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If you've ever caught yourself thinking about the end of the world we live in and what possibilities could arise for an apocalypse to occur, this list is for you. Here we have compiled our recommendations for best series and movies about the end of the world and we describe them briefly with the main reason for being on the list, also accompanied by their year of release and the application of streaming or digital distribution platform available to watch it.
Best series and movies about the end of the world?
Mysteries and superstitions about the End of the World they have existed for a long time and, consequently, several cinematographic productions are created based on beliefs, assumptions and mysteries about what can happen to our planet.
A multitude of causes why the world we know may no longer be habitable are constantly idealized, among topics such as the end of resources, meteors, alien invasions, zombie attacks and much more.
It should be noted that some steps were taken to prepare this list. How, for example, do we guarantee preferences to series and movies about the end of the world that have exhibition in Brazil; We discard those referring to Super heroes for they all always possess a supernatural threat to humanity; and we tried to privilege more those whose themes were linked to broader scenarios, and not to minimal spheres such as a small town or even a set of filming in which the doubt about the end of the world was a hypothesis to be considered.
In short, we considered for this list series and films with the main theme of threat to the end of the world. We made a partially rigorous selection, based on rankings of the main review sites, but also based on what we have already seen and considered very thematic with the subject. Therefore, dear reader, if you miss a title, we invite everyone to quote and describe their best recommendations in the comments below, with tips on why they consider it interesting, the cultural importance of the feature film or series and a brief description of its history. That said, let's get to the list!
Series about the end of the world
We now separate a list with 12 series about the end of the world, which well illustrate a reality in which the planet would be about to end, whether due to an upcoming challenge or difficulties faced by those who survived on a devastated planet. Some series were also listed in which the new post-apocalyptic universe dominates the scenario, warning of a reality that ends what we considered normal in the past.
3% (2016 - 2020)
7.4 on IMDB | 81% on Rotten Tomatoes | – on Metacritic
A first Brazilian series da Netflix was very successful and has a story that takes place in a period after the world's resources became scarce. Upon reaching the age of 20, all young people have the right to participate in the Production (the series begins with the annual process number 104), rigorous selection where only 3% of respondents have the opportunity to rank and go to the Offshore: a highly technological and natural island that has an abundance and wealth of resources for its residents. Meanwhile, the unchosen - if they make it out of the cruel and difficult stages of selection alive - must return to their life in the Continent, home to misery, scarcity of resources and a lot of poverty.
The series created by Peter Aguilera was initially developed with his colleagues at USP as part of a selection for FICTV/Mais Cultura. Despite not winning the contest, the three pilot episodes of 3% were posted in 2011 on YouTube, with the inclusion of subtitles in five foreign languages and dissemination links in order to seek a TV station that could pay for a season. After five years, the series was embraced by Netflix and was a huge success, becoming the most watched non-English language series on the platform, and winning four seasons, with productions located in places like Neo Chemistry Arena, Inhotim Institute and in neighborhoods on the outskirts of São Paulo.
Black Summer (2019 – 2021)
6.5 on IMDB | 89% on Rotten Tomatoes | – on Metacritic
Another doomsday-themed series recommendation is the terrifying Black Summer. The devastating scenario of a city on an escape route begins with a zombie apocalypse, in which many people appear fleeing transformed humans and trying to seek shelter. With an atmosphere of extreme tension, separations between family members and violent attacks by zombie dead, this series portrays a climate that few films use, or only show in short moments, delivering strong moments of aggression.
The series created by John Hyams e Karl Schafer has prior connection with Z Nation, also focused on zombies, but which takes place three years after the apocalypse and cites the first days of the catastrophe as being the cruelest, calling them the Black Summer.
