The Best TV Shows on Science

Every Science Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Science’s extensive portfolio includes more than 20 shows, spanning the years from 2001 to 2021. How It's Made and How does it work? represent the pinnacle of Science’s programming, launching in 2001 and 2008. As of December 2025, we’ve curated over 20 of Science’s premier shows for your viewing pleasure.

  • How the Universe Works
    How the Universe Works (2010)8.3

    A users' guide to the cosmos, from the Big Bang to galaxies, stars, planets and moons: where did it all come from and how does it all fit together? A primer for anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered.

  • How to Build... Everything
    How to Build... Everything (2016)8.0

    Welcome to the do-it-yourself instruction manual for humanity’s greatest modern-day inventions. You will need: a ton of curiosity, a healthy dose of awe and a sense of humor. Sit back and join an awesome cast of brilliant scientists (and people who just love science) on HOW TO BUILD… EVERYTHING while they break down the most complicated tech and machines into a few simple steps. Structured in the spirit of a home installation guide, each half hour episode of HOW TO BUILD… EVERYTHING breaks down the step-by-step process behind some of the world’s most complex apparatuses in a way that armchair engineers and curious minds can follow. From an Apache helicopter to a hovercraft, a cruise ship or a satellite, each episode features three machines as part of a tongue-in-cheek instruction manual.

  • If We Built It Today
    If We Built It Today (2019)8.0

    They are some of the world’s all-time greatest building projects. Most have stood the test of time, but with today’s technology, could they be duplicated and done better?

  • How It's Made
    How It's Made (2001)7.6

    Have you ever wondered how the products you use every day are made? How It's Made leads you through the process of how everyday products, such as apple juice, skateboards, engines, contact lenses, and many more objects are manufactured.

  • Through the Wormhole
    Through the Wormhole (2010)7.6

    Hosted by Morgan Freeman, Through the Wormhole explores the deepest mysteries of existence - the questions that have puzzled mankind for eternity. What are we made of? What was there before the beginning? Are we really alone? Is there a creator? These questions have been pondered by the most exquisite minds of the human race. Now, science has evolved to the point where hard facts and evidence may be able to provide us with answers instead of philosophical theories. Through the Wormhole brings together the brightest minds and best ideas from the very edges of science - Astrophysics, Astrobiology, Quantum Mechanics, String Theory, and more - to reveal the extraordinary truth of our Universe.

  • Strip the Cosmos
    Strip the Cosmos (2014)7.6

    Reveals worlds never seen before; stunning CGI animation peels back the layers, revealing alien landscapes of fragile lava caves, roiling plasma seas, cosmic platinum mines, and the hungry black hole at the center of our galaxy – cosmological wonders that play a surprising role defining our place in the universe.

  • Dark Matters: Twisted But True
    Dark Matters: Twisted But True (2011)7.4

    Hosted by actor John Noble of Fringe and Lord of the Rings, the show takes the viewer inside the laboratory to profile strange science and expose some of history's most bizarre experiments. This show uses narration and reenactments to portray the stories in this show. A new season of episodes, under the title Dark Matters: Extra Twisted, premiered on January 23, 2013. The episodes revisit previous stories with "deeper insight and new information."

  • Unearthed
    Unearthed (2016)7.4

    Unearthed decodes mysteries and combines scientific investigations with CGI animation to reveal the hidden secrets of iconic structures and monuments from around the globe to discover how they were designed, built, used, and in some cases, lost and rediscovered.

  • Mysteries of the Abandoned
    Mysteries of the Abandoned (2017)7.3

    Documentary series investigating why some of the world's most advanced architectural achievements were abandoned.

  • NASA's Unexplained Files
    NASA's Unexplained Files (2012)7.1

    Dive into the mysteries of some of NASA’s most curious missions and explore stories of engineering achievement and human endurance. Each episode offers first hand testimony from astronauts, NASA mission footage, plus beautifully rendered CGI to bring to life these voyages that reveal unexplained sightings that have dogged many of NASA’s most famous missions.

  • Impossible Engineering
    Impossible Engineering (2015)7.0

    Behind every seemingly impossible marvel of modern engineering is a cast of historic trailblazers who designed new building techniques, took risks on untested materials and revolutionised their field. Each episode details how giant structures, record-beating buildings, war ships and spacecraft are built and work. As the show revels in these modern day creations, it also leaps back in time to recount the stories of the exceptional engineers whose technological advances made it all possible.

  • Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible
    Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible (2009)6.9

    Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible is an American documentary television series on Science which first aired in the United States on December 1, 2009. The series is hosted by theoretical physicist Michio Kaku and is based on his book Physics of the Impossible. In each episode, Dr. Kaku addresses a technological concept from science fiction and designs his own theoretical version of the technology using currently-known science. He also visits scientists developing technology related to the episode's concept.

  • Mythbusters Jr.
    Mythbusters Jr. (2019)6.7

    Six of America’s most talented kids get a chance to show off their amazing ingenuity and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) skills as they tackle myths similar to those seen in MythBusters, ranging from driving, explosions, chemistry, physics, popular culture and more.

  • Secrets of the Lost
    Secrets of the Lost (2018)6.5

    From the ancient pyramids to the lost world of Pompeii, experts use twenty-first century technology to examine and unearth groundbreaking information about some of the most mystifying archeological structures the world has ever known.

  • Outrageous Acts of Science
    Outrageous Acts of Science (2013)6.4

    Scientists and amateurs conduct experiments and post their exploits online. Each episode counts down 20 popular Internet videos and explains the science behind them.

  • What on Earth?
    What on Earth? (2015)6.4

    Satellites orbit Earth at 17,000 miles an hour, capturing images of our world that are breathtaking, but some are bizarre. This unique perspective reveals objects that seem to make no sense & phenomena that defy explanation. Such images force the question, what on Earth is that?

  • Strange Evidence
    Strange Evidence (2017)6.2

    Worldwide, 300 million surveillance cameras are watching us, on our streets, at work, and in our homes. At times, they capture images that don't seem to follow the normal laws of physics. A new Science Channel series investigates mysteries caught on tape and uncovers the science behind some of the most bizarre occurrences ever recorded. With a team of experts analyzing footage that seems to defy explanation, including levitating cars on a freeway, a statue that appears to move on its own, and a spontaneous burst of flames.

  • Secrets of the Underground
    Secrets of the Underground (2017)5.5

    A search for an underground escape route said to have been used by Al Capone. Also: who or what built earthen mounds in Washington state.

  • How does it work?
    How does it work? (2008)N/A

  • NASA Mars Landing
    NASA Mars Landing (2021)N/A

    The Rover Arrives features some of the most incredible moments from the landing, including the first images that will be beamed back from Mars. Providing commentary for the special is Mark Rober, who worked on earlier Mars Curiosity rover mission at JPL and has since developed a huge following on YouTube, and NASA expert Ken Williford, who serves as the Deputy Project Scientist for the NASA Mars 2020 mission as well as the director of the JPL’s abcLab. Also streaming Thursday on discovery+ is NASA Mars Landing: Inside the Mission, which gives viewers an in-depth look at the Mars Perseverance Rover.