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How the Universe Works poster

How the Universe Works (2010)

Documentary

A users' guide to the cosmos, from the Big Bang to galaxies, stars, planets and moons: where did it all come from and how does it all fit together? A primer for anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered.

IMDb rating
8.9 (7,746 votes)
Episode average
8.5 -0.4 vs IMDb
Seasons
11
Streaming (US)
HBO Max
Language
EN
Type
TV series

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 11 seasons indexed

Seasons

Season 1 (2010)

8.25 avg 8 episodes 8.1 → 8.3 44 min avg

Ep 1: 8.1 · 276 votesEp 2: 8.4 · 246 votesEp 3: 8.3 · 209 votesEp 4: 8.3 · 206 votesEp 5: 8.3 · 175 votesEp 6: 8.2 · 163 votesEp 7: 8.1 · 167 votesEp 8: 8.3 · 168 votes
Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Big Bang8.1276
2Black Holes8.4246
3Galaxies8.3209
4Stars8.3206
5Supernovas8.3175
6Planets8.2163
7Solar Systems8.1167
8Moons8.3168

Season 2 (2012)

8.10 avg 8 episodes 7.9 → 8.5 44 min avg

Ep 1: 7.9 · 130 votesEp 2: 8.0 · 113 votesEp 3: 8.0 · 123 votesEp 4: 7.9 · 106 votesEp 5: 8.1 · 110 votesEp 6: 8.2 · 109 votesEp 7: 8.2 · 112 votesEp 8: 8.5 · 108 votes
Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Volcanoes7.9130
2Megastorms - The Winds of Creation8.0113
3Planets from Hell8.0123
4Megaflares - Cosmic Firestorms7.9106
5Extreme Orbits - Clockwork and Creation8.1110
6Comets - Frozen Wanderers8.2109
7Asteroids - Worlds That Never Were8.2112
8Birth of the Earth8.5108

Season 3 (2014)

8.49 avg 9 episodes 8.2 → 8.5 44 min avg

Ep 1: 8.2 · 147 votesEp 2: 8.7 · 143 votesEp 3: 8.6 · 134 votesEp 4: 8.5 · 130 votesEp 5: 8.5 · 114 votesEp 6: 8.4 · 113 votesEp 7: 8.4 · 105 votesEp 8: 8.6 · 119 votesEp 9: 8.5 · 120 votes
Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Journey from the Center of the Sun8.2147
2The End of the Universe8.7143
3Jupiter: Destroyer or Savior?8.6134
4First Second of the Big Bang8.5130
5Is Saturn Alive?8.5114
6Weapons of Mass Extinction8.4113
7Did a Black Hole Build the Milky Way?8.4105
8Our Voyage to the Stars8.6119
9The Search for a Second Earth8.5120

Season 4 (2015)

8.50 avg 8 episodes 8.1 → 8.5 44 min avg

Ep 1: 8.1 · 119 votesEp 2: 8.2 · 115 votesEp 3: 8.7 · 113 votesEp 4: 8.7 · 115 votesEp 5: 8.6 · 111 votesEp 6: 8.6 · 108 votesEp 7: 8.6 · 93 votesEp 8: 8.5 · 94 votes
Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1How the Universe Built Your Car8.1119
2Earth, Venus's Evil Twin8.2115
3Monster Black Hole8.7113
4Edge of the Solar System8.7115
5Dawn of Life8.6111
6Secret History of the Moon8.6108
7The First Oceans8.693
8Forces of Mass Construction8.594

Season 5 (2016)

8.40 avg 9 episodes 8.6 → 8.3 42 min avg

Ep 0: 8.6 · 46 votesEp 1: 8.5 · 106 votesEp 2: 8.4 · 96 votesEp 3: 8.5 · 85 votesEp 4: 8.4 · 77 votesEp 5: 8.4 · 82 votesEp 6: 8.3 · 85 votesEp 7: 8.2 · 83 votesEp 8: 8.3 · 84 votes
Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
0Most Amazing Discoveries8.646
1The Mystery of Planet 98.5106
2Black Holes: The Secret Origin8.496
3Secret History of Pluto8.585
4Stars That Kill8.477
5The Universe's Deadliest8.482
6Life and Death on the Red Planet8.385
7The Dark Matter Enigma8.283
8Strangest Alien Worlds8.384

Season 6 (2018)

8.57 avg 10 episodes 8.9 → 8.8 42 min avg

Ep 1: 8.9 · 89 votesEp 2: 8.4 · 82 votesEp 3: 8.5 · 83 votesEp 4: 8.3 · 79 votesEp 5: 8.5 · 89 votesEp 6: 8.4 · 85 votesEp 7: 8.7 · 82 votesEp 8: 8.7 · 77 votesEp 9: 8.5 · 68 votesEp 10: 8.8 · 87 votes
Season 6 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Are black holes real8.989
2Twin Suns: The Alien Mysteries8.482
3Dark History of the Solar System8.583
4Death of the Milky Way8.379
5Uranus & Neptune: Rise of the Ice Giants8.589
6Secret History of Mercury8.485
7The Quasar Enigma8.782
8Strange Lives of Dwarf Planets8.777
9War on Asteroids8.568
10Mystery of Spacetime8.887

