8 sci-fi and fantasy shows and movies to watch this November

The year is almost over, but 2024 has plenty of sci-fi and fantasy goodness to serve us before we ring in a new one. Below, check out some of the biggest movies and TV shows worth checking out in November, with an emphasis on the strange, the wondrous and the fantastical:

Arcane season 2: November 9 (Netflix)

The second and final season of Netflix's Emmy-winning animated series Arcane drops this November, and it promises to have even more magic, bloodshed, and brutal twists and turns than the first. This show may be based off the League of Legends video game, but don't let that fool you; Arcane has a story that's on par with anything the genre has to offer. It primarily follows two sisters, the bruiser Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and chaotic criminal Jinx (Ella Purnell), as they are torn from their humble roots and pitted against each other in a devastating class war. You don't need to be familiar at all with the game to enjoy this show, which is a testament to just how strong of a series it is.

Arcane drops in three "acts" throughout the month, each of which has three episodes. The first act drops on November 9, with act two following on November 16 and act three on November 23. So you can spend all month long with Vi, Jinx, and the rest of the warriors battling over the soul of Piltover and Zaun.

Cobra Kai season 6, part two: November 15 (Netflix)

You may be asking why a show about groups of plucky teenagers who devote their lives to martial arts so they can travel the world and earn ultimate glory is on a list of sci-fi and fantasy series. Or maybe that description answered your question. Cobra Kai may not technically be a sci-fi or fantasy show, but it's got as many plot twists as Game of Thrones, as many fight scenes as The Matrix, and as many whirling camera arcs as also The Matrix. It's a globe-trotting melodrama with kicking. Why do you resist?

Cobra Kai is currently in the midst of its sixth and final season. The first quintet of episodes dropped in July, another five will arrive on November 15, and the final five will come along next year. Welcome to Barcelona, bitch.

Silo season 2: November 15 (Apple TV+)

Apple TV+'s hit sci-fi series Silo is also returning in November. Based on the book series of the same name by Hugh Howie, Silo is the story of the last 10,000 people on Earth, who live in — you guessed it — a giant underground bunker known as the Silo. They've all been down there so long no one can quite remember the history of how the world ended or why the surface can no longer support life. Which means that there were secrets to unravel.

Many of those were revealed in the show's first season, which saw new sheriff Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) eventually make her way to the surface in order to discover the truth. But what she found were even more mysteries. It looks like there are other Silos out there, with who knows what kind of people living in them. Living underground for your whole life tends to make people a little loopy and hard to predict.

Silo is back on Apple TV+ on November 15! It airs one episode a week until its finale in January of 2025.

Dune: Prophecy: November 17 (HBO/Max)

The Dune movies have been a hit for Warner Bros. Discovery in theaters. Now they're expanding to TV with a prequel series coming to HBO and Max. Dune: Prophecy is set thousands of years before the events of Dune and deals with the early days of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, the shady cabal of women who pull the strings of the mighty and powerful in the galaxy. The show is stacked with talent front to back: Emily Watson and Olivia Williams play Valya and Tula Harkonnen, Vikings star Travis Fimmel plays the mysterious soldier Desmond Hart, and Mark Strong plays the emperor of the whole damn universe.

Like the movies, Dune: Prophecy promises to be heavy and serious sci-fi fare. The first of six episodes premieres on November 17.

Outlander season 7, part two: November 22 (Starz)

Starz's time-traveling romance series is nearly at an end! When last we left Claire and Jamie Fraser, they were headed to Jamie's homeland of Scotland to finish unsettled business, and to get away from the Revolutionary War brewing in the American colonies. But as often happens on this show, these lovers will be separated, as if they hadn't endured enough hardships already.

Also expect some time-traveling shenanigans; remember that while Jamie is a native of the 18th century, Claire traveled back there from the 20th century and chose to stay. They still have family members back in the future, and they'll be going on their own journeys.

This is the second half of the seventh season of Outlander. After that, there's one more season left before Starz brings the whole thing home.

Gladiator II: November 22

We're switching over to movies, not because we tire of TV shows, but because that's how the month works out chronologically. Gladiator II is a sequel to the Oscar-winning film Gladiator, which came out way back in 2000. Two decades have passed since the events of that film, which ended with lead character Maximus dying. Now his son Lucius (Paul Mescal) finds himself in the gladiatorial arena in ancient Rome, and needs to take inspiration from his father to fight back.

Like the first film, Gladiator II is directed by Ridley Scott. The cast includes high-profile names like Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn. Get ready for a sweeping historical epic in theaters come November 22.

Wicked: November 22

Like Gladiator, Wicked first came out — this time on the Broadway stage — in the early 2000s, and is now coming to theaters nearly a quarter century later. This musical take on The Wizard of Oz tells a familiar story from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West, aka Elphaba, and her best frenemy Glinda, better known as the Good Witch of the North.

Wicked is beloved by fans of musicals, and Universal has gone all out to make sure this movie is special. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, excellent singers both, are playing Elphaba and Glinda, so fans don't have to worry about anyone being off-key.

One thing that may give people pause is that this is actually the first of two films based on the musical. If you go into the theater expecting to see the whole story, you'll walk out disappointed. Wicked Part Two, which will bring the story to a conclusion, comes out next year.

Moana 2: November 27

The first Moana movie ended with the titular Polynesian princess setting sail and exploring the world just like she always dreamed. But now she's back and there are complications. There are songs, there are mysterious islands, there is the return of the Rock as the diety-like Maui, there are animals who act like humans...it looks like there are also coconuts that act like humans. It's a big animated Disney sequel sure to please kids of all ages, and it's coming to hteaters on November 27.

We didn't include absolutely everything on here. If you're up for some light animated comedy, Invincible Fight Girl is coming to Adult Swim on November 2 and could be the pro wrestling-themed action-adventure show for you. And we'd be remiss not to mention that Yellowstone, one of most popular shows on TV, returns for the second part of its fifth and final season on November 10. Sometimes, this western-themed American fever dream is soapy and crazy enough to qualify as fantasy.

So there's a good amount to choose from this month! Enjoy.

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