Post-apocalyptic TV series alive and well

To date, there have been 91 post-apocalyptic TV series and miniseries. Of those, nine are still in production.
This year brought “The Eternaut” on Netflix and “Pluribus” on Apple TV.
“The Eternaut” from Argentina takes place after a mysterious snowfall kills most of the population. It turns out to be the first wave of an attack by extraterrestrial invaders.
“Pluribus” is set after an alien virus transforms most of humanity into a peaceful and content hive mind that nevertheless seeks to assimilate those with immunity.
Meanwhile, the second season of “Fallout” will premiere on Dec. 17 on Amazon Prime Video. It has been renewed for a third season and its creators think it could last five or six seasons.

Related article:

Comprehensive list of live-action post-apocalyptic TV series (Updated Dec. 14, 2025)

The difficulty of making a clean list of notable post-apocalyptic movies

I’ve been a fan of post-apocalyptic movies since seeing the original “Planet of the Apes” movie as a child. And back in 2019, I started to compile a list of such movies. But it hasn’t been easy.
The main reason why is the different ways that people define post-apocalyptic settings.
Many lists you find on Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and Letterboxd are cluttered with movies that take place before or during apocalyptic events. They also add movies that occur in dystopian futures where there may have been a world war or other cataclysm many years before but society has recovered to a large degree.
I think of post-apocalyptic movies as those depicting people struggling to survive after Earth has been devastated by world-altering events. That includes environmental disasters, nuclear war, pandemics, alien invasions, flesh-eating zombies and more.
With some movies, it is hard to tell if the events are isolated to a region or are worldwide in nature.
On my list, I leave out movies that take place in space or in post-apocalyptic settings on other planets. I also ignore those that take place in fantasy worlds.
I focus on full-length, live-action movies. So I don’t include short films or animated movies.
A list of post-apocalyptic movies would be easier to compile if it focused solely on U.S. theatrical films. But with the rise of streaming video services, consumers have access to many more productions. That includes made-for-TV movies, international films and those produced for streaming services like Netflix.
A lot of those movies are little-seen or poorly reviewed. Some cheapo productions, mostly rip-offs of the Mad Max franchise, have their cult followings. But many are just plain awful.
My main list of notable post-apocalyptic movies currently includes 250 titles. (See below.) Even among those, some are questionable. I focused on those notable enough to have reviews on Rotten Tomatoes or Wikipedia pages.
However, I’ve tallied 556 other movies that didn’t meet my qualifications of post-apocalyptic cinema. A lot of those are junky films that clutter up Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services.

Related articles:

The complete post-apocalyptic movie list (Updated Dec. 3, 2025)

Photos: A selection of little-known post-apocalyptic movies: “Road Wars - Max Fury” (2024), “Mad Sheila” (2016, China) and “Apocalypse Z - The Beginning of the End” (2024, Spain).

2025 was a quiet year for post-apocalyptic movies

Movies set on a post-apocalyptic Earth have been a popular subgenre, but this was a quiet year for such films. But things look to pick up next year.
Last year brought new movies in the “Mad Max,” “Planet of the Apes” and “A Quiet Place” franchises.
The biggest film in the subgenre this year was “28 Years Later,” the latest in the U.K. zombie franchise. It was met with generally positive reviews, garnering 89% favorable ratings from review site Rotten Tomatoes.
A spin-off movie, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” is scheduled to hit theaters on Jan. 16.
Also coming out in early 2026 is “Greenland 2: Migration.” It will be in theaters on Jan. 9. The first movie in the asteroid-apocalypse franchise, “Greenland,” came out in 2021. Stars Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin return for the new film.
In addition to those sequels, Daisy Ridley will star in a zombie survival thriller called “We Bury the Dead.” It’s due to hit theaters on Jan. 2.
Still to come this year is “The Great Flood,” which will premiere on Netflix on Dec. 19. The South Korean sci-fi disaster film unfolds as a catastrophic flood submerges the world.
What follows is a list of post-apocalyptic movies from 2024 and 2025 year to date, with their Rotten Tomatoes scores.

