10 More Time-Jumping Treasures
Sisyphus: The Myth is a time traveling K-drama that’s packed with gorgeous visuals and a really strong cast. While the plotting hasn’t always been the best, it’s undeniably an enjoyable ride and there’s some big, apocalyptic ideas played out nicely across the season.
If you’ve finished this one and are looking for something similar, we’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle with our top 10 picks for alternate viewing.
To keep things simple for skim-readers we’ve added what similarities these have.
Of course for all the shows we’ve reviewed, we’ve also added a handy link so you can check out our full thoughts on that series and see if it’s something you want to invest your time with.
So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows that should whet the appetite when you’ve finished streaming Sisyphus: The Myth.
11.22.63
Similarities – Changing The Future
8 part mini-series 11.22.63, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, is an impressively crafted time-travel thriller. With an inspired James Franco in the driving seat, this is a must-watch for sure.
The story begins in present day America with high school teacher Jake Epping. By chance, he discovers a portal leading to the past in a diner he frequents, run by his friend Al.
After a brief introduction to the way this portal works, Jake is thrown head over heels into 1960’s America where he decides to try and stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy and change the future.
With Jake continuing to invest more and more time in the past, he finds himself striking up unlikely friendships, especially with confident Sadie Dunhill.
Smartly written and undeniably tense, 11.22.63 is well worth a watch.
You can read our thoughts on 11.22.63 in our full season review here!
Counterpart
Similarities – Parallel Worlds
The interesting thing with Counterpart is just how normalized its sci-fi elements are. Here, we’re dealing with parallel worlds, and in particular one that’s accessible via a pathway guarded by government authorities.
At the centre of this lies Howard Silk who inadvertently winds up entangled in a big cover up and face to face with his doppelganger from a parallel reality.
Trouble is brewing though, leading Howard and his double to trade places and grapple with a plot line involving powerful forces intent on disrupting the natural flow of both worlds.
This is a smartly written thriller and although only running for 2 seasons, does well to add a slightly different flavour to its parallel worlds idea.
You can read our thoughts on Counterpart in our full season reviews here!
Erased
Similarities – Change The Past
Based on the manga of the same name, Erased (Bokudake ga Inai Machi in Japanese) is a character-driven story about a boy who has the ability to travel back through time.
The story focuses on struggling manga artist Satoru, whose unique ability of rewinding time allows him to stop accidents from occurring in front of him. After witnessing the murder of his mother, Satoru uses his gift to go back to prevent her death.
In doing so, Satoru mistakenly jumps back 18 years to his childhood. What follows is a timeline distorting adventure that jumps between the alternate present and the past.
This is another thriller that plays with the idea of time travel and, more specifically, the consequences of doing so. Despite its obvious manga influences, this live-action series is well worth checking out.
You can read our thoughts on Erased in our full season reviews here!
Steins;Gate
Similarities – Mystery Box
Under the glitzy Japanese animation and the obvious anime tropes is a very well written mystery box that grips you from the start to the end of this 25 episode show.
Steins;Gate is a series that takes the concept of time travel and runs with it, delivering a slow-burn opening before absolutely going to town with the second half of its run-time. I won’t spoil anything here but this is easily one of the better written time travel series out there.
Steins;Gate is a moody, briskly paced, atmospheric thriller.
Dark
Similarities – Mystery & Characters
Dark is thought provocative, regularly surprising and full of interesting characters to keep you watching until the final scene. Across its 3 season run, Dark shows exactly how to craft a compelling and complicated web of time travel.
The story begins in the (at time of broadcast) near future of 2019 Germany in a small town called Winden. This tight-knit community is rocked by the sudden disappearance of two young children who seem to be connected with a cave there.
I won’t spoil more but suffice to say, this is one story you’ll probably need to revisit numerous times to catch all the clues along the way.
Using a distinctly dark tone and a gorgeous, atmospheric score, Dark is easily one of the best time travel series ever created and easily a top contender to add to your watch-list if you haven’t already.
You can read our thoughts on Dark in our full season reviews here!
