10 Great Horror and Sci-Fi TV Shows You Can Stream For Free on Tubi

Tubi has tons of movies, but it also has a robust TV selection, particularly in the realms of curiously specific reality shows. But if sci-fi and horror series are what you seek, the free, ad-supported streamer is a great go-to; in addition to an entire channel dedicated to classic Doctor Who, it has plenty of other favorites.

Hannibal

Bryan Fuller’s gorgeously grotesque NBC series, adapted from Thomas Harris’ novels, ran from 2013-2015; it’s still so beloved that fans—“Fannibals”—are eternally hoping it’ll return one day. It stars Mads Mikkelsen as psychiatrist-cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Hugh Dancy as FBI profiler Will Graham, with an exceptional supporting cast including Gillian Anderson and Laurence Fishburne. But, uh, maybe don’t tune in while you’re eating. Watch seasons 1-3 on Tubi.

Lovecraft Country

Misha Green’s adaptation of Matt Ruff’s best-seller explores racism in 1950s America through a lens of violence both supernatural and all-too-human; as the name suggests, H.P. Lovecraft is a big thematic influence, though the story also knowingly subverts his troubled legacy. Although then-rising star Jonathan Majors has fallen from grace since the show aired on HBO in 2020, you can’t discount the rest of the cast, which includes Jurnee Smollett, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Courtney B. Vance, Wunmi Mosaku, Jamie Chung, and Michael K. Williams. Watch season one on Tubi.

The Exorcist

One of the best movie-to-TV adaptations in recent memory (it ran from 2016-2017 on F0x), The Exorcist picked up a few plot threads from the 1973 movie but mostly built its own very creepy, genuinely frightening world. Each season followed a different family dealing with intrusive demons, with the same two priests (Ben Daniels, Alfonso Herrera) trying to help them, and brought compelling drama and characters to a genre that’s often plagued by overly familiar tropes. Watch seasons 1-2 on Tubi.

Farscape

The cult-beloved sci-fi series about a ragtag crew aboard a living spaceship had the magic of the Jim Henson Company helping bring its alien and robot characters to life. An Australian-American co-production, it hit U.S. airwaves on what what then called the Sci-Fi Channel in 1999; it was cancelled in 2002 but a 2004 miniseries directed by Brian Henson helped soothe the series’ abrupt ending. Watch seasons 1-4 on Tubi, as well as Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars.

Red Dwarf

The cult-beloved theme continues with Red Dwarf, a long-running British comedy about the last human in existence and his companions (holographic, AI, creature, android, and otherwise) aboard a drifting mining ship. It first aired in 1988 and Tubi has all 12 seasons (including three-part 2009 special Back to Earth), though completists will need to look elsewhere for 2020 special Red Dwarf: The Promised Land.Watch seasons 1-12 on Tubi.

Babylon 5

Yes, it’s another title with a passionate fan following: J. Michael Straczynski’s 1990s sci-fi saga that aired first on the now-defunct Prime Time Entertainment Network before shifting to TNT. Named for the space station where its 23rd century action takes place, Babylon 5 spawned a franchise that’s still going—including several made-for-TV movies and a direct-to-video animated film released just last year, something to keep in mind if you get hooked watching the 110 episodes that make up the series itself. Watch seasons 1-5 on Tubi.

Dark Shadows

Dan Curtis’ gothic epic about a soulful vampire (Jonathan Frid) and his supernatural and human family, friends, and frenemies ran weekdays on ABC from 1966 to 1971 and has over 1,200 total episodes, with storylines that jump back and forth in time and follow various character arcs. That said, it’s also a soap opera, so a more casual viewer can drop in wherever and follow along without too much trouble. Watch seasons 1-26 on Tubi, though you might as well start with the earliest episodes, which are grouped as Dark Shadows: The Beginning, seasons 1-6. Tubi also has documentaries Dark Shadows and Beyond: The Jonathan Frid Story and Curtis spotlight Master of Dark Shadows.

The Greatest American Hero

Prolific TV guru Stephen J. Cannell (The Rockford Files, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street) created this goofy superhero saga that ran from 1981-83 on ABC and still has one of the most earworm-y theme songs to ever grace the airwaves. Watch seasons 1-3 on Tubi, as well as the pilot for The Greatest American Heroine.

The Dead Zone

The 1979 Stephen King novel provided the inspiration for this mid-2000s series that ran on the USA Network; it’s about a teacher (Anthony Michael Hall) whose latent psychic abilities emerge after spending several comatose years following a car accident; he then puts his spooky talents to good use by helping solve crimes. It was cancelled unexpectedly, so you’ll need to put your own visionary powers to work imagining a satisfying conclusion if you watch all the existing episodes. Watch seasons 1-6 on Tubi.

Masters of Horror

Across two seasons of Showtime’s Mick Garris-created anthology series, which ran from 2005-2007, you’ll find 26 eerie episodes, each around an hour long, directed by, as the title suggests, the era’s reigning masters of horror: Don Coscarelli, Stuart Gordon, Tobe Hooper, Dario Argento, Joe Dante, John Carpenter, Larry Cohen, Takashi Miike, Ernest Dickerson, and others. The line-up of genre-superstar directors is all men and mostly white, so if any TV execs out there want to bring Masters of Horror back with a spotlight on more diverse talent, we’d be all for it. Watch seasons 1-2 on Tubi.

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