20 best sci-fi TV shows that aren’t Star Trek

12. Future Man

What better way to consume your next science fiction show than on what is — for us mere mortals, anyway — the closest we’ll get to a sci-fi platform? That is to say, why not catch your latest episodes on a streaming service? No more of those clunky tapes or perilous trips outside of your home. All you need is an internet connection and some sort of screen to engage with your media.

At first, it must have seemed like Hulu, of all places, wasn’t going to do all that well with original programming. What did it have to offer that larger services like Netflix didn’t have on lock? By now, though, you can see that original programming for streaming platforms has exploded. Some of it is even pretty good, if not outright great.

While we’re all going gaga over Hulu’s dark sort-of sci-fi adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the service has a few other programs worth catching. If you’d like something that doesn’t immediately feel like a depiction of an altogether too plausible near future, then there’s something a little lighter available: Future Man.

Despite the goofy name, Future Man is well produced and thoroughly fun. It concerns a dopey, loser janitor named Josh Futturman (eh? get it?). Josh, who of course lives with his parents, finds solace in his favorite video game, Biotic Wars.

Only, once he completes the game, things start getting real. That’s when the game’s two main characters, Tiger and Wolf, appear, seemingly out of nowhere. They determine that Josh is the best warrior available to help them in the real Biotic Wars. Too bad that Josh can’t seem to get his act together.

Sounds pretty pedestrian, but the dumb humor is just enough to take the edge off the sci-fi seriousness. Plus, the acting and chemistry between the three main characters is pretty compelling, too.