11 Shows Like 'The Last of Us' to Binge Following its Finale

Like The Last of Us, 12 Monkeys is a show loosely based on another form of media. With TLOU it was gaming but here, the show is based on a 1995 film of the same name, which in turn was based on a 1962 French film called La Jetée. The show is about a virus which has wiped out a lot of people and set civilisation back. Here though, rather than a girl who potentially carries immunity, time travel is a way to fix things.

Moments in The Last of Us where the infected were the centre of attention were far and few between for good reason, but for many, those were the most intense and best moments. If that describes you, check out Black Summer, a show about a zombie apocalypse that still manages to do more than just slaughter a bunch of undead each episode.

Beyond the dystopian, post-apocalyptic feel of both shows, Chernobyl and The Last of Us are similar because Craig Mazin worked heavily on both. Chernobyl tells the very real and sobering tale of the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 which was a nuclear accident with repercussions beyond belief. This show will replicate the unsettling feeling you got during TLOU’s cold open about fungal infections.

Let’s be honest, as much as The Last of Us was well received for perfect writing, a heart-warming story and the rest of it, fan favourite Pedro Pascal was always going to give it somewhat of a head start. The internet has been infatuated with Pedro as of late so truthfully, other than him playing the main character and both being great shows, Narcos and TLOU have little in common, but if you enjoyed his performance as Joel, perhaps you’ll appreciate Narcos too.

Like TLOU, this is a HBO limited series. It didn’t get as much shine as TLOU, but Station Eleven has more than enough reason for you to pay attention. It’s an adaptation of a novel and it covers a pandemic that wiped out civilisation, following a group of survivors twenty years later at the same time.

Adapted from the graphic novel by Jeff Lemire, Sweet Tooth sees a society that has fallen to a virus which has led to babies born part human and part animal. Some hunt these hybrid babies down but some don’t, creating a sort of moral dilemma. The show follows one of these hybrids named Gus.

The Walking Dead is one of the more famous and well-done zombie shows of all time, but for a show that’s truly similar to The Last of Us, Tales of The Walking Dead is the way to go. It shifts the focus to smaller, more self-contained stories, slowing the pace down in a way that fans of TLOU will be able to appreciate.

Long, Long Time got rave reviews when it first aired. It also got some comparisons to The Leftovers. 140 million people disappear in an event dubbed the Sudden Departure and the show follows the aftermath of this event with all of its complicated fallout.

The Last of Us features Joel take on a parental role for Ellie and The Mandalorian sees Din Dijarin do the same for Grogu, better known as Baby Yoda. The show has become a favourite amongst Star Wars fan but you don’t need to know all of the lore to enjoy this show. To make it even better, Pedro Pascal takes the lead here too.

The concept of this show is that a virus that’s carried by rain has wiped out most of humanity. In the aftermath, a pair of siblings escape a bunker and head out on the search for their father, meeting some intriguing characters along the way. The show’s family dynamic is heart-warming in a similar way to many moments in The Last of Us and the post-apocalyptic setting is naturally reminiscent of TLOU too.

Last up is Z Nation, whose premise is strikingly similar to The Last of Us. Here, a group of survivors of a zombie outbreak come together to protect an immune person and help transport them from New York to California. The difference here comes in the amount of violence in the show, which is actually balanced out a bunch by some comedic moments. If that sounds like you, give it a go.