The 100 has finished its series after its seventh series and ensured that fans were able to get a complete story. Shows from the science fiction fantasy genre, however, don’t have that long lives on-air, but The 100 lasted six years.
Now that the show’s over, fans should branch out and discover similar stories to expand their fandom list and find new shows. For this reason, here's a list of shows that will make fans of The 100 feel at home, but also deliver quality variations in the genre they love.
Updated on February 5th, 2021 by Kristen Palamara: The 100 recently ended its run in 2020, and fans of the apocalyptic drama are looking for new shows to watch that approach a post-apocalyptic world in a unique way just like The 100 did. The juvenile characters on The 100 were discovering earth for the first time when they're sent to test if conditions on earth are livable, and the basic plot of the series is unique and engaging. Post-apocalyptic shows continue to be a popular genre in both movies and on television and The 100 balanced romance, the unknown, and wonder all within its apocalyptic setting.
The Stand (2020-2021)
The Stand is a miniseries based on the Stephen King book of the same name that envisions a post-apocalyptic world after earth's population is decimated by a plague and the fate of the world's future is placed on a small group of survivors.
The survivors are in various age groups from a woman who is over a hundred years old to a much younger pregnant woman, but it's still a post-apocalyptic show that focuses on the ethos of good and evil throughout its run.
Snowpiercer (2020)
Snowpiercer the series began in 2020 and is based on the original graphic novels and the movie from Bong Joon-ho of the same name. The series follows the same plot of the graphic novels and 2013 movie and follows various characters aboard a continuously moving train built to avoid the deadly conditions outside in the freezing apocalyptic climate.
The show centers on Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs) who is part of the back of the train in the classist structure where the richest passengers are at the front and the stowaways are left to fend for themselves at the back.
Falling Skies (2011-2015)
Falling Skies is another show about a post-apocalyptic world but instead of climate change or plague causing the apocalypse it was an alien invasion. The show focuses on a group of survivors who try to fight back against the aliens who capture teenagers for an unknown reason, at first, and are wiping out the rest of the human population.
The show ran for multiple seasons with an engaging and unique storyline and well-developed characters who were never guaranteed safety in the apocalyptic world.
Teen Wolf (2011-2017)
Teen Wolf doesn't have an apocalyptic storyline but it does center on a group of teenagers trying to survive dangerous supernatural surroundings, and just typical high school life, in their small town of Beacon Hills.
Although there are several supernatural creatures, both friend and foe, that appear in the show they mainly focus on Scott McCall (Tyler Posey), who begins the show as a normal high school but is bitten and turned into a werewolf, and his friends.
Firefly (2002-2003)
Firefly was a sci-fi western show set hundreds of years in the future and although it's not exactly an apocalyptic setting there are terrifying creatures, Reavers, the smuggler main characters run into and the show does have dystopian storylines.
The show has a huge following even though it doesn't have many eipsodes. Firefly was canceled early on in the series and only aired for one season, but the characters were brought back for a movie called Serenity that continued their story.
The Walking Dead (2010-)
As far as post-apocalyptic shows go, The Walking Dead is at the top of the echelon – no other series comes close to it. This is why it should be the first stop when searching for another story featuring a group of survivors in a world that’s out to kill them.
The Walking Dead has been on-air for several years, and in that time the show and its characters have transformed completely. Remember, never get attached to a character here, as there are only two regular cast members from the first season remaining, and no one from the premiere episode. It’s an incredible watch to see how not only zombies spell civilization’s doom, but how the apocalypse has brought out the worst in mankind.
The Leftovers (2014-2017)
Fans of The 100 will be familiar with content that is aimed toward younger audiences, but we all have to grow up sometime, and The Leftovers is such a show for those prepared to have an experience that is mature in content.
The premise involves the sudden disappearance of 2% of the population in the world; an event called the Departure, and the fallout that this rapture-like event has caused. The Leftovers doesn’t paint a friendlier picture than usual apocalyptic shows geared toward young fanbases, and makes full use of its cable freedom.
