It is often said of post-apocalyptic fiction that it allows us to enter the field of hypothesis, or what is the same, that it serves as a door to theorizing. The starting point, by definition, is related to the end of society as we know it. From there, the text usually tries to explore aspects linked to human nature, such as fear, selfishness, faith, empathy, love and a whole string of nouns that, ultimately, either directly or indirectly, are related to survival. To think that when the social structures that support our way of life —public institutions, the economic system, energy supplies, legislation or security forces— collapse, we will go from living to surviving, seems logical according to contemporary fiction. And in this newly entering 2023, one of the most powerful brands of this type of fiction, The Last of Uslands in the world of television.
These kinds of stories have been told in movies, television, and literature hundreds of times. The what (the reason for the apocalypse) usually walks between nuclear holocausts, pandemics, zombies, astronomical events and world wars, including scenarios as original as the one presented by Saramago with his Essay on blindness (nineteen ninety five). A variety of approaches that, as a general rule, usually ends up in commonplaces. Perhaps for this reason It is as important, or more, how. That is to say, the form that the story that we want to tell takes, in what ways its author (or authors) address both the issues to be dealt with, and the plot that is told to us. The Last of Us, for example, has not acquired its current status thanks to what; In the end, no matter how much Corticeps is involved, it is still a transcript of a zombie invasion. Its strength resides, above all, in how it narrates what it narrates, in how it takes advantage of the tools of its environment (until now the video game) to achieve the objectives it pursues as a work (the emotions and reflections it intends to generate in the player).
Now, the story of Joel and Ellie changes media, reaching television under the umbrella of HBO and thus expanding the target audience it is directed to, having become one of the most anticipated releases of the year. If you are one of those who want to enter a desolate world, and the weekly wait posed by the streaming it becomes untenable for you, here We leave you a list of recommendations on series that address, in one way or another, this type of theme. we start.
Kingdom
If you are in the mood for zombies, but you are somewhat tired of the usual tropes that the genre tends to handle, surely you will be interested Kingdoma South Korean production based on the comic The Kingdom of the Gods (Kim Eun-hee and Yang Kyung-il), which sets its story in Korean feudal medieval times, during the Joeon dynasty. This particular contextualization helps the series to raise and mix in which zombie terror marries perfectly with palace intrigues and dramatic epic. Thanks to this, Kingdom goes a step beyond the classic adventures of the group that survives the infection. Original, addictive and measured in terms of duration, a well-constructed diversion that knows how to handle what it offers, and that gives it another air to zombie mythology. You will find it on Netflix.
The Walking Dead
If, on the other hand, you are more classic, you may be interested in entering (or continuing) with the journey of Rick, Michonne, Daryl and company. The Walking Dead It has accumulated more than a decade on the screen, which has helped it become the zombie brand par excellence in the audiovisual scene. Last year, after 11 seasons and 177 episodes, the greatest undead story ever told on the small screen, It ended. If you feel like a long series, with long plots and crazy script twists, here you have material for a while. It doesn’t seem like an excellent product to me, not at all, but it is true that in its excesses you can find something unique with which many people have managed to connect.
The Rain
From the greatest media exponent of the zombie apocalypse we move on to what could be classified, if we look at production parameters, as the second division. The Rain It presents a universe in which the end of our society has come through the rain, which carries a most aggressive virus. Several years after the pandemic that has wiped out almost the entire Scandinavian population (the series is Danish), two brothers leave their bunker to face the world that is left behind. As conventional in some aspects as well executed in others, The Rain is an exercise in formula, anchored to safety, that knows how to provide the necessary nuances to invite you to enter his game. If you enter, you will surely end up watching its three seasons. You have them on Netflix.
Los 100
But not only zombies and viruses feed the apocalypse. A nuclear war is a planetary catastrophe as valid as others if the writer on duty intends to collapse the foundations of our society. That’s what he poses Los 100, a series that began its journey in 2014, reaching its conclusion in 2020, after 7 seasons and, obviously, 100 episodes (the watermark must have been irresistible to the producers). The narrative begins 97 years after the great war, when the survivors who have spent their lives in a ship placed in orbit send 100 juvenile delinquents to Earth to test its habitability. Violence, sex and moral debates in a series that, despite not revolutionizing anything, is improving with each season. She lives on Netflix.
the last man on earth
The apocalypse seems inherently linked to drama, to solemn postures and intense poses that extol the darkness of the human being. That is why, perhaps, the first season of the last man on earth it fit me so well. This sitcom-format comedy narrates the adventures of Phil Miller, who after waking up in 2022 realizes that he is alone in the world. From that moment on, his main objective will be to find survivors. A original and deeply funny approach which also builds an interesting discourse around a subject as complex as the soledad. All four seasons are on Disney+.
Collapse
From one curious approach to another, although this time not in a comedy key. Collapse it is, in fact, quite raw. This French production, with barely 8 episodes, will plunge you into a very specific moment, the total collapse of French society (something that goes without saying has happened worldwide), through a collection of independent stories that take place in different locations. With 20 minutes per chapter, and a single sequence shot that encompasses the entire narrative from each of them, Collapse manages to deliver a miniseries with character, hard, that flirts with terror through its own mechanisms, and that will not leave you indifferent. You can find it both on Filmin and on Disney+.
The Leftovers
Damon Lindelof, the good pen of Lost, surprised in 2014 with an HBO production that rests on the premise of the sudden and literal disappearance of 2% of the world’s population, which is no small feat. Here the thing is not about cities flooded with weeds, nuclear hecatombs or hordes of zombies. what happens in The Leftovers it has more to do with what to do, as a society, if an event of these characteristics assails us. That is, how to approach the beginning of something that can be understood as the collapse of society. complex issuesoutstanding performances and a pleasure to narrate which raises the series above average. If all this sounds good to you, you will find it on HBO Max.