Colony (2016 – 2018)
7.4 on IMDB | 92% on Rotten Tomatoes | 69 on Metacritic
Large cities were attacked by aliens and separated from each other by large barriers. In this scenario, in the Los Angeles, the family bowmans finds itself involved in work threats, separations with family members, formation of resistant groups or supporters of the new colonization and a great police control in cities dominated by external beings.
colony it brings together elements of survival and adaptation to new times in which forms of population control are taken as a new normal. The good reception by the public guaranteed the series three seasons, but the not so good ratings, a change of set of filming to Vancouver and the departure of one of the producers culminated in its cancellation, leaving it, unfortunately, without a final outcome.
Dark (2017 – 2020)
8.8 on IMDB | 95% on Rotten Tomatoes | 72 on Metacritic
In the small German town of Winches, the fates of four families intertwine after the creation of a time rift achieves the disappearance of a child. Over time, relationships of a family member who had disappeared in a similar way in the past were discovered and concepts of base years, time travel from an underground cave, conspiracies about an ancient nuclear power plant theoretically deactivated, the final day of apocalypse, Among others.
Dark was the first German original series to appear on Netflix and was very successful for maintaining a certain affinity with another series that was in vogue at the time (read Stranger Things), but presenting a completely unique and complex universe and story. From this success, three breathtaking seasons were guaranteed and several awards, including the best Netflix series elected on the website Rotten Tomatoes. It also won several victories in the fiction category of Grimme Award in 2018, one of the most important awards on German TV.
Express of Tomorrow (2020 – 2021)
6.9 on IMDB | 75% on Rotten Tomatoes | 56 on Metacritic
Originating from the eponymous film released in 2013 which, in turn, was based on the comic book The Snow Drill (1982) of Jacques Lob, the series Express of Tomorrow (Snowpiercer) tells the story of an accident caused by humanity that generated climate change and started a new ice age on the planet. To protect itself from the outside world, a train of gigantic proportions was created, with more than 100 wagons, called snow drill, in which the crew would have the opportunity to survive by boarding at the cost of a valuable ticket.
The series unfolds with a constant class struggle, invasions and mysterious cases inside the locomotive resistant to the frozen world and is already in its third season on the platform for TNT, the American network that originally aired the series.
Watch Expresso do Amanhã on Netflix
Good Omens (2019 – Current)
8.1 on IMDB | 84% on Rotten Tomatoes | 66 on Metacritic
book adaptation Good Curses: The Fair and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (from the original Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch) of Neil Gaiman (Sandman) e Terry Pratchett (Discworld), the series Good Omens puts in focus a angel (Healed) and a demon (Crowley) who, after having a good time on Earth, decide to join forces to avoid Armageddon. To do so, they must find the antichrist responsible for bringing about the future apocalypse: an 11-year-old child.
Good Omens it is the result of a long-standing attempt by the creators to make the 1990 book a visual production. Gained more strength after a posthumous letter from Pratchett (1948 – 2015) to gaiman with the request to proceed with the project even without it. The recordings were filmed in places like Surrey e St. James's Park (England) and also in Cape Town (South Africa). The second season was released in July 2023 by Amazon.
Watch Good Omens on Amazon Prime Video
Silo (2023 - Current)
Silo is an original adaptation of Apple TV + which tells the story of a society that lives tens of meters deep below the ground we know. The series is based on the famous trilogy of books by the American writer Hugh Howey, which includes the books Silo (1st book), Order (2nd book) and Legacy (3rd book). See the synopsis:
In a ruined and toxic future, thousands live in a giant silo underground. After her sheriff breaks a cardinal rule and residents mysteriously die, engineer Juliette begins to uncover shocking secrets and the truth about the silo.
Synopsis of Silo
The first season ended on June 30, 2023, but the Apple TV + has already secured a renewal for the production, with a second season scheduled to premiere in 2025.
The 100 (2014 – 2020)
7.6 on IMDB | 93% on Rotten Tomatoes | 64 on Metacritic
The 100 is focused on a group of 100 young prisoners who, after being considered expendable by the community Ark — a cluster of space stations inhabited by more than two thousand people — are sent on a research mission on the spot to assess the real repopulation potentials on planet Earth, which had been devastated 97 years ago due to a nuclear war.
