With technology seeping into our lives faster than ever before, a future of advanced cybernetics and dystopian societies fighting against oppressive systems seems less like science fiction and more like a potential reality. The cyberpunk genre provides visuals to this possibility and tells stories that grapple with the implications of technological progress in compelling and thought-provoking ways.
Television, in particular, has been an ideal medium for cyberpunk storytelling, translating seminal novels into live-action and animated adventures. From dark, gritty dramas to vibrant anime, small-screen cyberpunk excels at creating the most immersive futures where characters put their lives on stake to tackle their worlds’ politics and networks.
The elements that you will usually see in these TV shows range from the use of augmented reality to neutral networking, corporations holding immense powers, divided between social classes, and certain heroes using their wits for freedom and truth.
In the past decade or so, our relationship with technology has deepened. Cyberpunk foresaw this future long ago, which is why these stories resonate with us. They explore our hopes, fears, and resilience. In this list, we are highlighting 10 TV shows with the most innovative and engrossing stories. They bring the genre’s excitement as speculative fiction, but the end result is so brilliant that you forget it’s not reality. At least not yet.
10 Almost Human (2013 – 2014)
Before he starred as Billy Butcher in Amazon Prime Video’s superhero satire series The Boys, Karl Urban was a troubled detective in Fox’s sci-fi crime drama, Almost Human.
Set in a futuristic and mechanized 2048, the show followed lone-wolf cop John Kennex, who lost his human friend due to android cops and is now reluctantly paired with one. Having suffered trauma and waking up from a 17-month coma, Kennex still has holes in his memory, but with the lifelike combat-model android by his side, he learns what it means to be “almost” human.
Karl Urban’s Breakout Thriller
Fans of video games like Detroit: Become Human will be thrilled to watch this show because of the parallels in their premises. A faithful depiction of cyberpunk tropes like high-tech police gear, widespread use of enhanced human functions, corrupted government forces, and an unaccompanied hero give the series genre accuracy. But its emotion lies in the story of Kennex, who only learns to trust and respect again with Dorian. Almost Human was canceled after two seasons, but it is still widely praised.
9 Blade Runner: Black Lotus (2021 – 2022)
Also based on Philip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Blade Runner: Black Lotus is a visually aesthetic neo-noir animated series that takes place in Los Angeles in 2032 and centers around Elle, a young roman who wakes up with traumatic memories and superhuman skills but no purpose or identity. Stuck in a dystopian city that wants her dead for some reason, Elle soon finds herself chasing clues and rediscovering her past.
Nothing Short of an Anime Masterpiece
In paying homage to Ridley Scott’s classic movie, Blade Runner: Black Lotus also enriched the franchise further by transporting the audience to a dark, rain-soaked metropolis and giving its protagonist existential questions that feel relatable. Each frame feels curated with careful cyberpunk beauty and overwhelming violence. The voice performances from Arisa Shida, Shinshu Fuj, Takako Honda, and more added weight to the themes, which revolved around memory, power and justice.
8 Devs (2020)
Devs
- Release Date
- March 5, 2020
- Seasons
- 1
One of the most underrated and ambitious hard sci-fi shows out there, Devs is written and directed by Alex Garland. Its plot revolves around Lily Chan, a young software engineer for Amaya, a quantum computing company. After her boyfriend suddenly dies on the first day of his new job at Amaya, Lily suspects her company. When tailing and investigating the CEO, Forest, she unravels a conspiracy that implies free will is an illusion and destiny is fabricated.
Precise and Gut-Punching Storytelling
Garland, whose screenwriting work in movies like 28 Days Later and Never Let Me Go is still praised as exemplary, brings his signature blend of intelligent storytelling and unflinching emotion to this miniseries.
Lily’s transformation from a corporate worker to a determined sleuth is as gripping as the show’s technological dread. Sonoya Mizuno leads the cast to chilling effect, with Nick Offerman providing style, gut-punches and profundity as an antagonist. Overall, Devs is a puzzle worth trying to put together.
7 Psycho-Pass (2012 – 2019)
If you are familiar with Tom Cruise’s Minority Report, you will understand why this anime version of the same story is a masterpiece. Set in a future Japan, Psycho-Pass introduces viewers to a government operating under the Sibyl System, which predicts a human’s future criminal behavior based on some pre-existing data and factors.
A team of law enforcers try to stop crimes based on the forecast. Akane Tsunemori, an honest enforcer, joins forces with Shinya Kougami, a veteran, to explore conspiracies that hint at Sibyl System’s fallibility.
Character-Driven and Action-Packed
Psycho-Pass combines its dystopian themes and crime-fighting narrative with compelling character drama. From Akane’s optimism to Kougami’s ferocity, it draws a balance between the despairing present and a future where one’s destiny is quantifiable. More than anything, it sparks curiosity and raises questions around the use of Artificial Intelligence and surveillance states. Psycho-Pass also features gorgeous animation and an entirely plausible high-tech setup.
6 Love, Death & Robots (2019 – Present)
Love, Death & Robots is an anthology of adult animated stories with genres ranging from science fiction and horror to cyberpunk and black comedy. Each episode is connected to the titular concepts and while they vary in tone and theme, they maintain a common threat of highly probable, albeit mind-bending, premises that center around technology and how it has impacted society.
