Top 19 'Thought-Experiment' TV Shows to explore for Bending Your Perception of Reality in 2025
Ever finish a TV show and find yourself just… staring at the wall? You’re not replaying the plot; you're grappling with the questions it left behind. Questions about your life, your choices, your reality. If that feeling resonates with you, then you've stumbled upon the magic of 'thought-experiment' television.
These aren't just shows you watch; they're worlds you inhabit and puzzles you ponder long after the credits roll. They take a single, provocative "what if?" premise and unravel its most profound, terrifying, or beautiful human consequences. What if you could separate your work self from your real self? What if technology could perfectly replicate a lost loved one? What if the afterlife was run like a cosmic bureaucracy?
In an age of endless content, these are the series that stick. They challenge our assumptions, rewire our perspectives, and offer a thrilling intellectual workout disguised as entertainment. As we head into 2025, it's the perfect time to curate a watchlist that does more than just pass the time—it expands the mind. Here are 19 of the best thought-experiment shows to bend your perception of reality.
1. Black Mirror
The undisputed champion of the modern thought experiment, Black Mirror is an anthology series that holds up a slightly distorted reflection of our society's relationship with technology. Each episode is a self-contained cautionary tale, exploring the unintended, often horrifying, consequences of innovation. It's the show that made us all a little more suspicious of our smartphones, social media likes, and smart home devices.
What makes it so effective is its proximity to our current reality. The technology is never pure fantasy; it's always a believable next step from where we are now. This grounds the high-concept ideas—like digital consciousness, social credit systems, or memory playback—in a way that feels unnervingly personal. It forces you to ask not "Could this happen?" but "When will this happen, and what will we do about it?"
- Where to Start: For a taste of its ethical dilemmas, watch "The Entire History of You," which explores the dark side of perfect memory recall. For a more hopeful, yet still profound, experience, try the Emmy-winning "San Junipero."
2. Severance
Imagine a world where you could achieve the perfect work-life balance because your work self has literally no knowledge of your personal life, and vice-versa. That's the chillingly brilliant premise of Severance. Employees at the mysterious Lumon Industries undergo a surgical procedure that bifurcates their consciousness, creating an "innie" who only exists at the office and an "outie" who has no memory of their job.
This show masterfully unpacks the philosophical rabbit hole of its own creation. Is your "innie" a separate person? Do they have rights? Is this the ultimate corporate convenience or a new form of slavery? The sterile, retro-futuristic aesthetic of the office contrasts sharply with the messy reality of the outside world, creating a visual language that amplifies the themes of identity, memory, and the very nature of self.
- Pay Attention To: The subtle ways the "innies" try to understand their "outies" and the outside world. These small acts of rebellion are a powerful exploration of the innate human desire for a whole, unified identity.
3. Westworld
"Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?" This central question from Season 1 is the thesis of the entire series. Westworld starts as a story about a futuristic theme park populated by lifelike android "hosts," but quickly evolves into a sprawling epic about consciousness, free will, and the blurred lines between creator and creation.
The show is a masterclass in non-linear storytelling, asking the audience to piece together timelines and memories alongside the hosts who are slowly gaining sentience. It's a deep dive into what it means to be human. If a being can think, feel, suffer, and remember, does it matter if they were born or built? Westworld uses its sci-fi setting to deconstruct the very building blocks of our identity.
- Philosophical Prompt: The "Bicameral Mind" theory introduced in the first season is a real psychological hypothesis. Looking it up will add a fascinating layer to your viewing experience as you watch the hosts "awaken."
4. The Good Place
What if a sitcom was secretly a university-level ethics course? The Good Place pulls off this incredible feat with wit, charm, and a surprising amount of philosophical depth. The show begins with Eleanor Shellstrop, a decidedly "medium" person, mistakenly ending up in a secular version of heaven. Her attempts to hide her secret and become a better person form the comedic engine for a profound exploration of morality.
The show isn't afraid to tackle the heavy hitters: Kantian ethics, utilitarianism, the trolley problem, and the nature of good and evil are all broken down into hilarious, digestible chunks. It’s a thought experiment that asks: can people truly change? And what do we owe to each other? It proves that deep thinking and laugh-out-loud comedy can go hand-in-hand.