The series, which has 100 (!) episodes divided into seven seasons, began airing on the American open channel T and garnered high viewership in its first episode, released a year after the eponymous book on which it was based.
The Last of Us (2023 – Current)
Adaptation of the game to PlayStation of the same name, the series starring Pedro Pascal e Beautiful Ramsey put fans of series about the end of the world in front of televisions for ten Sundays. In addition to the high fidelity to the original story, who accompanied the first season of The Last Of Us managed to cry, laugh, and tense through every episode.
The plot revolves around a utopia in which the mushroom Cordyceps caused a massive pandemic that killed millions of people by turning them into zombies. The hope for new people not to be infected is It, character of Beautiful Ramsey which needs to be loaded by Joel, Played by Pedro Pascal, to a place that develops the cure. During the first season, they create a father-daughter bond that involves a lot of trauma, loss and mutual support.
The series has been renewed for a second season so that the events of the second game will now become episodes. The production was also one of the more suitable for Emmy Awards 2023 and the interpretation of the protagonists should yield many statuettes.
Watch The Last Of Us on HBO Max
The Last Ship (2014 – 2018)
7.5 on IMDB | 83% on Rotten Tomatoes | 60 on Metacritic
With the fate of the world in his hands, the captain of the USS Nathan James, Tom chandler (Eric dane) has the arduous mission of getting his crew to safety, finding a cure and continuing to survive after a deadly virus has decimated much of the population. To help him in this mission, he will count on the virologist Rachel Scott (Rhona Mitra) and military personnel on board, totaling 218 people.
A série The Last Ship was based on the book of the same name (1988) by William Brinkley, broadcast by the TNT channel with five seasons and won, in 2015, the award for best TV series by ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards.
Watch The Last Ship on Globoplay
The Rain (2018 – 2020)
6.3 on IMDB | -% on Rotten Tomatoes | 65 on Metacritic
We include as one of the most thematic series about the end of the world, the Danish The Rain and its entire plot around a killer rain. The story revolves around the brothers Simone (alba august) is Rasmus (Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen), who live in an underground shelter after a deadly rain-borne virus hits a large part of the population.
After six years, motivated by the scarcity of resources and curiosity with the outside world, they decide to explore the environment outside and end up finding other survivors, just as impactful, that will make this journey even more interesting. Route planning, army escapes, discoveries of sects, secret organizations, family conflicts, among other situations will be seen. The series is an original production by Netflix launched in 2018 and has three short, but very engaging, seasons.
The Walking Dead (2010 – 2021)
8.2 on IMDB | 80% on Rotten Tomatoes | 79 on Metacritic
A blockbuster series based on the comics by R in which the world faces a major zombie threat. in the script of The Walking Dead, the United States presents an apocalyptic scenario where a group led by the ex-cop Rick Grimes(Andrew Lincoln) travels through several places in search of shelter, escape from infested beings and, mainly, the perception of personal conflicts generated from all the tension and need for survival.
The Walking Dead has a strong cast, with several leading actors from other series, such as Jeffrey Dean Morgan (supernatural), Melissa McBride (The fog) is N (Ride with Norman Reedus, And Death Stranding, a game developed by the creative mind of Hideo Kojima). Such a success of the series made it guarantee 10 seasons, with the 11th on the way this August, in addition to giving rise to parallel series, such as Fear The Walking Dead (2015) The Walking Dead: Tor Apart (2011) and The Walking Dead: World Beyond (2020)
Watch The Walking Dead on Netflix
Best movies about the end of the world
There is a much higher number in quantity when we refer to end of the world movies, so much so that it was not so easy to separate just 10 cinematographic works to include in this list. We decided to opt for some more recent and others more famous, with pre and post apocalyptic themes, arranged in alphabetical order for a better presentation.
#Alive (2020)
6.3 on IMDB | 88% on Rotten Tomatoes | – on Metacritic
After the spread of a virus that turns people into zombie creatures, the gamer oh joon-woo he is forced to remain isolated in his apartment, having to avoid his relationship with the outside world as much as possible. The events are televised as a threat to the city of Seoul, but the entire plot takes place on the outskirts of his condominium, in which dozens of residents become an obstacle for him.
