10 Best Shows Like Station Eleven

Station Eleven, the series from HBO Max, is a haunting exploration of the collapse, and surprising endurance, of civilization in the face of a deadly flu pandemic. Most surprising is the fact that the series manages to do some new things with the well-established formula of the pandemic.

At the same time, it also manages to hit some of the same notes as other series that have addressed similar issues and which have attempted to show what the world might look like in the aftermath of a devastating outbreak of disease that brings it to its knees.

Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth is one of the best shows to have emerged from Netflix in the past several years and, like Station Eleven, it addresses what life would look like in the aftermath of an outbreak of disease. What sets it apart, however, is that it focuses on a strange creature named Gus who, like many others in this new world, has been born part human and part animal. Thus, it explores what it truly means to be human in the midst of such a cataclysm.

See

There are many great science fiction series that have come out in the past decade, but See ranks near the top. Just as Station Eleven stakes out some new territory in the pandemic genre, so this Apple TV+ series does the same, imagining what it would be like in a world in which a terrible plague has wiped out most of humanity and left the survivors unable to see. Like all good science fiction, it asks the tough questions and asks the tough questions about the nature of human experience.

The Walking Dead

By this point, The Walking Dead has earned its position as one of the most successful zombie television series of all time, sprawling across several seasons and creating its own fictional universe. What allows it to stand apart, however, and what also ties it in with Station Eleven, is that it explores the human aspect of the zombie apocalypse. In diving deep into human relationships, showing how easy it is for people to start tearing one another apart, and to join together, when faced with imminent extinction.

Raised By Wolves

Ridley Scott has produced some fantastic science fiction movies in his time in Hollywood, and he has also brought some stunning television series to life, including Raised by Wolves. This is a particularly good fit for those who enjoyed Station Eleven, because it focuses so much on the boundaries of the human and on the ways that the past continues to impinge on the future. And, just as importantly, with its androids who come close to being human, it also asks the tough questions about how much humans have a monopoly on sentience.

Y: The Last Man

The power of science fiction lies in its ability to imagine scenarios that could actually happen and to build a story around these possibilities. Y: The Last Man, based on the popular graphic novel of the same name, imagines a world in which a cataclysmic event has killed all mammals carrying a Y-chromosome. The only survivor is one human man, and the series focuses on his own journey through a strange new world.

Though it only lasted one season, its exploration of a post-apocalyptic world makes it a good fit for fans of Station Eleven.

Invasion

Apple TV+ has embarked on an ambitious slate of dramas of various types, including Invasion, which focuses on a disparate set of characters as they contend with the ugly reality of an alien invasion, all while contending with their own deep personal dramas and conflicts.

With its oscillating focus between a major invasion from deadly extraterrestrials and exploration of the complexities of the human condition, the series makes an ideal fit for those who enjoyed this aspect of Station Eleven.

The Leftovers

HBO has established itself as a purveyor of high-quality dramas, some of which are rather dark and bleak. That includes The Leftovers, which follows several characters as they contend with the mass disappearance of many people on Earth. Like Station Eleven, it is a story that focuses very much on the way that people deal with the many ugly realities that are exposed by cataclysmic events of any kind. Though its heavy tone makes it a difficult watch at times, it deserves credit for its willingness to engage with weighty philosophical and moral issues.

The Strain

12 Monkeys

Station Eleven, like the best apocalyptic science fiction series, focuses not just on the terrible and terrifying, but also on the strength of the human spirit. In that regard, it has a great deal in common with the series 12 Monkeys which, like the movie upon which it’s based, explores the weighty question of just how much agency individuals have, both over their own lives and over the unfolding disease-born apocalypse. It manages to breathe new life into the pandemic genre.

The Last Ship

At first glance, it wouldn’t look like a series like The Last Ship would have much new to contribute to the pandemic genre. However, its central conceit–that a ship in the middle of the ocean contains some of the last survivors of a global plague that has eliminated almost all life on earth–is compelling in and of itself. What’s more, the series (like Station Eleven) also provides an in-depth look at what the world would look like if there were only a few people left who were able to try to both cure the virus and try to rescue civilization itself.

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