Alice
A secret organization known as Alice stand watch over time itself, acting as the gateway to stop time from being rewritten. This order is unfortunately undermined and tipped in favour of rogue time travelers, who are in search of a book imaginatively titled the “Book Of Prophecy.” When Alice fail to find the final pages, what follows is the beginning of a world-ending prophecy coming to fruition.
Like an insect caught in a spider web, Alice does its best to break free from the mess it places itself in but to no avail. Unfortunately the more this one tries, the worse things get. That, unfortunately, is the fate of SBS’ disappointing sci-fi thriller.
So why then, is it on this list? Well, believe it or not this twisty-turny time travel series has a lot of similarities to Sisyphus: The Myth.
The main plot line, characters and twists all feel eerily similar to Sisyphus. Personally, we’re not a fan but there’s definitely an audience for this and if you’re enjoying JTBC’s latest sci-fi flick.
You can read our thoughts on Alice in our full season review here!
12 Monkeys
Similarities – Story & Complicated Time Travel
When it comes to under-rated sci-fi, 12 Monkeys must be near the top of the list. This incredibly thrilling show completely surpasses its big screen brother to produce something really special – and criminally overlooked.
The story itself is relatively unchanged from the film. In the future, a virus has absolutely ravaged humanity and a lone time traveler jumps back to stop a plague from wiping out Earth. While this sounds simple in theory, 12 Monkeys quickly adds layers of depth to rival that seen in Dark.
After an enjoyable and relatively predictable first season, 12 Monkeys changes the game by introducing a shadowy group called the Army of the 12 Monkeys. They too seem desperate to change the past but to what end? What ensues from here is an incredible journey, one of the best sci-fi series ever produced and one that finishes with a spine-chilling conclusion.
You can read our thoughts on 12 Monkeys in our full season reviews here!
Heroes Season 1
Similarities – Characters & A Sketchy Government Agency
It’s important to make the distinction here that only season 1 bears much semblance to Sisyphus: The Myth. While the heroes (no pun intended) in this series don’t wear capes and show off their powers, it is one of the better examples of character writing and creating believable heroes in the modern day world.
Serving as an origin story, Heroes manages to take the superhero ideas onto the small screen in a really compelling way.
The characters are well written, given some decent screen time, and the extended run-time is enough to flesh everyone out and build up to a climactic showdown at the end.
Unfortunately season 2 onward sees a sharp decline in quality so your mileage with this may vary.
You can read our thoughts on Heroes in our full season review here!
Fringe
Similarities – Sci-Fi & Investigating Paranormal
Fringe feels like a modern day X-Files, taking what made that show so great and adding a scientific edge to proceedings. The later seasons are absolutely fantastic and add some really shocking twists to the fold too, breathing new life into this show.
Fronting these various cases is F.B.I. agent called Olivia Dunham, who’s forced to work with an institutionalized scientist named Walter Bishop. Together with Walter’s estranged son Peter, they start to uncover various strange phenomena. These episodic cases are mixed in with a larger conspiracy that engulfs the series.
Fringe expertly blends these two narrative arcs together and tops it off with an excellent dynamic between the characters, growing and evolving over time to produce a really gripping sci-fi series.
You can read our thoughts on Fringe in our full season review here!
Travelers
Similarities – Characters
At first glance you’d be forgiven for writing off Travelers as another generic sci-fi show. After all, a collection of people coming together to try to stop the world from total annihilation is hardly the most original of ideas.
Where Travelers stands out though, is the unique way it manages to weave its unique premise through a well written plot and believable, complex characters.
The story takes place 100’s of years from now, as surviving humans discover how to send their consciousness back through time into people of the 21st century. Desperate to change the fateful path of humanity, Travelers combines mystery, action and tension to great effect.
The show does well to conclude its three season run too with an epic finale that does just about enough to conclude this tale on a high. However, it also leaves the door open for a possible reboot further down the line.
You can read our thoughts on Travelers in our full season review here!
So there we have it, our 10 TV show alternatives to watch when you’re finished watching Sisyphus: The Myth on Netflix.
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!