Into The Night has become one of the sleeper-hit shows Netflix has been launching throughout the year. The Belgium series was created by Jason George and it is based on the novel The Old Axolotl by Polish author Jacek Dukaj. The show depicts a catastrophic solar event responsible for the death of millions of living beings. Anybody who is reached by daylight perishes.
Trying to escape the literal next morning, a group of passengers tries to run away from the sun in a hijacked plane by flying west, into the perpetual night. Packed with action and intrigue, the series is reminiscent of the best post-apocalyptic shows, and below, we remember some of them.
Snowpiercer
One of the newest in this list, TNT's Snowpiercer is based on the 2013 acclaimed film of the same name and directed by Oscar-winner Bong Joon-Ho. The film was, at the same time, based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige.
The story is set in a world where the last remains of humanity are living inside of a gigantic train that circles the world and separates them from the frozen wasteland that the earth has become. The television series reboots the film plot but still contains its themes of class warfare and survival.
Under The Dome
Based on one of the longest books Stephen King has ever put out, Under the Dome showed its audience what happens when a small town in Maine is unexpectedly surrounded by an invisible and indestructible dome. The series ran for three seasons and was developed by comic book writer Brian K. Vaughan.
Featuring the talents of Mike Vogel and Dean Norris (of Breaking Bad fame), the show channeled the original book's allegory on government incompetence, corruption, and environmentalism, but with a heavier hand on the sci-fi side of the story.
12 Monkeys
The SyFy channel took a crack at adapting Terry Gilliam's 1995 time travel movie 12 Monkeys, which was based on an obscure french featurette called La Jetée. Loosley based on the plot of the original film, the more modern series expanded the concept and introduced several new characters.
The show ran for four seasons and presented a world destroyed by a virus released by a revolutionary group called "The Army of the 12 Monkeys." Because of that, James Cole (Aaron Stanford), a scavenger, is sent back in time to try to stop the eventual pandemic.
Battlestar Galactica
The classic sci-fi show enters the post-apocalyptic sub-genre as it starts with a catastrophic nuclear event. Humans are at war with the Cylons, sentient machines determined to destroy mankind, and they almost do it. In the first episode, the earth is destroyed and the last remains of the human race escape from the Cylons in the Battlestar Galactica, a military spaceship.
During its broadcast and subsequent years, the series gathered a considerable amount of passionate fans who not only praised the plot but the acting of Edward James Olmos as Admiral William Adama and Mary McDonnell as President Laura Roslin.
The Leftovers
Showrunner and producer Damon Lindelof arrived at HBO with his first tv project since Lost. In The Leftovers, the "Sudden Departure," an inexplicable event, makes 140 million people suddenly disappear from the face of the earth. This only represents 2% of the planet's population, but its ramifications are worldwide.
Praised by critics and fans alike throughout its three seasons run, The Leftovers touched on themes of faith, politics, and loss, and it wasn't concerned with explaining things but in supporting itself through its mysteries.
The Rain
A Netflix original, this Danish tv show took the premise of post-apocalyptic future and put it in the Scandinavian countries for the setting. A deadly virus has killed almost all people in Denmark and Sweden, being transmitted by the rain. After their scientist father disappears, two siblings decide to venture outside of their bunker in search of him.
In the way, they find several survivors with whom they will join forces in order to find a secure place to live in and the father of the sibling, who may have answers for the inexplicably destructive rain.
Daybreak
On the more light side of things, Daybreak, another original show for Netflix, mixes drama and humor into its own particular vision of the post-apocalyptic world. Josh Wheeler, a Canadian teenager, looks for his girlfriend Sam in a destroyed Glendale, California.
The show often employs techniques like breaking the fourth wall or including comedic elements to tell this story, which was heavily inspired by films like Mad Max and the cult-classic film The Warriors. Despite running just for one season, it is a great watch.
The Last Ship
Loosely based on William Brinkley's 1988 novel of the same name, The Last Ship tells the story of the military ship and missile destroyer USS Nathan James and its crew, who have survived a deadly pandemic that has wiped out 80% of the world population. The plot revolves around its protagonist trying to find a cure and save humanity.
For its five seasons, the TNT show combined military action with gripping survivalist drama. It is reminiscent of the '80s and '90s action-dramas where American soldiers have to stand against militaristic enemies from "villainous countries."
Falling Skies
Becoming the most expensive show TNT has ever produced, Falling Skies is not your run-of-the-mill alien invasion plot. Earth has been attacked by an alien species called "Esphenis," and clandestine group militia has been formed to fight back, under the leadership of history professor Tom Mason (Noah Wyle).
The series is big in spectacle and actions, and its visual effects go over what a normal tv show typically does. The idea for the story was conceived by the show creator, Robert Rodat along with legendary director Steven Spielberg, who is an executive producer.
Black Summer
Since The Walking Dead was broadcast for the first time in 2010, several zombie shows (and zombie-mania in general) have sprouted over the years. One of the most recent ones is Black Summer. Once again, a Netflix Original, this series puts its audience in the point of view of Rose, a mother who is separated from her daughter in the early days of the zombie pandemic.
As it was The Walking Dead and its spin-off show Fear The Walking Dead, Black Summer is set on the universe of other zombie show from production company The Asylum, Z-Nation.