42 Best Time Travel & Quantum Theory TV Series
by Margaret_Nieter | created - 18 Mar 2018 | updated - 21 Feb 2023 | PublicThe best TV series with a major time travel premise.
Shows that were reviewed, but didn't make the cut:
Legends of Tomorrow
The Flash
Time Tunnel
Terra Nova
Primeval
Time Traveling Bong
The Girl from Tomorrow
Goodnight Sweetheart
Lost in Austen
7 Days
Journeyman
Tru Calling
5ive Days to Midnight
The Fantastic Journey
Time Trax
Mirror, Mirror
Dr. Jin
Somewhere Between
Captain Z-ro
Ashes to Ashes
The Librarians
Rick and Morty
Star Trek Discovery
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1. Doctor Who (2005–2022)
TV-PG | 45 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and his companions from planet Earth.
Stars: Jodie Whittaker, Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Matt Smith
Votes: 246,734
2. Dark (2017–2020)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A family saga with a supernatural twist, set in a German town where the disappearance of two young children exposes the relationships among four families.
Stars: Louis Hofmann, Karoline Eichhorn, Lisa Vicari, Maja Schöne
Votes: 444,985
3. Loki (2021–2023)
TV-14 | 586 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The mercurial villain Loki resumes his role as the God of Mischief in a new series that takes place after the events of “Avengers: Endgame.”
Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku
Votes: 411,955
4. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016–2017)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Holistic detective Dirk Gently investigates cases involving the supernatural.
Stars: Samuel Barnett, Elijah Wood, Hannah Marks, Jade Eshete
Votes: 57,411
5. Devs (2020)
TV-MA | 51 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A computer engineer investigates the secretive development division in her company, which she believes is behind the disappearance of her boyfriend.
Stars: Sonoya Mizuno, Nick Offerman, Jin Ha, Cailee Spaeny
Votes: 48,085
6. Doctor Who (1963–1989)
TV-PG | 25 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
The adventures in time and space of the Doctor, a Time Lord who changes appearance and personality by regenerating when near death, and is joined by companions in battles against aliens and other megalomaniacs.
Stars: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker
Votes: 39,547
7. Russian Doll (2019–2022)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
A cynical young woman in New York City keeps dying and returning to the party that's being thrown in her honor on that same evening. She tries to find a way out of this strange time loop.
Stars: Natasha Lyonne, Charlie Barnett, Greta Lee, Elizabeth Ashley
Votes: 107,202
8. Erased (2017)
TV-14 | 30 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
After finding his mom killed, Satoru's time-traveling ability takes him back 18 years for a chance to prevent her death and those of three classmates.
Stars: Yûki Furukawa, Tomoka Kurotani, Reo Uchikawa, Brenda Joan Wong
Votes: 4,393
9. The OA (2016–2019)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Having gone missing seven years ago, the previously blind Prairie returns home, now in her twenties with her sight restored. While many believe she is a miracle, others worry that she could be dangerous.
Stars: Brit Marling, Jason Isaacs, Scott Wilson, Alice Krige
Votes: 115,980
10. Lost (2004–2010)
TV-14 | 5,445 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
The survivors of a plane crash are forced to work together in order to survive on a seemingly deserted tropical island.
Stars: Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly
Votes: 595,805
11. The Umbrella Academy (2019–2024)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A family of former child heroes, now grown apart, must reunite to continue to protect the world.
Stars: Aidan Gallagher, Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda
Votes: 275,678
12. The Peripheral (2022)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Set in the future when technology has subtly altered society, a woman discovers a secret connection to an alternate reality as well as a dark future of her own.
Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Gary Carr, Jack Reynor, JJ Feild
Votes: 80,449
13. Life on Mars (2006–2007)
TV-14 | 959 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After a near-fatal car accident, smart, savvy, sharp-suited detective Sam is mysteriously transported back to 1973. Confused by his new surroundings, Sam tries to return to the present, but the police force of long ago needs his help.
Stars: John Simm, Philip Glenister, Liz White, Dean Andrews
Votes: 32,466
14. Quantum Leap (1989–1993)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
During an experiment into time travel, a scientist finds himself trapped in the past, "leaping" into the lives of different people, sorting out their problems and changing history in hopes of getting back to his own life in the present.
Stars: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Deborah Pratt, Dennis Wolfberg
Votes: 36,501
15. Dark Shadows (1991)
TV-PG | 45 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Victoria Winters comes to Collinwood, an isolated mansion in Maine, to work as a governess, but soon finds herself drawn into a strange world of vampires, ghosts and curses.
Stars: Ben Cross, Barbara Blackburn, Jim Fyfe, Joanna Going
Votes: 2,140
16. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
Set after the events in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Sarah Connor and her son, John, try to stay under-the-radar from the government, as they plot to destroy the computer network, Skynet, in hopes of preventing Armageddon.
Stars: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Richard T. Jones
Votes: 62,855
1 season - 21 episodes
17. Timeless (2016–2018)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An unlikely trio travels through time to battle unknown criminals and protect history as we know it.
Stars: Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett, Paterson Joseph
Votes: 47,157
18. Making History (2017)
21 min | Adventure, Comedy, History
Making History follows three friends from two different centuries as they try to balance the thrill of time travel with the mundane concerns of their present-day lives.
Stars: Adam Pally, Leighton Meester, Yassir Lester, John Gemberling
Votes: 2,611
19. Frequency (2016–2017)
TV-MA | 42 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A police detective in 2016 discovers that she is able to communicate with her father via a ham radio, despite the fact that he died in 1996.
Stars: Peyton List, Riley Smith, Devin Kelley, Mekhi Phifer
Votes: 14,388
1 season - 10 episodes
20. 12 Monkeys (2015–2018)
TV-14 | 42 min | Adventure, Drama, Mystery
Follows the journey of a time traveler from the post-apocalyptic future who appears in present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will nearly destroy the human race.
Stars: Aaron Stanford, Amanda Schull, Noah Bean, Barbara Sukowa
Votes: 48,767
4 seasons - 42 episodes
21. 11.22.63 (2016)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Jake Epping, a teacher, gets a chance to travel back in time to avert the death of John F. Kennedy. However, history's aversion to alteration and his love for the era and a woman endanger him.
Stars: James Franco, Sarah Gadon, George MacKay, Chris Cooper
Votes: 99,455
22. Being Erica (2009–2011)
TV-14 | 45 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
"Therapist" Dr. Tom - who is constantly spouting famous and not so famous historical quotes - is Erica Strange's savior and worst enemy.
Stars: Erin Karpluk, Reagan Pasternak, Michael Riley, Kathleen Laskey
Votes: 10,203
4 seasons - 46 episodes
23. Timeslip (1970–1971)
30 min | Family, Sci-Fi
Simon and Liz fell into a time hole and found themselves trapped in different eras of the 20th century, where they have all sorts of adventures. Many of these involve the nefarious Commander Traynor, who is also traveling through time.
Stars: Cheryl Burfield, Spencer Banks, Denis Quilley, Iris Russell
Votes: 239
24. The Ministry of Time (2015–2020)
TV-MA | 3,155 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
A warrior from the 16th Century, the first female university student from the 19th Century, and a paramedic from the 21st Century join a secret agency to prevent people from changing Spanish history using time-traveling doors.
Stars: Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Juan Gea, Francesca Piñón, Jaime Blanch
Votes: 5,564
2 seasons - 26 episodes
25. Steins;Gate (2011–2015)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
After discovering time travel, a university student and his colleagues must use their knowledge of it to stop an evil organization and their diabolical plans.
Stars: Mamoru Miyano, Asami Imai, Kana Hanazawa, Ashly Burch
Votes: 73,556
26. Sleepy Hollow (2013–2017)
TV-14 | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Ichabod Crane is resurrected and pulled two and a half centuries through time to unravel a mystery that dates all the way back to the founding fathers.
Stars: Tom Mison, Lyndie Greenwood, Nicole Beharie, Orlando Jones
Votes: 64,252
4 seasons - 58 episodes
27. Travelers (2016–2018)
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Hundreds of years from now, surviving humans discover how to send consciousness back through time, into people of the 21st century, while attempting to change the path of humanity.
Stars: Eric McCormack, MacKenzie Porter, Nesta Cooper, Jared Abrahamson
Votes: 64,505
2 seasons - 21 episodes
28. Torchwood (2006–2011)
TV-MA | 50 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
The members of the Torchwood Institute, a secret organization founded by the British Crown, fight to protect the Earth from extraterrestrial and supernatural threats.
Stars: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Kai Owen, Gareth David-Lloyd
Votes: 43,482
29. Tales from the Loop (2020)
TV-MA | 50 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
The townspeople who live above "The Loop," a machine built to unlock and explore the mysteries of the universe, experience things previously consigned to the realm of science fiction.
Stars: Daniel Zolghadri, Paul Schneider, Rebecca Hall, Robert Nahum
Votes: 22,823
30. Undone (2019–2022)
TV-MA | 377 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
After she very narrowly survives a serious car accident, a woman discovers that she has a new relationship with time.
Stars: Rosa Salazar, Angelique Cabral, Constance Marie, Bob Odenkirk
Votes: 23,495
31. Odyssey 5 (2002–2004)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
After witnessing the sudden implosion of Earth from orbit, a group of five Odyssey astronauts is sent five years back in time by an alien force to find the cause and prevent the disaster. A vast conspiracy stands in their way.
Stars: Peter Weller, Sebastian Roché, Christopher Gorham, Leslie Silva
Votes: 3,161
1 season - 13 episodes
32. Fringe (2008–2013)
TV-14 | 46 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
An F.B.I. agent is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist and his son in order to rationalize a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena.
Stars: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Jasika Nicole
Votes: 257,639
33. Alcatraz (2012)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In 1963, all the prisoners and guards mysteriously disappear from Alcatraz. In the present day, they resurface and a secret agency are tasked with re-capturing them.
Stars: Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia, Jonny Coyne, Parminder Nagra
Votes: 40,289
1 season - 10 episodes
34. Counterpart (2017–2019)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A hapless UN employee discovers that the agency he works for is hiding a gateway to a parallel dimension that's in a cold war with our own, and where his other self is a top spy. The war slowly heats up thanks to spies from both sides.
Stars: J.K. Simmons, Olivia Williams, Harry Lloyd, Nazanin Boniadi
Votes: 31,014
35. The Time Traveler's Wife (2022)
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
Tells the intricate love story of Clare and Henry, and a marriage with a problem... time travel.
Stars: Rose Leslie, Theo James, Everleigh McDonell, Gui Agustini
Votes: 17,640
36. Nine: Nine Time Travels (2013)
52 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
A TV anchorman discovers that a mysterious bundle of incense has the power to send him back in time, where he has the opportunity to alter the past.
Stars: Lee Jin-wook, Jo Yun-hie, Jeon No-min, Hie-ryeong Kim
Votes: 592
1 season - 16 episodes
37. Voyagers! (1982–1983)
TV-G | 60 min | Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi
A member of a league of time travelers and a boy travel through time repairing errors in world history.
Stars: Jon-Erik Hexum, Meeno Peluce, David Cadiente, Stephen Liska
Votes: 1,755
1 season - 17 episodes
38. The Crossing (2018)
TV-PG | 42 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Refugees from a war-torn country 180 years in the future start showing up in the present to seek asylum in an American town.
Stars: Steve Zahn, Natalie Martinez, Tommy Bastow, Rob Campbell
Votes: 10,188
39. Flashforward (2009–2010)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A special task force in the FBI investigates after every person on Earth simultaneously blacks out and awakens with a short vision of their future.
Stars: Courtney B. Vance, Joseph Fiennes, Jack Davenport, Zachary Knighton
Votes: 62,111
1 season - 19 episodes
40. Outlander (2014– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Claire Beauchamp Randall, a nurse in World War II, mysteriously goes back in time to Scotland in 1743. There, she meets a dashing Highland warrior and gets drawn into an epic rebellion.
Stars: Caitríona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin
Votes: 179,257
41. The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
In a dystopian America dominated by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, a young woman discovers a mysterious film that may hold the key to toppling the totalitarian regimes.
Stars: Alexa Davalos, Luke Kleintank, Rufus Sewell, Rupert Evans
Votes: 111,089
42. The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011)
TV-PG | 30 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith, with the help of her adopted son, his friends, and an intelligent supercomputer, combats evil alien forces here on Earth.
Stars: Elisabeth Sladen, Daniel Anthony, Alexander Armstrong, Tommy Knight
Votes: 6,753
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