Recent post-apocalyptic movies

Arcadian (2024), 78% positive revenues, Certified Fresh
Azrael (2024), 71%
Badland Hunters (2024, South Korea), 67%
Breathe (2024), 14%
Die Alone (2024), 81%
Elevation (2024), 55%
The End (2024), 56%
Furiosa; A Mad Max Saga (2024), 90%, Certified Fresh
Humane (2024), 72%
Kalki 2898 AD (2024, India), 77%
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024), 80%, Certified Fresh
Outside (2024, Philippines), 80%
Parvulos (2024, Mexico), aka “Párvulos: Children of the Apocalypse,” 88%
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024), 86%, Certified Fresh
Werewolves (2024), 49%
28 Years Later (2025), 89%, Certified Fresh
40 Acres (2025), 89%, Certified Fresh
Afterburn (2025), 0%

Related articles:

Big-budget post-apocalyptic movies returning to cinemas this summer (March 31, 2024)

‘Fallout’ video games, TV show are popular subjects for porn parodies

The “Fallout” video game series and television show on Amazon Prime Video have inspired at least five porn parodies to date.
Some are full-fledged porn movies while others are cosplay porn videos.
But they aren’t the only post-apocalyptic entertainment franchises that have received the porn parody treatment.
The “Resident Evil” video game series and movies have been the subject of at least four porn parodies.
“The Last of Us” games and TV show have been mocked in two porn parodies.
And even the Japanese manga series “Attack on Titan” and its anime adaptation has been lampooned in a porn parody in 2024. (“Attack on Titan - Mikasa Ackerman and Historia Reiss - A Porn Parody.”)

‘Fallout’ porn parodies:

This Ain’t Fallout XXX (2016)
Fallout, A XXX Parody (2017)
Fallout - Lucy (2024)
Fallout, A XXX Parody (2024)
Fallout Screw Vegas (2024)

‘Resident Evil’ porn parodies:

Resident Evil, A XXX Parody (2024)
Resident Evil 4, A XXX Parody (2024)
Resident Evil - Jill Valentine, A Porn Parody (2024)
Resident Evil - Ashley Graham, A Porn Parody (2025)

‘The Last of Us’ porn parodies:

The Last of Us, A XXX Parody (2019)
The Last of Us Part II - Ellie (2023)

Photos: Promotional photos from “Fallout” porn parodies.

Crappy post-apocalyptic movies flood Amazon Prime Video

One of my contributions to the internet has been chronicling notable movies set in a post-apocalyptic world. And it’s not easy.
For starters, most lists of post-apocalyptic movies mix in movies about dystopian futures. And many lists add in movies that take place before or during apocalyptic events. I’ve tried to keep a clean list of movies showing people living a hardscrabble existence after apocalyptic events.
Another issue is dealing with the scores of low-budget, poorly made post-apocalyptic movies that have flooded the market, especially in recent years. You can see many of these flicks in the pay-per-view marketplace on Amazon Prime Video.
To date, I have documented 297 such crummy post-apocalyptic movies on Amazon, including 33 new titles listed below. These movies are not significant enough or good enough to put on my main list of notable post-apocalyptic movies.
But wait! There are other lesser post-apocalyptic movies to be found on Letterboxd. I’ve included 42 titles from Letterboxd below. Together with the Amazon titles, that’s 339 movies in the genre that aren’t significant enough for my main list.
By comparison, my list of notable post-apocalyptic movies has about 240 titles.

Latest lesser post-apocalyptic movies on Amazon Prime Video:

Rats: Night of Terror (1984, Italy) aka “Rats - Notte di terrore”
Savannah Electric (1985)
Deadly Reactor (1989)
Doom Runners (1997)
Against The Dark (2009)
Dark Nemesis (2011)
The FP (2011)
Day of Reckoning (2017)
Zombie Road (2018)
Lection (2019)
Impact Event (2020)
Strain 100 (2020)
The Long Dig (2020)
Among the Living (2022)
Forever’s End (2022)
Some Be (2022, Mexico)
The Inevitable (2022)
Tin Can (2022)
Walking Against the Rain (2022)
America Is Sinking (2023)
Arctic Armageddon (2023)
Darkness (2023)
Day Zero (2023, Philippines)
Dome House Six (2023)
End Times (2023)
Gangnam Zombie (2023, South Korea)
Ravage Nation (2023)
Remnants (2023)
Shelter (2023)
Solace (2023)
2029 (2024)
Once Upon a Time in the Wasteland (2024)
Planetquake (2024)

Lesser-known post-apocalyptic movies from Letterboxd:

