Best Anthology Series
Fantasia is a 1940 film series by Walt Disney presenting eight distinct musical compositions alongside innovative animated sequences. Notable for its ambitious integration of orchestral music and animation, it showcased groundbreaking techniques using the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold...
Why this score?
Disney animation landmark, formally daring, critically canonical, and historically influential despite early commercial challenges.
Scoring methodology
Dangerous Visions is a seminal 1967 anthology series edited by Harlan Ellison. It’s notable for its groundbreaking exploration of dark themes and challenging narratives within science fiction literature. The collection brought forth stories considered radical at the time, influencing the New Wave mo...
Why this score?
Landmark New Wave science fiction anthology, historically transformative, award-associated, and still central to genre scholarship.
Scoring methodology
Tales from the Crypt was an anthology comic series published by EC Comics between 1950 and 1955. It presented a collection of horror stories centered around the character of the Crypt-Keeper, a sardonic host who introduced each tale. The series’ dark themes and graphic content significantly influenc...
Why this score?
Canonical EC horror comic with enormous influence, iconic hosts, sharp morality tales, and lasting pop-culture legacy.
Scoring methodology
Inside No. 9 is a British anthology series created by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, initially airing on BBC Two from 2014 to 2024. Each episode presents a self-contained story featuring new characters and settings, often linked by the number nine and the presence of a brass hare statue. The...
The Year’s Best Science Fiction is an annual anthology series compiling exceptional science fiction short stories. Edited by Gardner Dozois from 1984 to 2018, it represents a definitive collection and showcases the finest new works in the genre. This volume provides readers with a comprehensive over...
Why this score?
Gardner Dozois series is a definitive modern science fiction best-of anthology, consistently authoritative and award-relevant.
Scoring methodology
2000 AD is a long-running British science fiction comic anthology series. Established in 1977, it’s notable for pioneering British sci-fi storytelling and launching the careers of influential creators like Alan Moore. The magazine features diverse stories across various science fiction subgenres app...
Why this score?
Foundational British comics anthology, home of Judge Dredd and major creators, with huge genre influence despite variable weekly quality.
Scoring methodology
Alfred Hitchcock Presents offered a distinctive brand of suspenseful entertainment from 1955 to 1965. Each episode was an independent story—a psychological thriller, mystery, or drama—created and often directed by Alfred Hitchcock himself. The series captivated audiences with its unsettling narrativ...
New Worlds was a British science fiction magazine whose origins date to the 1930s, initially emerging from a science fiction fan organization before becoming a professional periodical. Under Michael Moorcock's editorship during the 1960s, it became closely associated with New Wave science fiction an...
Why this score?
New Worlds is a central New Wave SF institution, hugely influential under Moorcock and historically important.
Scoring methodology
Our Blues is a 2022 South Korean drama set on Jeju Island, featuring a cast of actors including Lee Byung-hun and Shin Min-a. The series presents an omnibus format exploring the diverse lives of individuals at various stages of life, spanning 20 episodes and debuting on tvN in April 2022. It achieve...
Clarkesworld Magazine is an online science fiction and fantasy publication founded by editor Neil Clarke in 2006. It publishes original short fiction alongside interviews, nonfiction articles, and audio versions of selected stories, serving readers and writers of speculative fiction. The magazine an...
Why this score?
Hugo-winning online SF magazine with major awards record, respected editorial identity, and strong international reputation.
Scoring methodology
Kraft Television Theatre was an American anthology drama series broadcast on NBC from 1947 to 1958. The program initially aired live for one hour weekly, presenting original stories and adaptations of literary works. It shifted its broadcast time to 9 p.m. in 1948 and continued until its conclusion...
Mushi-Shi: The Next Passage is the second television season of the anime adaptation of Yuki Urushibara's manga Mushishi, first broadcast in 2014. Its largely self-contained episodes follow Ginko, a traveling specialist who studies mushi, primordial life forms whose behavior can affect humans and the...
Why this score?
Mushishi continuation is highly acclaimed for meditative storytelling, artistry, and consistency, with very strong anime-community ratings.
Scoring methodology
Shock SuspenStories was an EC Comics anthology published from 1952 to 1955. Its stories combined crime, horror, suspense, and science fiction, often using violent or unsettling plots to address racism, antisemitism, mob violence, police corruption, McCarthyism, and domestic abuse. The series was edi...
Why this score?
EC anthology acclaimed for unusually direct social commentary, strong art, and moral force within genre comics.
Scoring methodology
Playhouse 90 was a long-running CBS television anthology series airing from 1956 to 1960. Each episode presented a new, original dramatic story performed live by professional actors. The show’s extended ninety-minute runtime allowed for complex narratives and detailed character development, making i...
Weird Science was a science fiction anthology comic published by EC Comics from 1950 to 1953 under editor Al Feldstein. Its stories combined space travel, alien encounters, speculative technology, and ironic endings, with artwork by contributors such as Wally Wood, Jack Kamen, and Joe Orlando. The s...