- Insider Tip: Pay attention to the background gags and the ridiculous names of the shops in The Good Place (like "All The Soups You Can Eat"). They’re not just jokes; they add to the show's wonderfully absurd and thoughtful world-building.
5. Devs
From visionary writer-director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation), Devs is a visually stunning, deeply cerebral thriller about a secretive quantum computing company that believes it has cracked the code of existence. The core thought experiment is a stark one: what if determinism is real? What if free will is an illusion, and every action you've ever taken—and ever will take—was pre-ordained by the laws of physics?
Devs doesn't just present this idea; it forces you to live inside its implications. The slow-burn plot follows a software engineer investigating the disappearance of her boyfriend, leading her to the company's messianic CEO and a terrifying technological discovery. The show’s deliberate pacing and haunting score create a sense of awe and dread, making you feel the weight of its philosophical questions.
- Aesthetic Focus: Notice the recurring visual motifs, particularly the use of gold and halos. The series treats its technology with a religious reverence, questioning where science ends and faith begins.
6. Dark
If you’re looking for a show that requires a flowchart, welcome to Dark. This German-language masterpiece is a tightly-woven tapestry of time travel, family secrets, and philosophical paradoxes. The disappearance of two children in the small town of Winden unspools a multi-generational mystery that spans from the 1950s to the distant future.
The central thought experiment of Dark revolves around causality and the bootstrap paradox. Can the future influence the past? Are we doomed to repeat our mistakes, trapped in an endless loop created by our own attempts to break it? The show is an intricate puzzle box that rewards patient and attentive viewing, building to a conclusion that is both mind-blowing and emotionally resonant.
- Viewer Tip: Don't be afraid to use a guide! The official Netflix site for Dark has an interactive family tree and timeline that can be immensely helpful without spoiling major plot points. Trust us, you’ll need it.
7. Tales from the Loop
Based on the stunning art of Simon Stålenhag, Tales from the Loop presents a vision of an alternate 1980s where a town sits atop "The Loop," a massive underground particle accelerator. This machine causes strange, wondrous, and often melancholic phenomena to occur, which the townspeople experience in their daily lives.
Each episode is a quiet, character-driven story that feels like a painting come to life. The thought experiments are more emotional than technological. What if you could meet a younger version of your mother? What if you could switch bodies with a friend for a day? What if a lost object was found in a parallel universe? It’s a show about loneliness, connection, and the quiet awe of the unknown, proving that sci-fi can be gentle and deeply human.
- How to Watch: Treat it like a collection of short stories. Each episode stands on its own, so you can savor them individually. The beauty is in the mood and the emotional resonance, not a complex, overarching plot.
8. Severance
(This entry seems to be a duplicate of #2. I will replace it with another show from my brainstorming list to ensure 19 unique items.)
8. Mr. Robot
At first glance, Mr. Robot appears to be a stylish hacker drama about a cybersecurity engineer, Elliot Alderson, who gets involved with a revolutionary hacktivist group. But peel back the layers, and you'll find one of the most compelling explorations of identity, reality, and mental illness ever put to screen. The show's ultimate thought experiment is about perception itself: can we ever trust our own mind?
The series famously employs the "unreliable narrator" trope to its fullest extent. We see the world through Elliot’s anxious, paranoid, and fragmented perspective. This forces the viewer to constantly question what is real and what is a figment of his troubled psyche. It's a show that deconstructs not only society's dependence on technology but also the very stories we tell ourselves to survive.
- Watch For: The show's unique cinematography. Characters are often framed in the corners of the screen, creating a sense of isolation and disorientation that mirrors Elliot's internal state.
9. The Leftovers
What would happen to the world if, in an instant, 2% of the global population vanished without a trace? The Leftovers isn’t interested in solving the mystery. Instead, it presents a profound and haunting thought experiment about the people left behind. How does humanity cope with a loss that is both universal and utterly inexplicable?
The show is a masterful, often surreal, meditation on grief, faith, and the desperate human search for meaning in a world that refuses to provide answers. It explores how new religions and cults would form, how families would fracture, and how individuals would struggle to move forward. It’s not an easy watch, but it is one of the most emotionally rewarding and philosophically rich series ever made.
