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

7. Futurama

Science fiction doesn’t always need to take itself so seriously. We’ve already proven that with things like Clone High, as well as the more recent Rick and Morty series. But there’s at least one more show to add to the canon of high-quality sci-fi comedy: Futurama.

Though this series was co-created by Simpsons founder Matt Groening, it’s got a decidedly different feel compared to its Springfield-based cousin. It’s certainly a lot more digestible than the sprawling and yes, occasionally uneven Simpsons. Viewers of Futurama have a mere seven seasons (okay, that does come out to 140 episodes) and a few movies to watch. And while we can’t guarantee that every single episode is a gem, a great majority are sure to make you laugh and feel nerdier than ever.

Futurama follows Philip J. Fry, a do-nothing pizza delivery boy living in New York City. He’s sent out to deliver a pizza to a cryogenics facility on New Year’s Eve, only to discover, too late, that it’s meant for one “I.C. Weiner.” He takes a minute to feel down about the prank, which is just long enough for him to fall into an open cryogenic chamber.

Fry is then frozen for a whopping one thousand years, whereupon he wakes up and is introduced to New New York City. He wanders into a new job as the package delivery boy at Planet Express, which just so happens to be run by his distant nephew, Professor Hubert Farnsworth. The Professor has also employed Turanaga Leela, a one-eyed mutant, as a pilot, along with the vulgar robot, Bender, and the perpetually offputting and incompetent alien physician, the lobster-like Dr. Zoidberg.

This is, essentially, the weirdest workplace sitcom you’ll ever see. Over the course of seven seasons, Fry and company encounter malevolent floating brains, a doomed space Titanic, adorable overlords, and, of course, whalers on the moon. You’ll have a ton of fun. Just don’t ask where the Slurm comes from.