Television series

Final Space

Name: Final Space
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Science Fiction
Released: 2018
Cast: Olan Rogers, Fred Armisen, Tom Kenny, Olan Rogers, Steven Yeun

A serialized space opera that starts as a goofy buddy comedy between a lonely astronaut and a cute alien and evolves into something genuinely heartfelt and consequential. Absurdist humor, real stakes, gorgeous animation, and a cast that commits completely to both the jokes and the emotional weight. For people who want their sci-fi funny but not shallow.

TVMaze rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love serialized space opera that swings from gonzo gags to a sincere, heart-tugging mystery, and you don't mind a cartoon that keeps its jokes weird and its feelings earnest.

Skip it if you want a self-contained episode each week, since this is a long serialized story where the early episodes carry lots of goofy setup and the randomness can feel scattered.

What it asks of you: Thirty-six half-hour episodes across three seasons, a commitment that rewards memory: small details planted early keep paying off, so attention matters more than binge speed.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Infinity Train2019

An anthology series with gorgeous animation, genuine mystery, and emotional depth beneath the genre-bending premise. Each season builds a complete world with characters you care about watching transform under impossible circumstances.

But Some seasons are stronger than narrative resolution can feel abrupt. It's weird in ways that won't click for everyone, and not all the experiments land.

Arcane: League of Legends2021

Animated series that treats its world and characters with epic seriousness while never losing visual style or humor. Staggeringly gorgeous, emotionally devastating, and proof that animation can rival anything on prestige TV.

But It's a League of Legends adaptation, which sounds disposable but isn't—if you haven't played the game it can feel like entering mid-conversation. Pacing shifts dramatically between episodes.

BoJack Horseman2014

Starts as a comedy about a washed-up actor in an animated world and becomes a meditation on consequence, isolation, and whether people can change. Devastating, funny, structurally brilliant, and genuinely moving.

But The first season is thin. It takes a while to stop feeling like it's just jokes and become what it actually is. And it gets dark in ways that can be genuinely hard to sit with.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Final Space

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Craig of the Creek2018

Both shows start as comedies that disguise their emotional core—one is an astronaut with a planet-destroying alien, one is kids with a creek—but escalate into genuine stories about connection, loneliness, and mattering to someone else.

A show about kids in a creek that builds into something profound about growing up, belonging, and how adventures are just what you do when you're alive. Funny, tender, gorgeously designed, with real emotional weight. It respects both childhood and its audience.

But It's grounded and quiet in a way that might feel slow after Final Space's cosmic chaos. If you need plot momentum and high stakes constantly, this takes its time with small moments.

Disenchantment2018

Matt Groening's medieval fantasy comedy with smart writing, a great cast, and a willingness to evolve beyond gag-based humor into character development and actual stakes without losing the warmth.

But It never quite reaches the heights its premise promises, and some viewers find the tone uneven—it wavers between cynical and sincere without always committing to either.

Harley Quinn2019

Raunchy, energetic, unexpectedly sweet animated series about a villain finding agency and genuine friendship. The voice acting is perfect, the animation is expressive, and it swings for both comedy and heart.

But The sex jokes and graphic violence won't be for everyone. Some episodes prioritize chaos over coherence, and the tone can feel unmoored if crude humor isn't your frequency.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners2022

Stunning animation, propulsive storytelling, and characters you develop genuine affection for across ten episodes. It's style and substance in equal measure, with a real emotional engine beneath the neon.

But It's set in the Cyberpunk universe but you don't need to play the game—though the story goes places that may feel inevitable depending on what you know about the setting going in.

Castlevania: Nocturne2023

Adult animation that swings for baroque action, genuine horror, and character work. Gorgeous to watch, darkly funny, and structured with real momentum and consequence. A complete narrative in one season.

But Violence and sexual content are graphic. If you haven't seen the original Castlevania series it won't confuse you, but context helps. Some exposition can feel clunky.

Primal2019

Wordless animation about a caveman and a dinosaur—pure visual storytelling, kinetic action, and genuine emotional stakes. It's visceral, brutal, and surprisingly moving without needing dialogue.

But The wordlessness is the whole point, which some find tedious. It's relentlessly grim and dark; there's almost no humor, and the violence is serious rather than cartoonish.

Star Wars: Visions2021

Nine anime shorts set in the Star Wars universe by different studios and directors. Pure visual craft, wildly varied tones, and the freedom of anthology means most episodes nail something special.

But Anthology means uneven quality—you'll love some and tolerate others. If you need Star Wars to feel like Star Wars, these reinventions may frustrate rather than excite you.

Kill la Kill2013

Both are animated comedies that use absurdism as a engine for genuine emotional arcs. Both have a core friendship that's the actual point of the story. Both escalate wildly without ever losing sight of character.

Anarchic, gorgeous, absurdist anime with ridiculous fights, a friendship at its heart, and visual storytelling that makes every frame exciting. It's maximalist and sincere simultaneously, and it commits completely to its own universe logic.

But The fanservice is aggressively present and unapologetic in ways that read as genuine creative choice but will exhaust some viewers. The animation style is deliberately chaotic and might feel exhausting rather than exciting.

Undone2019

Both are adult animated series that use genre premise (a magical alien companion, a mysterious supernatural experience) as a vessel for real emotional complexity about isolation and connection. Both trust their audience to feel rather than explain.

Rotoscoped animation about a woman questioning reality after a car accident, mixing magical realism with family drama and genuine mystery. It looks like nothing else on television—fluid, dreamlike, deeply human. One season of eight episodes that ends perfectly.

But The animation technique works for mood but can feel slow to people accustomed to conventional animation. If you need sci-fi action beats, this is introspective and grounded. Some find the 'is it real?' ambiguity unsatisfying.