10 time-travel shows that mess with your head like Dark

Dark is one of the most critically acclaimed time-travel shows. Its mind-bending plotlines and never-before storytelling make fans gaga over it. So, if you are attracted to time-travel shows like Dark, you’re not the only one. It shows us that time travel isn’t just about cool sci-fi moments; it’s about how our choices shape who we are.

It left viewers questioning reality. But fear not, because other TV shows offer similar twists and turns, challenging your perception of time and space. Let's delve into 10 such time-travel shows that mess with your head like Dark.

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10 time-travel shows that mess with your head like Dark

12 Monkeys (2015–2018)

12 Monkeys is a time-travel show about a man whose name is James Cole. Travelling back in time to stop a deadly virus from destroying the world, he falls into more complicated situations. As he jumps between different years, things get worse, even more complicated.

James starts to wonder who the real enemies are, and the truth about the virus becomes harder to understand. 12 Monkeys mainly has many twists and turns, just like Dark. It makes you think a lot about time, fate.

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Steins; Gate (2011)

Love to watch Anime? Then Steins; Gate is for you is one of the most thrilling time-travel shows. It follows a young man named Rintarou Okabe. He calls himself a "mad scientist." The series shows that the mad guy and his friends find a way to send messages back in time. But as they do this, things start going worse than ever.

They learn that changing the past can be so dangerous and painful, like hell. The show is full of emotion, big ideas, and tricky storylines, and perfect for people who love deep, thoughtful time-travel stories.

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Life on Mars (2006–2007)

This is a sci-fi/time-travel show that is the story of a police officer named Sam Tyler. He time-travels like no one can ever imagine. Firstly, he gets hit by a car, and then he finds himself in the year 1973. Everything looks different to him. But here he has to figure out how to live and work as a cop in this new-old world.

While trying to figure it out, he keeps working as a detective and teams up with a tough one named Gene Hunt. The show mixes police cases with strange, magical events. It makes you think about who you are and what time means.

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Sliders (1995–2000)

Sliders is another time-travel show that leaves us exploring a group of people who find a way to travel between different Earths. Every time they “slide” to a new world, things are different. In one world, history is familiar.

In another, everything has changed. The show is exciting and full of big ideas about what could happen if life went a different way. It’s a fun mix of adventure and science fiction that makes you wonder how small choices can change everything.

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Russian Doll (2019–2022)

This is one of the most thrilling time-travel shows that introduces viewers to Nadia Vulvokov. Here she keeps dying and waking up at the same moment again and again. It seems like the night is on repeat like a twisted joke. But as the cycle continues, she begins to question everything about her life and all. Then Vulvokov meets Alan, a man caught in the same strange loop, and the mystery turns out.

Together, they start to understand the rules of their situation and why they’re trapped in it. Russian Doll is not just about escaping the loop. It’s about breaking free from the emotional cycles that hold us back. The series cleverly uses its time loop structure to explore what it truly means to alter.

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Continuum (2012–2015)

Continuum is a time-travel show that follows time travel as a tool in a conflict between freedom and control. It is on a police officer, Kiera Cameron, who accidentally travels back to 2012 from 2077. Stranded in the past, Kiera struggles to stop a group of rebels known as Liber8, who are fighting against a powerful corporate government. While trying to find a way home, she feels strange.

She sees the early roots of the corporate world she comes from, she begins to question what side she’s on. The show explores deep ideas about personal freedom, fate, and how small actions can shape the future. It also tackles the moral gray areas of power, surveillance, and the influence of big companies on society. Let me tell you that Continuum raises a question about the kind of future we’re building today.

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Timeless (2016–2018)

This time-travel show follows three very different people thrown together by a government program most people don’t even know exists. There’s Lucy Preston, a history professor who knows a lot more than just dates and names. Wyatt Logan, a soldier with a tough past. And Rufus Carlin, an engineer who helped build the tech they’re now risking their lives to use. The mission? Find and stop Garcia Flynn. He’s not just a criminal; he’s stolen a high-end time machine called The Mothership, and he’s using it to mess with America’s past.

Flynn’s not doing random damage either. He’s strategic. Every jump back in time targets a piece of history that helped build the country’s power structure. The team doesn’t have the main time machine, but they have a rougher version—the Lifeboat. It’s loud, glitchy, and definitely not meant for regular use. But it works. Barely. And it's the only shot they’ve got to follow Flynn through some of the most critical moments in U.S. history—like the Hindenburg explosion, the Lincoln assassination, and the Battle of the Alamo.

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Doctor Who (1963–1989)

The Doctor’s a Time Lord from a distant planet called Gallifrey, and they stole a time machine, a weird, amazing one called the TARDIS. Looks like an old British police box on the outside, thanks to a glitch in its disguise system. But step inside, and yeah, it’s huge. Way bigger than it looks. Fans call it “bigger on the inside,” and honestly, that’s underselling it.

The TARDIS can go anywhere in time or space. Ancient Rome, the end of the universe, a junkyard in the 1960s, a space colony full of robots. The Doctor rarely travels alone. They usually have someone with them, sometimes human, sometimes not. A companion. Someone to keep the Doctor grounded, or at least ask the questions the audience would.

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The OA (2016–2019)

The OA introduces a young blind woman named Prairie Johnson, who went missing for seven years. When she comes back, she can suddenly see again. She tells her story to a small group of people, sharing a strange and amazing journey. She talks about nearly dying, traveling to other worlds, and being trapped by a mysterious scientist.

Each episode tells more about her past and her goal to help other people who are also lost in other worlds. The time-travel show mixes big spiritual ideas with science fiction, making it feel both personal and magical.

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Quantum Leap (1989–1993)

The original Quantum Leap is a time-travel show that kicks off with Dr. Sam Beckett, a genius physicist who gets tired of waiting around for the world to catch up to his ideas. So he takes a risk. He steps into his creation, the Quantum Leap Accelerator, and vanishes. Just like that. No big announcement. No safety net. One second he's there, and the next, he's somewhere else entirely, living in someone else’s life.

Each time he leaps, he lands in a different person’s body, always within his lifetime. He doesn’t get a manual. No instructions. And to make it harder, he often forgets who he is. That’s part of the deal. The one constant? His best friend Al, a Navy Admiral who appears to Sam as a hologram—only Sam can see or hear him. Al feeds him bits of information and tries to help him figure out what he needs to fix in each leap.

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The time-travel shows listed here all take that same idea and run with it in their unique ways. From alternate worlds and looping timelines to lost memories and secret organizations, each one will leave you thinking long after the credits roll. These series aren’t just for people who enjoy sci-fi—they’re for anyone who loves a good mystery, complex characters, and stories that make you question everything.

Whether it’s the haunting loops of Russian Doll, the anime genius of Steins; Gate, or the emotional weight of The OA, these time-travel shows prove that messing with time can lead to some of the most powerful and unforgettable stories on TV. So if Dark left a hole in your watchlist, any one of these titles might just fill it.