Last updated March 2024
On the hunt for acclaimed Best apocalyptic Tv Shows worth watching now? We assembled 30 incredible Best apocalyptic Tv Shows praised by both IMDB reviewers and our own discerning user community. Dive right into these top-tier Best apocalyptic Tv Shows picked especially for quality and broad appeal. Cast your vote to help surface other viewers' next great find. We're grateful when members take the time to highlight stellar Best apocalyptic Tv Shows!
Firefly (2002)
Plot Summary:
Firefly is set in the year 2517, after the arrival of humans in a new star system and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship. The ensemble cast portrays the nine characters who live on Serenity
Duration: 616 min
IMDB Rating: 9.0/10
IMDB Votes: 278000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: outer space, space travel, space opera, spacecraft, danger, escapades, space, survival, space and aliens, captain, friendship, smuggling, preacher, spaceship, space wars, space adventure, mysterious past, psychic, mercenary, female warrior, wit, space shuttle, supernatural, young woman, space exploration
The Last of Us (2023)
Plot Summary:
Joel and Ellie, a pair connected through the harshness of the world they live in, are forced to endure brutal circumstances and ruthless killers on a trek across post-pandemic America
Duration: 50 min
IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB Votes: 475000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Plot tags: post apocalypse, epidemic, infection, apocalypse, survival, pandemic, end of the world, survivor, violence, zombie violence, survival horror, danger, death, monster, vestiges of humanity, gunfight, murder, virus, supernatural, young girl, infected, characters in danger, blood, chase, evil
Battlestar Galactica (2004)
Plot Summary:
When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 173000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: space travel, outer space, space and aliens, space wars, cyborgs, space opera, space battle, androids and robots, artificial intelligence, extinction, human in outer space, military, heroes, alien planet, robot, end of the world, female assassin, space, apocalypse, invasion, androids, spacecraft, battles, prophecy, totalitarianism
Dark (2017)
Plot Summary:
A missing child causes four families to help each other for answers. What they could not imagine is that this mystery would be connected to innumerable other secrets of the small town
Duration: 1455 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 429000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Plot tags: time travel, investigation, time loop, time machine, mysterious past, cave, time portal, missing child, repeated event, changing the future, disappearance, alternate dimension, deja vu, small town, loss of father, mysterious disappearance, butterfly effect, corpse, time traveler, family crisis, family relations, conspiracy, nuclear waste, apocalypse, school
Severance (2022)
Plot Summary:
Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 181000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: office, memory, distopia, alternate world, office politics, secret identity, conspiracy, mind control, private vs public, office worker, psycho, surgery, coworker, dark secret, surgical operation, coworker relationship, personal safety, satire, apocalypse, robot, post apocalypse, hunting, writers, human experiment, disaster
Adventure Time (2010)
Plot Summary:
Told in eight parts, Islands tells the story of Finn, Jake, BMO and Susan Strong leaving Ooo and traveling across the ocean to solve the mystery of Finn's past. During their trip, they unlock secrets, encounter various creatures, make new friends, and explore a variety of mysterious islands
Duration: 11 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 108000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: friends, imaginary kingdom, imaginary, buddies, young heroes, king, creature, princess, escapades, post apocalypse, boy, youth, monster, vampire, adventurer, magic, encounter, young kid, robot, kingdom, wizard, talking animal, surrealism, anthropomorphism, parallel universe
Westworld (2016)
Plot Summary:
A dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, it explores a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged
Duration: 62 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 525000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: artificial intelligence, robot, androids, consciousness, moral dilemma, murder, technology gone awry, man versus machine, scientist, escapades, human android relationship, wild west, cyberpunk, stalking, imaginary, love, female protagonist, role playing, using others, danger, workplace intrigue, workplace, androids and robots, immorality, hacker
Carnivàle (2003)
Plot Summary:
Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes Christian theology with gnosticism and Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: prophecy, circus, healing power, god or devil, psychic, surrealism, evil, supernatural, self discovery, clergy, good versus evil, carnival, freak, supernatural ability, psychic power, dark secret, secret, dwarf, healing, talented, religions or cults, chosen one, creature, priest, great depression
Red Dwarf (1988)
Plot Summary:
The adventures of the last human alive and his friends, stranded three million years into deep space on the mining ship Red Dwarf
Duration: 30 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: UK
