, were so passionate that the NBC series ended up getting a two-hour series finale to wrap things up, so you won't have to worry about a cliffhanger ending. The show follows a history professor ( Abigail Spencer ), a soldier ( Matt Lanter ), and an engineer ( Malcolm Barrett ) who use a government-created time machine to track down a mysterious villain who is trying to rewrite American history. This series pairs the whimsy of DC's Legends of Tomorrow with the high stakes of 12 Monkeys , making it the perfect "middle of the road" option for time travel fans.  [Watch on  Hulu ]

Though it was canceled after just one season, we're still including Terra Nova on this list because DINOSAURS. Set in a dying world where overpopulation has humans on the brink of extinction, scientists have found a way to send people back in time to the Cretaceous Period where the air is breathable, food is plentiful, and the human race can start over. Unfortunately, it's also where dinosaurs are hungry for human flesh, so that's a problem. This show wasn't executed very well (hence its cancellation), but it's worth a watch anyway just to see hot people running away from raptors.  [Watch on  Amazon ]

Lost in Austen

Jemima Rooper, Elliot Cowan, Alex Kingston, Gemma Arterton, and Hugh Bonneville, Lost in Austen

When you're ready to take a break from all the action and adventure, Lost in Austen is a great time travel alternative. Rather than traveling through time per se, lead character Amanda Price ( Jemima Rooper ) travels into the world of her favorite novel, Pride & Prejudice . Caught up in the Georgian Era -- and the fictional lives of Mr. Darcy ( Elliot Cowan ) and the Bennet family -- Amanda unwittingly ends up as a character in the story she loves so dearly, and falling in love with Darcy herself.  [Watch on  BritBox ]

The critically acclaimed Netflix series  Dark  is not only a complicated time travel drama, it's also a German series, so get ready to turn those subtitles on! The series, which just wrapped up its third and final season, follows multiple generations of four interconnected families living in the German town of Winden (once you've finished the show, our family tree will help explain how everyone is connected ), which just so happens to be home to an underground tunnel and wormhole. Time travel and family drama make for an extremely complicated series (we don't recommend just having this one on in the background, folks), but once you get into it, you'll never look back.  [Watch on  Netflix ]

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When Are We Now: 24 TV Shows About Time Travel

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Time travel fans are in for a treat this Sunday, March 5 when two premiering shows tackle the temporal topic: ABC’s H.G. Wells-inspired Time After Time , and FOX’s comedy Making History . The repetitious format of TV has always lent itself well to history jumping stories, as we’ll see with these 24 shows featuring some major time travel antics.

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80 of the Best Entertaining Time Travel TV Shows You Need To Watch

With romance, adventure, and fun plot twists, these time travel TV shows are sure to entertain.

The time travel trope is quintessentially romantic, with different themes and elements giving it a desperate, romantic air. There is the lone time traveler, bouncing across time in search of lost love. Or a group of travelers unable to return home due to a rift in the space/time continuum. Better yet, the star-crossed lovers fated only to get snatches of time together.  Swoon . There is so much to love about time travel TV shows!

At  The Silver Petticoat Review , we love time travel TV shows so much that we thought a list of binge-worthy shows was necessary.

Depending on your taste in time travel stories, below are 21 binge-worthy dramas, romantic comedies, and Sci-Fi/Fantasy stories (plus 59 bonus recommendations at the end). Not all are traditional versions of the trope, but each one includes an element of time travel.

Get ready! Your watch list is about to become longer!

Note:  Availability for the “Where to Watch” sections are for the US and are subject to change at any time. It was last updated in December 2022.

BINGE-WORTHY TIME TRAVEL TV SHOWS (#1-21)

(in no particular order).

#1 Timeless *

Synopsis:  With history threatened by an evil consortium, a historian, soldier, and scientist join forces to travel through time to save history.

Their adventures take them across history, where they cross paths with some famous and lesser-known figures in history. Yet, each time they save history, they risk changing the future.

Where to Watch:  The NBC series is available on Hulu or to buy on Digital and DVD.

* Timeless  is one of my favorite time travel shows! A lovely,  action-adventure romance  with time travel!

#2 Doctor Who

Synopsis:   Doctor Who   follows the trials of an extraterrestrial Time Lord. Known as the Doctor, he/she travels through time to solve problems and battle injustice across the universe.

Using the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space) to travel, the Doctor recruits companions to assist him/her. With various incarnations,  Doctor Who  is a sweeping adventure in space and time.

Note: There are many iterations of  Doctor Who . Any would make our list of time travel series. Pick your favorite! The newer Doctors include Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker. The new Doctor will be Ncuti Gatwa in 2023.

Where to Watch:  You can stream the classic series on Britbox and the 2005 revival on HBO Max. Both series are available to buy digitally and on DVD.

#3 DC’s Legends of Tomorrow   

Synopsis:  Time-traveler Rip Hunter sets out to save the world with the timeline in catastrophic danger. 

Rip brings together an unlikely group of heroes and villains previously seen in  Arrow  and  The Flash.  

These heroes and villains must come together before they can save the planet. But can they put their differences aside before time runs out?

See our  review of  Legends of Tomorrow .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Netflix or buy digitally and on DVD.

#4 12 Monkeys * 

Synopsis:  Cole travels from a post-apocalyptic future to save the world from a lethal plague. He meets Dr. Cassandra Railly, a virologist, who joins him in his crusade.

It’s a race against time, as they trace the epidemic to its source and discover that appearances are deceiving and time itself is an enemy.

Where to Watch:  Stream on Hulu or buy digitally and on DVD.

Related Post  Romantic Moment of the Week: 12 Monkeys: Cassie and Cole  

*Another personal favorite! When it comes to time travel shows,  12 Monkeys  hits all the right notes!

#5 El Ministerio del Tiempo (The Department of Time)

Synopsis:  A secret government agency recruits three people from different eras to protect Spain’s history.

They bounce through time, chasing time-traveling intruders bent on manipulating history for their own purposes.

Where to Watch:  Stream on Pantaya or buy on DVD.

#6 Travelers 

Synopsis:  Several hundred years into the future, the last humans discover a way to send their consciousness back in time. These “travelers” assume the lives of random individuals.

With only their knowledge of history and social media profiles to guide their way, the travelers quickly discover that experience in the 21st Century is as challenging as their mission.

Content Warning:  Rated TV-MA, the show has strong language, violence, and implied nudity.

#7 Scarlet Heart / Scarlet Heart: Ryeo

Synopsis of Scarlet Heart : A near-fatal accident sends Zhang Xiao, a 21st Century woman, back in time to the Qing Dynasty. It is Kangxi Emperor’s reign, and Xiao is now the teenage daughter of a Manchu general.

Known as Ma’ertai Roux, Xiao attempts to return to the future. Navigating new relationships and love, Xiao adjusts to her new life until, one day, it disappears.

Where to Watch:  Stream on  Viki .

Note: There is also a Korean version of  Scarlet Heart  called Scarlet Heart: Ryeo .  Read our review here . It is only available to buy on DVD.

#8 Making History  

Synopsis:  Misunderstood college facilities manager Dan Chambers discovers time travel, using pop culture to become a beloved 18th Century figure. However, Dan fails to realize the impact time travel has on the present.

When Dan causes Paul Revere to delay his famous ride, he alters the events of the American Revolution. Dan then recruits well-liked history professor Chris Parish for help in correcting history.

Where to Watch:  Rent on Amazon Video or buy Digital.

#9 Sleepy Hollow  

Synopsis:  Ichabod Crane comes back to life 250 years in the future, where he must solve a mystery going back to the time of the founding fathers.

However, he is not alone. Due to a blood curse, the headless horseman also returns to the living. The headless horseman begins a slaying spree in present-day Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod realizes that the headless horseman is the first of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Enter Detective Abbie Mills. Familiar with the supernatural, Abbie joins forces with Crane to stop the evil infecting Sleepy Hollow.

Where to Watch:  Stream  Sleepy Hollow  on Hulu, the CW app, CW Seed, and Tubi. You can also buy the series on Digital and DVD.

#10 Torchwood

Synopsis:  Former time agent, Captain Jack Harkness, leads the Torchwood Three to investigate unexplained extraterrestrial events on Earth.

The group, part of a covert agency called the Torchwood Institute, battles supernatural threats outside the protection of the British government and law enforcement.

Where to Watch:  Stream on HBO Max or buy on Digital and DVD.

Content Warning:  The series is TV-MA for strong language in a few episodes. It also includes occasional explicit sensuality, suggestive content, and violence.

#11 Being Erica *

Synopsis:  During therapy, Erica Strange shares her list of regrets with her therapist. In a twist in treatment, Erica goes back in time to those moments with a chance to make different decisions.

Faced with rewriting her past or leaving things as they are, Erica faces each moment with humor and a new appreciation for her choices.

