5 shows to watch if you love The Last of Us

The Last of Us launches on HBO and Sky tonight, and if you like a spot of dystopia, the following are 5 more shows to watch if you love the video game adaptation.

The TV adaptation of hit video game The Last of Us drops its first episode globally this evening. Overseen by the game’s creator Neil Druckmann, and Chernobyl showrunner Craig Mazin, the official synopsis is as follows…

The series takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heart-breaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

If you can’t get enough of Joel and Ellie’s terrifying adventure, Dexerto has you covered, as we’ve written about movies similar to the game here, while the following are five shows to watch if you love The Last of Us.

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead might have shuffled to a somewhat ignominious conclusion late last year, but in the early days, it was the biggest, most exciting, most gory, and most terrifying show on television.

Based on the beloved comic by Robert Kirkman, the show plays out in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, with survivors trying to rebuild society, but discovering that man can be even more dangerous than the flesh-eaters who are wiping them out.

The Stand

There have been two TV adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, his magnum opus about a world decimated by a plague, and the battle between good and evil that follows.

The first was a 1994 mini-series that starred Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, and Rob Lowe, the second a 2020 series that featured the likes of James Marsden, Greg Kinnear, and Amber Heard. Though if you’ve only got time for one Stand adaptation in your life, we’re recommending the 1994 version, as it tells a more affecting version of the story in a much shorter space of time.

Station Eleven

The most critically acclaimed series on this list, Station Eleven was adapted from the novel of the same name by Emily St. John Mandel. The show debuted on HBO at the tail-end of 2021 and ran for 10 episodes which scored the show a 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The story takes place 20 years after a flu panic wiped out much of humanity and caused the collapse of civilisation. While the show itself revolves around a group of performers who put on shows for other survivors, who then run into trouble when they encounter a violent cult.

Y: The Last Man

Another single-season series, this one is based on a comic rather than a novel, being adapted from Brian K. Vaughn and Pia Gurrera’s hugely successful and influential Y: The Last Man.

The show stars Ben Schnetzer as the Y in question, the only male survivor when a mysterious plague wipes out every other bloke on the planet. Season 1 was relatively well-received, with a 76% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but the show was cancelled before Y – aka Yorick – could continue his adventures in Season 2.

The Last Man on Earth

Another ‘last man on earth’ series, though one is lighter in tone, being a sitcom both created by and starring the brilliant Will Forte. The former SNL cast member plays Phil Miller, who initially believes himself to be the only survivor of a deadly virus that has swept the planet.

After years of being alone, he decides to kill himself, but just before he drives his truck into a rock, Phil spots another survivor, played by Kristen Schaal. Then over the course of four hilarious seasons, more survivors appear, played by the talented likes of Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, and Jack Black. Making The Last Man on earth the perfect palette-cleanser after the heartache and misery of The Last of Us.

The Last of Us starts on HBO and Sky this evening (January 15) and you can read our spoiler-free review of Episode 1 here.