Looking for something to keep you occupied while waiting out the global pandemic? Well, we got you covered. Here are the top 10 best shows about epidemics, pandemics and viruses to get you through self-isolation.
The Walking Dead
The best series out there about a zombie apocalypse. It has the added benefit of being so long it will hold you over for the entire quarantine and then some.
The premise of the show is that, as a result of some unknown substance, people begin turning into zombies and eating their relatives. In the ensuing chaos, people unite in small groups and try to survive, fighting with competitors over the remnants of civilization.
Survivors (2008)
The spread of the “European flu” kicks off exactly when nobody’s ready for it.
The epidemic kills off 90% of the world’s population in just a few days, while chaos and lawlessness reign on a nearly empty planet. States and cities crumble, leaving only small groups of survivors from among the 1% of the population immune to the virus. The survivors are forced to fight for their life in a world with new rules, forgetting the comforts of civilization, as well as their former values and principles.
The Stand (2020)
An American series based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King.
The story begins when a secret military lab leaks a deadly flu virus which results in a pandemic that kills millions of people. After 19 days, only a tiny fraction of the population is left, and people began to divide into warring factions. The leader of one of the groups is Redman, who seems to be immune to the virus.
The Outbreak (2019)
This Russian series is based on a book by Jana Wagner. Against the background of a global pandemic, the story follows the personal drama of one family. Doctors are unable to find a cure for the disease, and its short incubation period almost always results in a quick death: anyone who has contact with the infected eventually dies.
Global panic begins in the country, the social system collapses, communication breaks down, the electricity is shut off and the state ceases to perform its functions.
Children are flowers: Rabid (1983)
This is an older Turkish movie (not series), but has very real implications even for today’s world. In the last years of World War II, a crippled young villager roams aimlessly as a result of a broken prenuptial promise. He is alone until he finds an elderly caregiver with twelve sick children who need him to acquire a rabies vaccine from a city hospital, located in three days walking from them.
The day of the triffids (2009)
A screen adaptation of John Windem’s fantastic work of the same name.
After a meteor shower, people around the world start to go blind. Only a small fraction of the population is still able to see after the event. At the same time, people are beginning to be attacked by triffids – creatures that produce valuable oil materials and have a collective mind.
The series shows how people try to survive in the new and unusual conditions.
Containment (2016)
A deadly viral epidemic starts in Atlanta, with part of the city being totally quarantined. While doctors are looking for a cure, people begin to panic, riot and loot. Food is catastrophically scarce, and law enforcement is unable to keep the crowd under control.
Meanwhile, the authorities are looking for a child who may be a clue to curing the virus.
The Passage (2019)
The plot of the series was based on a trilogy by Justin Cronin.
In a post-apocalypse future, a secret experiment by the authorities leads to the appearance of vampires. However, one girl seems to have strange powers in relation to the virus.
See (2019)
In the future, all people are born blind and the very notion of vision becomes a legend. As mankind falls into a primitive state, some active people begin to invent new ways of reading and moving long distances.
However, one day, this new world is shocked by the emergence of twins who both have vision.
Dead set (2008)
Heroes of a long reality show, isolated from the outside world for 2 months of filming, miss the occurrence of a zombie apocalypse. While the cameras recorded their personal drama, the UK is attacked by crowds of zombies. Only the show’s participants and crew survive. How will they handle the outside world now?