The Walking Dead started as a niche zombie series in the early 2010s, but it built up steam and transformed into a runaway hit just a few seasons after its inception. By the middle of the decade, Robert Kirkman’s post-apocalyptic series was the most popular program on basic cable TV. It revolutionized long-form storytelling and created a rabid fandom that allowed it to run for over a decade and spawn many spinoffs.
Undead monsters aren’t the only thing that made The Walking Dead such a fascinating and addictive watch, though. The depth of the characters and the survivalist strategies of the entire group made for thrilling, adrenaline-filled episodes that other shows had a hard time matching. We have the best shows like The Walking Dead to watch next if you love the binge-worthiness of world-ending drama in this comic book adaptation.
The Last of Us (2023)
The current zombie darling on television, The Last of Us cuts to the center of a complicated father and daughter relationship after a disgruntled survivor travels with a misunderstood girl to find a cure for an illness that has zombified the population. The overall plot of the show is nothing unique, but the performances by Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, and the rest of the cast make this series hum at a high level. Fans of the video games may not like all of the decisions made here, but the adaptation has learned to soar on its own in season 2.
Station Eleven (2021)
Station Eleven is similar to these other shows on the list without having to rely on zombies to tell a survival story. The show is about the fallout after a flu pandemic and the lengths humans go to when in doubt about their futures. Religion, cults, and even some spooky sci-fi elements are infused into the 10 episodes that make this miniseries one of the best on Max. Himesh Patel is the best actor in the series.
Westworld (2016)
Westworld is a science fiction, dystopian thrill-ride that places viewers into an eerie theme park with artificial intelligence at the center of the experience. As the androids start to become more aware and humans don’t heed the warnings right in front of them, the theme park’s dangers seep into the outside world. Westworld burned bright in its first season before crashing out in the last couple. HBO even pulled the series from its streaming services, a rare occurrence for a company that hoards its IPs without any regard for sharing.
Fallout (2024)
Fallout is the second video game adaptation on this list, but it doesn’t get as much attention as The Last of Us. Ella Purnell stars in a series about the last traces of the human race leaving their fallout bunkers and venturing into the destruction above the surface from a nuclear war years earlier. Walton Goggins gives the most memorable performance in the series, something he does quite regularly throughout his career.
Yellowjackets (2021)
Yellowjackets brings an incredible ensemble cast together as a group of psychotic teenage girls survive a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness. A second timeline shows the women are even more unstable 25 years later in the aftermath of the events. Yellowjackets parallels The Walking Dead in its ability to orchestrate fascinating plotlines that get to the core of human instincts when all seems lost.
Breaking Bad (2008)
Breaking Bad aired on AMC at the same time as The Walking Dead and the two shows made the cable network the place for all things prestige drama back in the day. There aren’t any zombies here, but the world does seem to be crumbling around Walter White, a science teacher with terminal cancer who cooks drugs to create a nest egg for his loved ones. The tight script and small number of characters make the plotting feel dystopian even if there is no apocalypse happening outside of the White household.
The Boys (2019)
The Boys follows a group of vigilantes who become almost as corrupt and evil as the corporate superheroes they’re trying to take down. The intense, graphic violence and comic book origins of the series, along with some great crossover actors like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, makes The Boys a great spiritual successor to The Walking Dead.
Falling Skies (2011)
Noah Wyle from The Pitt stars in this alien invasion series in which he becomes the leader of a group trying to rebuild society as extraterrestrials destroy humanity. There’s a lot of great family drama at the center of Falling Skies. The camaraderie between the father and his sons makes for a heartwarming core. TNT’s special effects department put in a lot of work to make this a semi-realistic-looking science fiction adventure in the early 2010s.
Z Nation (2014)