Why this score?
EC science fiction landmark, praised for Bradbury adaptations, social themes, and influential twist-story craft.
Scoring methodology
American Crime Story is an anthology crime drama series created by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, part of the American Story franchise. Each season explores a distinct criminal case as a self-contained miniseries, with FX serving as its broadcast home. A fourth season was announced in Januar...
The Vault of Horror was an American horror anthology comic published by EC Comics during the early 1950s, following an earlier incarnation of the title as War Against Crime. Stories were introduced by the Vault-Keeper and typically combined supernatural or criminal plots with irony, graphic conseque...
Why this score?
Essential EC horror companion title, highly regarded for lurid craft and influence, slightly less iconic than Tales from the Crypt.
Scoring methodology
Masterpiece is a long-running PBS anthology series showcasing distinguished British dramatic works. Beginning with Alistair Cooke’s curation in 1971, it features classic period pieces and contemporary dramas. The series holds the record for the longest-running primetime drama on American television....
Dead of Night is a 1945 British anthology horror film produced by Ealing Studios and directed in separate segments by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, and Robert Hamer. Its framing story follows an architect who recognizes the guests at a country house from a recurring dream, pro...
Why this score?
Canonical British horror anthology, hugely influential framing structure, strong critical reputation, and enduring ventriloquist segment acclaim.
Scoring methodology
Jim Henson’s The Storyteller presents a collection of animated tales drawn from European folklore. Each episode blends live-action performances with intricate puppet animation created by Jim Henson and his team. These stories, originating in the 1980s, offer imaginative interpretations of classic na...
The O. Henry Prize Stories is an annual anthology devoted to short fiction originally published in literary magazines and other periodicals. Established in 1919 and named for the American short-story writer O. Henry, the series presents stories selected through a recurring prize process. It serves r...
Why this score?
Historic American short-story prize anthology with century-long prestige, strong literary reputation, and broad institutional recognition.
Scoring methodology
Weird Fantasy was a science-fiction anthology comic published by EC Comics from 1950 to 1953. Edited by Al Feldstein, it featured self-contained stories involving space travel, alien contact, dystopian societies, time travel, and ironic reversals, with artwork by prominent EC illustrators. It was a...
Why this score?
Highly respected EC science fiction anthology, intelligent and influential, though often grouped beneath Weird Science in recognition.
Scoring methodology
Play for Today was a BBC television anthology series running from 1970 to 1984. It presented single dramatic works exploring significant social and political themes within Britain. The series gained renown for its bold subject matter and impactful performances. Play for Today primarily served audien...
Treehouse of Horror is the recurring Halloween anthology installment of the animated television series The Simpsons, first broadcast in 1990. A typical episode contains three self-contained stories that parody horror, science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural fiction, often drawing on recognizable...
Why this score?
Best episodes are Simpsons classics with lasting cultural impact, though decades of variable quality lower overall consensus.
Scoring methodology
The Pushcart Prize Anthology is an annual American collection devoted to writing first published by small presses and independent literary magazines. Issued since 1976 by Pushcart Press, it reprints selected short fiction, poetry, essays, and other literary work nominated by participating editors an...
Why this score?
Major annual literary anthology with long prestige, wide institutional recognition, and consistently strong small-press representation.
Scoring methodology
The Outer Limits was an American science fiction television series running from 1963 to 1965. It presented a wide array of standalone stories exploring themes of mystery, thriller, and horror within a technologically advanced setting. The anthology format allowed for diverse narratives and unexpecte...
The Haunt of Fear was an American horror-comics anthology published by EC Comics from 1950 to 1954. Stories were introduced by the Old Witch, one of EC's three principal horror hosts, alongside the Crypt-Keeper and the Vault-Keeper, and combined supernatural plots, crime, irony, and graphic punishme...
Why this score?
Key EC horror title with strong art and host identity, historically important though less famous than its siblings.
Scoring methodology
Studio One was an American television anthology drama broadcast by CBS from 1948 to 1958, after beginning as a radio program. Produced during television's early live-drama era, it presented original teleplays and adaptations of literary and theatrical works, with a different story and cast in most e...
Why this score?
Prestigious Golden Age live drama anthology, major talent incubator, high historical reputation despite uneven preservation and dated format.
Scoring methodology
The Wednesday Play was a BBC television anthology series running from 1964 to 1970. It presented single dramatic works, primarily of British origin, often tackling significant social and political themes relevant to the 1960s. The series’ exploration of contemporary concerns made it notable for its...
Love, Death & Robots presents a diverse collection of animated short films exploring science fiction themes. Each episode offers unique visual styles and narratives, examining concepts like artificial intelligence, transhumanism, and societal collapse. The series features adult content and caters to...
