The Best Apocalypse TV Shows

What it's about: A dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, it explores a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged.

Where to Watch: 23 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO). 23 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (HBO). 20 episodes (87%) are available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.

Where to Watch: 145 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, fuboTV & AMC Premiere). 14 episodes (10%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (AMC). 145 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Firefly is set in the year 2517, after the arrival of humans in a new star system and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship. The ensemble cast portrays the nine characters who live on Serenity.

Where to Watch: 14 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 14 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, brilliant but formerly institutionalized scientist Walter Bishop and his scheming, reluctant son Peter uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.

Where to Watch: 100 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 100 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a theonomic dictatorship. A TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel.

Where to Watch: 35 episodes (97%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 36 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: 100 years in the future, when the Earth has been abandoned due to radioactivity, the last surviving humans live on an ark orbiting the planet — but the ark won't last forever. So the repressive regime picks 100 expendable juvenile delinquents to send down to Earth to see if the planet is still habitable.

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (6%) are available to watch free online (The CW). 84 episodes (99%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 85 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Hook up with Finn and Jake as they travel the Land of Ooo searching for adventure. But remember, adventure isn’t always easy. Sometimes you’ve got to battle fire gnomes that torture old ladies, save a smelly hot dog princess from the Ice King, and thaw out a bunch of frozen businessmen. What the cabbage?!

Where to Watch: 1 episodes (0%) are available to watch free online (Cartoon Network). 6 episodes (2%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 1 episodes (0%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (Cartoon Network). 160 episodes (51%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.

Where to Watch: 144 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 144 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Explore what it would be like if the Allied Powers had lost WWII, and Japan and Germany ruled the United States. Based on Philip K. Dick's award-winning novel.

Where to Watch: 39 episodes (98%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video).

What it's about: When 2% of the world's population abruptly disappears without explanation, the world struggles to understand just what they're supposed to do about it. The drama series 'The Leftovers' is the story of the people who didn't make the cut. Based on the bestselling novel by Tom Perrotta, 'The Leftovers' follows Kevin Garvey, a father of two and the chief of police in a small New York suburb, as he tries to maintain some semblance of normalcy when the notion no longer applies.

Where to Watch: 28 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO). 28 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (HBO). 28 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Aziraphale, an angel, and Crowley, a demon, join forces to find the Antichrist and stop Armageddon.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video). 6 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Vudu & YouTube).

What it's about: The provocative story of Cole, a time traveler from a decimated future in a high-stakes race against the clock. Utilizing a dangerous and untested method of time travel, he journeys from 2043 to the present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will all but annihilate the human race.

Where to Watch: 45 episodes (94%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 48 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: In a land controlled by feudal barons, a great warrior and a young boy embark on a journey across a dangerous land to find enlightenment.A genre-bending martial arts series very loosely based on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West.

Where to Watch: 32 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 32 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A medical student who becomes a zombie joins a Coroner's Office in order to gain access to the brains she must reluctantly eat so that she can maintain her humanity. But every brain she eats, she also inherits their memories and must now solve their deaths with help from the Medical examiner and a police detective.

Where to Watch: 71 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 71 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: In a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a 'Synth' - a highly-developed robotic servant that's so similar to a real human it's transforming the way we live.

Where to Watch: 24 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video). 24 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: In the near future a family must make difficult decisions as they balance staying together with trying to survive. They live in Los Angeles, which has been occupied by a force of outside intruders. While some people have chosen to collaborate with the authorities and benefit from the new order, others have rebelled — and suffer the consequences.

Where to Watch: 36 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 36 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: The series picks up four years after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day with John and Sarah Connor trying to stay under-the-radar from the government, as they plot to destroy the computer network, Skynet, in hopes of preventing Armageddon.

Where to Watch: 31 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 31 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A high concept thriller that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, the head of the Center for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph, his team, and an assembly of everyday New Yorkers, wage war for the fate of humanity itself.

