Teenagers Govern Alone as Adults Vanish: 8 Best Survival Drama Series of All Time

Jeremiah Looks Beyond Survival

Set in 2021, Jeremiah follows two people in a world transformed by a virus called “The Big Death,” which killed almost everyone older than 13 fifteen years earlier. Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner star in the Showtime series, which is loosely based on a Belgian comic book series.

After meeting in captivity under a warlord, the leads are recruited to help a mysterious organization. Their journey brings them to Thunder Mountain and the Valhalla Sector, groups with different approaches to rebuilding. Rather than focus on surviving the pandemic itself, the drama considers what kind of society might follow it.

The Terror Traps Sailors

The sailors face freezing conditions, violence among factions and, eventually, a monster. Some turn to cannibalism as their chances of survival diminish. The season offers a bleak account of the expedition, with little hope for the crew.

Teenagers Build Their Own Society

In Netflix’s The Society, a group of teenagers returns from a school trip to find that the adults in their town have disappeared. Cut off from the rest of the world, they must find a way to live on their own, using available resources to establish a communal society.

Power struggles, hormones and disorder threaten their fragile arrangement, while the mystery behind their isolation adds another layer to the story. Critics praised the show’s storytelling and social commentary, but its planned second season was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the story unresolved.