Short Stories, Big Ideas
Episodic but interconnected by their area of concern, the series is the perfect medium for cyberpunk. From adrenaline-filled soldiers facing gnarly enemies to biological immortality leading to overpopulation and random execution, it features the wildest and most clever concept.
Instead of simply relying on visual splendor or conflict resolution, Love, Death & Robots focuses on posing questions and subverting social norms. Also, diverse directors and production studios ensure no episode is like another.
5 Ergo Proxy (2006)
Taking place in a semi-post-apocalyptic world, Ergo Proxy is another cyberpunk anime that challenges your perception of the future. Residing within a domed city are the last remaining human civilizations of Earth. They have created humanoid robots called AutoReivs to assist them and co-exist with them. However, when AutoReivs contract a virus, become intelligent and seek the truth of their origins, government agent Re-I Meyer embarks on a journey that reveals dark secrets.
Fashions a Bleak Paradise
Ergo Proxy blends dystopian mystery with philosophical sci-fi and is a true cyberpunk gem. It first features an isolated community that hides shadows beneath its vibrancy. Then, the series transformed into a thriller that traverses topics like humanity’s relationship with creation and destruction. Every episode has one subtle allegory about either corruption or the need for change. The dark tones are in sync with the smorgasbord of topics it covers, making it a cult classic.
4 Dark Angel (2000 – 2002)
Set against the backdrop of a dystopian near-future Seattle in 2019, Dark Angel depicts a society that rebuilt itself after an electromagnetic pulse weapon threw the country into chaos. Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced human being, who escaped from a research facility when she was a child, fights for survival on the streets. Meanwhile, she tries to reconnect with her Manticore brothers and sisters and find purpose outside their creators’ control.
Way Ahead of Its Time
Dark Angel tried to make classic cyberpunk tropes accessible to mainstream audiences by injecting them into a gripping X-Men-esque drama. Max, played genuinely well by Jessica Alba, was the morally torn vigilante trying to help humanity together amidst an economic collapse.
A vulnerable heroine with a tough exterior, she led a strong ensemble that included Michael Weatherly, John Savage, and Valarie Rae Miller. Well-written and well-acted, Dark Angel’s brief run actually makes it rewatchable.
3 Batman Beyond (1999 – 2001)
Now that Gotham City was way past its gothic state, a futuristic society took its place and plunged into the future of the caped crusader. Batman Beyond sees high schooler Terry McGinnis discovering the secret identity of an aging Bruce Wayne, who then agrees to mentor him. After Bruce is attacked, Terry takes up a new tech-powered Batsuit. He then battles Mr Fixx and other villains causing mayhem in the city.
Features a Dynamic New Dark Knight
The Dark Knight has been around for over 70 years now, but never before has a movie or television series placed the hero into the future. The subcultural and aesthetic of 2039, surprisingly enough, evokes wonder in fans. Will Friedle’s Terry is a complex hero – he is confronting a great legacy but also protecting citizens disillusioned by corporate corruption. Mature but never as dark, Batman Beyond uses Batman’s universe to deliver familiar action with fresh insight.
2 Altered Carbon (2018 – 2020)
Altered Carbon
- Release Date
- February 2, 2018
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
- Seasons
- 1
Based on the 2002 novel of the same name authored by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon is among the few big-budget science-fiction TV shows out there. It takes place in a future where a person’s consciousness can be transferred following their death, which essentially makes them immortal.
An ex-soldier named Takeshi Kovacs, who has only existed in consciousness prison for 250 years, is released into the body of a billionaire named Laurens Bancroft with the mission to solve his murder. Much has changed since Kovacs’ death, and yet, his past comes rushing right back.
Neo-Noir Detective Tale
Altered Carbon brought Morgan’s classic novel to life in slick cyberpunk manner. Its premise itself is so grim and creative – the fact that one’s soul is a literal commodity purchased or rented like clothes in a luxury store is engrossing. Joel Kinnaman and Anthony Mackie embody Kovacs’ grit and nuance while also indulging in steamy violence and subplots that critique the class divide. Earning praise from both audiences and critics worldwide, the show is a noir-tinged fantasyland.
1 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022)
In a lawless Japan, a street kid named David Martinez wants to fulfill his mother’s dream for him to reach the high ranks of the world’s leading security corporation, Arasaka. However, when a ruthless street gang leaves him tattered, he uses the power of cybernetic enhancement to grant him superhuman speed, becomes an outlaw and exacts revenge on one of his tormentors. Meanwhile, he also meets Lucy, a data thief, who assists him in staying alive and scoring big.
Inside Neo-Tokyo’s Gritty, Beating Heart
An action-packed tragedy of sorts, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a collaboration between Trigger Studios and CD Projekt Red. By using both of their skills and tells to its benefit, the series established itself as a cyberpunk breakout anime.
The tone and lived-in grit of Night City almost reminds you of an open-world game. Additionally, many of its episodes are a poetic translation of underground urban livelihoods. The character arcs are tightly woven, and the emotions leave an impact. Raw and authentic, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners deserves the top spot on the list.
