This amazing ten-episode sci-fi series with 98% on Rotten Tomatoes is the perfect thing to watch while waiting for The Last of Us season 2. The trailers for the upcoming season of The Last of Us have truly highlighted the tension and complexity that Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) will face as their secrets come to light. While these updates on The Last of Us season 2 have been welcomed by audiences who love the series like myself, the wait for its premiere in April 2025 continues to be difficult.
As a result, audiences have been searching for a series that mirrors the many aspects of what made The Last of Us so compelling. That balance of character-driven plot and intense sci-fi danger is not easy to come across, though, as most series within the genre lean into the latter in order to stand out, contrasting the various human issues that persist within The Last of Us' timeline. However, one series is able to capture those same nuances, making it a great option to watch as the wait for The Last of Us season 2 continues: Station Eleven.
Station Eleven Is Perfect To Watch While Waiting For The Last Of Us Season 2
Station Eleven's Premise Mirrors Several Key Parts Of The Last Of Us
Station Eleven is perfect to help audiences through the wait for The Last of Us season 2 as it captures many of the best parts of the HBO Max series. Station Eleven takes place twelve years after a flu pandemic wiped out civilization, with the story focusing on Kirsten (Mackenzie Davis), the star actress of a traveling performance group called the Traveling Symphony who lived through the initial outbreak. Her story intertwines her time with Jeevan (Himesh Patel), who protected her during those first days, and her present as she attempts to escape a dangerous cult.
Station Eleven parallels various parts of The Last of Us' most important scenes through Kirsten's flashbacks, as Jeevan's drive to protect her leads to him taking equally extreme actions as Joel. Not only that, but Station Eleven also handles its doomsday cause in a similar way to The Last of Us' Infected, with the series also focusing on themes of paranoia, uncertainty, and radicalization for the sake of survival as the pandemic unfolds. Despite all of these links to The Last of Us, Station Eleven's release date hurt its initial reception, causing it to fade from the zeitgeist until recently.
Station Eleven Wasn't The Best TV Show To Watch Upon Release In 2021
The Series' Storyline Matched Too Closely To The COVID-19 Pandemic
Upon its release, Station Eleven did not receive the same warm reception as The Last of Us did two years later, largely due to the former's premise mirroring harsh real-life events. The limited sci-fi series premiered in 2021 and ended in 2022 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, making Station Eleven a hard show to watch for some audiences. It was only after the pandemic had passed that the series became more popular as post-apocalyptic narratives became less of a sore subject, leading to its high score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Even so, Station Eleven's rich storytelling and characters deserve to be as widely recognized as The Last of Us. By combining those same human storylines as the 2023 series with new components, such as the titular novel's toxic inspiration and the several Shakespearean parallels, Station Eleven is able to capture that essence of survival's cost and what that does to the soul. Ultimately, Station Eleven is a solid replacement for The Last of Us as the wait for season 2 continues to shamble onward.
