Shows Like
Shows Like The Last of Us for Post-Apocalyptic Fans
By Jordan A. · · 2 min read
The Last of Us worked because it wasn't really a zombie show. It was a show about a man and a kid and whether love is enough reason to do terrible things. The fungus was just the weather. If you're looking for what to watch next, the trick is to chase that feeling and not the setting.
For the grief and the love
Station Eleven is the one. Ten episodes, a flu that kills most of the world, and a story about a traveling theater troupe twenty years later. It's warmer than The Last of Us and just as devastating.
The Leftovers isn't a post-apocalyptic show on paper. Two percent of the world vanishes and the other ninety-eight has to keep going. In practice it's the closest thing on TV to what The Last of Us makes you feel.
For the survival and the dread
The Walking Dead (first five seasons only, I promise) is the obvious pick and the writing is better than its reputation.
Fear the Walking Dead season one is a tight story about the world ending in real time.
Sweet Tooth is Netflix's gentler apocalypse. It has the emotional core The Last of Us does even if the tone is softer.
For the craft and the quiet
Chernobyl is a five-episode HBO miniseries about what happens when a system fails and nobody wants to admit it. It's one of the best things TV has ever made.
Generation Kill is a war miniseries that shares The Last of Us's interest in what people become under pressure.
The Terror season one is about a lost Arctic expedition and it's as scary as anything on TV in the last decade.
For the sci-fi with a heart
Silo is Apple's underground-bunker show and it gets better every episode. Season one is a slow build that pays off hard.
The Expanse is technically space opera but it's really about people trying to do the right thing in a system that won't let them. Six seasons, all of them worth it.
Tales from the Loop is a gentle, heartbreaking science fiction show on Amazon that almost nobody watched. Please watch it.
For the moral weight
The Last Kingdom isn't apocalyptic but it shares The Last of Us's interest in men who have to keep choosing violence to protect the people they love.
Vikings (the first four seasons) pulls the same trick.
The Mandalorian season one is the other "man and a kid" show and it's better than most people give it credit for.
If you're staring at this list wondering where to start, that's exactly the problem BingeNext was built to solve. Tell it The Last of Us made you feel something and we'll rank the rest for you based on what you can actually watch tonight.
The Last of Us is hard to follow because it's barely a genre show. These picks understand that. They're the ones that carry the same weight without borrowing the same monsters.
Topics covered: the-last-of-us, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, drama
About the author
Jordan A., Founder, BingeNext
Jordan A. is the founder of BingeNext and writes every guide on this site. He built the recommendation engine after one too many nights lost to the streaming menu, and he still tests every pick the hard way: by watching it.