The Lost Missile (1958)
In the Year 2889 (1969)
Battletruck (1982, New Zealand) aka “Warlords of the 21st Century”
2020 Texas Gladiators (1983, Italy) aka “Anno 2020 - I gladiatori del future”
Survival Zone (1983, South Africa)
W (1983, Philippines)
Sexmission (1984, Poland) aka “Seksmisja”
The Final Executioner (1984, Italy) aka “The Last Warrior” and “L'ultimo guerriero”
Z for Zachariah (1984, U.K.)
O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization (1985, Poland)
Survival Earth (1985, Canada)
Dead Man’s Letters (1986, Soviet Union)
Hands of Steel (1986, Italy) aka “Vendetta dal future”
Osa (1986)
Interzone (1987, Italy) aka “Lobos guerreros”
Morning Patrol (1987, Greece)
Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds (1987, Australia)
Survivor (1987, South Africa)
Terminus (1987, France and West Germany)
Empire of Ash (1988, Canada)
Escape from Safehaven (1988)
Hard Knuckle (1988, Australia)
Mutant War (1988)
Bunker Palace Hotel (1989, France)
Warlords (1989)
Legend of the Roller Blade Seven (1993)
Return of the Roller Blade Seven (1993)
The Last Border (1993, Finland, Sweden, Germany)
Warlords 3000 (1993) aka “Dark Vengeance”
Sentinel 2099 (1995)
Dragon Head (2003, Japan)
Casshern (2004, Japan)
Puzzlehead (2005)
The Dark Hour (2006, Spain) aka “La hora fría”
20 Years After (2008)
One Hundred Mornings (2009, Ireland)
Arctic Blast (2010, Australia, Canada)
World’s End (2010) aka “Downstream”
Extinction: The G.M.O. Chronicles (2011, Germany)
The Forbidden Dimensions (2013)
Die Gstettensaga: The Rise of Echsenfriedl (2014, Austria)
In My Room (2018, Germany, Italy)

Related articles:

More low-budget, post-apocalyptic movies showing up on Amazon (March 12, 2023)

The complete post-apocalyptic movie list (Updated June 23, 2024)

Photos: Movie posters for “End Times” (2023), “America Is Sinking” (2023) and “Strain 100” (2020)

Post-apocalyptic TV shows get refresh with ‘Fallout’

While it’s been slim pickings for post-apocalyptic movies, TV series in the genre have been plentiful.
Current series getting new seasons include “Invasion” (Apple TV+), “Silo” (Apple TV+), “Twisted Metal” (Peacock) and “The Last of Us” (Max). There also are at least two “Walking Dead” franchise series developing new episodes (“Dead City” and “Daryl Dixon”). Plus, “Snowpiercer” has jumped to AMC from TNT for its fourth and final season.
Today saw the premiere of “Fallout” on Amazon Prime Video. The adaptation of the popular video game series released all eight episodes at once. The series is set 219 years after the outbreak of nuclear war sent Americans underground into fallout shelters called Vaults.
Last week, Netflix premiered the South Korean series “Parasyte: The Grey.” The alien-invasion horror series is more pre-apocalyptic, but the outlook looks pretty grim.
But with the era of peak TV at an end, the plentiful genre offerings could be slowing down.
The number of scripted TV seasons being ordered in the U.S. has nearly halved since 2019, according to Ampere Analysis. However, international TV production could pick up the slack, Deadline reported.

Big-budget post-apocalyptic movies returning to cinemas this summer

After a several-year drought, post-apocalyptic movies from major studios are coming to the silver screen this summer. They come in the form of sequels and spin-offs – a tried-and-true formula.
First up is “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” on May 10. It’s the fourth installment in the rebooted series after “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (2011), “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (2014) and “War for the Planet of the Apes” (2017). The filmmakers are hoping to start a new trilogy of films with “Kingdom.”
Next is “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” on May 24. It’s a spin-off prequel to “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015). It is the fifth movie in the franchise.
Finally, “A Quiet Place: Day One” opens on June 28. It’s the third film in the series and serves as a prequel to “A Quiet Place” (2018) and “A Quiet Place Part 2” (2020).
Over the past year or so, Netflix has helped keep the genre alive with movies such as “Bird Box Barcelona” (Spain), “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead” (Japan), “Leave the World Behind” and “Badland Hunters” (South Korea).

See also: The complete post-apocalyptic movie list.