Where to Watch:  Stream on Hulu, Roku, Hoopla, Plex, and Crackle, and buy digitally and on DVD.

*The writing in this show is fantastic!

Content Warning:  Rated TV-14, it is, at times, TV-MA. There is sensual content, as well as nudity and some bad language.

#12 Heroes 

Synopsis:  Around the world, a group of ordinary people is discovering they have superpowers. One man wants their powers for himself.

To protect themselves, they must learn to help each other before he destroys them all.

Where to Watch:  Stream the superhero series on Peacock or buy digitally and on DVD. 

#13 The Librarians * 

Synopsis:  Based on popular TV movies,  The Librarians  are a group of people who protect magical items throughout time.

Consisting of an art historian, a thief, a mathematician, and a warrior, they travel through time to find supernatural objects and bring them under the protection of the Library.

Related:  Read our  romantic moment between Eve and Flynn from  The Librarians .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Hulu, Hoopla, and Amazon’s Freevee. You can also buy it digitally and on DVD.

#14 Early Edition *

Synopsis:  Having lost his job and his marriage, Gary Hobson wakes up one morning to find a cat sitting on a newspaper bearing the next day’s date.

Gary quickly learns that this early edition allows him 24 hours to try and save many people’s lives.

Where to Watch:  All seasons are available for DVD purchase on Amazon Prime.

*This one is an outlier when it comes to time travel TV shows. The only thing that travels in time is the newspaper. Still, it’s Kyle Chandler….. swoon!

#15 Erased 

Synopsis:  Satoru goes back 18 years to prevent the passing of his mother and three classmates.

Where to Watch:  Netflix

#16 Outlander

Synopsis:  British Army Nurse Claire Randall is on her second honeymoon and looking forward to a career as an Oxford historian. Suddenly transported back to 1742, Claire finds her freedom and life are in danger.

RELATED: ‘Midnight at the Pera Palace’ Review: The Time Travel Romance is Irresistibly Good

To survive, she marries Jamie Fraser. An unexpected passionate relationship develops, and Claire becomes caught between two very different men in two very different lives.

See  our review of  Outlander .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Netflix and STARZ or buy on Digital and DVD.

Content Warning:  TV-MA with   explicit sensual content, nudity, assaults, and graphic violence.

#17 The Eternal Love 

Synopsis:  Unhappy with a forced marriage, Qu Tan Er attempts to end her life. She awakens from her failed attempt with the spirit of another woman inside her body. The modern Xiao Tan is Tan Er’s opposite.

Stuck in the past world, she cannot return to the present day. Whenever one of the women lies, the other person takes control. Soon, complications in love arise as the differing women fall in love with two different men.

What will become of the foursome? And will Xiao Tan be able to find her way back to her own time?

Where to Watch:  Viki

#18 Lost in Austen *

Synopsis:  This smart take on Jane Austen’s  Pride and Prejudice  finds modern, working girl Amanda Price trading places with Elizabeth Bennet.

Unable to return to her time, Amanda must try her best to fit in among the Bennets, Bingleys, and Darcys. Yet, her presence in the lives of these beloved characters sets changes to the course of the classic tale.

See our  Lost in Austen review .

Where to Watch:  Stream on Britbox Amazon Channel, Freevee, and Pluto TV, and buy digitally on Amazon or DVD.

#19 Continuum 

Synopsis:  Detective Kiera Cameron, a cop from the year 2077, and a group of dangerous criminals called Liber8 are trapped in present-day Vancouver. Kiera must stop Liber8 before they destroy the corporate world, altering the future as she knows it. She enlists the help of tech genius Alec Sadler to find a way back home.

In the meantime, Kiera takes a job with the Vancouver Police Department. With help from her partner, detective Carlos Fonnegra, they keep tabs on Liber8. Different beliefs and backgrounds lead to suspicion, but slowly, Kiera and Carlos learn to trust each other.

Where to Watch:  Buy digitally from the Microsoft Store or on DVD.

#20 Frequency

Synopsis:  Detective Raimy Sullivan has lived with the pain and resentment of her father’s passing for 20 years. She believes her father, NYPD Officer Frank Sullivan, was corrupt, resulting in his passing. However, everything changes when she hears his voice coming from an old ham radio.

With Raimy’s warning in his ears, Frank survives the attempt on his life. Yet, the change in the past ends in tragedy for the future. Separated by time, connected by an old radio, the two detectives work together to find a way to rewrite the past without losing the ones they love.

Where to Watch:  Stream on the CW app and CW seed.

#21 Seven Days

Synopsis:  CIA Agent Frank Parker receives a special assignment from the NSA. He must travel back in time to prevent current-day catastrophes.

Yet, there is a catch – he must do so within seven days. Using a time machine built from alien technology, Frank races against time in the past to save the future.

Where to Watch:  Buy on DVD.

Whether you are a fan of pure romance or romantic comedies or love the adventure of time travel, there is something for everyone on our list of binge-worthy time travel TV shows. So dip in and travel back in time with some of the most swoon-worthy characters out there.

*Denotes a personal favorite of mine.

EVEN MORE TIME TRAVEL TV SHOWS TO WATCH (#22-80)

This section was updated in 2022 by Amber and Autumn (co-owners and editors of  The Silver Petticoat Review ). 

Numerous time travel TV series exist, and you can never have enough to watch! So, we thought adding a lot more to the list would be fun. 

Enjoy! We included a *star next to our personal favorites.

• #22:  356: REPEAT THE YEAR  (2020) – Korean Drama about ten people traveling back in time one year.
• #23: * THE 4400  (2004; 2021) – We recommend the original series over the reboot. Both shows have 4400 people appearing in the present day from different time periods, not having aged a day since they originally disappeared.
• #24: * AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.   (2013) – The later seasons of this fun Marvel series are all about time travel – and they are marvelous! The love story  between Daisy and Daniel Sousa  is perfect.
• #25:  ALCATRAZ  (2012) – Prisoners from Alcatraz disappeared in 1963 – only to reappear in the present day. The short-lived drama lasted only one season.
• #26:  ALICE  (2022) – A new time travel romance TV series on Kocowa and Viki.
• #27:  ALWAYS A WITCH  (2019) – A time-traveling witch in this Colombian series ends up in the present day.
• #28: * CHARMED (1998; 2018) – The original and new series about three sisters (and witches) include time travel episodes. Both shows are entertaining – but the original is superior.
• #29:  THE CROSSING  (2018) – Refugees from the future travel back in time to seek asylum.
• #30:  DARK  (2017) (TV-MA) – The German sci-fi thriller series deals with a time travel conspiracy in this hugely popular Netflix drama.

RELATED: 50 of the Best Romantic Period Drama TV Series of All Time to Watch

• #31:  DIRK GENTLY/DIRK GENTLY’S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY   (2010; 2016) – Time travel is involved in these two versions of the story about a detective investigating supernatural cases.
• #32:  * A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES   (2018) (TV-MA – mild) – A witch and a vampire fall in love while trying to unravel the secrets of witches, vampires, and demons. She can time travel and much of  Season 2  takes place in Elizabethan times.
• #33:  FAITH  (2012) – Lee Min-ho stars in this time travel Korean series.
• #34: * FELICITY  (1998) – The coming-of-age romance drama from J.J. Abrams ends with a time travel twist.
• #35:  FIND ME IN PARIS  (2018) – A children’s show about an Edwardian ballet dancer who transports into the future with a mystical necklace.
• #36:  THE FLASH (AND OTHER ARROWVERSE SHOWS)  (2014)   – The CW superhero show is fun, likable, and regularly has time-travel storylines.
• #37:  FLASHFORWARD  (2009) – Joseph Fiennes stars in this canceled too-soon series about people having visions of their future.
• #38: * FRINGE  (2008) – An FBI agent explores unexplained fringe science with a scientist and his son in this brilliant sci-fi series.
• #39:  JOURNEYMAN  (2007) – Kevin McKidd stars in this show about a time traveler who helps people.
• #40:  KAIROS (2020) – The fantasy thriller K-drama series is available to stream on Viki and Kocowa.

• #41:  LA BREA  (2021) – A sinkhole in Los Angeles sends a group of people to an ancient world. Soon, a family becomes enmeshed in a time-travel conspiracy. It’s super fun (if illogical) and crazy – especially by Season 2.
• #42:  LEGION  (2017) (TV-MA) – Dan Stevens stars in this bizarre Marvel series about a man with abilities. Time travel becomes a significant element in Season 3.
• #43: * LIFE ON MARS/ASHES TO ASHES  (2006; 2008) (TV-MA – mild) – DCI Sam Tyler wakes up in 1973 after being in a car accident. The spinoff series  Ashes to Ashes  is about another Detective who wakes up in 1981.
• #44:  LIVE UP TO YOUR NAME (2017) – It’s a rom-com time travel K-drama series about a Joseon doctor transported into the present day.
• #45: * LOST  (2004) – Survivors of a plane disaster discover they’re stranded on a mysterious island. Time travel plays an essential role in the  brilliant romantic series .
• #46: * LOKI  (2021) – Loki ends up at the Time Variance Authority – agents who stop time variants and monitor the timeline. Loki soon must fight for his survival as he travels through time.
• #47: * MANIFEST (2018) – The mystery genre series begins when a missing airplane reappears five years later – and no one has aged.
• #48:  MY ONLY LOVE SONG (2017) – An actress time travels to the past in a magical van in this historical fantasy romance show.
• #49:  NINE: NINE TIMES TIME TRAVEL  (2013) – A TV anchorman tries to change his past in this romantic K-drama.
• #50:  THE OUTER LIMITS  (1963; 1995) – The sci-fi show includes episodes about time travel.

