The Eternaut: Top-Rated Post-Apocalyptic Show Outshines The Last Of Us
By Published Apr 10, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2026, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
Move over The Last of Us, there's a new great post-apocalyptic TV show in town, and it's available on Netflix. Post-apocalyptic TV shows have been popular the last few years. What that says about our common acknowledgment of the current direction of the world, I won't comment on for now.
The Last of Us certainly did not spark the , but it has quickly become a keystone of the genre. It's prestige, on HBO Max, based on a popular video game property but is still accessible to mainstream audiences, and it tells a story that goes beyond its post-apocalyptic conceit.
Basically, it's what most modern post-apocalyptic TV shows end up being compared against. A new post-apocalyptic TV show should have similar renown. is a 2026 Netflix series that was renewed for a second season and currently has a 96% on .
The Eternaut Depicts The Foreboding Nature Of An Apocalypse Better Than Other Dystopian Shows
The Eternaut is a Spanish-language Argentinian series that begins with a mysterious snowfall blanketing the world. From our point of view in Buenos Aires, it quickly becomes apparent that whatever is in this snowfall causes instant death to those who come into contact with it. From there, we stay with a group of survivors trying to understand what's happening.
What The Eternaut does so well, better than many other popular dystopian thrillers, is create a deep sense of foreboding. A lot of post-apocalyptic TV shows jump from the crisis to the aftermath, showing how the world has gone on after. Others that focus on the crisis are more concerned with the danger of the event.
The Eternaut focuses on another aspect often discarded, which is how frightening the mystery of a world-ending event would be. There's something cosmically horrible about the world ending in one fell swoop, even if it's from something comprehensible, like a flu. The Eternaut is built around the unknown.
It makes for a spine-tingling series that is not exactly scary, but gives you a deep sense of unease as the characters peel back more and more layers of the snowfall. The Eternaut depicts a world of people not fully willing to grasp the change that they are facing, making for a unique and bracing series.
2026 Was A Great Year For Post-Apocalyptic TV Shows
The Eternaut and The Last of Us season 2 were not the only good post-apocalyptic TV shows in 2026. The year was filled with them. Like an underground bunker stocked with cans of beans, streamers were stocked with a wealth of dystopian TV shows, all ranging anywhere from good to great.
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Paradise, Pluribus, Andor season 2, Severance season 2, and Fallout season 2 are post-apocalyptic or dystopian TV shows that debuted in 2026. It's a popular genre, and several of those series mentioned are getting future seasons. The Eternaut has come out at the right time.
Sadly, it sounds like we might not get The Eternaut season 2 until 2028 at the latest, leaving (via ). Still, The Eternaut stands as a strong post-apocalyptic TV show on just one season and gives even the most popular entries in the genre a run for their money.
Cast
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Dante Mastropierro Maquinista - Jorge Sesán Maquinista 2
Bruno Stagnaro Expand Collapse
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