If you're tired of the classics in the post-apocalyptic genre, Earth Abides, streaming on the MGM+ platform, might be just what you need. Based on the novel of the same name by George R. Stewart, the series follows two survivors in a world where 99% of humanity has perished due to a global plague. Starring Alexander Ludwig and Jessica Frances Dukes, the show, directed and produced by Todd Komarnicki, subverts genre clichés, offering a hopeful and nurturing environment instead of despair. If This Is Us and The Walking Dead had a child, it would look like Earth Abides.

After the character Ish wakes from a coma caused by a poisonous snake bite, nearly the entire world has been wiped out by an infectious disease. After a harrowing experience in Las Vegas, Ish finds himself alone but miraculously encounters Emma, and together they fall in love and begin to rebuild with the few remaining resources. As a couple who have children in the San Lupo commune, they form a community with the intention of surviving together and succeeding in a new world by accepting newcomers over the years.

The uniqueness of Earth Abides lies in its focus on the rewarding aspects of rebuilding civilization, raising a family without social distortions, and forming lifelong friendships with like-minded survivors. The series illustrates what it might look like for people to unite for a new society after a cataclysmic event, rather than the historical struggle for dominance among groups. However, not everyone agrees with the framework that Ish and Emma establish to maintain peace and order in the San Lupo commune.

Some survivors exhibit household behaviors, which is part of human nature. The tension in Earth Abides arises from Ish and Emma's struggles to assess the newcomers and their true intentions. For instance, in the fifth episode, a newcomer named Charlie (Aaron Tveit) appears to be a godsend when he successfully draws water from the well, but weeks later, it is revealed that he is a rapist. Ish, Emma, and the commune's elderly leaders decide that the punishment for this is death. Ish strikes him with a hammer. Although love and generosity are the main themes, the ugliness of humanity is not overlooked; the world is still wild, but that doesn't mean it is entirely hopeless.

Earth Abides is currently available to watch on the MGM+ platform.