More low-budget, post-apocalyptic movies showing up on Amazon

With digital cameras, personal computers and video-editing software, it’s much easier to make a feature-length movie now than it was in the days of film production. That’s created an explosion of movies available for streaming online.
The post-apocalyptic genre, especially zombie movies, have become a staple of low-budget, independent moviemaking. And many of those movies end up on Amazon, either through its Prime subscription service or for rental.
The few that I’ve checked out have been pretty awful. Bad acting, directing and writing. Just overall amateurish in nature.
Over the last three years, I’ve documented 250 such post-apocalyptic themed movies on Amazon. They are little seen and poorly reviewed, when they even get reviews.
I keep a separate list of notable and higher-profile post-apocalyptic movies on Tech-media-tainment.
What follows is the latest bunch of cheap, post-apocalyptic movies I’ve seen listed on Amazon.

Undead (2003)
National Lampoon Presents Beach Party At The Threshold Of Hell (2006)
GR30k (2010) aka Future World: City of Mass Destruction
A Reckoning (2011)
Devil’s Playground (2011)
Exit Humanity (2011)
Falls the Shadow (2011) aka ZombieWarz
Towers (2012)
Enemy Empire (2013)
Germ Z (2013)
The Dead Reborn (2013)
The Desert (2013) aka El desierto or What’s Left of Us
They Will Outlive Us All (2013)
Berserkers (2014)
Rumors of War (2014)
Eyes of the Dead (2015)
The Carrier (2015)
Dead 7 (2016)
Dance to Death (2017) aka Tantsy nasmert
The Z Virus (2017)
Molly (2018)
Valcorian (2018)
Barney Burman’s Wild Boar (2019)
Fetish Factory (2019) aka Cabaret of the Dead
Super Mix (2019)
A Knight’s Tour (2020)
Fat Ass Zombies (2020) aka American Zombieland
The Tent (2020)
Warriors of the Apocalypse (2020)
Dead Or? (2021)
Escape To the Cove (2021)
La Sombra (2021) aka The Shadow
The E.N.D (2021) aka L'épreuve touche à sa fin
Undergods (2021)
Bridge of the Doomed (2022)
Mad Maxine: Frisky Road (2022)
The Compound (2022)
The Merciful (2022)
Warrioress (2022)
Wheat Soup (2022)

Earlier articles in the series:

Amazon Prime Video has no shortage of low-budget, post-apocalyptic movies (Dec. 10, 2022)

Never-ending supply of cheap post-apocalyptic movies on Amazon Prime Video (May 1, 2022)

Covid-inspired apocalypse movies populating Amazon Prime Video (Jan. 16, 2022)

‘Mad Max’ rip-offs invade Amazon Prime Video (July 19, 2020)

Amazon Prime Video maintains its reputation for low-budget, post-apocalyptic movies (July 3, 2020)

Amazon Prime Video unleashes wave after wave of post-apocalyptic movies (Feb. 16, 2020)

Amazon Prime Video: A dumping ground for lesser post-apocalyptic movies (Nov. 11, 2019)

Photos: Movie posters for “Warriors of the Apocalypse” (2020) and “Bridge of the Doomed” (2022).

Amazon Prime Video has no shortage of low-budget post-apocalyptic movies

I keep a running list of notable post-apocalyptic movies on Tech-media-tainment. The list includes theatrical releases and well-reviewed streaming and home video releases. It doesn’t include the plethora of cheap, little-seen and often poorly reviewed post-apocalyptic movies.
Many of those low-budget flicks show up on Amazon Prime Video.
What follows is the latest bunch of such genre films I’ve seen on the service. With this group, I’ve now documented 214 bargain-bin post-apocalyptic movies on Amazon Prime Video.

After The Apocalypse (2004)
Phoenix Point (2005)
Magma: Volcanic Disaster (2006)
Meteor Apocalypse (2010)
2033: Future Apocalypse (2011)
End of the World (2013)
Ninja Apocalypse (2014)
Apocalypse Female Warriors (2015)
April Apocalypse (2015)
Survivors (2015)
The Rare Earth (2015)
Breakdown Lane (2017)
Apocalypse Rising (2018)
The Day of the Living Dead (2020)
American Refugee (2021)
Apocalypse A Go Go (2021)
Companion (2021)
Stellanomicon: Future Fear (2021)
White Girl Apokalypse (2021)

Related article:

Never-ending supply of cheap post-apocalyptic movies on Amazon Prime Video (May 1, 2022)

2022 was a slow year for apocalyptic movies; Is the genre kaput?

