More often than not, sci-fi shows get canceled before they can fully realize their potential and end their runs with natural conclusions. Viewers who are starting to grow tired of this trend in the genre must watch a 5-part series that perfectly wraps its story.
In the streaming era, many great sci-fi shows have struggled to last beyond the two-season mark. Despite showing immense potential, some have even faced cancellations after their opening seasons. This growing trend is frustrating and makes one want to look for sci-fi shows that got to last for at least three seasons before reaching a well-rounded closing chapter.
Fortunately, viewers who are looking for such shows can now check out a brilliant 5-season sci-fi series that delivers a satisfying ending.
Orphan Black Is A Perfect Sci-Fi Show From Start To Finish
Orphan Black’s biggest flex is Tatiana Maslany, who brilliantly plays a dozen different clones and manages to give each a distinct identity. She truly shines in the series when she plays one clone pretending to be another, where she intentionally puts “bad acting” on display to show how talented of an actress she is.
Even when it comes to scientific plausibility, Orphan Black grounds itself in real facts. The credit for that goes to Cosima Herter, a real developmental biologist, who was taken onboard to ensure the show’s portrayal of synthetic biology and ethics felt authentic.
The sci-fi series also makes good use of its cloning plot to dabble with different genres instead of confining itself to one. Since each clone has a distinct life and identity, the series gets to be everything from a gripping noir to a suburban “soccer mom” comedy in different arcs. This allows it to appeal to a wider audience and keep things novel throughout its long runtime.
More than anything else, Orphan Black benefits from its statisfying ending, which elevates above many other shows of the genre.
Orphan Black Has A Satisfying Ending
Many sci-fi shows have strong hooks and do a brilliant job of reeling viewers in with one mystery after another. However, when it comes to eventually paying off these hooks and resolving these mysteries, most shows stumble. They spiral into nonsense towards the end because their ending was not pre-planned.
Several other shows get abrupt endings because their respective streaming services and networks suddenly cancel them before they can reach their natural conclusions.
Fortunately, for Orphan Black, its creators developed its fifth installment knowing that it was the last season of the series. This allowed them to write it in a way that made it feel like a cohesive and emotionally satisfying conclusion. For obvious reasons, its ending after a solid five-season run left many viewers heartbroken. However, the show still managed to secure a lasting legacy, standing as a rare example of a sci-fi series that knew exactly when and how to end.
Orphan Black’s 2024 Spinoff Wasn’t So Lucky
Orphan Black’s spin-off, titled Orphan Black: Echoes, premiered in 2024. Unfortunately, the new installment not only struggled to match its parent series’ critical acclaim but also could not last beyond one season. It was canceled just three months after its premiere, and many viewers could not help but criticize how anti-climactic and uneven its ending felt.
A little over a year after its release, it is almost like the spin-off did not even exist because of how quickly it was forgotten. Orphan Black: Echoes season 2 will never happen, but the main series, in contrast, is still worth watching and easily deserves to be ranked among the most ambitious and compelling modern sci-fi shows.