RELATED: 10 Romantic Time Travel Movies to Binge Watch: I’ll Love You to the End of Time

• #51: * PRIMEVAL/PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD (2007; 2012) – Primeval and its spinoff (not nearly as good) follow a team of agents and scientists capturing prehistoric creatures traveling to the present day through mysterious anomalies.  Doctor Who  fans should like this one.
• #52:  * QUEEN IN-HYUN’S MAN   (2012) – A scholar travels into the future and connects with an actress in this charming Korean fantasy rom-com.
• #53:  QUANTUM LEAP  (1989; 2022) – A scientist (Scott Bakula) becomes trapped in the past and must leap between bodies and various times. The original show is superior to the new one, but the revival is still entertaining.
• #54:  THE PERIPHERAL  (2022) (TV-MA for violence and profanity) – Chloë Grace Moretz stars in this new science fiction series with an original time travel twist.
• #55:  ROOFTOP PRINCE  (2012) – The popular fantasy rom-com Korean drama follows a Crown Prince from the past transported to the present day.
• #56:  *ROSWELL  (1999) – Two episodes of the iconic paranormal romance series deal with time travel.
• #57:  RUSSIAN DOLL  (2019) (TV-MA for lots of profanity and some explicit content) – A woman from NYC finds herself stuck in a time loop in this Emmy-winning series.
• #58:  *THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES  (2007) – The  Doctor Who  spinoff is a teen series with fantastic writing about the Doctor’s former companion, journalist Sarah Jane Smith, and her adventures with a group of teens.
• #59:  SHINING GIRLS (2022) (TV-MA) – Time travel plays into this mystery/crime drama starring Elisabeth Moss. The ending could have been better, but it’s an intriguing, well-acted series.
• #60:  SIGNAL  (2016) – This is South Korea’s version of  Frequency .

• #61: SISYPHUS: THE MYTH  (2021) – A woman from a war-torn future journeys to the past to change future events.
• #62:  SLIDERS  (1995) – A group of friends travels into parallel worlds.
• #63:  SOMEWHERE BETWEEN  (2017) – A woman relives a week to stop tragic events from happening.
• #64:  *SPLASH SPLASH LOVE (2015) – This adorable rom-com miniseries follows a teenage girl as she travels back in time to the Joseon Era.
• #65:  *STARGATE: SG-1  (1997) – A military team and scientists are part of a secret group that travels to other planets and occasionally different times through Stargates.
• #66:  *STAR TREK TV SHOWS (INCLUDING THE NEW SHOWS, PICARD, AND STAR TREK: DISCOVERY)  (Some series are TV-MA)   – Time travel plays an essential role in the  Star Trek  universe.
• #67:  STEINS;GATE  (2011) – An animated series about time travel.
• #68:  *TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES ( 2008) – This is an underrated romantic sci-fi series starring Lena Headey.
• #69:  TERRA NOVA  (2011) – A family from a dying future is transported to the prehistoric era to a colony of humans trying to survive.
• #70:  THE KING: ETERNAL MONARCH  (2020) – A romantic K-drama series about two parallel worlds where time travel plays a part.

RELATED: The Day of the Doctor – An Impossible Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Theory

• #71:  THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE  (2022) (TV-MA) – Steven Moffat’s new (but short-lived) romance series is about a married couple dealing with the problems of time travel.
• #72:  TIME AFTER TIME   (2017) – A short but sweet romantic series about a young H.G. Wells.
• #73:  THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959) – The iconic classic series includes episodes about time travel.
• #74:  TOMORROW, WITH YOU  (2017) – A man can time travel with a subway and tries to avoid his future fate while also falling in love.
• #75:  TUNNEL (2017) – A detective travels 30 years into the future when chasing a suspect through a tunnel.
• #76:  *TRU CALLING  (2003) – A medical grad student develops an ability to relive the previous day and help people. 
• #77:  *THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY  (2019) – The quirky series follows former child heroes as they try to save the world.
• #78:  VOYAGERS!  (1982) – The classic family series follows a young boy and a team of time travelers as they fix history.
• #79:  11.22.63 (TV-MA for violence and profanity)   – James Franco stars in this mystery series based on the novel by Stephen King about a teacher who travels back in time to stop the JFK assassination.
• #80: MR. QUEEN (2020) – A chef is transported to the Joseon Era into the body of a queen in this Korean Comedy series.

What are your favorite time travel TV shows? What do you think is the best time travel show of all time? Drop me a line below!

Featured image credit: Doctor Who (BBC), Continuum (Showcase), 12 Monkeys (NBCUniversal Television Distribution), Torchwood (BBC), and Timeless (Universal Television/Sony Pictures Television/NBC). 

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Catherine is an avid reader and a self-declared professional binge watcher. It's not uncommon to find her re-watching a series or movie for the umpteenth time and still be crying into a box of tissues. When she's not hiding in her closet to read or watch a show or movie, Catherine is a wife, mother, and, in her spare time, a lawyer.

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26 thoughts on “80 of the Best Entertaining Time Travel TV Shows You Need To Watch”

thank you – have beeen looking forever for timetravel— y r we soooo fascinated– et me out of here i do not belon in this time — beeen this wy sincei ws 9 and read a book of a little boy being sent to mars after climbing a tree—- love fairies also — ok i am an old fashioned girl they used to call my pollyanna – then i became an out law—- my son in law does not beleive in annnnnythin but $$$$ and power– borrrrrring give me a gooood romance to live in.. oxoxoxoxoxoxox

This is a great list! I love the Korean drama Time Travel series. My favorites are Faith, Rooftop Prince, I love Lee Tae Ri, Signal and Tunnel.

Have you ever seen “Voyagers!”? It was like a predecessor to Quantum Leap and lasted 1 season on NBC. It stared one of the most beautiful men to ever grace television, the late Jon-Erik Hexum. He’s a roguish time-traveling pirate, Phineas Bogg, a Voyager that travels throughout time with a smart young boy and they have to fix moments where history’s gone wrong. It was a fun show. It’s definitely binge-worthy and Hexum was such a charming young actor. Although it was made with kids and education in mind, (Co-Produced by Scholastic) there’s plenty of romantic moments for Bogg!

He and Meeno Peluce (the boy, Jeffrey Jones) made a great team. I run a fansite and FB page for the series. You can watch it on Amazon Prime, and it’s currently free on NBC.com.

I own the series and I was heartbroken when Jon died. I recently bought the 30 episode tv show from the 60’s The Time Tunnel…. Now this was where most time travel shows spawned from. Especially Quantum Leap.

Nice list! Back to the Future made me a sucker for time travel plots. So would the cartoon count as one?

How can Outlander be #16?

You NEED TO READ – It clearly states that the shows are in No Particular Order!

You forgot ‘The Time tunnel’ – The first American time travel show

Goodnight Sweetheart is THE ultimate time travel show!

Maybe you guys can help me….. I’m looking for a series perhaps a movie….. not sure. only saw a piece of it and have been searching ever since. I even looked trough all the male actors to cross reference, nothing. It seem to involve time travel an attempt to shift history. Almost achieve the goal by manipulating the son of the leader – I know its horribly vague…. but he ends up speaking to his son. He explains the situation from a watchmakers point of view- His hobby is watchmaking….the comparison he draws between ‘leading’ or directing humans where they need to be is similar to the watchmaker making a clock. its been almost two years…. but so far no luck finding this series. Help 🙂

think you may be thinking of inception (link removed)

How could you not have Netflix’s Dark on this list?

I agree. Dark is a pretty good series (3 seasons on Netflix). It’s a German show so you have to up with English lip syncing, but once you get used to it, it’s a good show.

Absolutely the best time travel show ever made imo

It is on the list (#30).

12 Monkeys needs to be #1 … Pretty sure it’s the only show that properly does time travel and causality! Love it

Continuum seems to be right on the money as we see a few corporations [e.g., Amazon] displacing small business, and taking over government. Science Fiction frequently becomes Science.

Looks like Continuum is no longer on Amazon Prime (unless you want to buy it. Is it anywhere else?

