Epic Amazon Prime sci-fi series lauded as ‘definitely worth the binge’

Amazon Prime has added a unique apocalyptic sci-fi miniseries, Earth Abides, that’s already been praised as ‘ambitious’ and ‘charming’.

The six-episode show – of which four episodes have come out in the UK so far – is based on the popular 1949 Georg R. Stewart novel and imagines a world wiped out by a deadly disease and forced to restart.

The dystopian premise, reminiscent of the HBO show The Last Of Us and Apple TV+ series Silo, follows a group of ‘shattered survivors’ including Isherwood ‘Ish’ Williams (played by Hunger Games star Alexander Ludwig) as they rebuild humanity.

The series, created by Todd Komarnicki, also stars Ozark’s Jessica Frances Dukes, Kim’s Convenience actor Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll and Tony-winning star Aaron Tveit.

‘It’s the perfect glimpse of how you can find joy in the mundane search for something resembling a “normal” life in an extraordinary time.

‘Sometimes, it’s not about the survival of the human race: it’s about the survival of your family and your loved ones,’ Inverse wrote in its review.

The new Prime MGM+ series offers a new post-apocalyptic take (Picture: Michael Courtney/MGM+)

Alexandar Ludwig stars opposite Jessica Frances Dukes in the series (Picture: MGMPlus Entertainment LLC/Michael Courtney. All Rights Reserved)

And The Age shared: ‘Nothing is rushed, as isolation eventually gives way to a budding new community, and the show stoically focuses on the difficulties, both practically and ethically, of restarting a society.’

There has been a mixed reaction to the series so far, with Reddit user kinisonkhan writing: ‘This is definitely worth the binge watch. In the style of Station Eleven, in that in the aftermath of a global plauge, there isn’t a biblical fight of good vs evil and it’s spread out over many years.

‘A charming, satisfying series to watch.’

User Tenoke added: ‘I’m quite enjoying it. One of the more reasonable (and different takes) of a right-after-apocalypse scenario.’

‘A satisfyingly slow build that weaves together the desperation, fear, and hope of being the last people in the world. By episode three I couldn’t stop watching!’ Rotten Tomatoes reviewer Michael S shared.

‘It was refreshing to see a post-apocalyptic story that wasn’t full of the usual tropes of the majority of the remaining survivors being mauraders etc. There were some stilted performances from a lot of the cast but you really end up rooting for the characters,’ Scott J echoed.

Although some did caveat an ‘anticlimactic’ ending and ‘cheesy’ plot.

On how Earth Abides stands apart from other shows from the same genre, Aaron reflected:

‘I think we’re so trained to think what that [post-apocalyptic genre] is and what that’s going to be.

Theatre star Aaron Tveit was drawn in by the script (Picture: Michael Courtney/MGM+)

‘We encounter these worlds that are really dark and really wrought and there’s a zombie that shows up or some big baddie or an alien.

‘Instead, I was met with a script [for Earth Abides] that was so human and so rooted in human behaviour and human relationships and I was really, really moved by it,’ he told UPI.

The first episode is available to watch with a Prime subscription and the remaining can be accessed through an additional MGM+ subscription which also offers a seven-day free trial.

For those who want to watch it all in one go, the episodes are airing every Saturday with the final two still to be released in the UK so you may want to hang tight until the beginning of February before delving in.

The first four episodes of Earth Abides are available to watch on Prime Video and MGM+ now.

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