6 Short Sci-Fi Series on Netflix You Can Watch in One Weekend

Here's a list of great (and sometimes unfairly underrated) science fiction shows that are perfect for binge-watching — you can even try to watch them all in just one week!

6. Resident Evil

Release Date: July 14, 2022

Number of Episodes: 8

IMDb Rating: 4.2/10

There have been several attempts to adapt Capcom's famous biopunk horror video game series, including movies starring Milla Jovovich and the recent Welcome to Raccoon City starring Kaya Scodelario and Hannah John-Kamen. But while the feature films still somehow attempted to capture the lore and atmosphere of the games, the 2022 show of the same name decided to offer its own take on the setting. Instead of a dark horror atmosphere built around human experiments, we got a slightly horror-esque family drama.

If you're not an avid fan of the Resident Evil video games, don't let the low scores put you off, because the series is a solid stand-alone story with decent acting.

5. A Girl and an Astronaut

Release Date: February 17, 2023

Number of Episodes: 6

IMDb Rating: 4.9/10

A Girl and an Astronaut is another series that should not be judged by its low rating. After all, it is first and foremost a romance, and science fiction is only a plot device. The main character is Niko, a young Polish astronaut sent into space by a Russian company to test cryopreservation. There, the protagonist accidentally finds himself in sub-hibernation and returns to Earth after 30 years, ageless.

Niko's beloved, now married to his best friend, travels to Russia to bring him home, but the sinister corporation has its own plans for the protagonist.

4. Pending Train

Release Date: April 21, 2023

Number of Episodes: 10

IMDb Rating: 5.9/10

The plot of this Japanese sci-fi thriller follows ordinary train passengers who, after a sudden announcement of an earthquake, find themselves in an apocalyptic future with uninhabitable conditions and, of course, no phone service. Viewers noted that the series perfectly combined elements of Lost and Snowpiercer, but many complained that the story was overly melodramatic at times, which undermined the overall tone.

3. In From the Cold

Release Date: January 28, 2022

Number of Episodes: 8

IMDb Rating: 6.3/10

According to the story of this spy thriller with superhero elements, the protagonist (Margarita Levieva) is an ordinary suburban single mother from who is arrested one day by the CIA: turns out she's a former Russian spy, and the Americans now demand her cooperation in eliminating Russia's underworld drug trade. Where is the sci-fi element, you ask? The protagonist is the result of bio-engineering and has shape-shifting abilities.

2. Black Knight

Release Date: May 12, 2023

Number of Episodes: 6

IMDb Rating: 6.4/10

This dystopian Korean drama follows an elite driver (Kim Woo-bin) who provides oxygen and breathing masks in a post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Korean peninsula, which (along with the rest of the world) has been devastated by a comet. Critics and viewers have noted that while the script is not the most profound, the series fits perfectly into the trend of dystopian escapism, making Black Knight a great option for binge-watching.

1. Archive 81

Release Date: January 14, 2022

Number of Episodes: 8

IMDb Rating: 7.3/10

Although Archive 81 was undeservedly canceled after only one season due to low ratings, the series is appreciated by horror fans and can be a great introduction to the genre for newcomers. Archive 81 is a spectacular analog horror (found footage subgenre meets analog television) about an archivist who reconstructs mysterious tapes from a documentary project. The series consciously makes many references to famous representatives of the genre, from the literature of H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King to the movies The Blair Witch Project and Hereditary.