Forget 'Fallout,' Netflix’s New Sci-Fi Western Officially Rides Onto Streaming

The Wild West has been the hope of some of the most notorious outlaws out there over the years but sometimes, outlaws or ordinary old gunslingers aren’t quite enough for the story some people want to tell. And that’s exactly the case with Netflix’s latest series that mixes the sci-fi wasteland elements of Fallout and the adult adnimation of Arcane.

Netflix’s new animated Sci-Fi Western Bass X Machina officially premieres on November 3, 2026, bringing an unusual blend of steampunk technology, supernatural horror, and Western action to the streaming service. Created by LeSean Thomas (Yasuke), the six-episode series features animation from Studio Mir, the acclaimed studio behind The Legend of Korra and The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.

In a lawless Steampunk West overrun by brutal outlaws, machines, and supernatural terrors, a father is forced to become judge, jury, and executioner — knowing that every act of justice meant to protect his family may ultimately cost him the very people he’s fighting to save.

• The Wachowskis’ 1999 film won four Academy Awards, including Visual Effects and Film
  Editing.
• Bullet time was shot with a rig of roughly 120 still cameras firing in sequence around the
  actors.
• Keanu Reeves trained in martial arts for about four months before a frame was shot,
  recovering from neck surgery the whole time.
• It opened the same year as Fight Club and eXistenZ, in a run of films about not trusting the
  world in front of you.

• Mad Max: Fury Road won six Academy Awards in 2016, more than any other film that year.
• George Miller storyboarded the entire film as roughly 3,500 panels before there was a
  script.
• The chase was shot almost entirely practical in the Namib Desert, with real vehicles and
  real stunt performers.
• Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth carried the prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, in 2024.

• Blade Runner 2049 won Roger Deakins his first Oscar for cinematography, on his fourteenth
  nomination.
• The film also took Best Visual Effects, 35 years after Ridley Scott’s 1982 original.
• Villeneuve shot it on large-format film and kept the fog and rain practical on set wherever
  he could.
• Three short films by Luke Scott and Shinichiro Watanabe bridge the 30-year gap between the
  two movies.

• Denis Villeneuve’s Dune won six Academy Awards in 2022, including Cinematography and
  Original Score.
• Hans Zimmer turned down Christopher Nolan’s Tenet so he could score Dune instead.
• Dune: Part Two arrived in 2024 and brought in Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Christopher
  Walken.
• David Lynch’s 1984 version and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unmade one are both their
  own legends by now.

• The 1977 original won six Academy Awards plus a special achievement award for sound effects.
• John Williams’ score was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and became the
  best-selling symphonic film soundtrack ever.
• Andor took the galaxy somewhere colder and earned Emmy nominations for drama series in both
  seasons.
• The saga now runs across eleven feature films and a growing shelf of series on Disney+.

Who Stars in ‘Bass X Machina’?

The voice cast is led by Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) as Bass, alongside Janelle Monáe (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) as Glory, Tati Gabrielle (The Last of Us) as Dana, Cree Summer (Rugrats) as Ahni, Chaske Spencer (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) as Lighthorse, Currie Graham (Reacher) as Rivenbark, and Starletta DuPois (The Notebook) as Etta.

The series is executive produced by Henry, Thomas, Jennifer Wiley-Moxley, and Chad Handley, with original music composed by Roman GianArthur Irvin and Nate Wonder through Wondaland. Netflix originally planned to release the show in October before shifting its debut to November.

Bass X Machina has also launched with a stunning 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a signal that the series is one to be taken seriously. In fact, by comparison, it is officially one of the best-reviewed Western television series of all time, as well as one of the highest-rated science fiction shows ever produced, not just by Netflix, but by any streaming platform. That puts it alongside some of the streamer’s most acclaimed animated originals, including Arcane.

All six episodes of Bass X Machina arrived on Netflix on November 3, 2026. Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest news and updates on what’s currently streaming on Netflix.

Bass X Machina