40 fantasy and sci-fi shows to watch this year

The Three-Body Problem

This is one of the shows that we’re most excited for here at Winter Is Coming. The Three-Body Problem is a new science fiction series coming to Netflix produced by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. It’s a big, ambitious sci-fi series based on the highly-regarded book series by Chinese author Liu Cixin.

This show marks the first large project for Benioff and Weiss since Game of Thrones ended, and like HBO’s fantasy hit, it looks like it could be something special. The series is about humanity’s first contact with an alien species who are fleeing their own collapsing solar system; after intercepting our interstellar signal, they set their eyes on Earth. We Earthlings all have our own ideas about how to handle the impending invasion. The Three-Body Problem has a large cast, a huge scope, intelligent ideas, and complicated moral quandaries.

To top it all off, the series will reunite Benioff and Weiss with a few Game of Thrones veterans. Both John Bradley (Samwell Tarley) and Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) are set to appear in the show.

The Three-Body Problem doesn’t have a release window yet, but Netflix has confirmed that it will be coming to the streaming service sometime in 2023.

Doctor Who Specials

Doctor Who, the longest-running science fiction show in history, will be back this year, but with a twist. Whovians were shocked last year when Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker regenerated not as a new Doctor, but a very familiar one: David Tennant. Tennant famously played the Tenth Doctor not long after the show was revived for a new generation. And this year, he’ll be back for a series of specials before he hands things off to Ncuti Gatwa as the new proper Doctor.

Bringing back Tennant feels like a major shake-up for the series, even if it’s going to be short-lived. The upcoming specials will also mark the return of previous showrunner Russell T Davies, who was responsible for overseeing the show during Tennant’s original run. Doctor Who has seen a bit of a ratings slump during the past few years, but this type of out-of-the-box stunt might be just the thing to rope viewers back in.

David Tennant is set to appear in three specials before passing the mantle on to Gatwa. Most exciting of all, all those specials are slated to happen this November.

Now that we’ve talked about a ton of shows set to release in the coming months of 2023, let’s take a look back at the shows which had their day during the first few months of the year. From here on out, everything has already come out — meaning you can go binge it right now!