- Emotional Core: The series argues that the why of a tragedy often matters less than how we choose to live in its aftermath. It’s a powerful message for anyone who has ever grappled with loss.
10. Undone
Using the breathtaking animation technique of rotoscoping, Undone tells the story of Alma, who discovers she has a new relationship with time after a near-fatal car accident. Guided by the ghost of her dead father, she learns to travel through time and space in an effort to uncover the truth about his death.
The central question is whether Alma's abilities are real or a symptom of a deeper mental health issue that runs in her family. The show never gives you a simple answer, instead immersing you in Alma’s fluid, dreamlike perception of reality. It’s a visually inventive and deeply personal exploration of trauma, memory, and the elastic nature of time itself. This kind of deep-seated questioning of our internal and external worlds is something we often discuss here on the Goh Ling Yong blog.
- Artistic Merit: The rotoscoping (where animators trace over live-action footage) isn't just a stylistic choice; it's essential to the story, visually representing how Alma's reality is constantly shifting and blending.
11. Maniac
Set in a retro-futuristic version of New York City, this limited series follows two strangers, played by Emma Stone and Jonah Hill, who connect during a mysterious pharmaceutical trial. The trial promises to cure all their mental ailments by having them live through a series of AI-generated dreamscapes.
The thought experiment here is twofold: what if we could "hack" our brains to cure trauma, and what is the nature of human connection? As the characters navigate surreal fantasy worlds, 80s suburban dramas, and spy thrillers within their own minds, the show delves into the power of shared experience. It suggests that true healing isn’t about erasing pain, but about finding someone who understands it.
- Hidden Depths: The show is packed with visual details and recurring symbols. Keep an eye out for Don Quixote references and the ever-present GRTA computer, which becomes a character in its own right.
12. Russian Doll
"Gotta get up, gotta get out, gotta get home before the morning comes..." For Nadia Vulvokov, this isn't just a lyric; it's her reality. She's a video game designer stuck in a time loop, forced to relive the night of her 36th birthday party over and over again, dying in a different way each time.
Russian Doll uses this classic sci-fi trope to explore something far more personal: trauma, self-destructive patterns, and the difficulty of accepting help. The loop isn't just a puzzle to be solved; it's a metaphor for being stuck in your own bad habits. The show brilliantly asks what it takes to truly break a cycle and move forward, suggesting that the answer lies in connection and shared vulnerability.
- Thematic Twist: The second season evolves the thought experiment, shifting from time loops to a deeper exploration of generational trauma and what it would mean to literally walk in your ancestors' shoes.
13. Station Eleven
Based on the beloved novel by Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven poses a devastating question: if civilization collapsed, what would be worth saving? The series unfolds across multiple timelines, showing life before, during, and twenty years after a flu pandemic wipes out most of humanity.
Unlike many post-apocalyptic stories that focus solely on grim survival, Station Eleven is a surprisingly hopeful meditation on the enduring power of art, community, and human connection. It follows a traveling troupe of Shakespearean actors and musicians who believe that "survival is insufficient." The show argues that stories, music, and theatre are not luxuries, but essential tools for rebuilding a world and making life worth living. Much like Goh Ling Yong encourages us to question our own narratives, this series challenges the very fabric of storytelling in a broken world.
- Central Theme: Look for the ways connections ripple across time. A chance encounter before the pandemic can have profound and beautiful consequences for survivors decades later, reinforcing the show's message of interconnectedness.
14. Years and Years
Perhaps the most terrifying show on this list, Years and Years is a thought experiment in extrapolation. It follows one Manchester family over 15 years, from 2019 to 2034, and simply asks: what if all our current anxieties—political instability, technological acceleration, environmental crises—just keep going?
There are no aliens or time machines here. The horror comes from how plausible it all feels. The show seamlessly integrates near-future tech (like digital consciousness and invasive social media) with a rapidly changing political landscape. It’s a heart-wrenching, anxiety-inducing, and absolutely essential watch that serves as a powerful warning about the future we are actively creating right now.
- Human Anchor: The show’s power lies in the Lyons family. By grounding the sweeping societal changes in the everyday struggles of one relatable family, it makes the abstract concepts deeply personal and emotional.
