5 Best Sci-Fi Series About Time Travel if You Still Miss Quantum Leap
Forgotten classics and recent hits.
Science fiction remains one of the most popular genres, and time travel plots continue to push the boundaries of authors' creative thinking.
In this list, we recall series based on the concepts of multiverses and time loops.
1. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, 2023
13 years after the original film, Edgar Wright and Bryan Lee O'Malley have launched an animated series – an alternative sequel to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Scott wants to date Ramona, but to do so he has to defeat her seven ex-boyfriends. In this version of the story, however, the protagonist is given the opportunity to travel to the future, where he meets an older version of himself – with a broken heart and problematic self-esteem.
With the help of time travel, O'Malley fixes some mistakes, rethinking both his own comic and the film, in which gender stereotypes and the desire to prove oneself were more important than love.
2. Quantum Leap, 2022-2024
The era of remakes and reboots could not pass by Quantum Leap, a cult sci-fi series from the 90s. The original show's main character, an ambitious theoretical physicist named Sam, developed a theory that a person can travel through time within the duration of their own life.
In an effort to prove the truth of his beliefs, he built a quantum accelerator and decided to test it on himself. He did not take into account the fact that the machine operates autonomously, without the ability to control it, which means that his journey through countless versions of the past, future, and present can last forever.
3. Dark, 2017-2020
The German Netflix series is set in a small town near a nuclear power plant. The disappearance of two children sets off a series of fantastic events, with four families at the center of it all.
At first, many considered Dark to be a successor to Stranger Things. Yes, the plot of both stories is similar. But gradually, the storyline of the German series became much more complex, as the action takes place in the past, present and future at the same time, and different timelines affect each other in completely unexpected ways.
4. 11.22.63, 2016
A Stephen King adaptation starring James Franco and Sarah Gadon about a man who travels back in time and decides to save Kennedy. An intriguing tale of time travel with retro aesthetics, melodrama and political conspiracy.
11.22.63 tells the story of a simple English teacher who travels back in time to prevent the assassination of Kennedy. According to the laws of the genre, he constantly walks on the edge of a knife and meets the love of his life.
The series is saturated with the atmosphere of the late 50s – a real pleasure for connoisseurs of that era. The creators have managed to convey the mood of that time, the charm of which is impossible to resist.
5. Flashforward, 2009-2010
Events unfold after people around the world are transported six months into the future for two minutes. After that, chaos begins on Earth. And it's not even that thousands of accidents and disasters happened during those two minutes.
Those who saw themselves as happy try their best to bring the moment of happiness closer. There are also those who simply lost consciousness during those two minutes. These people eventually understand why they had no vision – they will be dead. Is it possible to change the future you saw?