Is the public tiring of movies set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland or before a world-ending event? Maybe.
This year, only two such movies had theatrical releases.
In February, Lionsgate released “Moonfall,” which saw the moon crashing into Earth. In September, IFC Films released “Vesper,” which takes place after the collapse of the Earth’s ecosystem. “Moonfall” was a costly flop and “Vesper” barely made a ripple at the box office.
By comparison, there were nine notable post-apocalyptic themed movies in 2021 and the same number in 2020.
No major genre releases are scheduled yet for 2023. However, quite a few high profile post-apocalyptic movies are in production, including sequels and spinoffs to “A Quiet Place,” “Max Max: Fury Road” and “Birdbox.”

Related article: The complete post-apocalyptic movie list

Photo: “Vesper” movie poster.

2023 looks like banner year for post-apocalyptic themed TV shows

Two major post-apocalyptic themed TV series ended their runs in 2022: “The Walking Dead” (AMC) after 11 seasons and “See” (Apple TV+) after three seasons. But more end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it TV shows are coming in 2023.
At least four new series are slated for release in 2023. They include “The Last of Us” on HBO Max, “Wool” on Apple TV+, “The Ark” on Syfy and “The Walking Dead: Dead City” on AMC.
First up is “The Last of Us,” which premieres on Jan. 15. Based on the popular video game series, “The Last of Us” takes place after an outbreak of a mutant Cordyceps fungus ravages the United States, transforming its human hosts into aggressive creatures known as the Infected.
Next up, “Wool” is scheduled for release in March. The series is set in a ruined and toxic future where a community lives in a massive silo, hundreds of levels underground.
Syfy plans to release its series “The Ark” sometime in 2023. The show takes place 100 years in the future, aboard the Ark One — a star-cruising vessel carrying humanity’s last hope for survival. When the ship sustains heavy casualties, the remaining passengers must band together and complete the mission of finding a new planetary home, the destination of which is more than a year away.
Also coming this year is “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” a spinoff of the just-concluded parent series. It’s one of three planned follow-on series. “Dead City” focuses on characters Negan and Maggie navigating the zombie apocalypse in New York City. “Dead City” is likely to premiere in April.
Another planned spinoff show will follow fan-favorite character Daryl Dixon in Europe. And characters Rick Grimes and Michonne will get their own series as well. Those shows don’t have release dates but could come out in 2023 as well.
Another show that could come out in 2023 is “Fallout” on Amazon Prime Video. Based on the video game franchise, “Fallout” is a post-apocalyptic story set after a nuclear war.

Related article: Comprehensive list of live-action post-apocalyptic TV series

Photo: Promotional art for “The Last of Us.”

Never-ending supply of cheap post-apocalyptic movies on Amazon Prime Video

I’ve written several times about how Amazon Prime Video is a dumping ground for cheap post-apocalyptic-themed movies. Most of these films have received poor reviews.
Lately there’s been a surge of low-budget exploitation flicks tied to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Also, there are quite a few Christian-themed apocalypse movies on Amazon Prime Video.
What follows are 33 more post-apocalyptic movies on the service. They bring the total number of such titles that I’ve tracked on Amazon Prime Video to 195 movies.

America 3000 (1986)
Apocalypse (1998)
Superstarlet A.D. (2000)
Left Behind: The Movie (2000)
Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (2002)
Left Behind III: World at War (2005)
Alien Apocalypse (2005)
Raiders of the Damned (2007)
Apocalypse Blues (2008)
Mutants (2008)
Battle of the Damned (2013)
2149: The Aftermath (2016) aka Confinement or Darwin
AmeriGeddon (2016)
Earthtastrophe (2016)
Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter (2016)
After the End (2017) aka I’m OK
Cold Zone (2017)
I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday (2017)
The Humanity Bureau (2017)
Reflections in the Dust (2018)
This World Alone (2018)
A Living Dog (2019)
Crucified (2019) aka Everybloody’s End
Into the Void (2019)
The Reliant (2019)
Apocalypse of Ice (2020)
75 Degrees West (2021)
Alien Conquest (2021)
Covid-19: Invasion (2021), aka Lockdown
Grey Eyes (2021)
School’s Out Forever (2021)
After The Pandemic (2022)
When Everything’s Gone (2022)

Related articles:

