The Must-Watch Sci-Fi Series Now Streaming On Netflix

Orphan Black is one of the best sci-fi shows of all time, and now that it’s finally streaming on Netflix, you need to check it out. Orphan Black stars Tatiana Maslany as a handful of clones trying to uncover the conspiracy behind their creation and get the nefarious Project Leda off their backs. It’s a complex, deeply intriguing mystery.

A lot of TV shows have a permanent streaming home. Netflix will always have Mindhunter, Prime Video will always have The Boys, and Disney+ will always have The Mandalorian. But shows that aired on a regular broadcast TV channel often bounce from streaming service to streaming service, so they can be hard to track down.

Orphan Black aired for five seasons on Space in Canada and BBC America in the United States, so it’s always been tough to get a hold of. But now, all 50 episodes are available to stream on Netflix, so it’s the perfect time to dive into this thrilling sci-fi saga.

Orphan Black Is The Definitive Sci-Fi Series Of The 21st Century

There have been many great sci-fi shows throughout the 21st century: Severance is a dystopian sci-fi metaphor for the work-life balance; Battlestar Galactica is a classic military sci-fi fable about the horrors of war; and Stranger Things is a delightfully nostalgic tale of spooky small-town conspiracies in the ‘80s. But none of them have been better than Orphan Black.

Orphan Black’s gripping pilot episode opens with con artist Sarah Manning witnessing her doppelgänger jumping in front of a train. As she decides to steal this woman’s identity (and, with it, the contents of her bank account), she unwittingly gets drawn into an ominous conspiracy involving more than a dozen other people who look exactly like her, and the diabolical villains coming after them.

It’s mystery-box storytelling at its finest, begging countless questions that you can’t wait to have answered. Who created these clones? Why did they create them? What is Project Leda? Why did the clone at the train station take her own life? The quest to have these mysteries answered keeps you captivated for five seasons, but it’s really about the characters.

Above all, Orphan Black is a thoughtful thematic exploration of identity. These clones were all created in a test tube to be exactly the same, but as they break away from their handlers and try to assert some independence, they have to figure out who they are as individuals. It’s inspiring to see these clones embrace each other as loving sisters.

Why Orphan Black Deserves The Hype

Usually, when a TV show receives this much praise, it struggles to live up to the hype — especially if it sets up a mystery plot with this much of a hook. The resolutions to the mysteries can be disappointing, or the show might never get to the resolutions at all.

As we’ve seen with countless mystery-box shows, the answers are never as exciting as the questions. Once you know who killed Laura Palmer or where the Smoke Monster came from, it’s hard to stay as engaged as you were when the show was still keeping you in the dark. It tends to be the downfall of these kinds of shows.

But Orphan Black avoided that with its focus on character. As captivating as the conspiracy plot is, it’s just there to facilitate a touching story of sisterhood. It’s the dramatic crux that brings these clones together as a found family. And all these characters are played by Maslany in a truly mind-blowing performance — you’ll forget you’re watching just one actor.

Orphan Black Dropped On Netflix On September 1st

As of September 1, 2025, Orphan Black has found a new streaming home on Netflix in the U.S., with all five seasons available. It’s still available to stream on its former service, AMC+, and it can be purchased on Apple TV. Two seasons are available to buy on Amazon Prime, but two seasons isn’t enough; you’ll really want to see the whole thing.

Netflix’s latest Orphan Black acquisition marks the first time the site will stream the show in the U.S. Netflix UK has streamed Orphan Black exclusively for a while now — it’s even labeled as a Netflix original on that regional service — and will continue to stream the series until March 2026, so British viewers only have a few months left to catch up.

Why Orphan Black Should Be Your Next Binge Watch

Along with Lost and Breaking Bad, Orphan Black is one of the most binge-worthy shows out there. Now that it’s on Netflix, you should definitely make it your next binge-watch. It has all the hallmarks of a show worth binging: compelling characters you’ll want to keep coming back to, and intriguing mystery storylines that only get more confounding as the show goes on.

A lot of TV shows waste time with wheel-spinning, pointless supporting characters, and unnecessary subplots that go nowhere, but Orphan Black never did that. Each episode expands the mystery, teaches us something new about the characters, and raises the stakes of the conspiracy plot. It’s the most bingeable kind of TV show; at the end of every episode, you’ll be eager to start the next.