Plot tags: space travel, spaceship, space, friendship, slacker, isolation, space and aliens, adventurer, robot, androids and robots, escapades, captain, space opera, outer space, parallel universe, alien planet, post apocalypse, sketch, sketch show, deep space, space adventure, alien, cyberpunk, time loop, alien invasion
Babylon 5 (1993)
Plot Summary:
Babylon 5 is a five-mile long space station located in neutral space. Built by the Earth Alliance in the 2250s, it's goal is to maintain peace among the various alien races by providing a sanctuary where grievances and negotiations can be worked out among duly appointed ambassadors. A council made up of representatives from the five major space-faring civilizations - the Earth Alliance, Minbari Federation, Centauri Republic, Narn Regime, and Vorlon Empire - work with the League of Non-Aligned Worlds to keep interstellar relations under control. Aside from its diplomatic function, Babylon 5 also serves as a military post for Earth and a port of call for travelers, traders, businessmen, criminals, and Rangers
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: space opera, outer space, space travel, space station, time travel, benign alien, good versus evil, danger, alien, space and aliens, space, culture clash, friendship, conflict, philosophy, spacecraft, human existence, moral ambiguity, alien technology, spaceship, space wars, commander, spy, space adventure, twists and turns
The Handmaid's Tale (2017)
Plot Summary:
Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship. A TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 253000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: rape, sexism, surrogate mother, infertility, protest, dystopia, totalitarianism, slavery, tyranny, religion, belief, women's rights, violence, kidnapping, violence against women, torture, society, distopia, soldier, misogyny, coup d'etat, lesbian, alternate reality, alternate world, feminist
Doctor Who (1963)
Plot Summary:
The adventures of a Time Lord—a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor—who explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-travelling space ship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, the Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilisations, help ordinary people, and right wrongs. The show has received recognition as one of Britain's finest television programmes, winning the 2006 British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series and five consecutive awards at the National Television Awards during Russell T Davies's tenure as Executive Producer. In 2011, Matt Smith became the first Doctor to be nominated for a BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor. In 2013, the Peabody Awards honoured Doctor Who with an Institutional Peabody "for evolving with technology and the times like nothing else in the known television universe." The programme is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world and as the "most successful" science fiction series of all time—based on its over-all broadcast ratings, DVD and book sales, and iTunes traffic. During its original run, it was recognised for its imaginative stories, creative low-budget special effects, and pioneering use of electronic music
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 39000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Sci-Fi
Country: UK
Plot tags: time travel, doctor who, benign alien, space travel, escapades, space, time machine, human alien, companion, reincarnation, time traveler, earth, good versus evil, race against time, alien, spaceship, supernatural, space opera, robot, immortal, space and aliens, superhero, evil alien, outer space, post apocalypse
Years and Years (2019)
Plot Summary:
As Britain is rocked by unstable political, economic and technological advances, members of the Lyons family converge on one crucial night in 2019. Over the next 15 years, the twists and turns of their everyday lives are explored as we find out if this ordinary family could change the world
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: family relations, political activism, female politician, society, politics, political satire, dystopia, rebel, lgbt, lifestyle, lgbtqi, distopia, politician, political intrigue, social relations, political candidate, lgbtq, political campaign, strong female lead, female protagonist, american politics, political conspiracy, political leader, political conflict, political unrest
Kingdom (2019)
Plot Summary:
In this zombie thriller set in Korea's medieval Joseon dynasty, a crown prince is sent on a suicide mission to investigate a mysterious outbreak
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 52000
Genere: Action, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Plot tags: zombie, medieval, epidemic, royal family, rivalry, zombie apocalypse, living dead, twists and turns, walking dead, joseon dynasty, dead man, illness, family secret, back from the dead, political unrest, uncover truth, virus, undead, new year, apocalypse, demon, cannibal, winter, supernatural, kingdom
The Leftovers (2014)
Plot Summary:
When 2% of the world's population abruptly disappears without explanation, the world struggles to understand just what they're supposed to do about it. The drama series 'The Leftovers' is the story of the people who didn't make the cut. Based on the bestselling novel by Tom Perrotta, 'The Leftovers' follows Kevin Garvey, a father of two and the chief of police in a small New York suburb, as he tries to maintain some semblance of normalcy when the notion no longer applies