Terra Nova (2011)
In what is quite possibly the closest show in terms of premise fans can find for The 100, Terra Nova features a story that has humans from 2149 travel to a parallel universe Earth that resembles the Cretaceous period. They do so because the Earth in the future has been ravaged by overpopulation crises and air pollution.
Unlike The 100, the show features a family as the main protagonists, with the rest of the colony attempting to adjust into the society, while battling another group who have sights on the natural resources of this Earth in order to sell it in the future. It only had one season, but Terra Nova is worth a go to have a fresh perspective of post-apocalyptic material.
Manifest (2018-)
A flight scheduled from Jamaica to New York experiences a case of extreme turbulence, but it manages to land in its intended destination. The twist here is that the flight was evidently missing for five-and-a-half years without the passengers ever knowing.
The series focuses on the survivors struggling to re-integrate into a society that has changed significantly during their absence, while also dealing with visions of what is to come in the future. Manifest has a highly intriguing premise, one that deals with dramatic fallout from the plot, while retaining aspects of the science fiction genre as well.
The Last Ship (2014-2018)
It’s good to have a setting that not only acknowledges the post-apocalyptic nature of the genre but also has a certain level of hope attached to it. The Last Ship can claim to be such a show, as it follows literally a last US Navy ship that is humanity’s hope to find the cure to a virus that has wiped out 80% of the population.
It could be called an adult version of The 100, since the show has a similar style, but focuses on a group of adults – mainly Navy Officers. It ran for four years, during which it had enough quality material for fans of The 100 to go and binge-watch the series.
Supernatural (2005-2020)
There’s no post-apocalyptic world here, but the two protagonists here stop the apocalypse from happening several times during the show. Supernatural features two brothers who travel across the country hunting demons and monsters, with the initial plot focusing on them vanquishing the demon that killed their mother.
The 100 fans must have had their fill of an abundance of characters to some degree, which is why Supernatural is absolutely the perfect way for a palette cleanser. The first seasons will accommodate the viewer nicely as it features a style geared toward teenagers; once they really get into it, viewers mature alongside Sam and Dean Winchester to witness them fight Satan himself, among several hundreds of primordial creations.
Fear The Walking Dead (2015-)
The Walking Dead was a roadshow in its first few seasons, but it settled into one community eventually from where it hasn’t turned away. Fear the Walking Dead is the companion series that still hasn’t shunned its nomadic premise, as the world here is grittier than from the main show.
Fans will enjoy seeing the heroes be constantly on the run, with the zombie-infected world out to get them at every turn. Fear the Walking Dead also sees a regularly rotating cast, but its nomadic nature ensures fans stick to (and care about) a core group of individuals brought together with the hope of surviving a dying world.
Under the Dome (2013-2015)
Coming from the very talented mind of Stephen King, Under the Dome is the inverse of The 100, with the story here involving people who are trapped inside a massive dome that has isolated them from the rest of the world. Due to the indestructible nature of the dome, the townspeople are now forced to survive off their own devices, and tension is super high.
Under the Dome goes in the nitty-gritty part of survival, with the townspeople panicking due to resources cutting down day-by-day. The viewer is kept intrigued by several storylines branching out, as people attempt to understand how to escape the dome, what it is, and the mysteries surrounding it.
The Expanse (2015-)
Another show that can be considered as the upside-down version of The 100 is The Expanse. The premise has the main characters in the backdrop of a future several hundred years away from ours, where humanity now survives in a space colony, with connections to Earth and Mars.
The series thrives on the mysteries surrounding the fragile peace between the colonies, and the number of unexplained disappearances and tragedies aboard. The show, which is still on-air, keeps you on your toes with twists and reveals in regular intervals.
Lost (2004-2010)
The show that brought mainstream attention to the science fiction genre, and walked away with major awards to boot, Lost is one show you cannot miss. The series follows the survivors of a plane crash that landed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a mysterious island. The resultant fallout between the survivors and the relationships they form between them is the base on which the show thrives.
With Sci-Fi and even supernatural elements injected into it, Lost has its hands on both sides of the wheel and steers into dramatic territory, while keeping its main genre alive. The overall mystery surrounding the plan crash is what will keep you watching one episode after another, culminating in a finale that is guaranteed to keep fans thinking after the end of the series.