Anthology shows combine the brevity of TV series episodes with the variety of movies, and you never know what the next episode will bring! I’ve always loved shows likeThe Twilight ZoneandThe Outer Limits, but today might actually be the golden age of TV anthologies.
Picking a good variety of the best examples isn’t easy, but I think there’s something here for everyone, sometimes even within the same series.
2024
1
15
Status
Ongoing
Video gaming is a massive industry these days, and inevitably its influence would flow into the world of movies and TV. It used to be that game adaptations were bad, but with shows likeFalloutandThe Last of Usit’s clear that the stories from games can stand tall with the best of them in this medium.
Secret Levelis an anthology that tells short stories within the various video game universes. My favorite is predictably theWarhammer 40Kepisode. However, there’s a decent spread of both old and new franchises, and of course tabletop gaming, technically.
Secret Level
A fun and varied anthology of shorts based on different video game franchises.
2017
10
Ended
There’s no overstating how important the short stories of Philip K. Dick have been in the world of sci-fi film and television, and many of my favorite movies are based on his work. I recently completed my physical collection of his short stories that span four rather beefy volumes.
The best way to experience his works is in the written form, through the lens of your own imagination, butElectric Dreams(riffing on title of the bookBlade Runneris based on) is a solid way to see Dick’s stories come to life. Although it was released all the way back in 2017, the budget is decent, and there’s some big-name talent behind and in front of the camera. Any sci-fi fan needs to add this to their watch list.
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams
While Dick’s works have been adapted into several iconic films, he wrote more than could ever be adapted, and this series brings to life some of his lesser-known works.
1995
4
74
No, this isn’t the 2023Goosebumpsremake with its serialized anthology format. This is the original 90s series where each episode is based on one of author R.L. Stine’s children’s horror books. For a 90s kid like me, the originalGoosebumpswill always be the best. It’s cheesy, but earnest, and best of all if you have kids of your own you’re able to definitely watch this with them, since it’s technically child-friendly.
Honestly, the old 90s TV special effects are somehow even creepier than the modern realistic ones, and while every episode isn’t a banger, there are a few that are genuinely unsettling and memorable.
2023
12
Junji Ito is one of Japan’s creepiest exports by far, and that’s saying something. This dental technician turned horror manga author had clearly seen some stuff in his life, either in the dental chair, or just in his twisted imagination. Personally, I think Ito’s stories are most impactful on the page where they first saw the light of day, but this anthology adaptation has its own charms.
Ito’s stories aren’t particularly graphic, but they are very disturbing and often more for psychological reasons than any visceral ones. In fact, Ito’s stories are pretty weak on plot too, so it’s best not to think too hard about anything beyond the high concept of each story.
Japanese Tales of the Macabre
Horror master Junji Ito’s most horrifying and disturbing tales leap from the page and onto your screen. For better or worse.
2021
3
26
If you like watching Marvel Cinematic Universe shows and movies, but don’t really read comic books, you might not know how convoluted the different timelines, universes, and retcons are at the best of times. The “What if” series of comics do this on purpose, putting forward an anthology that explores how things in the Marvel comic world would have gone differently if you just changed one thing.
The TV showWhat If…?is simply an animated adaptation of that comic series–and it’s fantastic. Of course if you don’t know the Marvel propertiesWhat If…?riffs off, then the show won’t have much meaning to you, but if you are familiar with, for example, theIron ManandBlack Pantherfilms, then you’re bound to enjoy this.
Marvel’s What If…
An anthology of shorts showing what would have happened if certain MCU events went differently. Given how comic universes work, all of this stuff is canon somewhere.
2
18
BothStar Warsandanimeare extremely popular, so why not combine the two? InStar Wars VisionsLucasfilm gathered some of the best anime creators and studios in the business to make short films set in the infiniteStar Warsuniverse. It reminds me ofThe Animatrix, which had pretty much the same approach, creating several short films by different anime creators, that fill in some lore gaps and backstory, if you can imagine thatStar Warsstill has those.
Right now there are two volumes with nine episodes each, with a third volume on the way. Set for release in October of 2025.
2022
8
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiositiesfollows in the footsteps of classic anthology shows likeTales From the Crypt, with Mr. Del Toro acting as the curator and host of these varied horror stories, ostensibly linked to the various objects in the eponymous cabinet. Del Toro is a producer of this Netflix series, and if there’s anyone who knows the best talent in the world of film horror, it’s him.
The production quality is magnificent, and what we have here is a showcase of work by both seasoned creators and new talent that deserves the exposure. It’s the perfect show to binge over the course of a week, if you can handle that much creepiness back-to-back!
Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Del Toro’s flair for creature-based horror is given free rein in this anthology of monsters.
3LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS
The trailer, like the show, is quite spicy. Don’t watch it at work.
35
LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTSabsolutely blew me away when I first watched the original season. It’s edgy, visually stunning, and brings the sort of sci-fi story to the screen that would usually remain firmly between the covers of short story anthology books.
Be aware that this is very much a show for adults, but it’s not gratuitous. Instead, all that sex and rock ‘n roll serves a purpose in storytelling, and many of these shorts will go down as classics of the genre in their own right. This show, in my mind, is definitely one of the best sci-fi anthologies of all time, not just recent history.
Love Death + Robots
An amazing sci-fi anthology show made with cutting-edge CG, and the most imaginative art you’ve ever seen.
21
LikeTrue Detective,which I highlighted in mybest mini-series roundup,The White Lotusisn’t an episodic anthology, but rather a serialized one. Where each season is a standalone story with a new cast. In the case ofThe White Lotus, the different seasons play out in White Lotus hotels in three different parts of the world. The show has been an absolute phenomenon, with its dark and satirical comedy, and stellar performances, so it’s worth dipping your toe in to see if it clicks.
Each season covers a week of time, as we follow the intrigues of the staff and guests staying at the hotel. They all have their problems, and as each season progresses, the degree of those dysfunctions start to really hit home.
The White Lotus
The smash-hit darkly-satirical anthology series is composed of self-contained seasons set in different White Lotus hotels, with individual eclectic casts.
2011
7
33
Black Mirroristheanthology show of the modern age. Usually yourTwilight Zone-typestories tell a tale of something that could be true one day, butBlack Mirror’sstories of technology gone wrong are either just a few years away, or practically already true! That’s key to what makes the show so gripping, but it also helps that it’s sharply-written and technically well-made.
One thing’s for certain—you’ll never look at your smartphone the same way again.
Black Mirror
This long-running anthology holds up a “Black Mirror” to the utopian myth of modern technology, and shows us the undesirable futures that may be on the horizon.
I find that anthology shows aren’t right for weekend streaming binges. Instead, they are perfect for watching on weekdays. You get to watch a single curated series, but see something new every night. Seems like a great way to get some variety in that TV diet without the need to follow a long complex plot.
