Random Pretty Good Current Shows That Aren't Quite Black Mirror (11 items)

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  (#1) Altered Carbon

  • Joel Kinnaman, Renée Elise Goldsberry, James Purefoy, Martha Higareda, Dichen Lachman, Leonardo Nam, Chris Connor, Ato Essandoh, Trieu Tran

  While Altered Carbon isn't an anthology series, it will definitely scratch your itch for dystopian sci-fi. This show takes place 350 years in the future where people have been reduced to storage devices full of memories they can transfer from body to body. 

  When Takeshi Kovacs wakes up 250 years after his death, he's charged with solving the murder of the world's wealthiest man. If you like hard-boiled detective work with your cyberpunk then this is the show for you. 
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  (#2) Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams

  • Timothy Spall, Anthony Boyle, Tuppence Middleton, Jack Reynor, Benedict Wong, Geraldine Chaplin, Georgina Campbell, Steve Buscemi, Greg Kinnear, Mireille Enos, Anna Paquin, Terrence Howard, Rachelle Lefevre, Jacob Vargas, Sam Witwer, Janelle Monae, Juno Temple, Holliday Grainger, Richard Madden, Jason Mitchell, Sarah Baker, Jay Paulson, Liam Cunningham, Vera Farmiga, Lara Pulver, Glenn Morshower

  Amazon’s foray into the world of anthologized science fiction is the closest thing to Black Mirror streaming at the moment. Philip K. Dick has what seems to be an unending well of mind-bending science fiction in his library, and his stories are always enjoyable. 

  Dick's stories were asking the questions that Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker is just now getting around to, so don't be surprised if the two shows crossover with some of their concepts. 
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  (#3) The Man in the High Castle

  • Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans, Luke Kleintank, DJ Qualls, Joel de la Fuente, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Rufus Sewell, Brennan Brown, Callum Keith Rennie, Bella Heathcote

  Amazon has been bringing their A-game when it comes to streaming science fiction shows. This adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel about an alternate 1962 where America lost World War II explores one of the biggest what-ifs of the 20th century. The show feels like an extended episode of Black Mirror, and if you prefer the less science-y episodes of the hit Netflix show, then you'll definitely be able to dig into The Man in the High Castle. 

   
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  (#4) The Handmaid's Tale

  • Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O.T. Fagbenie, Max Minghella, Samira Wiley

  If you haven't watched The Handmaid's Tale then it's time to settle in and get ready to feel stressed out. If you like the worst-case scenario style science fiction like the Black Mirror episodes "Metalhead" or the macabre "White Bear," then you'll love this series about women being forced into sexual servitude. 

  Maybe love is the wrong word. You'll be riveted. You'll be anguished. You won't be able to stop watching until the show's gripping finale. 
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  (#5) Room 104

  • James Van Der Beek, Clark Duke, Nat Wolff, Philip Baker Hall, Michael Shannon

  If you'd prefer to stick to binging on an anthology series, then check out HBO's Room 104. This show from the Duplass Brothers (The Puffy Chair, Cyrus) explores a variety of stories that occur in one hotel room. Similarly to how Black Mirror tells a series of separate stories that may take place in one universe, Room 104 explores a variety of genres and tones while keeping the main characters apart... for now. 
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  (#6) Battlestar Galactica

  • Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber

  The remake of Battlestar Galactica played a big part in jump-starting the modern renaissance of science fiction. The series, streaming on Amazon, tells the story of the last humans left alive after a sneak attack by their mortal enemies, the Cylons. The show explores the political ramifications of leading the final 50,000 humans on an unending trip through space, and asks the question of how do you know someone is your enemy. If you enjoyed the Black Mirror episode "Men Against Fire" then take a chance on Battlestar Galactica. 
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  (#7) Humans

  • Manpreet Bachu, Emily Berrington, Ruth Bradley, Lucy Carless, Gemma Chan, Pixie Davies, Jack Derges, Sope Dirisu, Rebecca Front, Tom Goodman-Hill, Jill Halfpenny, Ivanno Jeremiah, Neil Maskell, Colin Morgan, Katherine Parkinson, Theo Stevenson, Will Tudor, Danny Webb, William Hurt, Marshall Allman, Sonya Cassidy, Carrie-Anne Moss

  Many of the best Black Mirror episodes ask the audience to consider what it means to be human, and that's the basis of this series streaming on Amazon. On this show everyone owns a high tech servant known as a "Synth," a robotic creation that's more human than human. 

  This series will draw obvious parallels to the episode "Be Right Back," but this show dives further into the ramifications of something created to serve growing into a sentient being. 
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  (#8) 3%

  • Bianca Comparato, João Miguel, Michel Gomes, Rodolfo Valente

  Out of all the shows that you can binge right now, 3% is the closest to Black Mirror that you can find right now. The series takes place in a future where incredibly poor people are quarantined to a part of the country called "the inland." Every 20 years they're given the option of going to the paradise of the Offshore. The characters are put through a series of tests to see if they're worthy of going to the wealthy paradise, but only 3% of the people make it. 

  The show is similar to "Fifteen Million Merits," the episode where people live in small automated homes and ride power-generating stationary bikes in order to gain merits in the chance of moving up in the world. 
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  (#9) Dimension 404

  • Robert Buckley, Lea Michele, Matt Jones, Joel McHale, Sarah Hyland, Daniel Zovatto, Patton Oswalt, Ryan Lee, Sterling Beaumon, Ashley Rickards, Constance Wu, Megan Mullally, Lorenza Izzo, Tom Noonan

  Do you ever need to watch something a little lighter than Black Mirror? Dimension 404 explores many of the same ideas as Charlie Brooker's groundbreaking show, but rather than depress their viewers, this show leans into the dark comedy that comes with their dystopia.

  The show, streaming on Hulu, touches on many of the same topics as Black Mirror, although with a much more acerbic wit. If you're suffering from major '90s nostalgia then do yourself a favor and dive into this show. 
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  (#10) The Nightmare Worlds of H. G. Wells

  • Ray Winstone, Camilla Beeput, Leanne Best, Brid Brennan, Amelda Brown, Leticia Dolera, Johnny Flynn, Michael Gambon

  H.G. Wells might as well change his name to O.G. Wells when it comes to populist science fiction. Wells was publishing mind bending science fiction from the tail end of the 19th century (with The Time Machine) all the way to 1941. 

  This series, which is available on Amazon, takes some of his lesser known stories and puts them on the small screen. If you like how British Black Mirror is then you'll be positively tickled by this series. 
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  (#11) Futurestalgia

  Futurestalgia is a documentary anthology series that takes a look at what the world could be had some of the speculative futuristic technology of the past were real. If you've ever asked why you're not floating around on a hoverboard yet, or wondered what would happen if you had warp drive, then check out this series on Amazon. 

  In the same way Black Mirror takes a look at at the technology we might be using in the next five years, Futurestalgia shows what could have been had the technology of the past worked out differently. 

   

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