Top 20 Dystopian TV Shows Ever Ranked

Dystopian fiction has carved out a significant niche within the science fiction and horror genres, evolving into a dominant category in the 21st century. This article showcases the cream of the crop in TV dystopias, from harrowing zombie-infested worlds to chilling AI-driven apocalypses, and even more subtle yet equally disturbing scenarios like societies ruled by social media metrics or ones where every visual experience is recorded directly into the brain as video files.

Featuring a variety of dark futures, from devastating plagues and nuclear winters to robot uprisings, time travel-induced paranoia, and mysterious disappearances, these 19 TV shows (along with one gripping miniseries) stand out as the most inventive, terrifying, and often emotionally resonant dystopian narratives ever brought to the screen. Whether depicting life after a cataclysmic event or the mundane yet unnerving reality of office workers with consciousness-altering microchips, each series presents a compelling, dark vision of the future, brimming with intensity, intrigue, and boundless imagination.

For those more interested in cinematic experiences, don't miss out on 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, offering further insight into popular choices within this genre.

However, if your focus is on television, you're in the right place. Dive deeper into acclaimed series like 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!