It looks like it’s only available to buy on Digital and DVD/Blu-ray now.

Netflix’s DARK is the best Time Travel show ever made. Never believe anything else!

Timeslip UK kids show from 60`s predates all these and deals with past , future, global cooling(remember that) and cloning.

I’ve never heard of it! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

It’s a indian movie named Time

Brødrene Dal og Spektralsteinene and Brødrene Dal og Mysteriet om Karl XIIs Gamasjer both have time travel as a key element. I prefer the former but both are pretty well planned out, although only the latter seems to remember concequences.

Thanks for the recommendations! 🙂

I like some others am trying to find a “Time Travel” movie that’s kind of like “If Only” Where a mans’ wife (Possibly Girlfriend) is killed in an auto accident an he keeps traveling back to that time to make her avoid it. He finds every time that it is avoided she is killed in another way. After so many attempts he goes back and gets in the car with her and they both die. So sort of like “If Only “ and sort of like the first part of “The Time Machine”(2002). I think the movie time-line was between 1970 and 2000 only guessing. I didn’t see the start of the movie. Always wanted to see it but the same accident happens or is averted only to have a new death.

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From 'Timeless' to 'Quantum Leap': 9 adventurous time travel TV shows worth going back to watch

The time periods might get old, but these shows never do.

Get ready to travel back to 10,000 B.C., because the second half of  La Brea 's sophomore season is here. The first half of Season 2 ended with most of the main cast deciding to return to perhistoric times rather than stick around in the '80s, in the hopes that they might one day be able to return to their correct time period. And, we learned that the cause of all this time travel madness might lie in the future, in the year 2076.

The midseason premiere , which runs a full two hours and airs tonight, Jan. 31, on NBC at 9 p.m. Eastern, will only take place in the year 10,000 B.C., though, as will the rest of the season, according showrunner David Appelbaum . Even if this next string of episodes won't involve any actual time traveling, the occasion of the midseason premiere has us thinking about some of the best time travel TV shows around.

We aimed at time-travel shows that skew more toward letting us explore the past and (recent) present in new ways. So, not a lot of apocalypse action to be had here (though we definitely recommend you binge more apocalyptic/future-y fare like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 12 Monkeys , and Continuum , too!). Instead, we’re looking at shows with more of a time-travel adventure bent focused on the far-flung or recent past.

From the biggies to deep cuts, these are some great time machines to jump into and distract yourself from reality.

01 . Timeless

If you’re looking for a wild, fun time-travel adventure, look no further than the short-lived Timeless . The series was a modest hit on NBC, inspiring a fervent fanbase, but the love wasn’t enough to extend its run past two seasons (plus an extended special to wrap up the show’s dangling storylines).

The series followed a rag-tag team of heroes as they zipped through time to different periods, trying to avert changes to the timeline and stop a mysterious cabal out to twist time to its own ends. It visited some great periods, from the Alamo to the heart of the space race in the late 1960s. It was smart, fun, and had a ton of heart.

Plus, even though the run was cut short, it actually has a true ending — so no pesky cancellation cliffhangers here.

How to watch: Hulu

02 . Legends of Tomorrow

The CW’s weirdest and wildest superhero show is also one of the most ambitiously goofy time travel exploits ever attempted. The series follows a team of D-list heroes thrown together on a space ship as they fly through time to try and stop "anomalies" in the timeline (they also tackle monsters and evil escapees from Hell along the way, to boot).

The show is just silly enough to work, but features enough seriousness to really make those time travel stories resonate along the way. Even more fun, all that time travel is also infused with tons of nods to decades of DC Comics lore, so there’s something for everybody.

Meet young Obama one episode, then head back to the Wild West (with Jonah Hex!) the next.

How to watch: Netflix, The CW app

03 . Outlander

This is a time travel story that starts in the past then goes way further back, but it’s one heck of a lovely and compelling tale.

The show follows a young woman who is swept from the 1940s all the way back to the 1700s, where romance, intrigue, and fantasy all come into play. It’s a love story at its heart, while also a fascinating exploration of the differences in a life lived across the eras.

How to watch: Netflix, Starz

04 . Quantum Leap

The OG, baby. This beloved late-1980s, early-1990s sci-fi series follows a man out of time, bouncing from body to body as he tries to right wrongs across the time stream.

Starring Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, the show was smart, funny, and ahead of its time in a lot of ways. It also explored a ton of great periods in history, telling small-scale and world-shaking tales from the 1950s to the 1980s. With plenty of buzz about the reboot , it’s the perfect time to go back and enjoy those early adventures.

How to watch: Fridays on SYFY as part of SYFY Rewind.

05 . Making History

There’s a decent chance you missed this one the first go ‘round, and it’d be hard to blame you. The short-lived Fox comedy was burned off with little fanfare, having its initial 13-episode order chopped down to just nine before it was canceled.

But oh, what a fun nine episodes they were.

The show followed a slacker who figures out how to travel through time and does just that with his two pals. Think Doctor Who meets Bill & Ted , kinda? It also had a surprisingly rich pedigree, produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and starring Adam Pally, Leighton Meester, and Yassir Lester.

It was clever, hilarious, and really dug into the question of what you might really do with a time machine.

Watch it on : Amazon Prime (For Purchase)

06 . Doctor Who

The Doctor has been zipping around through history for longer than a lot of us have been alive and knows a thing or two about mucking around in the time stream.

Though the show often veers off into full-on sci-fi and fantasy, the time travel episodes are the meat and potatoes that make up the DNA of Doctor Who . The rotating regenerations of the Doctor have bounced everywhere from Pompeii to a trip back to hang out with Vincent van Gogh. Not to mention the fact that, if you’re looking for a very long binge, there are decades of Doctor Who going back to the early days, plus 12 seasons of the more modern run to keep you plenty busy.

Watch it on:  HBO Max

07 . Life On Mars (U.S.)

This one is based on a British series, but for our purposes, we’ll keep the focus on the U.S. version. The show starred Jason O’Mara as a present-day detective who wakes up in 1973 New York.

It’s a trippy, well-constructed cop and sci-fi series at its core, but more than that, it’s a compelling look at New York City in that much wilder era of the early 1970s. The vibe, the feel, the smell, even — it’s all there.

If you’re looking to disappear to the grittier, bell-bottomed world of NYC’s past, this should do the trick.

Watch it on: Amazon Prime (For Purchase)

08 . 11.22.63

This Stephen King-based miniseries was one of Hulu’s buzzy originals when it was still getting deeper into the original programming arena back around 2016. It follows a man, played by James Franco, who discovers the ability to travel back to the 1960s. So he takes on a mission to try and stop the assassination of JFK, forging a new life for himself in the 1960s in the hopes his efforts will make the world a better place. It also makes for an easy, concise binge, clocking in at eight episodes.

Watch it on: Hulu

09 . Journeyman

This short-lived 2007 series had all the makings of a sci-fi hit, except for the ratings. But despite its short run, the show was a smart, modern-day twist on the Quantum Leap formula.

It followed a newspaper reporter who suddenly starts jumping back in time, where he realizes he needs to help tweak the lives of those he meets for the better (sound familiar). But more than that, we get to see the impact these jumps make on his own life, as he reconnects with people from his past with the perspective and knowledge of his “future” life.

Sadly, it’s a bit hard to find on streaming, but well worth it if you can track it down.

Watch it on: Full series is available on DVD.

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• DC's Legends Of Tomorrow
• Quantum Leap
• Science Fiction
• Time Travel

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Best 10 TV Shows About Time Travel Ultimate List

There have been numerous TV shows about time travel in the past. Although some shows did have time travel included in part of their plot (like Marvel Agents of Shield), in this list we focused on series that have time travel as a basic premise of the show. With that in mind, we narrowed down our picks to the top 10 TV series that are worth your time. However, keep in mind that there are other fantasy shows that you might like – this is just our pick of the best ones so far.

Table of Contents

10.  Timeless [2016-2018]

A hidden gem among TV series about time traveling is NBC’s Timeless. The show is a quick watch – it only has two seasons and 28 episodes in total but don’t be discouraged by that fact. Timeless still manages to land a meaningful, educating, heart-warming story with a compelling ending. The cast features Abigail Spencer as Lucy Preston a history professor, Matt Lanter as Wyatt Logan, a USA Delta Force Sargeant, and Malcolm Barrett as Rufus Carlin, a programmer. The trio is tasked with capturing a terrorist Garcia Flynn (Goran Visnjic) who is trying to rewrite history.

Although the premise of the show looks very much like what we have seen in Continuum, Travelers and 12 Monkeys, Timeless also offers a variety of real historical events that are shown in the series. The historical part might not always be 100% accurate but it is fun to see the fictional characters interacting with real-life events that took place. Although the show was canceled after two seasons, the viewers still got a well-deserved ending so we highly recommend Timeless.

