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 2020. Among Science’s finest offerings are How It's Made and Through the Wormhole, which debuted in 2001 and 2010, respectively. Stay up-to-date with over 20 of Science’s elite series, with our list refreshed for October 2025.

  • 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.

  • Secrets in the Ice
    Secrets in the Ice (2020)8.3

    Mysterious frozen lakes filled with bones, mummified bodies hanging from inside a glacier, and a 30,000-year-old virus frozen in ice brought back to life in a laboratory. In an all new Science Channel series, SECRETS IN THE ICE, experts and scientists are exposing dark secrets, forgotten treasures and lost relics from some of the coldest places on Earth. Using state of the art archaeological technologies and cutting-edge CGI animation, SECRETS IN THE ICE spotlights the mysteries that have been locked away in icy tombs all over the world for centuries. At the base of a massive glacier in Southern Greenland, Danish archeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient stone hut. Was this site the home to a Viking seer practicing black magic? In Siberia, archeologists have excavated a mummy with fantastical tattoos against the many warnings of locals. Have they uncovered buried treasure, or unleashed an ancient curse?

  • 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.

  • Prophets of Science Fiction
    Prophets of Science Fiction (2011)7.6

    The series covers the life and work of leading science fiction authors of the last couple of centuries. It depicts how they predicted and, accordingly, influenced the development of scientific advancements by inspiring many readers to assist in transforming those futuristic visions into everyday reality.

  • Oddities
    Oddities (2010)7.4

    Oddities is a half-hour documentary/reality television program which follows the operation of an East Village, Manhattan shop which trades in antiques and other rarities. The show premiered on November 4, 2010, and airs on the Discovery Channel and its sister network, the Science Channel. Oddities focuses on the day-to-day operation of Obscura Antiques & Oddities, and stars co-owners Mike Zohn and Evan Michelson and buyer Ryan Matthew, with appearances by other employees and customers. The store's employees search flea markets, personal collections, auctions, and antique shows for unique and unusual artifacts. Odd items bought and sold by the shop or featured on the show have included a mummified cat, a Rhesus monkey skull, art made from nail clippings, and a straitjacket.

  • 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.

  • Strip the Cosmos
    Strip the Cosmos (2014)7.3

    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.

  • 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.

  • How It's Made: Dream Cars
    How It's Made: Dream Cars (2013)7.1

    Join the legendary ‘How It's Made' crew as they immerse themselves in automobile heaven, and discover how incredible machines are designed and created. From a Maserati to the Audi R8, from a Morgan Aero Coupe to a Porsche 911, the team travel around the world to visit the birthplaces of a host of dream cars. Each half hour episode will reveal the car's inner workings and gorgeous exteriors, which is enhanced with unprecedented access to the factories and test labs that are integral to their conception and creation.

  • 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.

  • Alien Encounters
    Alien Encounters (2012)6.5

    Scientists and sci-fi writers explore a hypothetical first-contact event between aliens and humans.

  • 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.

  • Engineering Catastrophes
    Engineering Catastrophes (2018)6.2

    From the hilarious to the mind-boggling, from the deadly to the bank-busting, witness some of the most outrageous structural disasters and the genius resolutions to get things back on track.

  • The Unexplained Files
    The Unexplained Files (2013)5.5

    From strange abductions, to mutated species, to bizarre occurrences, there are some phenomena that science cannot - or will not - explain. This summer Science Channel unveils some of these shocking and mind-boggling cases from around the world in the world premiere series THE UNEXPLAINED FILES. From mysterious disappearances and UFO encounters, to unidentified fanged predators and reported curses, THE UNEXPLAINED FILES investigates actual, inexplicable occurrences that have confounded scientists and inspired legends. Science Channel invites viewers on a mystifying journey that will challenge disbelief with THE UNEXPLAINED FILES.

  • Secret Nazi Bases
    Secret Nazi Bases (2019)5.5

    From tunnels to towers, artillery sites, resistance nests and communication centers, Nazi Germany left their footprint throughout the world. To this day, silent remains still exist, sentinels guarding clues about plots that Hitler was unable to carry out. The collapse of the Third Reich left as many secrets as it did relics. Still today, remnants of the Nazi's schemes lie concealed in structures scattered across the globe. Skeletons of projects give way to mysteries. Conspiracies abound about science fiction scenarios. The Nazis were nothing if not methodical, and a deeper look reveals even darker plans. From tunnels to towers, artillery sites and communication centers; the remains of these schemes lie waiting to reveal truths about the Fuhrer's tactics and dreams in Secret Nazi Bases. What did Hitler have planned?

  • Head Rush
    Head Rush (2010)N/A

    Head Rush is a spin-off of the popular MythBusters show airing on Discovery's Science since it debuted in 2010. Described by Discovery as a "commercial free hour of MythBusters mashups, hosted by Kari Byron", the show features about ten minutes of new material - experiments and quizzes presented by Kari, as well as TV celebrity and scientist appearances, pitching the idea that "science is cool" - interwoven in fifty minutes of material from MythBusters episodes. These celebrity segments include "Cool Jobs In Science," which has featured other Science, Discovery, and TLC stars such as Dr. Michio Kaku, Cake Boss's Buddy Valastro, Dr. G: Medical Examiner's Dr. Jan Garavaglia, and each of the other four MythBusters.