Post-apocalyptic TV shows continue to proliferate

The number of post-apocalyptic themed TV shows currently airing rose to 11 recently with the big revelation on “Wayward Pines.”
On episode five of the 10-episode first season of the Fox show, viewers learned that the residents of Wayward Pines, Idaho, are living in the year 4028 in humanity’s only sanctuary. The residents were brought out of cryosleep to rebuild the human race after climate change and the rise of genetically mutated human aberrations laid waste to the planet.
The other post-apocalyptic TV shows are “The Walking Dead” (AMC, zombie apocalypse), “Falling Skies” (TNT, alien invasion), “Defiance” (Syfy, alien invasion), “The 100” (The CW, nuclear war); “Dominion” (Syfy, angel-human war), “The Last Ship” (TNT, viral pandemic), “The Leftovers” (HBO, Biblical rapture), “Z Nation” (Syfy, zombie apocalypse), “12 Monkeys” (Syfy, viral pandemic), and “The Last Man on Earth” (Fox, viral pandemic).
Of those, “Falling Skies” is ending this summer after its fifth season concludes.
But more post-apocalyptic shows are coming.
This fall will bring AMC’s spin-off zombie apocalypse show “Fear the Walking Dead,” which is set in Los Angeles at the start of the outbreak. It will premiere on Aug. 23.
USA Network will launch “Colony,” which takes place in L.A. after an alien invasion, in mid-October.
MTV is prepping “The Shannara Chronicles,” a fantasy series set long after Earth was destroyed in a chemical and nuclear holocaust.
NBC is readying a mid-season replacement called “You, Me, and the End of the World.” Previously titled “Apocalypse,” the sci-fi comedy stars Rob Lowe, Jenna Fischer and Megan Mullaly.
Meanwhile, Demarest is working on a television adaptation of the graphic novel “Empire of the Dead” from horror movie director George A. Romero, who launched the zombie apocalypse category.
The boom in post-apocalyptic television started in the first term of President Barack Obama, who took office in January 2009. America was mired in recession and facing the ever-present threat of terrorist attacks by Islamic militants. Mass shootings and racial unrest in the cities have been frequent headlines in recent years, weighing on the psyche of the public and filmmakers.
This summer, Walt Disney Co. tried to offer the public an optimistic take on the future with the big-budget movie “Tomorrowland.” But it bombed.

Check out my comprehensive list of post-apocalyptic TV shows. 

Photos: Posters for “Wayward Pines” and “Fear the Walking Dead.”