Top 20 Dystopian TV Shows Ever

Dystopian fiction has long been a vital part of the science fiction and horror genres, but in the 21st century, it has truly emerged as a dominant category of its own. Here, we explore the very best of TV dystopias, encompassing everything from zombie-infested wastelands to AI-driven apocalypses, and even smaller yet equally unsettling scenarios such as societies governed by social media scores or worlds where every experience is recorded in the brain like a video file.

From massive plagues and nuclear winters to robot uprisings, time travel paranoia, and mysterious disappearances, these 19 TV shows (plus one miniseries) are the epitome of clever, terrifying, and often deeply moving dystopian storytelling. Some are set in post-apocalyptic landscapes, while others depict everyday settings with a twist, like offices where employees have microchips in their heads that bifurcate their consciousness. What unites them all is a dark vision of the future, whether near or distant, that pulses with intensity, intrigue, and boundless imagination.

If you're more interested in movies, be sure to check out the Top 10 Apocalypse Movies of All Time and the 6 Post-Apocalyptic Movies You've Probably Never Seen. Additionally, IGN readers have voted on their Favorite Post-Apocalyptic World from Movies and TV!

However, if it's TV series that captivate you, then read on as we delve into acclaimed shows such as Fallout, Severance, The Walking Dead, The Handmaid's Tale, The Last of Us, and more. Without further ado, here are the Top 20 Dystopian TV Shows of All Time!