10 Best Post-Apocalyptic TV Shows, Ranked (2024)

In recent years, post-apocalyptic TV shows and movies have steadily risen in popularity, with some incredible shows highlighting what the end of the world could look like. Post-apocalyptic shows provide a strange insight into an imaginary world where some virus has broken out, people have devolved into more ferocious beings, or some other supernatural event has resulted in the breakdown of society as it exists today. These shows can be extremely clever, emotional, and terrifying, as a potential extinction-level event is revealed which sends the world into chaos.

However, some of these shows clearly set themselves apart and deliver something exceptional, while others appear to be trying to ride out the trend with little thought. The genre has a lot of potential and a great number of different areas that can be explored, and thankfully, several shows make full use of those facts. Some truly incredible and thought-provoking post-apocalyptic dramas have made a big splash on TV over the last 20 years, and the best of the crop has risen to lead audiences into a new world.

10 Jericho

2006 - 2008

Jericho was a compelling show set after a nuclear war that wiped out multiple cities across the United States. The show follows a group of people from Jericho, Kansas as they learn to live with the aftermath of that devastating attack. The show faced hurdles after being canceled after one season for low ratings. However, dedicated fans rallied behind it and got it renewed for a short second season, but the show was once again canceled. In the years since it aired, the show has been praised as one of the best cult shows of all time (via TV Guide).

9 Into The Badlands

2015 - 2019

Into the Badlands was an expansive and rich concept from creator Alfred Gough, who also developed Smallville, Wednesday, and The Shannara Chronicles. In a distant post-apocalyptic world, set 500 years in the future, the world has fallen into a new order after earth-shattering wars. Some technology and advancements remain, but systems of leadership and combat have reverted to reflect the Middle Ages with melee weapons like swords, and barons ruling over the land. The series was incredibly imaginative and managed to go for three seasons before being canceled, but the story was incredible.

8 The Leftovers

2014 - 2017

The Leftovers had a novel approach to the dystopian post-apocalypse genre as 2% of the world's population mysteriously disappeared in an event called the "Sudden Departure." The show explores a future where everyone on Earth is impacted by sudden loss and must adjust after such a cataclysmic and far-reaching occurrence strikes the world. Much of the show deals with people's belief systems and the dissolving of religions in favor of new, cult-like organizations that help people to find belonging and assign purpose to their loss. In addition to the clever concept, the acting was outstanding in The Leftovers.

7 Sweet Tooth

2021 - Present

Sweet Tooth is set to launch its final season on Netflix in 2024, concluding the story of Gus on his journey to find a new home and place of belonging. In a world where a mysterious virus wiped out a significant part of the population, children have begun to be born with odd mutations, such as animal parts, and lacking any ability to speak. Gus is unique in that he can speak, and is one of those mutants. The story is full of intrigue, mystery, and gripping action, with a post-apocalyptic world shaped by fear of the unknown.

6 Westworld

2016 - 2022

Humanity has created ways to experience and indulge in every fantasy, whim, and desire. By utilizing advanced human-like robots known as hosts, people can pay to do whatever they want. However, when the machines gain sentience and become aware of their depraved treatment, conflict arises. Westworld is inspired by the 1973 film of the same name, and for four seasons, it continued to explore that narrative in gripping detail. The show did suffer with a drop in quality as the seasons progressed, but the concept and delivery of early seasons are too good not to be included here.

5 Snowpiercer

2020 - Present

Snowpiercer is also inspired by a film with the same title, this time from 2013. When the world enters into what is essentially a human-induced ice age, some of the few surviving remnants of humanity embark on a journey on a continuously moving train, Snowpiercer, which circles the earth 2.7 times a year. The show digs deep into classism, social politics, and survival as the passengers in the 1,001 carriages of the train seek to coexist as efficiently as possible. The show is thoughtful, action-packed, and set just a few years into the future in 2026.

4 The 100

2014 - 2020

97 years after the world breaks out in Nuclear War, a group of 100 juvenile delinquents are sent back to the Earth from the Ark in space to determine if humanity can return to their home planet once again. Humanity is barely clinging to its survival, and with the last hope of mankind in untrustworthy hands, things get dicey. The show continued for a total of seven seasons in which the human situation changed frequently, but it's an incredible exploration of humankind and their relentless efforts to survive against all odds.

3 The Last Man On Earth

2015 - 2018

Will Forte's comical post-apocalypse show is a very different approach, but one of the best for its clever humor. When Phil Miller becomes the sole survivor of a worldwide apocalypse, he desperately wishes for some company, but when the other people arrive, they turn out to be the last people he wants to be around. He may regret his earlier wish. The series introduces a small group of characters and largely focuses on the instability of a broken man who has spent two years isolated and alone and struggling to find purpose and understanding at the end of the world.

2 The Walking Dead

2010 - 2022

Undoubtedly, one of the best post-apocalypse shows of all time has to be The Walking Dead. When Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) wakes up alone in a hospital bed, with the world outside his window seemingly empty of any human presence, he goes looking for his family. As luck would have it, the world ended while he was unconscious, with the rapid onset of a virus that turned the living into the walking dead. The story is one of the most compelling and rich explorations of survival and what it means to be human.

1 The Last Of Us

2023 - Present

The Last of Us is a series based on a popular video game, where the world falls into despair because of another outbreak. An infection has spread, turning people into plant hybrid monsters devoid of humanity. Joel (Pedro Pascal) and his young companion Ellie (Bella Ramsey) set off on a journey that could save the human race, but things are bound to go wrong in an apocalypse. The show is likely the best exploration of the human condition, highlighting flaws, as well as strengths, and the grey area they occupy, rather than definitively setting a boundary between right and wrong.