10 TV Shows Like ‘Silo’ | TheReviewGeek Recommends

10 More Delightfully Twisted Dystopian Dramas

Silo is a delightful surprise, popping up on AppleTV+ out of nowhere and managing to successfully capture the tone and feel of the Wool trilogy, a dystopian series of books that blend mystery and drama together beautifully. In fact, the show actually goes further and fleshes out many of the characters too.

If you’ve finished watching this one and are looking for similar picks, we’ve got you covered! To keep things simple for skim-readers we’ve added what similarities these have as well.

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 Silo.


Snowpiercer

Similarities – Class Warfare, Dystopian Setting

With the train seemingly looping around the track aimlessly, Orphan Black creator Graeme Manson mans the engines and, with a new crew on-board, gets this series moving. That direction sees this 1001 carriage train utilizing elements of a whodunit early on before evolving and growing into something more action-orientated and exciting late on.

At the centre of this conflict lies the same hierarchical class issues as the source material, teasing a possible rebellion on the horizon. For those unaware, the story takes place in a frigid post-apocalyptic wasteland. With biting winds and an icy chill that can freeze you in an instant, the only sanctuary comes in the form of a high-speed train circling the globe.

Dubbed the Snowpiercer, these environmental issues outside are just one ingredient to a nightmarish cocktail being concocted across the season. With the train segmented into different classes, the “Tailies” and 3rd Class are fed scraps and given little light or hope. By comparison, the bright, lavish carriages in 1st class play host to powerful and influential men and women living the high life.

Across three seasons, Snowpiercer blends action, mystery and drama together into an enticing cocktail of influences, that perhaps ran out of steam before its final conclusion.

You can read our thoughts on Snowpiercer in our full season reviews here!



The Leftovers

Similarities – Mystery, Tone & Themes

If thematic depth is your jam, The Leftovers is definitely worth checking out. Running for three seasons, the story picks up just after a global event called the “Sudden Departure”.

This inexplicable event sees the disappearance of 140 million people – or 2% of the world’s population to be precise.

Following that, mainstream religions decline which paves way for a number of cults to emerge. The most notable among them is the Guilty Remnant.

The story only grows more intriguing and interesting over time as thematic questions come to the foreground. However, to give much more away about this would be a disservice to the series but if you haven’t already, you should definitely add The Leftovers to your watch-list.


Nightflyers

Similarities – Mystery

2018’s sci-fi series Nightflyers revolves around a crew of scientists embarking on a mission to investigate a mysterious alien signal. However, this soon turns into a claustrophobic nightmare as those onboard start to turn on one another.

Heavily influenced by The Thing, this series does require you to suspend your belief a fair amount. The characters in particular may leave you scratching your head a little at their illogical actions!

However, this series should do the trick for those looking for a tantalizing mystery that mirrors that seen in Silo.


Ascension

Similarities – Mystery & Sci-Fi

Ascension is a fascinating series that completely changes the game with a big twist at the end of its first episode. Playing out as a character-driven mystery, Ascension’s real strength lies with its ensemble cast.

The story itself takes place on a spaceship, in the middle of a century-long mission to populate a new world. However, a young woman’s murder onboard changes everything, as the group begin to question everything – including their prime directive.

I won’t spoil anything more but this one has some really solid murder mystery elements across its three episodes. Despite its short run-time, this one certainly entertains!


Westworld

Similarities – Mystery & Atmosphere

Based on Michael Crichton’s campy 1973 novel, Westworld is anything but cheesy sci-fi. In fact, Westworld is a heady, thought provoking puzzle box full of intriguing ideas and challenging themes.

At the heart of this lies a theme park known as Westworld where robot inhabitants serve their human hosts’ every desire. What would happen then if those robots start to gain sentience?

This question consumes large parts of Westworld and while the later seasons do lose sight of what made the show so special, season 1 in particular is abut as close as you could get to perfect sci-fi.

If you’re in the mood for mind-bending sci-fi with a twist, this one’s well worth a watch.

You can read our thoughts on Westworld in our full season reviews here!


