Every sci-fi and fantasy show you should watch in February 2022

Reacher — Amazon Prime Video — February 4

Okay, so Reacher isn’t sci-fi or fantasy, but this series about a hulking ex-military man who wanders from town to town solving problems is still pretty pulpy, so we’re grandfathering it in. Adapted from the first in Lee Child’s long line of Jack Reacher books, Reacher kicks into gear when the title character is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and must clear his name. It looks to be a straightforward gritty action-adventure with an attitude.

The character of Jack Reacher has turned up on screen before in a couple of movies from the 2010s where he was played by Tom Cruise. At 6’2″ and corded thick with muscle, actor Alan Ritchson is definitely a better physical for Jack Reacher as he’s described in the books. Now we’ll see if the performance is there.

Disenchantment season 4 — Netflix — February 9

Matt Groening tackled American sitcoms with The Simpsons and science fiction with Futurama. With Disenchantment he turns his eye towards the fantasy genre. This show, about a rebellious princess who would go on adventures with her naive elf buddy Elfo and mischievous demon Luci, premiered on Netflix in 2018 and has been going strong for a while now.

Unlike The Simpsons and Futurama, Disenchantment is bit bigger on story arcs. Season 3 ended with Bean crowned queen, Luci in heaven, and Elfo carried off by ogres, so the story could go anywhere from here.