Covid-inspired apocalypse movies populating Amazon Prime Video (Jan. 16, 2022)

‘Mad Max’ rip-offs invade Amazon Prime Video (July 19, 2020)

‘DMZ’ kicks off new round of dystopian and post-apocalyptic TV series

“DMZ” on HBO Max is the first new television show of 2022 to be set in a dystopian or post-apocalyptic world. The four-episode miniseries premiered on March 17.
Based on a DC graphic novel, “DMZ” takes place in the demilitarized zone of Manhattan Island during a second American civil war. It stars Rosario Dawson and Benjamin Bratt.
Next up in the post-apocalyptic genre is “Tales of the Walking Dead,” premiering in mid-2022 on AMC. The anthology series is the fourth television series in “The Walking Dead” zombie apocalypse franchise.
The six-episode run of “Tales of the Walking Dead” will feature actors Anthony Edwards, Terry Crews, Parker Posey, and Olivia Munn in standalone stories.
Next year will see the fifth series in the franchise, “Isle of the Dead.” It will star Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan as their characters Negan and Maggie.
A sixth series also is due to premiere next year. It’s an untitled spin-off series starring Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride as their characters Daryl and Carol.
In the meantime, there will be other dystopian and post-apocalyptic television series.
Netflix has set a premiere date of July 14 for “Resident Evil,” based on the long-running video game series. The eight-episode series takes place 14 years after a deadly virus caused a global apocalypse that overran the world with blood-thirsty creatures. It will star Lance Reddick and Ella Balinska.
HBO is making a TV series based on the acclaimed video game franchise “The Last of Us.” The series, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, is expected to debut in 2023. The story takes place in a world destroyed by an outbreak of a mutant Cordyceps fungus. The fungus turns human hosts into aggressive creatures known as the Infected.
Amazon Prime is working on a TV series based on the “Fallout” video game series. Walton Goggins has been cast in a lead role. The “Fallout” series is set in an alternate future United States after a nuclear apocalypse.
Apple TV+ is developing a dystopian sci-fi drama called “Wool.” The show will star Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins and David Oyelowo. It is based on the “Silo” trilogy of novels by Hugh Howey.
“Wool” takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth where the air is poisonous. What’s left of humanity lives in The Silo, a subterranean city 144 stories below the surface.
Netflix is planning a spin-off series of “Into the Night,” which completed its second season last fall. The series takes place after radiation from the Sun kills all life on the surface of the Earth. Survivors must live underground during the day.
The spin-off is called “Into the Deep” and is set on a submarine.

Related articles:

Comprehensive list of live-action post-apocalyptic TV series

Netflix is keeping post-apocalyptic themed TV going (March 13, 2022)

The post-apocalypse is thriving on television (July 11, 2021)

Post-apocalyptic TV series entertain in troubled times (Sept. 14, 2020)

Netflix is keeping post-apocalyptic themed TV going

Since Netflix began producing original content, it has aired 11 post-apocalyptic themed television series. That’s considerably more than other TV channels and streaming services.
Those Netflix shows and miniseries have included “The Rain,” “3%,” “Black Summer,” “Daybreak,” “Into the Night,” “Reality Z,” “To the Lake,” “Sweet Home,” “Tribes of Europa,” “Sweet Tooth” and “The Silent Sea.” Only three of those are in English.
Netflix likely makes post-apocalyptic shows because they play well in international markets.
However, Netflix often stays mum on whether its shows will continue or are canceled. So, it’s hard to know how many of those series are still in production for new episodes. I personally hope to see new episodes of “Black Summer,” “Into the Night,” “To the Lake” and “Tribes of Europa.”
By my count, there are 13 post-apocalyptic themed TV shows still producing new episodes across all broadcast, cable and streaming channels.
And new shows in the genre are on the way such as “Tales of the Walking Dead” this summer on AMC. Coming later are “The Last of Us” on HBO, “Fallout” on Amazon Prime and “Isle of the Dead” on AMC.

See also: “Comprehensive list of live-action post-apocalyptic TV series.”

Photo: Season two poster for Netflix zombie-apocalypse series “Black Summer.”