The film #Alive demonstrates very current pandemic aspects by portraying modern life in complete isolation, demonstrating its difficulties and barriers in terms of survival. Directed by Cho Il-hyung (summer in LA, Jin), the South Korean feature film was well received by critics and audiences and was awarded the title of Best Actor, by the performance of the protagonist yoo ah-in, in the award Cinema 21 of 2020.
The Road (2009)
7.2 on IMDB | 74% on Rotten Tomatoes | 64 on Metacritic
The road (The Road in the original) tells the story of a planet destroyed about 10 years ago and focuses on a father and his son, trying to survive amid the scarcity of resources, heading towards the west of the USA. Little is known about what led to such an apocalyptic scenario, but a reality in which everything is decaying can lead the viewer to a hint of reflection and sad feelings.
The film was based on the book of the same name by Cormac McCarthy and was directed by the Australian director John hillcoat and script adapted by Joe penhall. the long The road won Best Cinematography at the San Diego Film Critics Society (2009) and Best Actor in Viggo Mortensen by the Utah Film Critics Association (2009).
Love and Monsters (2020)
7.0 on IMDB | 93% on Rotten Tomatoes | 63 on Metacritic
After an apocalypse that devastated the world and turned insects into gigantic creatures with proportionally greater powers, several humans settled in underground colonies, with their own shelter systems and feeding methods. Seven years after this incident, the cook is fearful. Joel Dawson (Dylan O'Brien) decides to go in search of his girlfriend, who lives more than 100 kilometers away, doing what no one has ever done, leaving his Bunkers.
Love and Monsters tells a story of love and comedy with the portrayal of an exaggerated and curious end of the world. The film was well received by critics and earned it a nomination for Oscar in category Best Special Effects.
Watch Love and Monsters on Netflix
Birdbox (2018)
6.6 on IMDB | 63% on Rotten Tomatoes | 51 on Metacritic
A woman, played by Sandra Bullock, finds himself having to take two children across a long path, made up of a forest and a river, blindfolded. The reason for this, and for the blindfolds, is that specters are seen by anyone with their eyes open and can cause humans terrible and extreme feelings of loss and regret, capable of driving any being to compulsive suicide.
Based on the book of the same name by josh malerman, Bird box had his recordings in scenarios of Los Angeles, Monrovia, with forest scenes in the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and river in smith river, both located in the state of California. He also got a few awards, such as Scariest Performance by Bullock, at the MTV Movie + TV Award (2009), Best Song (Golden Trailer Awards, 2019), Best Streaming Film (Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, 2019), among others.
Children of Hope (2006)
7.9 on IMDB | 92% on Rotten Tomatoes | 84 on Metacritic
In the near future, in the year 2027, the human race faces problems with infertility, which has been going through a long period of 20 years. In this pessimistic scenario, the last born young man dies and soon a woman is discovered who is apparently pregnant and in need of protection for what may be a ray of hope for all of humanity.
children of hope (Children of Men in the original) was nominated in several Oscar categories and won awards that included Best Cinematography and Best Production Design, for the BAFTA Film Award (2007), Best Science Fiction Film for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (USA), between others.
Watch Children of Hope on Google Play Movies ou na video
Deep Impact (1998)
6.2 on IMDB | 45% on Rotten Tomatoes | 40 on Metacritic
Conspiracies about the end of the world were already circling the population in the 2000s and this 1998 film written by Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost) is Michael Tokin and directed by Mimi Leder (The Leftovers) it only came to add to the conspiracies about the apocalyptic possibilities on planet Earth. Deep Impact (Deep Impact, in the original) jeopardized human existence by establishing a powerful meteor of 11 km in extension on a collision course with our planet. After a journalistic struggle with the authorities to publicize this threat to the world, attacks on the comet and traces of underground escape routes are planned to survive the impact.
