Television series

Tales from the Loop

Name: Tales from the Loop
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction
Released: 2020
Cast: Daniel Zolghadri, Rebecca Hall, Paul Schneider, Duncan Joiner, Jonathan Pryce

Science fiction
Drama
Slow-burning

A melancholic sci-fi series set above a mysterious machine that bends reality. Each episode follows different residents of a small town grappling with loss, regret, and connection while impossible things happen around them. It's beautifully shot but deliberately paced—more interested in loneliness than spectacle. For viewers who loved the mood of Arrival or the character focus of Severance.

TVMaze rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy science fiction that stays quiet and human, where a strange machine is only the backdrop for stories about loneliness, longing and the ache of ordinary lives.

Skip it if you want the mystery solved, since The Loop's workings are mostly left hanging and each hour circles a feeling rather than building a plot toward answers.

What it asks of you: Eight episodes of about 54 minutes, unhurried and hushed; each hour stands alone, so you settle in and let one small story take its time to land.

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

If you liked this

Severance2022

Corporate sci-fi that prioritizes emotional truth over plot mechanics. Like Tales from the Loop, it uses genre trappings to explore isolation, memory, and what makes us human. Hypnotic and deeply sad.

But The mystery unfolds slowly across the season and some will find the pacing frustrating. Also demands real attention—phone scrolling isn't an option.

Arrival2016

Alien contact film that's genuinely about grief and time rather than spectacle. Shares Tales' approach: genre as a vehicle for intimate human emotion. Devastating and tender.

But Dialogue-heavy and philosophical. The science fiction elements serve the story rather than driving it, which some find too abstract.

The Leftovers2014

Unexplained mystery that grounds itself in character and grief. Like Tales from the Loop, it refuses easy answers and focuses instead on how people live when reality breaks. Absolutely transcendent.

But Genuinely heavy. It sits with loss without offering comfort, and the second season's shift in perspective alienates some viewers.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Tales from the Loop

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Quiet Earth1985

Both are patient, meditative science fiction more interested in mood and existential questions than plot. Both suggest that the real mystery isn't the impossible thing—it's how we live with it.

Post-apocalyptic New Zealand film about the last person on Earth. Utterly still and philosophical. Like Tales from the Loop, it uses genre scaffolding to ask what it means to be alone and connected.

But Very slow. Long sequences of the protagonist simply existing in an empty world. Made on a tiny budget, so it looks deliberately austere.

The Midnight Gospel2020

Animated sci-fi miniseries about a man visiting dying worlds. Visually gorgeous and philosophically generous, it's about connection and acceptance. Same emotional register as Tales, different medium.

But Only eight short episodes, so it ends just when you've settled in. The animation style is either mesmerizing or headache-inducing depending on your tolerance for cosmic visuals.

Undone2019

Rotoscoped animated series about a young woman discovering impossible powers. Intimate character work wrapped in magical realism. Shares Tales' interest in how extraordinary things disrupt ordinary lives.

But The rotoscope animation is striking but can feel claustrophobic. Season 2 took years to arrive, leaving the story unresolved.

Everything Sucks!2018

Small-town coming-of-age with a sci-fi bent and genuine warmth. It finds humor and heart in everyday interactions. If Tales from the Loop made you homesick for a place that doesn't exist, this captures that ache differently.

But Cancelled after one season on a cliffhanger. Bittersweet ending might sting if you expected resolution.

The Vast of Night2019

1950s small-town sci-fi mystery shot with gorgeous constraint. Two teenagers investigate strange radio signals. Shares Tales' atmospheric approach and belief that the mundane can be profound.

But Very dialogue-driven. Long stretches of phone conversations and exposition might feel slow if you're expecting action.

Daria1997

Animated series about teenagers observing their town with bemused detachment. Less overtly sci-fi, but it understands small-town isolation and has the same gentle melancholy running underneath.

But Comedy, so the tone is lighter. If you're craving Tales' sadness, this will feel like levity you didn't ask for.

The OA2016

Surreal miniseries about memory, identity, and alternate dimensions. Visually ambitious and emotionally strange. Shares Tales' willingness to confuse and provoke rather than explain.

But Cancelled abruptly on a cliffhanger. Genuinely baffling at times—the second season's tonal shifts feel almost deliberately alienating.

The Florida Project2017

Both find wonder in modest, overlooked places. Both use their visual style to elevate the everyday. Both understand that childhood (or small towns) contain entire universes even without sci-fi machinery.

Neorealist drama about children living in motels near Disney World. No genre elements, but it has Tales' poetic eye for ordinary sadness and childhood as a strange, magical place. Beautifully shot and genuinely moving.

But Heartbreaking and offers no solutions. The poverty isn't framed as inspirational; it's just real and unflinching.

Mulholland Drive2001

Both use strange genre elements to explore how memory, loss, and unreliable perception shape our sense of place and self. Both prioritize the feeling of a thing over the explanation of it.

David Lynch's LA noir about identity and dreams. Disorienting and gorgeous. Like Tales from the Loop, it refuses clear answers and trusts the viewer to sit with mystery. Hypnotic, not comfortable.

But Genuinely confusing. The narrative fractures deliberately. Some find it pretentious or exhausting rather than transcendent.