Paramount’s Halo ended before introducing some great characters from the games, there are plenty of shows that can scratch the same itch.

Halo is based on the popular video game series of the same name and follows a group of humans in a futuristic world that’s under siege by powerful aliens with advanced technology aiming to conquer the planet. It’s a pretty simplistic alien invasion story, but it thrives due to the entertaining characters and electric action sequences. The show was widely considered one of the strongest video game adaptations in recent memory, but unfortunately, the recent cancellation means that several interesting Halo storylines will ultimately go unfinished.

5 Falling Skies (2011-2015)

Starring Noah Wyle & Drew Roy

Falling Skies is rarely considered among the best sci-fi shows of the past few years, but it certainly deserved to be part of the discussion. This inventive drama follows a group of human survivors in the wake of a devastating alien invasion, who band together and form a resistance against their extraterrestrial oppressors.

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It’s much less action-packed than shows like Halo, but its strength lies in its precise writing and intricate character work. The show received plenty of praise whilst it was airing, but it’s become even more of an underrated hidden gem in the years since.

4 Lost In Space (2018-2021)

Starring Maxwell Jenkins & Toby Stephens

Netflix’s Lost in Space is another show that follows a group of human survivors fighting against their alien enemies - but in this instance, it’s the humans who take the fight to them. The show centers around the Robinson family of human colonists as they travel deep into space in search of a new planet to call home, but their crash-landing in enemy territory quickly spells trouble when the aliens begin to fight back. It has many of the same action-packed set pieces as Halo, but its focus on familial dynamics and humanity’s purpose is what makes it so moving.

3 Fallout (2024-Present)

Starring Ella Purnell & Walton Goggins

Beyond both shows being inspired by video games, there are plenty of similarities between Amazon’s Fallout series and Paramount’s Halo. Both shows take place in a dark, futuristic society where humans are being driven out of their cities - but in Fallout’s case, it’s not by aliens and machines, but rather by nuclear devastation. The show takes place in the depths of a scientific bunker, where humans must work together to fight against the collapsing world on the surface. While everybody has their predictions for Fallout’s second season, the first is a very strong and self-contained series anybody can enjoy.

2 The Expanse (2015-2022)

Starring Cara Gee & Shohreh Aghdashloo

The Expanse has pretty much set the gold standard for sci-fi television over the past decade; the show is a brilliant example of how to make complex ideas digestible for general audiences without excluding those seeking a richer, more in-depth sci-fi experience. Following an interstellar police detective named Josephus Miller on the search for a missing woman, The Expanse raises plenty of important questions about humanity’s place in the cosmos and where our society is heading in the not-so-distant future.

1 The Mandalorian (2019-2023)

Starring Pedro Pascal & Giancarlo Esposito

Perhaps the most widely-praised of the Star Wars franchise’s TV efforts, The Mandalorian is an excellent show that takes audiences on an in-depth tour across all four corners of this fictional sci-fi universe. Told from the perspective of a bounty hunter who’s sworn to protect an important young alien, The Mandalorian uses its episodic format to explore many different stories while keeping these characters at the center of the narrative. Thankfully, The Mandalorian will lead directly into the next Star Wars movie, so audiences won’t have to wait too long to see what happens next for Din Djarin and Grogu.