‘The 100’ and boom times for post-apocalyptic TV shows

With the premiere this month of the CW drama “The 100,” post-apocalyptic TV shows are at an all-time high.
Five shows airing now are set after apocalyptic events.
They are:

• AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” where flesh-eating zombies have taken over the world;
• TNT’s “Falling Skies,” where most of mankind has been wiped out by space invaders;
• NBC’s “Revolution,” set after nanotechnology shuts down all electricity;
• SyFy’s “Defiance,” which takes place in the aftermath of an alien invasion;
• The CW’s “The 100,” set nearly a century after a nuclear war.

It could be a sign of the times, reflecting how Americans feel about the state of the world. Or it could be a sign of Hollywood’s copycat mentality.
More post-apocalyptic shows are coming.
On June 19, SyFy will premiere “Dominion,” a TV series based on the 2010 film “Legion.” It is set 25 years after the start of a war among angels that has laid waste to the world.
On June 22, TNT will premiere “The Last Ship” from director Michael Bay. It stars Eric Dane, Rhona Mitra and Adam Baldwin. It takes place after a global pandemic wipes out 80% of the planet’s population.
Amazon.com has ordered a post-apocalyptic series from “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter called “The After.” The pilot premiered on Amazon Prime Instant Video on Feb. 6. Amazon gave “The After” a full series order on Monday.
But wait there’s more.
AMC is working on a spin-off of “The Walking Dead” to premiere in 2015. It will feature a new cast of characters dealing with the zombie apocalypse.
AMC also is making a series called “Galyntine,” a post-apocalyptic tale about a society that eschews all forms of technology following a global disaster.
HBO is developing “The Leftovers,” which concerns a small town dealing with the aftermath of a global Rapture-like event.
SyFy is hoping to do a TV series based on the movie “Waterworld,” which takes place after the polar ice caps melt and flood the Earth.
Plus, SyFy has ordered a pilot for a TV series based on the movie “12 Monkeys.” The story follows a time traveler from the post-apocalyptic future who arrives in the present on a mission to locate and destroy the source of a deadly plague that eventually will wipe out much of the human race.
The CW is developing an apocalyptic drama called “The Messengers.”
And finally, Fox has ordered a comedy starring Will Forte called “The Last Man on Earth.”

See also: 

List of post-apocalyptic TV dramas.

Photos: Promotional art for the CW’s “The 100” and Amazon’s “The After.”