9. Continuum [2012-2015]

One of the classic TV shows that exploited the topic of time travel is Continuum. Stretching through 4 seasons and 42 episodes, Continuum tells a story about detective Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) who goes back in time by accident with a group of criminals called Liber8. The plot takes place in present-day as Kiera tries to stop members of Liber8 from altering the timeline and destroying the future in which corporations have sized the roles of the governments. A teenage wunderkind Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen) helps her out on her quest as well as her partner Carlos Fonnegra (Victor Webster). 

Although the plot seems like more of what we saw in some earlier TV shows about time travel, the cast does a pretty decent job and the overall setting is fun to watch. As you can see, this show has been produced more than a decade ago but the CGI elements are not that bad and are watchable. But what really gives Continuum a place on our list is the character development that Kiera as a protagonist goes through.

8. Quantum Leap [1989-1993]

Quantum Leap is an old-school TV show that older viewers must have watched during 90s. The importance of this show is the fact that after its initial success, many directors pitched ideas for similar shows in the future – and that’s how we got so many time travel series. Although Quantum Leap is highly praised, it is a bit outdated nowadays, so it might not be the best choice for younger viewers.

Be it as it may, the show focuses on Dr. Sam Beckett, who gets thrown back in time while experimenting on his own project (Quantum Leap). The protagonist is accompanied by his friend Admiral Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell) but in the shape of a hologram. Dr. Beckett continues to leap to different people in his own timeline and hopes to correct the past in order to finally leap to the presence. Quantum Leap offers a unique mixture of science fiction, drama, and comedy all while exploring the topic of time traveling.

7. 12 Monkeys [2015-2018]

12 Monkeys is a sci-fi masterpiece remake of a 12 Monkeys movie (1995) that has time travel in the essence of its plot. As you might remember from the movie, a mysterious group called “12 Monkeys” released the virus which killed over 7 million people and brought humanity to its downfall. The same plot premise is in the show as time traveler Cole (Aaron Stanford) uses an experimental time-traveling device to come back to the present and assist Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull) in stopping the virus.

The cast does a great job, especially Amanda Schull, and really brings out the darkness of events that are about to come. This show is perfect for viewers who like disaster like shows combined with time travel – 12 Monkeys has it both.

6. DC Legends of Tomorrow [2016-2022]

Superhero TV shows have all the rage nowadays so it’s just fair to put one that’s about time travel on this list as well. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow might not have the most interesting story but boy, they are fun to watch. Most of the episodes are stand-alone and you can simply sit on your sofa, watch one and continue after a month without worrying about missing the parts of the plot. When it comes to the story, basically, a team of superheroes travels back in time to prevent bad things from altering the timeline, thus saving the future.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is a part of the Arrowverse so the show crosses over with Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl several times. The main reason why this show is on our list is the fact that it’s relaxing to watch, witty, and overall entertaining. Caity Lotz, Amy Louis Pemberton, and Dominic Purcell are just some of the names that star in this show – the cast is full of superstars well-known to superhero fans.

5. Manifest [2018-2023]

The show was canceled after three seasons and picked up and renewed by Netflix for the fourth and final season. Manifest tells a story about Flight 828 which vanished into thin air and reappeared five and half years later. The problem is that the passengers have no idea what happened since from their perspective, they just went through a troublesome storm but landed on time, as planned. As they rejoin society, numerous problems arise, especially when some passengers start getting visions (“ Callings “) of future events.

The show has a strong “Leftovers” vibe to it, exploring the topic of how humans are unable to cope with things that they can’t explain. Melissa Roxburgh (Michaela Stone) and John Dallas (Ben Stone) are the stars of the show and have received numerous praises for their performance in Manifest. This TV series is about time travel but also offers a lot more and tells a mysterious story that you will surely enjoy.

4. Dark [2017-2020]

Dark is the first Netflix German series. The show itself is difficult to place as it combines several genres, including sci-fiction, horror, mystery, drama, and thriller. While this combo might not work for some other shows, Dark is an exception – the show delivers magnificently although one might argue that it’s a slow-burn in the beginning. Dark is one of the shows like Black Mirror in a suspenseful feeling that you get while watching it.

Dark starts in Winden, a small fictional German town in 2019. Children begin to disappear from the town so an investigation led by four families takes place. Throughout the three seasons of Dark, the truth will include multiple timelines, wormholes, conspiracies, and parallel worlds. We won’t say any more since the whole point of the show is for the viewer to try to understand the events that took place (and when the events took place). The German cast is lead by Louis Hofmann, Karoline Eichhorn, and Lisa Vicari. This time-travel TV series received praise from both the audience and the critics and is a must-watch. 

3. Fringe [2008-2013]

When it comes to TV shows about time travel, supernatural phenomena, parallel worlds, and doomsday events, Fringe is a must-see masterpiece. First of all, the show has that 2000’s vibe to it which is sure to evoke memories from older viewers. Fringe is well-written and humorous and even a non-fiction fan will be able to enjoy it.

The cast is just astonishing: Anna Torv plays FBI Agent Olivia Dunham who leads Fringe Division. This division is kinda similar to “unsolved cases” that Molder and Scully used to investigate in X-files, although without (that many) aliens. Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his son Peter (Joshua Jackson) assist her in solving these cases. The show has many episodes that are stand-alone type but in the end, it wraps up nicely and tells a compelling story about father and son love filled with sci-fi elements.

2. Travellers [2016-2018]

Travelers have a unique story that widely differs from similar TV shows about time travel and that’s one of the reasons why it’s so high on our list. The basic premise of the show is that the future is ruined and people from it ( Travelers ) transfer their conciseness into humans that are about to die in the 21st century in order to alternate the timeline, following orders from an AI called “Director”. Sounds wild, right? Well, it works pretty well –  Travelers are super fun and the characters are well-written and very diverse.

The cast is brilliant and is led by Eric McCormack (Grant MacLaren) and MacKenzie Porter (Marcy Warton). Another thing that puts this show at the top of our list is the fact that the sudden ending of season 3 really leaves a massive impact on a viewer. We must admit that a decision from Netflix to cancel Travelers after three seasons is baffling. Be it as it may, we are sure that you will enjoy this story and the ending will leave you breathless.

1. Doctor Who [1963-1989; 2005-present]

When a TV show has an actual Guinness record category of longest-running science fiction series, it is hard not to put it in the first place in our list. Doctor Who is a british sci-fi TV show about time travel and numerous other fictional motives and it has been on BBC since 1963. The show follows the adventures of a Time Lord ( The Doctor ), a being that appears to be human but explores the universe, combats foes and helps people in need using his time-traveling ship ( TARDIS ).

Since Doctor Who had over 850 episodes so far, we won’t try to dig into the plot too much – it would require multiple articles just to cover it. The show gained so much popularity that it is considered a part of British culture and the fans call themselves “Whovians”. We highly recommend that you give this show a try (or a rewatch) since Doctor Who is a classic among TV shows about time travel.

Vuk Radulovic is a graduated historian with a keen interest in the fantasy genre. For over 20 years he watched, listened, and read basically everything that came across his hands when it comes to fantasy TV shows, books and movies.

He has a particular interest in the Witcher realm as well as the Sword of Truth book series. He thinks the Demon Cycle book series is one of the most underestimated fantasy books of all time. He is looking forward to The Last of Us series.

When he is not in the fantasy realm, Vuk likes to nurture his interest in SEO marketing and content writing.

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There are a few reasons we’re obsessed with time travel TV shows. For one, the high-stakes adventures promise plenty of mystery and thrills. And better yet, they span across a variety of genres, from historical dramas and comedies to mystery thrillers.

So, for our next binge-watching session, we're living vicariously through our favorite characters as they journey through time, whether they're exploring a major period in history or visiting a futuristic society. From Doctor Who to Timeless, keep reading for the best time travel TV shows you can stream right now.

The 20 Best Time Travel Movies to Stream Right Now (That Aren’t ‘Back to the Future’)

1. Dc’s Legends Of Tomorrow

• Rating: TV-14
• Who’s in it: Victor Garber, Brandon Routh, Arthur Darvill. Caity Lotz, Franz Drameh

Set in the Arrowverse, this superhero series includes several familiar DC characters, like White Canary, Captain Cold, Firestorm and Vixen. But fortunately, you don’t have to be well-versed on all things DC comics to enjoy this one. The CW series documents the adventures of a diverse team of superheroes as they travel through time to prevent disasters. And naturally, there’s no shortage of epic combat scenes.

2. Doctor Who

• Rating: TV-PG
• Who’s in it: Jodie Whittaker, Peter Capaldi, Matt Smith, David Tennant

Given that Doctor Who has become synonymous with time travel, it would be a crime to not include this classic. Over the span of 13 seasons, the show offered several versions of the Time Lord as they step into the infamous TARDIS and get swept through time. Seeing these heroes fight to save humanity and protect history just never gets old.