The film generated a good income at the box office at the time of its release, but was divided as to its quality. It has won some awards at famous events such as the Golem Screen (Germany) and the YoungStar Awards (USA), in this for the best performance of the young actor Elijah Wood, as well as numerous nominations in many other categories.
Watch Deep Impact on Google Play Movies
Independence Day (1996)
7.0 on IMDB | 67% on Rotten Tomatoes | 59 on Metacritic
Alien invasions are a reality in series and movies about the end of the world and Independence Day takes those odds to a whole new level. In the script, planet Earth is about to be invaded by a gigantic object shaped like a circular spaceship that has ¼ the mass of the Moon. In addition to it, 36 spacecraft are positioned in strategic locations around the world, such as the White House, Big Ben e Taj Mahal, to name a few. Faced with this fact, government and population are preparing for an attack, under the leadership of the Captain Hiller (Will Smith) in conjunction with the US Air Force, which culminates with the 4th of July, the commemoration of the Independence of the United States.
The film gained good repercussion, with an award for Better visual effects No. Oscar 1997, as well as several others in different categories. A sequel was released in 2016, 20 years later, called Independence Day: Resurgence.
Watch Independence Day on Amazon Prime Video
Interstellar (2014)
8.6 on IMDB | 72% on Rotten Tomatoes | 74 on Metacritic
Awarded for containing elements of realistic fiction and for dealing with such a complex topic, Interstellar he knew how to bring together subjects such as time dilation in space, wormholes, secret bases in space, among others. Everything was done with a spectacular cinematographic direction, script written by the director himself. Christopher Nolan it's your brother Jonathan Nolan, soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer and a cost of 165 million dollars, which guaranteed the film more than 40 awards, including the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, Film of the Year by AFI Award and Best Music by Saturn Award. He was also one of 10 most watched movies in the month of July 2021 in streaming.
The story takes place in a future where the Earth's days are numbered due to the low supply of crops, natural reserves and frequent sandstorms that make breathing difficult. In this chaos, the former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), who had started to dedicate himself to agriculture on his farm, is secretly summoned on a mission to discover a new planet with minimal and promising conditions for the survival and perpetuation of the human species.
Watch Interstellar on Google Play, Apple TV, HBO Max ou BalloonPlay
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
8.1 on IMDB | 97% on Rotten Tomatoes | 90 on Metacritic
The franchise Mad Max is known for presenting a post-apocalyptic world and in her fourth film, subtitled fury road, the protagonist Max rockatansky faces dystopian situations such as association with a rebel gang, speedy escapes and merciless road wars.
Mad Max: Fury RoadA (M in the original) boasted no less than six Academy Awards, with the categories Best Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Makeup.
Watch Mad Max: Fury Road on HBO Max
The Book of Eli (2010)
6.9 on IMDB | 46% on Rotten Tomatoes | 53 on Metacritic
In a world that was ravaged by nuclear war 30 years ago, people are living as they can. In this case, Eli (Denzel Washington), a blind man, travels through an America in ruins to deliver hope to the population. His strength comes from a book he carries, a gem that must be protected at all costs and delivered to a person in the west, following the guidance of an accompanying voice.
The film The book of Eli (The Book of Eli, in the original) won Best Actor at the Image Awards (2011) and Best Director at the Black Reel (2011), as well as several nominations, including categories such as Best Science Fiction Film, Most Inspiring Film, Discovery of the Year, among others.
Watch The Book of Eli on Netflix or Google Play Movies
Learn more
We know that lists and descriptions of the best and worst, as much as they maintain a line of research and attributions, always carry a certain personality. Therefore, we invite you, the readers, to also give your The Sommelier's Recommendations de end of the world movies and series that they liked the most.
We emphasize that, if you wish, you can use the comments to make brief descriptions and give more details about those movies or series that you believe should also be on this list.
And, for those who enjoy the subject, also get to know the 10 movies about natural disasters you can't miss.
Sources: IMDb | Ranker | Dansk Markedsføring
reviewed by Glaucon Vital in 3 / 8 / 23.