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: life turned upside down, society, disappearance, haunted by the past, apocalypse, missing person, depression, small town sheriff, chief of police, worldwide chaos, post apocalypse, chaos, belief, hopes, life changing experience, religions or cults, twists and turns, small town, miraculous event, grief, fear, sex, magic, epidemic, criminal
Gurren Lagann (2007)
Plot Summary:
In the distant future, people build their homes and raise domestic animals in subterranean caverns. As a result, they live in fear of the occasional earthquake and cave-in, and have been for hundreds of years. Jeeha is one such village. One day, a boy named Simon happens to find a small, shiny drill whilst digging to expand the village. At the same time, Kamina, a guy who believes that there is another land above the village, persuades a gangster to break through the ceiling in order to leave the cavern. Suddenly, an earthquake occurs and the ceiling collapses, followed by a big robot breaking through the ceiling. Kamina is now sure that there is a world above them. Recklessly, he begins to fight against the robot. At that moment, another person appears from the land above. It is a girl by the name of Yoko. With a rifle in hand, she had been tracking the robot. However, all she could do was distract it. Then, Simon shows what he had found to Kamina and Yoko. It`s a mysterious robot whose head is also its body
Duration: 24 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Plot tags: beast, heroes, good versus evil, battles, danger, heroic mission, battle zone, dystopian future, female warrior, survival, isolation, escapades, confined, fate of humanity, resistance, giant robot, robot, mature, space opera, white supremacy, underground, coming of age, village, life is a bitch, society
Farscape (1999)
Plot Summary:
A freak accident during an experimental space mission catapults Astronaut John Crichton across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield
Duration: 50 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Australia, USA
Plot tags: space travel, spacecraft, outer space, space adventure, space wars, alien, space, astronaut, female warrior, escapades, space opera, heroes, spaceship, obsessive quest, alternate reality, renegade, unlikely relationship, fugitives, evil alien, female alien, strong female character, intergalactic, alien invasion, military, dystopia
Trigun (1998)
Plot Summary:
Trigun takes place in the distant future on a deserted planet. Vash the Stampede is a gunfighter with a legend so ruthless he has a $60,000,000,000 bounty on his head. Entire towns evacuate at the rumor of his arrival. But the real Vash the Stampede, the enigmatic and conflicted lead character in Trigun, is more heroic, even though he usually acts like a complete idiot
Duration: 24 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan, Canada
Plot tags: ethics, rescue, good versus evil, heroes, desert planet, insurance, lone wolves, save the day, unrequited love, spirit, escapades, misfit, righting the wronged, superhero, distopia, cyberpunk, bounty hunter, mature, hipster, space opera, priest, sadness, bandit, bromance, dystopia
The Walking Dead (2010)
Plot Summary:
Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 11000000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: zombie, survival, virus, pandemic, post apocalypse, apocalypse, supernatural, walking dead, zombie apocalypse, plague, undead, fear, peril, danger, survivor, graphic violence, death, zombie attack, human existence, zombie outbreak, epidemic, vestiges of humanity, moral dilemma, fate of humanity, insanity
Journeyman (2007)
Plot Summary:
This mystery-drama revolves around a newspaper reporter named Dan Vasser who suddenly begins to travel through time to change the lives of those around him. When his travels reunite him with his long-lost fiancée Livia, life with his present-day wife gets very interesting
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: time travel, sent to the past, changing the past or future, reporter, journalist, save the day, couple relations, escapades, hopes, righting the wronged, investigation, love, supernatural ability, super powers, supernatural, virtual reality, writers, paradox, good deed, heroes, scientist, destiny, changing lives, disappearance, boss
BrainDead (2016)
Plot Summary:
A young fresh-faced Hill staffer gets her first job in Washington, D.C. and discovering two things: 1. The government has stopped working, and 2. alien spawn have come to earth and eaten the brains of a growing number of Congressmen and Hill staffers
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: alien, government, pandemic, father daughter relationship, alien parasite, politics, conspiracy, female protagonist, political satire, manipulation, senator, paranoia, scientist, murder, congress, investigation, mind control, alien invasion, satire, apocalypse, epidemic, supernatural, invasion, evil, american politics
Good Omens (2019)
Plot Summary:
In 2019 the world is on the brink of an apocalypse as humanity prepares for a final judgment. But follies ensue — Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a demon aren’t enthusiastic about the end of the world, and can’t seem to find the Antichrist
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Comedy, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: angel, armageddon, devil, demon, prophecy, foe turned friend, satan, supernatural, heaven and hell, witchcraft, fallen angel, good versus evil, antichrist, heaven, end of the world, friendship between men, hell, peril, apocalypse, satanist, convent, witch, unlikely friendships, gay, gay love
