Top 25 Best Time Travel Shows Of All Time, Ranked
25. Frequency
Do you have a radio? If not, it might be the right time to get it because, as it turns out, it can be the bridge between two decades and a dead father and a daughter. Raimy Sullivan finds out all of a sudden that she can talk to her father from 1996, just before his mysterious death. Now, the question is, can she stop his passing?
24. Ashes to Ashes
Out of the 80s nostalgia era, 'Ashes to Ashes' takes you to a world where everything is strange and nothing makes sense. Even the protagonist has a hard time figuring out whether she’s stuck or dreaming. But eventually, we see her solving crimes and clues about her cryptic fate. Can she ever make it back to her real world?
23. The Outer Limits
An oldie but a goldie. This show gives you aliens, parallel worlds, advanced tech, and obviously, time travel. The epic dialogue from the show, “Do not adjust your television…” became a cult favorite among sci-fi lovers. Add atmospheric cinematography, and it’s no wonder it’s still hailed as one of the best.
22. Time After Time
H.G. Wells chasing Jack the Ripper through time? Yes, it’s as wild as it sounds. In 'Time After Time,' the famous author discovers that his fictional time machine actually works, only for it to be stolen by his friend, who turns out to be the notorious killer. Their cat-and-mouse chase jumps are everything to die for.
21. Being Erica
Can we go back in time to fix our mistakes? Well, us, no. But turns out, Erica can. She is stuck in a rut where no therapy is helping her mental health until she meets a mysterious doctor who sends her back in time to fix her past and present. Watching this show feels like we are going back and fixing those oops-worthy moments of our lives as well!
20. Erased
What if you could go back in time and change some of the worst tragedies of your life? Haters would say it’s not possible, but Satoru makes it possible. The struggling manga artist possesses the ability of “Revival”, which allows him to go back a couple of minutes before some life-threatening events occur. Can he change fate, or is history stubborn?
19. Travelers
In the future, humanity is about to be wiped out. The last hope is a secret program that sends people’s minds back in time into the bodies of people who are just about to die. These “travelers” take over their lives in the 21st century, pretending to be ordinary while secretly carrying out missions to change the future.
18. Russian Doll
Traveling to the past and future seems really exciting, but what if you’re stuck in the same loop? That too, when it’s your death day! Nadia dies on her 36th birthday, only to relive the same day again and again. Ouch! We watch her live and die through it differently, only to figure out the reason she’s stuck. Turns out, she’s not the only one.
17. 12 Monkeys
In the future, a deadly plague has wiped out most of humanity, and the few survivors are barely hanging on. James Cole is sent back in time to stop the virus before it starts, but changing the past is never easy. Every jump he makes creates new problems, with dangerous enemies popping up, and a mysterious group called the Army of the 12 Monkeys rising, who seem to be behind it all.
16. The Umbrella Academy
The Netflix hit blends family drama and time travel science beautifully. We witness seven superpowered siblings unite by a mysterious death to save the world from an apocalypse. There’s chaos, sibling rivalries, awkward confessions, and all the cliffhangers to keep you hooked.
15. The Ministry of Time
Is time-travelling illegal? On this show, we see a bunch of government dudes doing their “secret task” to protect history. We see agents waltzing in from different centuries, each with their unique skills and missions. But here's the catch: they can’t use time-travel for personal reasons. Can all of them keep the word? Or swill some get too tempted to break midway?
14. Somewhere Between
A mother has lost her child, but she has one chance to bring her daughter back. The answer is time-travel. When a serial killer claims the kid’s life, fate gives the mother one week. But can she stop the murder? And if she does, what will be the consequences? Watching the mother deal with all her struggles is the most thrilling part!
13. Quantum Leap
What happens when a time-travel experiment goes wrong? Dr. Sam’s experiment to travel within his own lifetime goes south, and he ends up leaping from one stranger's body to another in the past. Each week, there’s a new him (exciting, though), sometimes a pilot, sometimes a boxer, and at times, even a single mother.
12. Beforeigners
Time travel seems like top-notch science to us, but to people of the Stone Age, it’s something still unexplained and illogical. With the protagonists of the show, detective Lars and his new partner Alfhildr, we travel through time, culture, and history and see them investigate a murder tied to the mysterious arrivals.
11. Always a Witch
A 17th-century witch lands in the 21st century and does her best to survive through the modern-day dilemmas. While in the present, she enrolls in university, navigates contemporary romance, and tries to break the curse that binds her powers. Will she return to her time or stay in the present?
10. 11.22.63
Could you stop an assassination if you had three years to prepare? Our protagonist, Jake Epping, is tasked with an important mission, preventing the murder of John F. Kennedy. But it seems like the past doesn’t like being tampered with. Will he lose everything during the challenge?
9. Manifest
You board your flight to reach home, but you’re five years late. That’s what happens to the passengers of flight 828. The weirdest part is that nothing happened on the way, except for thunder. Now, the group is left to figure out whether they went through a time loop or just became a part of weird science experiments.
8. Pera Palace
Ever been to a hotel room that feels like a time machine? Well, Pera Palace gives you that and then some more. The protagonist, Journalist Esra, visits the Pera Palace Hotel for work and ends up travelling through time and space. We see her solve mysteries, find her relatives, and at last, the man of her dreams.
7. DC's Legends of Tomorrow
What if a group of misfits and superheroes is tasked to fix history’s biggest screw ups? Well, that’s what happens in 'Legends of Tomorrow,' where the whole crew lands in the future to deal with outlaws, alternate realities, and even aliens. How they save the world and who comes out safe is worth watching.
6. The Time Traveler's Wife
If time travel and romance had a lovechild, it would have been this fan-favourite. Based on Audrey Niffenegger’s novel, the series introduces you to Henry, an individual with a rare genetic disorder that makes him jump through time. But even time and space couldn’t stop him from finding Clare, the woman who does her best to cope with Henry’s disordered life.
5. Timeless
'Timeless' does complete justice to its name, where a prototype time machine gets stolen. Soon, a history professor, a tech expert, and a soldier are put together to chase the thief. Each jump they make takes them to entirely new historical periods, where one tiny change could damage the present.
4. The Lazarus Project
You wake up one morning and see the whole world living in a different timeline than yours. This is the story of George, who wakes up one fine morning only to find the timeline has been altered. Thankfully, he has the help of a secret agency called the Lazarus Project, but is it here to help or destroy the world?
3. Outlander
The same happens to Claire Randall, a WWII nurse, who visits Scotland, ends up being transported to the 18th century. Now, she’s stranded in a world of wars and rivalries where she meets the love of her life. It’s worth binge-watching how the duo deal with the complications of time-travel and how their romance grows.
2. Dark
If only 'Stranger Things' had a “lite” version, this would be it. Set in a small town, a boy disappears, and that opens the floodgates to danger and trouble in the world. From weird secrets to complex family trees, the show introduces us to all sorts of fascinating topics. And oh, the cinematography! It’s the best puzzle box you'll ever encounter.
1. Doctor Who
The BBC’s 'Doctor Who' takes the crown of the best time travel shows to date, where the Doctor cheats death by regenerating into a new individual every time. The best part is that you get to experience almost every setting, from ghost stories to robotic wars, but that doesn’t take away the charm and humor of the show.