Global destruction in movies continues with ‘Black Crab’ on Netflix

Filmmakers never tire of depicting “the end of the world” and what comes after it.
Recent movies have shown the Earth destroyed by climate change, solar flares, aliens, robot rebellions and even the Moon. Those flicks include “The Colony,” “Finch,” “A Quiet Place Part 2,” “Mother/Android” and “Moonfall.”
And one such movie – comet apocalypse flick “Don’t Look Up” – has even been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
More death and destruction on a global scale is on the way.
Up next is “Black Crab” on Netflix on March 18. The Swedish action thriller is set in a post-apocalyptic world torn apart by war. The movie stars Noomi Rapace.
Other post-apocalyptic movies this year include Austrian film “Rubikon,” where the Earth is covered in a toxic fog.
Still to come in the next year or so are sequels and spin-offs from the franchises “Mad Max,” “A Quiet Place,” “Bird Box” and “Wyrmwood.”

See also: “The complete post-apocalyptic movie list.”

Photo: Movie poster from “Black Crab” (Netflix)

Covid-inspired apocalypse movies populating Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video is a dumping ground for numerous crappy low-budget movies. That includes the post-apocalyptic genre that I closely follow.
In my most recent review of movies on the service, I counted nine exploitation films that seem to have been inspired by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
They include “Before the Fire,” “Covid-21: Lethal Virus,” “2025 – The World Enslaved by a Virus,” “American Apocalypse,” “Fear,” “Lockdown: 2025,” “Armageddon Tales,” “Infected: The Darkest Day” and “Positive Apocalypse.”
In four articles between November 2019 and July 2020, I documented 117 low-budget independent and foreign films in the post-apocalyptic genre on Amazon Prime. Most of these movies were poorly reviewed on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, if they even merited reviews.
What follows are 46 more such post-apocalyptic movies on the service. They bring my total to 163 movies.

In the Year 2889 (1967)
Robot Holocaust (1987)
Ice (2000)
Steve Niles’ Remains (2011)
Ridge War Z (2013)
Collapse (2014)
Doomsday (2015)
Plan Z (2016)
Merrick (2017; France)
Beneath The Eyes Of God (2018)
Dystopia (2018)
Post Apocalyptic Commando Shark (2018)
Republic Z (2018; Russia)
Shangri-La: Near Extinction (2018)
Carroña (2019; Argentina)
Redcon-1 (2019)
Solar Impact (2019)
Transit 17 (2019)
A Feral World (2020)
After The End (2020)
Atomic Apocalypse (2020)
Before the Fire (2020)
By Day’s End (2020)
Deadlocked (2020)
Edge of Extinction (2020)
Girl With No Mouth (2020)
Go/Don’t Go (2020)
The Last Hope (2020)
The Wylds (2020)
When the Fever Breaks (2020)
2025 – The World Enslaved by a Virus (2021)
American Apocalypse (2021)
Armageddon Tales (2021)
Covid-21: Lethal Virus (2021; Spain)
Dead Life: Wormwood’s End (2021)
Deus Vult: God Wills It (2021)
Exodus (2021)
Fear (2021)
Infected (2021), aka Infected: The Darkest Day
Lockdown: 2025 (2021)
Nebulous Dark (2021)
Once Upon a Time in the Apocalypse (2021)
Positive Apocalypse (2021)
Survive (2021)
Unit Eleven (2021)
Zone Drifter (2021)

Photo: Movie poster for “Covid-21: Lethal Virus” (2021).

The post-apocalypse is thriving on television

Post-apocalyptic fiction is alive and well on traditional television and streaming video services.
Even after the finale of Syfy vampire apocalypse series “Van Helsing” on June 25, there are still 12 post-apocalyptic themed television shows airing.
Active shows include four zombie apocalypse series (AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” “Fear the Walking Dead” and “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” and Netflix’s “Black Summer”).
Including “Black Summer,” Netflix has six post-apocalyptic series. The others are “Into the Night,” “To the Lake,” “Sweet Home,” “Tribes of Europa” and “Sweet Tooth.” Those shows depict a range of end-of-the-world scenarios including deadly solar radiation, diseases, and monsters.
The other post-apocalyptic series currently running include “See” on Apple TV+, “War of the Worlds” on Epix and “Snowpiercer” on TNT.
More such shows are coming soon. “Y: The Last Man” premieres on Hulu on Sept. 13. Apple TV+ will premiere “Invasion” on Oct. 22. And HBO Max has “Station Eleven” queued up in the near future.

