Dawn Of The Streaming
Black Summer is an intriguing zombie series, one that depicts a gritty, realistic(ish) scenario for the zombie apocalypse with death lurking around every corner.
If you’ve finished this one and are looking for something similar, we’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle with our top 10 picks for alternate viewing.
To keep things simple for skim-readers we’ve added what similarities these have.
Of course for all the shows we’ve reviewed, we’ve also added a handy link so you can check out our full thoughts on that series and see if it’s something you want to invest your time with.
So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows that should whet the appetite when you’ve finished streaming Black Summer!
To The Lake
Similarities – Surviving
To The Lake feels like a mash-up between the latter half of 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead Season 1. The human drama is tense, the characters nicely developed and the dystopian world is bleak and unforgiving.
It’s refreshing in some ways to find a series like this with such a controlled dose of dread without going overboard. This plays out much closer to a character-driven commentary about the selfishness and paranoia hidden away in all of us.
All the while, this is back-dropped by an eerily similar viral outbreak not unlike what we’re facing right now (minus the crazy eyes).
You can read our thoughts on To The Lake in our full season review here!
The Purge
Similarities – Surviving & Tension
When it comes to missed opportunities, no franchise comes close to The Purge. After a myriad of lackluster films, The Purge sets its sights on the small screen for a 2-season stab at delivering a story worthy of its interesting premise.
While the first season does squander its potential, the second is actually a surprisingly gripping affair, revolving around separate groups of people banding together to try and survive Purge night – an event where crime is legal for 24 hours.
If you’re in the mood for something family-centric and equally as suspenseful as To The Lake, this is a pretty good choice.
You can read our thoughts on The Purge in our season reviews here!
Kingdom
Similarities – Zombies & Suspense
Beautifully presented and dripping in Asian culture, zombie action-thriller Kingdom is quite the thrill ride. Split across two seasons, Kingdom effortlessly blends political drama with a thrilling action plot, full of beautifully shot set pieces.
The story begins slowly, using its first episode to show off the gorgeous setting of Hanyang in South Korea as we travel back through time to the Joseon Period. Crown King Lee Chang is our protagonist and while he begins engaging in a bitter feud with the Queen, physician Seo-Bi in Jiyulheon makes a horrific discovery.
With Lee Chang by her side, the pair realize the dead are coming back to life and mercilessly hunting the living. With no guns or modern weaponry, much of the tension comes from seeing these men and women make do with the scarce resources around them.
It’s one of the few shows that balances this action with tension perfectly. The second season only builds on this, leading to the very possible prospect of a third season.
You can read our thoughts on Kingdom in our full season reviews here!
Z Nation
Similarities – Family Unit & Conflicts
While a lot more comedic than Black Summer and following a simple zombie outbreak premise, Z Nation is certainly a unique offering in this post apocalyptic circuit. What it lacks in big set pieces and polish, it more than makes up for with wicked humour and ideas.
This is a show intent on having as much fun as possible with the apocalypse whilst simultaneously upping the stakes every season. The later segments of this one are great fun and the tight-knit family vibes make it an easy sell.
You can read our thoughts on Z Nation in our full season reviews here!
The Walking Dead
Similarities – Outbreak
The behemoth that refuses to die; The Walking Dead franchise continues to churn out spin-offs, sequels and movie adaptations to Robert Kirkman’s original comic.
Through this myriad of noise is a show (at least early on) that perfectly captures the essence of surviving against the undead. While the later seasons do lose their way a bit, The Walking Dead is undoubtedly a decent apocalyptic choice with four great seasons followed by a declining quality to its final 11th season.
You can read our thoughts on The Walking Dead in our season reviews here!
Survivors
Similarities – Outbreak & Characters
An unknown virus pandemic kills more than 90% of the world’s population. Those immune must strive to survive and overcome the difficulties of this new world order. This intriguing premise forms the core instead the synopsis for this excellent BBC series that ran for 2 seasons.
The characters are well written, the pacing is nicely balanced and the relatively easy 12 episode run-time (6 episodes a season) makes this an easy show to get into and a difficult one to put down.
Fear The Walking Dead (Seasons 1-3)
Similarities – Downfall of Humanity
Set years before The Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead disappointingly brushes past the “during” phase of the apocalypse and devolves into a lite version of The Walking Dead instead.
However, the show builds up beautifully to a tense second season and a fantastic third before taking a serious nose-dive in quality. While the later seasons – including the horrific season 5 – are sure to put you off, the first 3 actually do a good job of delivering a post-apocalyptic romp worth watching.
You can read our thoughts on Fear The Walking Dead in our full season reviews here!
Search
Similarities: Tension & Atmosphere
OCN have a knack for creating interesting spins on sci-fi and horror tropes. Their latest in 2020 is an absolute belter in the form of a 10 episode monster hunt called Search. Drawing inspiration from other tense and suspenseful horror series, Search is set on the DMZ; the dematerialized zone between North and South Korea.
When reports of a strange creature hunting in the woods begins circulating, what ensues is a desperate fight for survival as both sergeant Koo Dong-Jin and elite officer Son Ye-Rim try to fight against this mysterious creature.
There’s some good character development too and this is definitely a suitable binge-watch, ending things with quite the dramatic conclusion.
Into The Night
Similarities – Tension
Belgium’s first Netflix original Into The Night is a tense and fast paced sci-fi thriller. The series is the perfect binge-watch thanks to its interesting premise and shorter episodes, each clocking in at around 35 to 40 minutes.
Struggling after the loss of her boyfriend, the story begins with Sylvie determined to board a flight to Russia while Terenzio arrives in Brussels and appears desperate to get on any planes due west. After going through security, he storm a plane heading to Russia (the same one as Sylvie) with a stolen gun and demands they change its direction. Claiming there’s a deadly phenomena caused by the sun, a race against time ensues.
The show centers around this foreboding cataclysmic event, as a group of survivors are forced to work together as they face multiple obstacles, desperately running away from this deadly threat.
This one’s a great sci-fi thriller with plenty of twists and turns along the way, guaranteed to keep you at the edge of your seat just like our survivors during their nail-biting journey!
You can read our thoughts on Into The Night in our full season review here!
Dead Set
Similarities – Zombies
Channel 4 has a knack for creating cult hits from nothing. Dead Set is another such example, revolving around a zombie apocalypse that takes place outside the walls of Big Brother.
With a great blend of horror and comedy, Dead Set is a surprisingly tense and well written series coming straight from the mind of Charlie Brooker.
Like Survivors, this is one of those underrated gems that’s gone completely under the radar in the wake of more zombie content released in recent years.
So there we have it, our 10 TV show alternatives to watch when you’re finished watching Black Summer on Netflix.
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!