Under The Dome

Similarities – Isolation & Paranoia

Based on the Stephen King novel sporting the same name, Under the Dome is a sci-fi series revolving around the residents of the fictional small town of Chester’s Mill, who suddenly find themselves cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious, impenetrable barrier, or “dome,” that surrounds the town.

As the town’s inhabitants struggle with the post-apocalyptic situation, they must find ways to survive while unraveling the mystery of the dome.

While not as good as the book, if you’re looking for something with a similar tone and feel to Silo, Under The Dome should scratch that itch.


1899

Similarities – Gripping Mystery & Diverse Casting

1899 is the new show from Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, two of the brilliant minds behind Dark. Although this is advertised as a German series, the diverse cast at the helm of this one swing back and forth between Cantonese, German, Portuguese, English and more. Honestly, for that alone this show deserves some plaudits. It really is nice and refreshing to find a series that celebrates and explores all these different languages and cultures.

The diversity makes complete sense though and isn’t just here for the sake of making up numbers. This diversity comes in the form of a group of European migrants who leave London on a steamship called the Kerberos. They’re determined to make a new life for themselves in New York.

However, on the way the Kerberos encounters another migrant ship, long-abandoned for months in the ocean called the Prometheus. As they begin to probe deeper into this strange ship, the more sinister, disturbing and horrific the mystery becomes. What starts as a simple voyage soon escalates into so much more, as every passengers begins to question the nature of their reality.

Dao be warned though, Netflix have axed this series before it received a complete ending so we’re stuck with a cliffhanger ending!

You can read our thoughts on 1899 in our full season review here!


The Society

Similarities – Gripping Mystery

The Society is essentially a modern-day spin on Lord Of The Flies. In true Netflix fashion though, The Society feels slightly overlong across its 10 episodes and could have done with some tighter editing. 

The story begins with a strange smell descending over an American town as various kids return from a school trip. They soon come to realize all the adults are missing. Even stranger still, the town is now inexplicably surrounded by thick, lush forestry.

When the smell finally disappears, the kids realize that their town holds small differences that play a bigger part in the plot further down the line.

The kids in The Society predictably descend into a heady cocktail of teen angst and melodrama. Between these constant bouts of partying and having sex, the group do come together and try to figure out what’s happened…or do they?

Do be warned though that The Society was cancelled by Netflix during the middle of 2020 (boo!) and as such, does not have a conclusion. Still, it’s a fun ride up until that point.

You can read our thoughts on The Society in our full season review here!



The 100

Similarities – Forced To Work Together

The 100 is set 97 years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization. A spaceship housing humanity’s lone survivors happens to be humanity’s last hope for survival. With that in mind, 100 juvenile delinquents are thrown back to Earth, crash landing in the hopes of re-populating the planet.

There’s a teen-drama affair with this one, featuring plenty of relationship issues and a suitably campy tone through much of its run-time.

This is definitely one worth sticking with though and after a relatively wobbly first season, The 100 starts to find itself a lot more. With 7 seasons to get through and lots of drama along the way, this one should keep you very busy.


Brave New World

Similarities – Eerie Atmosphere, Mystery

Based on the 1932 novel of the same name, Brave New World is a brave re-imagining of that book which will inevitably divide the fan-base between those who like and those who loathe this series.

The story takes place in a near-future dystopia known as New London. At first glance, the city looks like a Utopian paradise with three main rules governing everyone – no privacy, no family and no monogamy. This city operates on a basic hierarchical level of command with the Director and Alphas in control while the Epsilon workers and Gamma serve those above them. All of this operates flawlessly thanks to a constant stream of emotion-inhibiting pills known as Soma.

While the majority unquestionably follow these rules, the faint glimmers of a rebellion start to appear. When an upper-Alpha member known as Bernard is called to a crime scene, he immediately starts to question everything around him.

The series merges some interesting ideas alongside a compelling enough 9 episode first season. There’s something endearing about this world that keeps you watching through some of the slower moments, making it well worth sticking it out for the long haul.

You can read our thoughts on Brave New World in our full season review here!


So there we have it, our 10 TV show alternatives to watch when you’re finished watching Silo on AppleTV+.

What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!

4 thoughts on “10 TV Shows Like ‘Silo’ | TheReviewGeek Recommends”

Leave a comment