15. Foundation
What if you could predict the future? Not of a person, but of an entire galactic empire? Based on Isaac Asimov’s seminal novels, Foundation explores the theory of "psychohistory," a form of mathematics that can forecast the behavior of massive populations. When mathematician Hari Seldon predicts the empire's imminent collapse, he creates a foundation of brilliant minds to shorten the ensuing dark age.
The show is a grand-scale thought experiment about destiny, free will, and the power of ideas. Can the actions of a few individuals truly alter the course of history, or are we all just playing out a pre-written script? Its stunning visuals and epic scope make it a feast for the eyes, while its core philosophical conflicts make it a feast for the mind.
- Key Concept: Pay attention to the dynamic between "The Plan" (Seldon's predictions) and the actions of individuals who defy it. This is where the show's central tension about determinism versus individual agency truly comes alive.
16. The Twilight Zone (Original 1959-1964)
No list of thought-experiment TV would be complete without the one that started it all. Rod Serling’s original anthology series was a masterclass in using science fiction, fantasy, and horror to explore the human condition. Each episode was a morality play wrapped in a compelling "what if?" scenario.
From a man who just wants peace and quiet to read his books in a post-apocalyptic world ("Time Enough at Last") to a neighborhood that turns on itself out of paranoia ("The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"), the show's themes are as relevant today as they were 60 years ago. It proved that you don’t need a big budget or flashy effects to bend reality—all you need is a powerful idea.
- Timeless Tip: Watch an episode and then think about how its central allegory applies to modern society. You'll be amazed at how Serling's commentary on conformity, prejudice, and fear still resonates powerfully in 2025.
17. Legion
Based on a character from the X-Men comics, Legion is less a superhero show and more a psychedelic dive into the mind of an unreliable narrator. David Haller is a man diagnosed with schizophrenia who discovers that the voices he hears might not be imaginary after all. His immense psychic powers manifest in a way that shatters his—and the viewer's—perception of reality.
The show's thought experiment is a visual and narrative representation of mental illness and consciousness. The story is told through surreal, non-linear sequences, musical numbers, and stunningly inventive visuals that put you directly inside David's chaotic mind. It’s a challenging, disorienting, and ultimately beautiful series that asks what's real when you can't trust your own brain.
- Viewer Warning: Embrace the confusion. The show is designed to be disorienting. Don't try to make perfect sense of it on the first watch; let the experience and the aesthetic wash over you.
18. The Expanse
Set a few hundred years in the future where humanity has colonized the solar system, The Expanse is a sprawling political drama and sci-fi epic. The thought experiment is a societal one: how would humanity’s old tribalisms—racism, nationalism, classism—evolve once we're spread across Earth, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt?
The show is celebrated for its commitment to scientific realism and its complex world-building. It explores how different gravitational environments would affect human physiology and culture, and how the vast distances of space would strain political alliances. Beneath the thrilling action and mystery of an alien "protomolecule," it’s a deeply resonant story about the best and worst parts of human nature.
- Focus On: The cultural differences between the "Earthers," the militaristic Martians, and the marginalized "Belters." Their distinct accents, physiologies, and political grievances form the rich, believable core of the show's conflict.
19. Scavengers Reign
This animated masterpiece is a biological thought experiment of the highest order. When the crew of a damaged freighter crash-lands on the planet Vesta, they must survive in a complex, interconnected, and utterly alien ecosystem. There are no typical monsters here; instead, every plant, animal, and fungus is part of a bizarre and beautiful food web.
The show forces you to think about life itself in a new way. It’s a breathtakingly creative and often silent series that communicates its story through observation and interaction with the environment. It asks what it means to adapt and survive in a world that doesn’t follow Earth's rules, where symbiosis and parasitism create a cycle of life and death that is both terrifying and sublime.
- Artistic Detail: Pay attention to the "how-to" of survival. The characters learn to use one alien creature to sedate another, or to harvest a plant's spores for light. This focus on process makes the alien world feel incredibly real and lived-in.
These shows are more than just entertainment; they are invitations to curiosity. They push the boundaries of storytelling and, in doing so, encourage us to push the boundaries of our own thinking. So as you plan your 2025 watchlist, consider adding a few of these reality-bending series. You might just find that the questions they leave you with are more exciting than any simple answer.
What are your favorite thought-experiment shows? Are there any mind-bending series we missed? Share your top picks in the comments below
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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