The Man in the High Castle (2015)
Plot Summary:
Based on Philip K. Dick's award-winning novel, The Man in the High Castle explores what it would be like if the Allied Powers had lost WWII, and Japan and Germany ruled the United States
Duration: 2219 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 108000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, Canada
Plot tags: alternate reality, resistance, fascism, alternate history, assassination, espionage, political intrigue, multiverse, intrigue, spy, time traveler, freedom fighter, betrayal, japanese mafia, seppuku, rivalry, working undercover, disorder, dishonesty, politics, time travel, holocaust, world war two, state affairs, secret agent
Into the Badlands (2015)
Plot Summary:
In a land controlled by feudal barons, a great warrior and a young boy embark on a journey across a dangerous land to find enlightenment. A genre-bending martial arts series very loosely based on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West
Duration: 42 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 49000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: martial arts, warrior, danger, post apocalypse, master warrior, murder, death, heroes, fantasy world, enlightenment, vengeance, blood, brutality, chase, escapades, lesbian, distopia, superhero, betrayal, orphan, mother daughter relationship, father son relationship, wasteland, supernatural power, power struggle
Jericho (2006)
Plot Summary:
Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 58000
Genere: Action, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: survival, post apocalypse, apocalypse, chaos, leadership, post nuclear, small town, disaster, danger, nuclear holocaust, twists and turns, distopia, courage, selflessness, conspiracy, post apocalyptic, isolation, dystopia, supernatural, die hard, peril, human existence, nuclear war, superhero, spy
Humans (2015)
Plot Summary:
In a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a 'Synth' - a highly-developed robotic servant that's so similar to a real human it's transforming the way we live
Duration: 42 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, USA, Sweden
Plot tags: artificial intelligence, androids and robots, female robot, robot human relationship, technology, robot, human nature, society, inventions and discoveries, friendship, cyberpunk, lesbian, cyborgs, hacker, androids, parallel universe, dystopia, dialogue, apocalypse, survival, post apocalypse, time, time travel, epidemic, psychopath
Upload (2020)
Plot Summary:
In the future where humans are able to “upload” themselves into their preferred choice of afterlife, Nathan meets his early death and is greeted by Nora in his version of heaven. Follow the two as Nathan grows accustomed to life away from his loved ones, and the alive Nora struggles to stay afloat working her job alongside Nathan in the afterlife
Duration: 30 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 78000
Genere: Comedy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: virtual reality, hi-tech, virtual world, life after death, looking for sex, afterlife, mysterious death, love interest, murder, love and romance, technology, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, uncover truth, friendship, sexual relations, betrayal, love, friends, utopia, existentialism, forbidden love, looking for love, unrequited love, impossible love, couple relations
In the Flesh (2013)
Plot Summary:
Thousands of dead people have risen from their graves and nearly destroyed Britain. A cure has been found - but can the treated zombies be rehabilitated back into living society?
Duration: 56 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Horror
Country: UK
Plot tags: epidemic, gay lead character, zombie, suicide, small town, society, infected, undead, gay, family reunited, cemetery, teenager, zombie apocalypse, survival, brother sister relationship, fighting the system, discrimination, family relations, back from the dead, friendship, lgbtq, supernatural, rehabilitation, love, politics
Sweet Tooth (2021)
Plot Summary:
On a perilous adventure across a post-apocalyptic world, a lovable boy who's half-human and half-deer searches for a new beginning with a gruff protector
Duration: 50 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 65000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: post apocalypse, hybrid, child, half human, supernatural being, mythical creature, apocalypse, survival, boy, father, baby, cataclysm, magical creature, virus, distopia, struggle for survival, fantasy world, creature, dream world, zombie, superhero, end of the world, epidemic, youth, ancient
His Dark Materials (2019)
Plot Summary:
Lyra is an orphan who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Lyra's search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children, and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. She is later joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As Lyra learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 83000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: travel, magic, prophecy, friendship, children, child protagonist, steampunk, journey, conspiracy, coming of age, church, multiverse, talking animal, alternate universe, parallel universe, arctic, animal, supernatural, religion, demon, distopia, time travel, painter, witchcraft, ancient