Season 7 (2019)

8.55 avg 10 episodes 8.8 → 8.8 42 min avg

Ep 1: 8.8 · 97 votesEp 2: 8.8 · 84 votesEp 3: 8.5 · 82 votesEp 4: 8.3 · 82 votesEp 5: 8.4 · 75 votesEp 6: 8.5 · 84 votesEp 7: 8.4 · 80 votesEp 8: 8.4 · 77 votesEp 9: 8.6 · 73 votesEp 10: 8.8 · 82 votes
Season 7 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Nightmares of Neutron Stars8.897
2When Supernovas Strike8.884
3The Interstellar Mysteries8.582
4How Black Holes Made Us8.382
5Secret World of Nebulas8.475
6Did the Big Bang Really Happen?8.584
7Battle of the Dark Universe.8.480
8Hunt for Alien Life8.477
9Finding the New Earth8.673
10Cassini's Final Secrets8.882

Season 8 (2020)

8.71 avg 14 episodes 8.1 → 9.2 67 min avg

Ep 1: 8.1 · 79 votesEp 2: 8.1 · 71 votesEp 3: 8.2 · 73 votesEp 4: 8.6 · 69 votesEp 5: 8.6 · 78 votesEp 6: 8.6 · 64 votesEp 7: 8.9 · 93 votesEp 8: 8.7 · 70 votesEp 9: 8.7 · 65 votesEp 10: 9.0 · 30 votesEp 11: 9.4 · 30 votesEp 12: 9.0 · 27 votesEp 13: 8.8 · 23 votesEp 14: 9.2 · 22 votes
Season 8 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Asteroid Apocalypse: The New Threat8.179
2NASA's Journey to Mars8.171
3Hunt for Alien Evidence8.273
4Death of the Last Stars8.669
5Secrets of Time Travel8.678
6When NASA Met Jupiter8.664
7Edge of the Universe8.993
8Monsters of the Milky Way8.770
9Earth's Death Orbit8.765
10Pluto's Strangest Secrets9.030
11Mysteries of Alien Stars9.430
12Asteroid Apocalypse9.027
13Attack of the Asteroids8.823
14Forces of the Unknown9.222

Season 9 (2021)

8.49 avg 11 episodes 9.1 → 8.4 46 min avg

Ep 1: 9.1 · 83 votesEp 2: 8.5 · 63 votesEp 3: 8.6 · 65 votesEp 4: 7.9 · 64 votesEp 5: 8.5 · 61 votesEp 6: 8.4 · 61 votesEp 7: 8.6 · 60 votesEp 8: 8.5 · 62 votesEp 9: 8.3 · 57 votesEp 10: 8.6 · 65 votesEp 11: 8.4 · 59 votes
Season 9 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Journey to a Black Hole9.183
2Mission to a Comet8.563
3Secrets of the Sun8.665
4Aliens Of The Microcosmos7.964
5Curse of the White Dwarf8.561
6War of the Galaxies8.461
7The Next Supernova8.660
8Secret Lives of Neutrinos8.562
9Birth of the Monster Black Holes8.357
10Gravitational Waves Revealed8.665
11Mystery of Alien Worlds8.459

Season 10 (2022)

8.75 avg 6 episodes 8.7 → 9.0 43 min avg

Ep 1: 8.7 · 56 votesEp 2: 8.5 · 46 votesEp 3: 8.8 · 53 votesEp 4: 8.7 · 47 votesEp 5: 8.8 · 49 votesEp 6: 9.0 · 55 votes
Season 10 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Secrets of the Cosmic Web8.756
2Curse of the Cosmic Rays8.546
3Hunt for Dark Matter8.853
4Dark History of Earth8.747
5Hunt for the Universe's Origin8.849
6Voyager's Ultimate Mission9.055

Season 11 (2023)

8.24 avg 5 episodes 8.4 → 8.4 51 min avg

Ep 1: 8.4 · 52 votesEp 2: 8.6 · 46 votesEp 3: 8.1 · 47 votesEp 4: 7.7 · 40 votesEp 5: 8.4 · 42 votes
Season 11 episodes - IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1The Moons of Saturn8.452
2A Robot's Guide to Mars8.646
3The Most Violent Event in the Universe8.147
4Countdown to Catastrophe7.740
5Solar System Special8.442
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Episode ratings and vote counts from IMDb. Poster, overview, and streaming data from TMDB. Data refreshed 2026-10-03.

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