3. Timeless

• Who’s in it: Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett

An unlikely team travels through time to stop the criminal mastermind, who stole an experimental time machine. And as they pursue him, they learn that he plans to change the course of history. Though it's not 100 percent perfect in terms of historical accuracy, it delivers plenty of action and thought-provoking themes.

4. Outlander

• Rating: TV-MA
• Who’s in it: Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton

Set during World War II, Outlander tells the story of a married army nurse named Claire, who time travels to the year 1743 while in Scotland and starts a passionate relationship with a Highlander. Steamy intimate scenes, feminist themes and breathtaking scenery are just a few things you can expect from this beloved period drama.

5. Manifest

• Who’s in it: Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J. R. Ramirez

Can you imagine hopping on a plane and landing five and a half years in the future? That’s exactly what happens to the passengers of a turbulent flight in this gripping supernatural drama. When they all return, they discover that their plane went missing and mysteriously returned years later. But what really happened? (You’ll have to wait until season 4 to get that answer, but until then, enjoy the first three seasons on Netflix.)

6. Beforeigners

• Who’s in it: Krista Kosonen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Stig R. Amdam

HBO Nordic's first-ever original series follows a group of people from different time periods, who mysteriously land in 21st-century Norway. Dubbed the "beforeigners," these migrants attempt to blend in with the modern-day world—although it proves to be more challenging for some than others.

• Who’s in it: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Lance Reddick

A cross between The X-Files and The Twilight Zone , Fringe follows the FBI's Fringe Division, where the team uses fringe science (a branch that explores the most bizarre or far-fetched theories) to investigate a series of mysterious cases—some of which are connected to alternate timelines. Fun fact: The show spawned three novels and a comic book series.

8. Quantum Leap

• Who’s in it: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Deborah Pratt

Bakula plays the iconic Dr. Sam Beckett in this five-time Emmy Award-winning series, and his random adventures will give you major Doctor Who vibes. Join the physicist as he “leaps” through time to fix historical errors.

9. My Only Love Song

• Who’s in it: Lee Jong-hyun, Gong Seung-yeon, Lee Jae-jin

Soo-jung (Seung-yeon), a self-obsessed movie star, accidentally time travels to 6th-century Gogurye after falling into a portal. There, she meets the handsome On-dal (Jong-hyun), a guy who appears to be just as obsessed with his wealth as she is. But his generosity towards people in need forces her to reconsider her own values.

• Who’s in it: Yuki Furukawa, Mio Yuki, Jin Shirasu

Based on Kei Sanbe’s Japanese manga series of the same title, Erased revolves around a man named Satoru Fujinuma, who has the ability to go back in time and stop life-threatening events right before they happen. But when his mother gets murdered, he’s sent back nearly two decades, giving him the opportunity to save even more lives.

• Who’s in it: Tom Hiddleston, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Eugene Cordero

Loki picks up right where Avengers: Endgame left off, with the God of Mischief accidentally creating a new timeline as a result of stealing the Tesseract. And now, the authorities present him with two options: to either accept his punishment or to travel back in time to correct his mistakes. Almost any Marvel fan will agree that this series is full of charm and a welcome change from the pacing and tone of the Marvel films.

12. Terra Nova

• Who’s in it: Jason O'Mara, Shelley Conn, Christine Adams, Allison Miller

Humanity gets a major do-over in this fascinating series, and there’s more than enough compelling themes to keep you invested (like Utopias gone terribly wrong). Terra Nova follows the Shannon family as they flee from a dying Earth in 2149 and travel to prehistoric Earth, where they join a colony of people known as Terra Nova and attempt to rebuild a civilization.

13. 11.22.63

• Who’s in it: James Franco, Sarah Gadon, Cherry Jones

Inspired by Stephen King’s novel 11/22/63 , the show details one time traveler’s efforts to go back in time and stop the assassination of former president John F. Kennedy. But when he goes to the year 1960, he builds a new life that could threaten the success of his mission. It’s worth noting that James Franco gives an unforgettable performance as Jake Epping/George Amberson.

14. Making History

• Who’s in it: Adam Pally, Leighton Meester and Yassir Lester.

Pally, Meester and Lester star as three friends from different time periods, who take full advantage of their ability to time travel—until they realize the ramifications of their adventures. The show is humorous and silly in the best possible way.

15. Somewhere Between

• Who’s in it: Paula Patton, Devon Sawa, JR Bourne

Laura Price (Patton) has it all: a successful career, a loving husband and a delightful young daughter. But when a serial killer murders her child, she falls into depression and attempts suicide. After the incident, Laura is stunned to find that she time traveled to the week before her daughter’s death. Can she save her daughter?

16. Umbrella Academy

• Who’s in it: Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman

The Haragreeves have become our favorite dysfunctional family, and for good reason. In this Netflix series, the seven adopted superhero siblings team up to investigate their father’s death and save the world from an apocalypse. But when they try to travel back in time, they end up in different periods, which only complicates things.

• Who’s in it: Natasha Lyonne, Charlie Barnett, Greta Lee

Amy Poehler teamed up with Natasha Lyonne ( Orange Is the New Black ) and Leslye Headland ( Bachelorette ) to create this critically acclaimed comedy drama. The series follows a game developer named Nadia (Lyonne), who finds herself trapped in a time loop after she dies at a party. As she tries to escape this trap, however, she discovers that she isn’t the only one. Yes, it sounds a bit like a modernized version of Groundhog Day , but trust us, it’s unpredictable and incredibly refreshing.

18. Travelers

• Who’s in it: Eric McCormack, Mackenzie Porter, Jared Abrahamson

A surviving group of humans, who live centuries in the future, have figured out how to send their consciousness back in time. Known as “Travelers,” they all go back to the 21st-century and assume the identities of random people with one mission in mind: to save the future of humanity.

19. Continuum

• Who’s in it: Rachel Nichols, Victor Webster, Erik Knudsen

The year is 2077, and the U.S. has officially become a corporatocracy. But three criminals, known as Liber8, are determined to go back in time and change the course of history by stopping corporations from replacing the government. As they time travel to the year 2012, a police officer joins them and does everything in her power to stop their violent plans—all while hiding that she’s from the future.

20. 12 Monkeys

• Who’s in it: Aaron Stanford, Amanda Schull, Barbara Sukowa

Follow the exploits of scavenger James Cole (Aaron Stanford) as he time travels from 2043 to the year 2015 to stop a deadly virus from wiping out most of the human race. Expect plenty of twists and complex themes that’ll spark interesting convos, from corporate greed to the downsides of technological progress.

21. The Ministry Of Time

• Who’s in it: Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Juan Gea, Francesca Piñón

Welcome to The Ministry of Time, a top-secret Spanish organization that’s responsible for guarding the doors of time and reporting all time travel incidents to the Prime Minister. The series focuses on the Ministry’s patrol as they carry out their assignments, and while there’s no shortage of thrills, the show also does a phenomenal job of weaving in bits of Spain's history.

• Who’s in it: Louis Hofmann, Julika Jenkins, Andreas Pietschmann, Maja Schöne

Set in the fictional German town of Winden, Dark centers on four families who are connected to the mysterious disappearance of two children. Aside from exploring their relationships, the show takes viewers on a wild journey that involves a major time travel conspiracy—one that spans multiple generations.

23. Always A Witch

• Who’s in it: Angely Gaviria, Sofia Bernal Araujo, Dylan Fuentes, Valeria Henríquez

The Colombian series follows Carmen, a 19-year-old 17th-century witch who gets sentenced to death for falling in love with her master's son. However, she escapes her fate by time-traveling to modern day Cartagena as part of a deal with a wizard. Her task? To help him break his curse.

24. Voyagers!

• Rating: TV-G
• Who’s in it: Jon-Erik Hexum, Meeno Peluce, David Cadiente

Phineas Bogg (Jon-Erik Hexum) and his partner in crime, Jeffrey Jones (Meeno Peluce), are members of a secret group known as the Voyagers, who are tasked with making sure that history doesn’t change. The feel-good cult classic only lasted for one season, but all 20 episodes are simply delightful and worth the watch.

• Who’s in it: Rosa Salazar, Angelique Cabral, Constance Marie

This animated drama revolves around a young woman named Alma (Rosa Salazar), who, per the official logline , explores "the elastic nature of reality" after surviving a dangerous car accident. She then uses her newfound ability to investigate her father's death. (Psst, look out for the second season, which premieres on April 29 on Amazon Prime.)

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Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

Media Decision US

15 Greatest TV Shows From the Early 2000s

Posted: April 29, 2024 | Last updated: April 29, 2024

The early 2000s were a golden era for television, birthing a variety of shows that would leave a lasting impact on audiences and the TV landscape alike. This period saw an explosion of creativity and innovation, introducing viewers to groundbreaking series that mixed traditional genres with new storytelling techniques.