Where to Watch: 46 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 46 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Tom Kirkman, a low-level cabinet member is suddenly appointed President of the United States after a catastrophic attack during the State of the Union kills everyone above him in the Presidential line of succession.

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (9%) are available to watch free online (ABC). 54 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 43 episodes (80%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Thousands of dead people have risen from their graves and nearly destroyed Britain. A cure has been found - but can the treated zombies be rehabilitated back into living society?

Where to Watch: 9 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 9 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Their mission is simple: Find a cure. Stop the virus. Save the world. When a global pandemic wipes out eighty percent of the planet's population, the crew of a lone naval destroyer must find a way to pull humanity from the brink of extinction.

Where to Watch: 56 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & fuboTV). 5 episodes (9%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (TNT). 56 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: What did the world look like as it was transforming into the horrifying apocalypse depicted in "The Walking Dead"? This spin-off set in Los Angeles, following new characters as they face the beginning of the end of the world, will answer that question.

Where to Watch: 69 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 69 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Trigun takes place in the distant future on a deserted planet. Vash the Stampede is a gunfighter with a legend so ruthless he has a $60,000,000,000 bounty on his head. Entire towns evacuate at the rumor of his arrival. But the real Vash the Stampede, the enigmatic and conflicted lead character in Trigun, is more heroic, even though he usually acts like a complete idiot.

Where to Watch: 26 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 26 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu & Funimation). 26 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: A virus has decimated humankind. Those who survived emerged blind. Centuries later when twins are born with the mythic ability to see, their father must protect his tribe against a threatened queen.

Where to Watch: 8 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (Apple TV+).

What it's about: Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series that revolves around a corporation running numerous underground establishments across the globe which program individuals referred to as "Actives" with temporary personalities and skills. Wealthy clients hire Actives from Dollhouses at great expense for various purposes. The series primarily follows the Active known as Echo, played by Eliza Dushku, on her journey towards self-awareness.

Where to Watch: 26 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 26 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The year is 2022, and after an unlikely event, only one man is left on earth: Phil Miller, who used to be just an average guy who loved his family and hated his job at the bank. Now, in his RV, Phil searches the country for other survivors.

Where to Watch: 66 episodes (99%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 18 episodes (27%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (FOX). 67 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Zombies are rampaging throughout Britain. Blissfully unaware of gory events outside, the Big Brother housemates are in for the ultimate eviction night...

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 5 episodes (50%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Defiance is an American science fiction television show that takes place in the future on a radically transformed Earth containing new species arriving from space. In the show, Joshua Nolan works as the lawman for the town of Defiance, a community where humans and intelligent extraterrestrial species coexist. The show follows Nolan, his adopted alien daughter Irisa, and the town's new mayor Amanda Rosewater.

Where to Watch: 38 episodes (97%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video). 39 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Helix is an intense thriller about a team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control who travel to a high-tech research facility in the Arctic to investigate a possible disease outbreak, only to find themselves pulled into a terrifying life-and-death struggle that holds the key to mankind's salvation...or total annihilation.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (50%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 26 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Falling Skies opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign against the occupying alien force.

Where to Watch: 52 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: After a brutal virus wipes out most of the population, two young siblings embark on a perilous search for safety. A Scandinavian thriller series.

Where to Watch: 14 episodes (88%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: An epidemic breaks out in Atlanta leaving the large city quarantined and those stuck on the inside fighting for their lives. This is the story of loved ones torn apart, and how the society that grows inside the quarantine reveals both the devolution of humanity and the birth of unlikely heroes.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 13 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (Google Play & YouTube).

What it's about: A young fresh-faced Hill staffer gets her first job in Washington, D.C. and discovering two things: 1. The government has stopped working, and 2. alien spawn have come to earth and eaten the brains of a growing number of Congressmen and Hill staffers.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & CBS All Access). 13 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Dominion is an epic supernatural drama set in the near future. Specifically, 25 years after "The Extinction War," when an army of lower angels, assembled by the archangel Gabriel, waged war against mankind. The archangel Michael, turning against his own kind, chose to side with humanity. Rising out of the ashes of this long battle are newly fortified cities which protect human survivors. At the center of the series is the city of Vega, a glistening empire that has formed from the ruins of what was once Las Vegas.

