40 fantasy and sci-fi shows to watch this year

Vikings: Valhalla season 2

Vikings: Valhalla also returned for season 2 in 2023, just a year after its premiere season. A sequel to History’s hit Vikings series, Valhalla takes place a few generations later and stars a whole new cast of seafaring warriors. Long gone are the days of Ragnar Lothbruk. In this new series, we follow the adventures of Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), Freydis Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson) and Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Sutter) as they make their own marks on Viking history.

Season 1 of Vikings: Valhalla focused primarily on a Viking invasion of England meant to avenge the St. Bruce’s day massacre, but season 2 saw some of our heroes take to the sea in search of new horizons. Leif Erikson is believed to have been the first European to land in America, centuries before Cristopher Columbus. Maybe we’ll see him discover this new frontier in season 2?

Vikings: Valhalla was picked up for three seasons right out of the gate, so you can enjoy season 2 without fear that Netflix will unexpectedly cancel the show.

All eight episodes of Vikings: Valhalla season 2 rowed into port on February 25. You can watch them all now on Netflix.

Shadow and Bone season 2

Based on the best-selling Grishaverse novels by Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone has returned for its second season this year as well. After narrowly escaping magical subjugation at the hands of the Darkling (Ben Barnes) in season 1, Sun Summoner Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) is on the run with her childhood best friend/romantic interest Malyen Oretsev (Archie Renaux). What dangers lie ahead as they try to keep Alina’s unique Grisha abilities out of the hands of those who would use them for their own gain?

Shadow and Bone season 1 was a fascinating adaptation because it combined the first novel in Bardugo’s series with characters from her follow-up novel Six of Crows, which worked surprisingly well. This time around the show pulled in material from Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising, the Six of Crows sequel Crooked Kingdom, and even some stuff from Bardugo’s other sequel series King of Scars. It was…interesting.

Shadow and Bone season 2 released on March 16, and is available now on Netflix.

Extrapolations

Another show that came out in March is Apple TV+’s Extrapolations, a science fiction drama that explores a future that has been irrevocably altered by climate change.

One of the most exciting things about Extrapolations is its cast: this thing is stacked. It features performances from Game of Thrones stars Kit Harington and Indira Varma, Meryl Streep, Sienna Miller, Daveed Diggs, Edward Nortan, Diane Lane, Gemma Chan, David Schwimmer, Keri Russell, Forest Whittaker, Judd Hirsch, Tobey Maguire, and more. The cast alone is reason enough to give Extrapolations a look.

All eight episodes of Extrapolations season 1 are available on Apple TV+.

And thus concludes our exhaustive list of science fiction and fantasy shows to look out for this year. What shows are you most excited for in 2023?

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels