From creator Jason Rothenberg, The 100 is considered today to be one of the best dystopian TV shows of its time. It follows a large group of juvenile delinquents who are sent to Earth nearly a century after nuclear war drove humanity away, only for them to discover the planet is not completely desolate.
After seven seasons on The CW, the Emmy-winning series had its final curtain call, but it remains a hit on Netflix (one of the best streaming services to subscribe to) today. If you are instead looking for something else to binge that is similar in plot and tone, perhaps our recommendations for other great sci-fi TV shows like The 100 might be just what you are looking for.
Fallout (2024-Present)
A, literally, sheltered young woman (played by Ella Purnell), a young man who aspires to be a knight (played by Aaron Molen), and an ageless bounty hunter (played by Walton Goggins) search for a coveted possession in a war-torn dystopia.
Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: In Amazon Prime's series adaptation of the popular video game franchise, Fallout — which has a second season in the works — the central character, Purnell's Lucy, is a young woman exploring the remnants of an Earth decimated by nuclear war for the first time, much like our central characters on The 100.
Stream Fallout on Amazon Prime.
3% (2016-2020)
Years in the future when Earth has become an uninhabitable wasteland, impoverished youths fiercely compete to be one of the few allowed entry to the “better side.”
Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Another dystopian series following a group of young people struggling to navigate their harsh environment (and one of the best sci-fi TV shows on Netflix) is the Brazillan import, 3%, which also boasts themes and elements that call to mind the Hunger Games movies.
The Society (2019)
Teenage Allie Pressman (Kathryn Newton, giving one of her best performances) and other people her age suddenly find themselves mysteriously trapped inside their small town without the adults and cut off from the rest of the world.
Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Another one of the best TV shows on Netflix with connections to The 100 is The Society, both for the way it follows a young cast of characters left to their own devices to create stability in an increasingly dangerous environment and in that it was also prematurely cancelled during COVID.
Stream The Society on Netflix.
Terra Nova (2011)
As the planet becomes increasingly less homey, an average man (played by Jason O'Mara) and his family find a new place to call home by traveling to the prehistoric age.
Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: In The 100, the last of humanity seeks refuge from an uninhabitable Earth by living on a space station, while Terra Nova — a show Fox should feel embarrassed about canceling — follows a group of people trying a different method: time travel.
Buy Terra Nova on Amazon.
Buy Terra Nova on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Lost (2004-2010)
After suffering a horrific plane crash, a group of strangers must band together to survive on a desert island where nothing is quite what it seems.
Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: The 100 is certainly a TV show like Lost, since it also follows a crew of survivalists who must endure harsh terrain, mysterious research labs, and conflicts with enemy tribes.
Stream Lost on Netflix.
Stream Lost on Hulu.
Buy Lost on Amazon.
The Wilds (2020-2022)
A group of teenage girls must work together to create stability on a deserted island after a near-fatal plane crash leaves them stranded.
Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Another great Amazon Prime TV show like The 100 (and, admittedly, a lot like Lost, too) is The Wilds, which is especially similar to the show of honor as it also involves teenagers thrown into the unknown where brewing conflicts lead them to split into warring factions.
12 Monkeys (2015-2018)
A scavenger (played by Aaron Stanford) from a futuristic world ravaged by a disastrous epidemic is sent back in time on a mission to prevent the spread.
Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Later seasons of The 100 heavily involve a bid to save humanity from a deadly plague, which is also the central plot of 12 Monkeys, an acclaimed Syfy series inspired by director Terry Gilliam's classic time travel movie from 1996.
Buy 12 Monkeys on Amazon.
Buy 12 Monkeys on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)
After an extraterrestrial enemy wipes out most of humanity, the surviving people aboard the sole remaining warship travel through outer space in search of sanctuary.
Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Similar to The 100, Battlestar Galactica — the acclaimed, Emmy-winning reboot to a cult favorite sci-fi series from the 1970s — is set after their civilization's downfall and follows a group of protagonists looking for a new home...on the fabled planet of Earth.
Stream Battlestar Galactica on Amazon Prime.
Buy Battlestar Galactica on Blu-ray on Amazon.
The Magicians (2015-2020)
A group of students are recruited into a secret society from which they learn that magic is real and very dangerous if used by the wrong people.
Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: While it may not be a sci-fi dystopian thriller or a survivalist drama, The Magicians is a compelling fantasy with a few similar character arcs, and epic twists and turns galore.
Stream The Magicians on Netflix.
Buy The Magicians on Amazon.
Buy The Magicians on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Shadowhunters (2016-2019)
Following the disappearance of her mother, teenager Clary (Kat McNamara) discovers that she is a descendant of a long line of demon hunters and must accept her destiny to join the fight.
Why it is a great TV show to watch if you are a fan of The 100: Spun off from the movie The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (also an adaptation of Cassandra Clare's popular series of novels), Shadowhunters is another popular drama about a group young people with the weight of humanity's fate on their shoulders.
Stream Shadowhunters on Hulu.
Buy Shadowhunters on Amazon.
If you have already seen all of these shows, go ahead and log into your Netflix subscription and see The CW's The 100 cast in action again.