Where to Watch: 21 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 21 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A mind-bending, thrilling journey exploring the fragility and wonder of planet Earth, one of the most peculiar, unique places in the entire universe, brought to life by the only people to have left it behind – the world’s most well known and leading astronauts.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a subscription service (Disney+). 10 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Living his best life in post-apocalyptic LA, a slacker strives to find the girl of his dreams while outwitting mindless ghouls and cliquish gangs.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: Revolution focuses on the struggle to survive 15 years after a global blackout.

Where to Watch: 42 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (IMDb TV). 42 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: In the year 2149, the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped and overcrowded, with the majority of plant and animal life extinct. The future of mankind is in jeopardy, and its only hope for survival is in the distant past. An ordinary family goes on an extraordinary journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a part of a massive expedition to save the human race.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: One fateful day, all of humanity was petrified by a blinding flash of light. After several millennia, high schooler Taiju awakens and finds himself lost in a world of statues. However, he's not alone! His science-loving friend Senku's been up and running for a few months and he's got a grand plan in mind, to kickstart civilization with the power of science!

Where to Watch: 24 episodes (96%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 24 episodes (96%) are available to stream on a subscription service (Funimation). 24 episodes (96%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Vudu & YouTube).

What it's about: When a risk-averse, straight-arrowed, female procurement manager at an Amazon-like distribution center falls in love with a free-spirited man who lives life to the fullest because he believes the apocalypse is imminent, they embark on a quest together to fulfill their individual bucket lists, with comedic and poignant results.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 13 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: When the crew of the U.S. ballistic missile submarine Colorado refuse to fire nuclear weapons at Pakistan without confirmation of the orders, they are fired upon and declared rogue enemies of their own country.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Sony Crackle). 13 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Set amidst a wave of violent animal attacks sweeping across the planet, a young renegade scientist is thrust into a race to unlock the mystery behind this pandemic before time runs out for animals and humans alike.

Where to Watch: 39 episodes (95%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 38 episodes (93%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: An MIT grad student and a tech superstar bring a low-level Pentagon official a staggering discovery that an asteroid is just six months away from colliding with Earth.

Where to Watch: 28 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & CBS All Access). 27 episodes (96%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Survivors was a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC. It depicts the lives of a group of people who survived a virulent unknown strain of influenza which has wiped out most of the human species. According to the producers, the series is not a remake of the 1970s BBC television series Survivors, created by Terry Nation, but is loosely based on the novel of the same name that Nation wrote following the first series of the 1970s series. Two series were produced of the new series. Series 1 ran on BBC One and BBC HD in November–December 2008, and series 2 ran in January–February 2010, ending with a cliffhanger. The BBC announced on 13 April 2010 that, due to poor viewing figures and other considerations, Survivors had been cancelled.The series had its premiere in South Africa on BBC Entertainment in September 2009, in France on DTTV channel NRJ 12 on 12 January 2010, and on BBC America in the United States on 13 February 2010. The series' Australian premiere was on Channel Nine, on 21 March 2010.

Where to Watch: 12 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: In the dark, early days of a zombie apocalypse, complete strangers band together to find the strength they need to survive and get back to loved ones.

Where to Watch: 8 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: A post-apocalyptic story about a botched U.S. government experiment that turns a group of death row inmates into highly infectious vampires, and an orphan girl who might be the only person able to stop the ensuing crisis.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (Google Play, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: Set in contemporary Europe, the reimagining follows the pockets of humanity left on earth following an apocalyptic extra-terrestrial strike.

Where to Watch: 7 episodes (88%) are available to stream on a subscription service (Epix). 7 episodes (88%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix).