A record 12 post-apocalyptic TV series currently airing

A record 12 post-apocalyptic themed TV series are currently airing on U.S. television networks. And it could soon be 13.
A good argument could be made that pop culture mirrors the present collective mindset of the populace. People have a pretty gloomy take on the world right now. The global economy is sputtering, the Middle East is war torn, Europe is being flooded with refugees, and the U.S. is mired in political conflict.
Since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, 19 post-apocalyptic TV shows have premiered. (It’s 20 if you count “You, Me and the Apocalypse,” which premieres Thursday on NBC. That show begins with a pre-apocalyptic scenario that could go post-apocalyptic.)
During the two terms of his predecessor, President George W. Bush, two post-apocalyptic shows premiered in the U.S.
The popularity of such end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it type shows brings out the dime store psychiatrist in me.
Maybe it’s cathartic to watch characters surviving under the worst situations imaginable. Viewers can always tell themselves that at least they’re not THAT bad off.
Apocalyptic events in TV shows currently airing include zombie uprisings (“The Walking Dead,” “Fear the Walking Dead” and “Z Nation”), alien invasion (“Colony”), biblical rapture (“The Leftovers”), viral pandemics (“The Last Ship,” “The Last Man on Earth” and “12 Monkeys”), animal uprising (“Zoo”), and war (“The 100,” “Into the Badlands” and “The Shannara Chronicles.”)
“You, Me and the Apocalypse” will bring a seventh apocalyptic scenario. The comedy takes place in the last days of mankind as a comet is on a collision course with Earth.
Is that comet a metaphor for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton becoming the next president of the United States?

Photos: Promotional artwork for season three of “The 100,” the midseason premiere of season six of “The Walking Dead,” and the premiere of “You, Me and Apocalypse.”