From the gripping dramas that kept us on the edge of our seats to the laugh-out-loud comedies that brought joy and light-hearted fun, the early 2000s had something for everyone.

1. “The Sopranos” (1999-2007)

Although it began in the late ’90s, “The Sopranos” truly dominated the early 2000s television scene. It offered an in-depth look at the life of Tony Soprano, a New Jersey mob boss struggling to manage his criminal organization and his family life.

The show was acclaimed for its complex characters, intricate plots, and its portrayal of the psychological struggles Tony faced. It set a high standard for narrative depth in television.

2. “The Wire” (2002-2008)

This series provided a raw, unfiltered look at the city of Baltimore, seen through the eyes of both law enforcers and drug traffickers.

“The Wire” was lauded for its authentic depiction of societal issues and its deep dive into the lives of its multifaceted characters. Each season focused on a different facet of the city, from the drug trade to the school system, making it a comprehensive study of urban life.

3. “Gilmore Girls” (2000-2007)

A lighter, more heartwarming addition to the TV lineup of the early 2000s, “Gilmore Girls” captured the charming dynamics of mother-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore.

Set in the quaint town of Stars Hollow, the series was beloved for its fast-paced dialogue, witty banter, and the strong, supportive relationships depicted throughout the community. It was a feel-good show that resonated with audiences looking for comfort and humor.

4. “Arrested Development” (2003-2006)

Known for its innovative narrative style and eccentric characters, “Arrested Development” was a comedy that often played with the conventional norms of sitcoms. The show revolved around the dysfunctional Bluth family, whose members continually find themselves in absurd situations.

It’s celebrated for its clever writing, intricate jokes, and the ability to densely pack humor into every scene.

5. “24” (2001-2010)

“24” introduced a novel concept to television by presenting each season in real-time, with each 24-episode season covering one day in the life of protagonist Jack Bauer. This structure created an intense, suspenseful atmosphere that kept viewers on the edge of their seats.

The series was groundbreaking for its pacing, style, and the way it dealt with themes of national security and moral ambiguity.

6. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003)

Though it started in the late ’90s, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” left an indelible mark on the early 2000s with its mix of drama, humor, and supernatural elements. The show followed Buffy Summers, a young woman who battles evil creatures as a Slayer.

With its witty dialogue and strong, complex characters, especially the powerful female lead, the series became a cultural icon, influencing many future shows in its genre.

7. “Scrubs” (2001-2010)

“Scrubs” was a show that successfully blended comedy and drama in a hospital setting, focusing on the lives of several employees at Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. The series stood out for its unique narrative style, which included fantasy sequences and fourth-wall-breaking moments.

Its ability to tackle serious themes such as life, death, and love, all while maintaining a light-hearted and humorous tone, won it critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase.

8. “Six Feet Under” (2001-2005)

This series took a darker approach to storytelling by focusing on a family-run funeral home, exploring themes of mortality and family dynamics. “Six Feet Under” was known for its profound narrative depth, complex characters, and its unflinching exploration of psychological and societal issues.

The show’s finale is often cited as one of the best in television history, providing a satisfying conclusion to the characters’ arcs.

9. “Alias” (2001-2006)

“Alias” combined the elements of action, thriller, and drama in a show that was centered around Sydney Bristow, a double agent for the CIA. The series was praised for its strong female lead, played by Jennifer Garner, and its compelling blend of personal drama with espionage. Its high-stakes missions and intricate plot twists kept viewers hooked throughout its run.

10. “Firefly” (2002-2003)

Though short-lived, “Firefly” has achieved a significant cult following due to its unique blend of science fiction and western elements. Set in a future where Earth has been abandoned, the show follows the crew of the spaceship Serenity. The series is celebrated for its character development, dialogues, and for the creative vision of its creator, Joss Whedon.

11. “Friends” (1994-2004)

Although “Friends” began its run in the mid-90s, it remained one of the most popular and beloved shows well into the early 2000s. The series, centered around six friends living in New York City, struck a chord with its audience for its humorous and heartfelt exploration of friendships, relationships, and the trials of adulthood.

The chemistry among the cast and the blend of humor and emotional depth ensured that “Friends” remained a staple in homes around the world, concluding with a highly watched finale.

12. “The West Wing” (1999-2006)

This show provided viewers with a fascinating look inside the White House, following the fictional presidency of Josiah Bartlet. Known for its fast-paced dialogue and complex storytelling, “The West Wing” was praised for its detailed exploration of U.S. politics and its portrayal of moral and ethical dilemmas.

The series won numerous awards for its writing and performances, and is remembered for elevating the standard of narrative sophistication on television.

13. “Lost” (2004-2010)

Kicking off in the latter half of 2004, “Lost” quickly became a cultural phenomenon. The series began with the dramatic crash of Oceanic Flight 815 on a mysterious island, leading survivors to confront not only the dangers of the island but also their own personal demons.

The show was groundbreaking for its intricate plot, deep character development, and its use of flashbacks and flashforwards to enhance the storytelling.

14. “Malcolm in the Middle” (2000-2006)

A standout in the family sitcom genre, “Malcolm in the Middle” offered a humorous yet strikingly honest look at family life through the eyes of a child genius, Malcolm, who navigates the chaos of his quirky family.

Unlike many of its contemporaries, the show was shot in a single-camera format, which allowed for a more cinematic and fluid style of comedy. It was celebrated for its creative episodes and the way it broke the fourth wall, speaking directly to the audience.

15. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (2000-present)

Debuting in 2000, this series created by and starring Larry David, offers a fictionalized version of his life as a semi-retired television writer and producer in Los Angeles. The show’s use of improvisation in dialogue and its focus on the social faux pas and everyday frustrations that Larry encounters have garnered it a loyal fanbase.

It is known for its sharp wit and often cringe-inducing situations that highlight the absurdities of social conventions.

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The 40 Best Time Travel Movies & Series

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Back to the Future (1985)

PG | 116 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox , Christopher Lloyd , Lea Thompson , Crispin Glover

Votes: 1,307,600 | Gross: $210.61M

2. Journeyman (2007)

45 min | Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi

A San Francisco journalist mysteriously travels to the past and alters the path of people's lives. When his travels reunite him with his long-lost fiancée Livia, life with his present-day wife gets very interesting.

Stars: Kevin McKidd , Gretchen Egolf , Moon Bloodgood , Reed Diamond

Votes: 9,619

3. The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)

PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Henry DeTamble, a librarian, possesses a unique gene that lets him involuntarily travel through time. His wife, Claire Abshire, finds it difficult to cope with it.

Director: Robert Schwentke | Stars: Eric Bana , Rachel McAdams , Ron Livingston , Michelle Nolden

Votes: 157,948 | Gross: $63.41M

4. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

PG | 90 min | Adventure, Comedy, Music

Two rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate school history report after being presented with a time machine.

Director: Stephen Herek | Stars: Keanu Reeves , Alex Winter , George Carlin , Terry Camilleri

Votes: 141,721 | Gross: $40.49M

5. The Time Machine (1960)

G | 103 min | Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi

A man's vision for a utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society.

Director: George Pal | Stars: Rod Taylor , Alan Young , Yvette Mimieux , Sebastian Cabot

Votes: 44,865

6. Doctor Who (1963–1989)

TV-PG | 25 min | Adventure, Drama, Family

The adventures in time and space of the Doctor, a Time Lord who changes appearance and personality by regenerating when near death, and is joined by companions in battles against aliens and other megalomaniacs.

Stars: William Hartnell , Patrick Troughton , Jon Pertwee , Tom Baker

Votes: 39,542

7. The Lake House (2006)

PG | 99 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

A lonely doctor who once occupied an unusual lakeside house begins to exchange love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.

Director: Alejandro Agresti | Stars: Keanu Reeves , Sandra Bullock , Christopher Plummer , Ebon Moss-Bachrach

Votes: 157,719 | Gross: $52.33M

8. Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

R | 99 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi

A malfunctioning time machine at a ski resort takes a man back to 1986 with his two friends and nephew, where they must relive a fateful night and not change anything to make sure the nephew is born.

Director: Steve Pink | Stars: John Cusack , Rob Corddry , Craig Robinson , Clark Duke

Votes: 186,564 | Gross: $50.29M

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

PG | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral James T. Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it: humpback whales.

Director: Leonard Nimoy | Stars: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , James Doohan

Votes: 91,513 | Gross: $109.71M

10. The Time Tunnel (1966–1967)

TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Two scientists with a secret time travel project find themselves trapped in the time stream and appearing in notable periods of history.

Stars: James Darren , Robert Colbert , Whit Bissell , John Zaremba

Votes: 4,235

11. Timeline (2003)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A group of archaeologists get embroiled in an adventure where they must travel back in time to 14th Century France, to save their professor before the French battle the English at Castlegard. If they fail, they won't be able to return.

Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Paul Walker , Gerard Butler , Billy Connolly , Frances O'Connor

Votes: 65,901 | Gross: $19.48M

12. The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)

PG | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance

A United States Navy destroyer escort participates in a Navy "invisibility" experiment that inadvertently sends two sailors forty years into the future.

Director: Stewart Raffill | Stars: Michael Paré , Nancy Allen , Eric Christmas , Bobby Di Cicco

Votes: 16,759 | Gross: $8.10M

13. Kate & Leopold (2001)

PG-13 | 118 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

An English Duke from 1876 is inadvertently dragged to modern day New York where he falls for a plucky advertising executive.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Meg Ryan , Hugh Jackman , Liev Schreiber , Breckin Meyer

Votes: 89,101 | Gross: $47.12M

14. Seven Days (1998–2001)

42 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

An ex-CIA is the point man for a government organization dedicated to time traveling to correct errors that occurred in the previous week.

Stars: Jonathan LaPaglia , Don Franklin , Justina Vail , Nick Searcy

Votes: 3,956

15. The Butterfly Effect (2004)

R | 113 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Evan Treborn suffers blackouts during significant events of his life. As he grows up, he finds a way to remember these lost memories and a supernatural way to alter his life by reading his journal.

Directors: Eric Bress , J. Mackye Gruber | Stars: Ashton Kutcher , Amy Smart , Melora Walters , Elden Henson

Votes: 521,389 | Gross: $57.94M

16. Time After Time (1979)

PG | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th Century when the serial murderer uses the future writer's time machine to escape his time period.

Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: Malcolm McDowell , Mary Steenburgen , David Warner , Charles Cioffi

Votes: 20,647

17. Timetrip: The Curse of the Viking Witch (2009)

93 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Valdemar and Sille meets Benedict, a man who claims to have been cursed to eternal life by a Norse shaman in the viking age.

Director: Mogens Hagedorn | Stars: Jonas Wandschneider , Clara Maria Bahamondes , Jakob Cedergren , Stine Stengade

18. The Jacket (2005)

R | 103 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

A Gulf war veteran is wrongly sent to a mental institution for insane criminals, where he becomes the object of a doctor's experiments, and his life is completely affected by them.

Director: John Maybury | Stars: Adrien Brody , Keira Knightley , Daniel Craig , Kris Kristofferson

Votes: 119,317 | Gross: $6.30M

19. Premonition (I) (2007)

PG-13 | 96 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

A depressed woman learns that her husband was killed in a car accident the previous day, then awakens the next morning to find him alive and well at home; then awakens the day after that to find that he's dead.

Director: Mennan Yapo | Stars: Sandra Bullock , Julian McMahon , Amber Valletta , Shyann McClure

Votes: 81,744 | Gross: $47.85M

20. The Terminator (1984)

R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.

Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger , Linda Hamilton , Michael Biehn , Paul Winfield

Votes: 924,690 | Gross: $38.40M

21. Groundhog Day (1993)

PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.

Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Bill Murray , Andie MacDowell , Chris Elliott , Stephen Tobolowsky

Votes: 685,399 | Gross: $70.91M

22. Quantum Leap (1989–1993)

TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

During an experiment into time travel, a scientist finds himself trapped in the past, "leaping" into the lives of different people, sorting out their problems and changing history in hopes of getting back to his own life in the present.

Stars: Scott Bakula , Dean Stockwell , Deborah Pratt , Dennis Wolfberg

Votes: 36,495

23. 12 Monkeys (1995)

R | 129 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.

Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Bruce Willis , Madeleine Stowe , Brad Pitt , Joseph Melito

Votes: 646,917 | Gross: $57.14M

24. The Visitors II: The Corridors of Time (1998)

G | 118 min | Comedy, Fantasy

Knight Godefroy has to return to our time from 1023 to get back the sacred jewels that Jacquouille has taken to the 20th century.

Director: Jean-Marie Poiré | Stars: Christian Clavier , Jean Reno , Muriel Robin , Marie-Anne Chazel

Votes: 13,293 | Gross: $0.15M

25. Idiocracy (2006)

R | 84 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

Corporal Joe Bauers, a decidedly average American, is selected for a top-secret hibernation program but is forgotten and left to awaken to a future so incredibly moronic that he's easily the most intelligent person alive.

Director: Mike Judge | Stars: Luke Wilson , Maya Rudolph , Dax Shepard , Terry Crews

Votes: 182,579 | Gross: $0.44M

26. Grand Tour: Disaster in Time (1991)

PG-13 | 99 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi

Before they can complete renovations on their new inn, Widower (Ben Wilson) and daughter (Hillary) are visited by a woman seeking immediate lodging for her strange group of travellers. Why ... See full summary  »

Director: David Twohy | Stars: Jeff Daniels , Ariana Richards , Emilia Crow , Jim Haynie

Votes: 3,109

27. A Sound of Thunder (2005)

PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Horror

A single mistake in the past, by a time travel company in the future, has devastating and unforeseen consequences.

Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Edward Burns , Ben Kingsley , Catherine McCormack , Armin Rohde

Votes: 20,503 | Gross: $1.89M

28. Retroactive (1997)

R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A psychiatrist makes multiple trips through time to save a woman that was murdered by her brutal husband.

Director: Louis Morneau | Stars: Jim Belushi , Kylie Travis , Shannon Whirry , Frank Whaley

Votes: 6,707

29. Deja Vu (2006)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi

After a ferry is bombed in New Orleans, an A.T.F. agent joins a unique investigation using experimental surveillance technology to find the bomber, but soon finds himself becoming obsessed with one of the victims.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Denzel Washington , Paula Patton , Jim Caviezel , Val Kilmer

Votes: 327,764 | Gross: $64.04M

30. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

A young fugitive prince and princess must stop a villain who unknowingly threatens to destroy the world with a special dagger that enables the magic sand inside to reverse time.

Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal , Gemma Arterton , Ben Kingsley , Alfred Molina

Votes: 304,069 | Gross: $90.76M

31. Flight of the Navigator (1986)

PG | 90 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family

In 1978, a boy travels eight years into the future and has an adventure with an intelligent, wisecracking alien ship.

Director: Randal Kleiser | Stars: Joey Cramer , Paul Reubens , Cliff De Young , Veronica Cartwright

Votes: 51,714 | Gross: $18.56M

32. Frequency (2000)

PG-13 | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

An accidental cross-time radio link connects father and son across 30 years. The son tries to save his father's life, but then must fix the consequences.

Director: Gregory Hoblit | Stars: Dennis Quaid , Jim Caviezel , Shawn Doyle , Elizabeth Mitchell

Votes: 115,793 | Gross: $45.01M

33. Black Knight (2001)

PG-13 | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

Martin Lawrence plays Jamal, an employee in Medieval World amusement park. After sustaining a blow to the head, he awakens to find himself in 14th century England.

Director: Gil Junger | Stars: Martin Lawrence , Marsha Thomason , Tom Wilkinson , Vincent Regan

Votes: 43,323 | Gross: $33.42M

34. The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations (2009)

R | 90 min | Crime, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Sam Reide uses his power to time travel to solve the mystery of his girlfriend's death.

Director: Seth Grossman | Stars: Chris Carmack , Rachel Miner , Melissa Jones , Kevin Yon

Votes: 20,703

35. Second Life (2000)

100 min | Comedy, Fantasy

1982: World Soccer Cup: France against Germany.France looses the match and it's a national drama.Vincent , a 30 years old, is an immature man.When Laure asks him to build with her a family,... See full summary  »

Director: Patrick Braoudé | Stars: Maria de Medeiros , Isabelle Candelier , Patrick Braoudé , Daniel Russo

36. Time Bandits (1981)

PG | 110 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

A young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.

Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Sean Connery , Shelley Duvall , John Cleese , Katherine Helmond

Votes: 68,394 | Gross: $42.37M

37. Millennium (1989)

PG-13 | 108 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

An NTSB investigator seeking the cause of an airline disaster meets a warrior woman from 1000 years in the future.

Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Kris Kristofferson , Cheryl Ladd , Daniel J. Travanti , Robert Joy

Votes: 6,964 | Gross: $5.78M

38. Unterwegs nach Atlantis (1982– )

25 min | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi

Stars: Tomás Holý , Josef Horácek , Lucie Vojtechová , Benno Sterzenbach

39. Timecop (1994)

R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi

Max Walker, an officer for a security agency that regulates time travel, must fend for his life against a shady politician who's intent on changing the past to control the future.

Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme , Mia Sara , Ron Silver , Bruce McGill

Votes: 64,218 | Gross: $44.85M

40. I Want To (1979)

85 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A squadron of Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers find themselves transported through time to their country's warring states era, when rival samurai clans were battling to become the ... See full summary  »

Director: Kôsei Saitô | Stars: Shin'ichi Chiba , Jun Etô , Moeko Ezawa , Ryô Hayami

Votes: 1,119

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