Related article:

Comprehensive list of live-action post-apocalyptic TV series

The end is near, Hollywood movies predict

The Earth has nine-and-a-half years left before it ends, according to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). With thinking like that, it’s no surprise that Hollywood now is fixated on depictions of the apocalypse and what follows.
While AOC is predicting the end of the world from man-made climate change, most of the current apocalyptic movies focus on alien invasions. Aliens make better movie villains than global warming. (In January 2019, AOC said, “The world will end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.”)
Alien invasion-monster movie sequel “A Quiet Place Part 2” kicked off the end-of-the-world movies this year with its theatrical premiere on May 28.
“Awake” followed on Netflix on June 9. The movie, starring Gina Rodriguez, depicts a mysterious catastrophe that wipes out all electronics and robs people of their ability to sleep. The lack of sleep drives people crazy.
On July 2, Amazon Prime Video released alien-invasion flick “The Tomorrow War,” starring Chris Pratt.
More apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic movies are coming this year. They include “Tides” and “Finch.”
Last year, despite the production disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic, the entertainment industry released six apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic movies including “Greenland” and “Love and Monsters.”

Photos: Movie posters for “A Quiet Place Part 2” and “Awake.”

The best post-apocalyptic movies of the past 20 years

After a year of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, people are hoping things don’t get worse. With vaccines being distributed now, scientists and government leaders are counting on the situation to improve.
Filmmakers have toyed with pandemics in movies imagining post-apocalyptic scenarios. They’ve created worlds ravaged by disease, wars, zombies, aliens and other dire situations. Let’s hope the real world doesn’t imitate art.
What follows is a list of the best live-action post-apocalyptic themed movies from the last 20 years.

Best post-apocalyptic movies of the past 20 years

* based on percentage of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and only those with a “critics consensus”

1. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), 97%
2. A Quiet Place (2018), 96%
3. The Survivalist (2017), 96%
4. Snowpiercer (2014), 94%
5. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), 94%
6. Love and Monsters (2020), 92%
7. I Am Mother (2019), 91%
8. Turbo Kid (2015), 91%
9. Blood Quantum (2019), 90%
10. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), 90%
11. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), 90%
12. Zombieland (2009), 89%
13. Cargo (2018), 88%
14. It Comes At Night (2017), 87%
15. Ravenous, aka Les Affames (2018), 87%
16. The Girl with All the Gifts (2017), 86%
17. The Night Eats the World (2018), 86%
18. This Is the End (2013), 83%
19. Light of My Life (2019), 81%
20. Warm Bodies (2013), 81%
21. Ever After, aka Endzeit (2019), 80%
22. Z for Zachariah (2015), 79%
23. Anna and the Apocalypse (2018), 77%
24. Into the Forest (2016), 76%
25. Dawn of the Dead (2004), 75%
26. War of the Worlds (2005), 75%

Bonus movies

These post-apocalyptic movies have been well-reviewed but don’t have enough reviews to merit a “critics consensus” on Rotten Tomatoes.

Diverge (2016), 100%
The Domestics (2018), 100%
The Last Days, aka Los Ultimos Dias (2014), 91%
Riot Girls (2019), 90%
What Still Remains (2018), 90%
Embers (2016), 83%
The Battery (2016), 80%
The Last Survivors, aka The Well (2014), 75%

‘Love and Monsters’ to end post-apocalyptic movie drought

The Covid-19 pandemic has mostly shut down new theatrical movie releases. So new movies are showing up as premium and subscription video-on-demand releases. That’s true for the subgenre of post-apocalyptic themed movies as well.
It’s been a quiet year for new releases in the subgenre. So far, there’s been only one significant release – “Only,” starring Freida Pinto and Leslie Odom Jr.
The underrated drama had a short theatrical release in early March before finding a wider audience on streaming service Netflix in July. The haunting film depicts a couple’s relationship in the aftermath of a virus that kills most of the women in the world.
Next up is “Love and Monsters,” a post-apocalyptic action romantic comedy starring Dylan O’Brien. Originally set for a theatrical release, “Love and Monsters” instead will be a premium video-on-demand release on Oct. 16.
The Paramount Pictures film is set seven years after the “monsterpocalypse,” which forced the remnants of humanity to seek shelter underground after giant creatures took control of the land.
Other apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic movies on the way include “Greenland,” “A Quiet Place Part 2” and “BIOS.”

Related reading:

The complete post-apocalyptic movie list

Photos: Scene from “Love and Monsters” (top); poster for “Only.”