The Best Apocalypse TV Shows on Free Services

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). 71 episodes (91%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 78 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: They’re not righteous, they’re wrongteous! 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). 5 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). 156 episodes (50%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 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: 5 episodes (7%) are available to watch free online (Yahoo View). 67 episodes (100%) 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: 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 (Sony Crackle, Tubi TV & Yahoo View). 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 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Prime Video).

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: 5 episodes (50%) are available to watch free online (FOX & Yahoo View). 10 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 5 episodes (50%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (FOX). 10 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Prime Video, Vudu & FandangoNOW).

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: 5 episodes (38%) are available to watch free online (The CW). 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 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (10%) are available to watch free online (CBS). 29 episodes (97%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & CBS All Access). 29 episodes (97%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: When the world is struck by a deadly pandemic that turns humans into zombies, Takashi Komuro and several of his classmates at Fujimi High School try to survive the apocalypse.

Where to Watch: 12 episodes (92%) are available to watch free online (Yahoo View). 12 episodes (92%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 12 episodes (92%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Life After People is a television series on which scientists, structural engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of Earth should humanity instantly disappear. The featured experts also talk about the impact of human extinction on the environment, and the vestiges of civilization thus left behind.

Where to Watch: 3 episodes (15%) are available to watch free online (History). 15 episodes (75%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (History). 18 episodes (90%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Microsoft).

What it's about: In the early 2050s, unknown life forms called “Oracle cells” begin their uncontrolled consumption of all life on Earth. Their ravenous appetite and remarkable adaptability earn them first dread, then awe, and finally the name “aragami”. In the face of an enemy completely immune to conventional weapons, urban civilization collapses, and each day humanity is driven further and further toward extinction. One single ray of hope remains for humanity. Following the development of “God Arcs”—living weapons which incorporate Oracle cells—their wielders are organized into an elite force.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu).

What it's about: The Tribe is a New Zealand/British post-apocalyptic fictional TV series primarily aimed at teenagers. It is set in a near-future in which all adults have been wiped out by a deadly virus, leaving the children of the world to fend for themselves. The show's focus is on an unnamed city inhabited by tribes of children and teenagers. It was primarily filmed in and around Wellington, New Zealand.The series was created by Raymond Thompson and Harry Duffin and was developed and produced by the Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group in conjunction with the UK's Channel 5. It has aired on over 40 broadcast networks around the world.It debuted on Channel 5 on 24 April 1999 and quickly gained a large fan base. From 1999 to 2003, five series and 260 half-hour episodes were produced. Series 6 was scheduled to begin filming in 2003, but Nick Wilson, of Channel 5, and Raymond Thompson felt that "although the show was still performing well, the cast was getting too old and the series was beginning to stretch the core proposition." They felt the characters were not kids fending for themselves without adults any more. As a result, the show was cancelled. Channel 5 aired the final two episodes on 6 September 2003.

Where to Watch: 208 episodes (80%) are available to watch free online (Tubi TV). 261 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video). 261 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Maddigan's Quest was a fantasy-based television series set in a post-apocalyptic future. It was based on an original concept by Margaret Mahy and was developed for television by Gavin Strawhan and Rachel Lang. The show originally screened on CBBC in the UK, and was also aired on TV3 in New Zealand, Family Room HD from Voom Networks HD and Nine Network in early 2006.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi TV). 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video).