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War of the Worlds poster

Shows that feel likeWar of the Worlds (2019–2022)

When astronomers detect a transmission from another galaxy, it is definitive proof of intelligent extra-terrestrial life. The world’s population waits for further contact with bated breath. They do not have to wait long. Within days, mankind is all but wiped out by a devastating attack; pockets of humanity are left in an eerily deserted world. As aliens hunt and kill those left alive, the survivors ask a burning question – who are these attackers and why are they hell-bent on our destruction?

If you loved War of the Worlds, the closest series we have are Falling Skies (2011), 12 Monkeys (2015) and The Last Ship (2014). All three share War of the Worlds' cerebral and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Into the Badlands (2015).

★ 6.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗3 seasons · Canal+created by Howard Overmancerebraldreamlikecontemplativebleak
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu
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If War of the Worlds hit the spot, these will too

Falling Skies poster
Falling Skies
2011–2015 · 5 seasons · TNT
★ 7.1action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy · dramaNetflix

Two things both keep coming back to: life after the end and alien invasion

The difference: Sits closer to action & adventure than War of the Worlds does

Falling Skies opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign against the occupying alien force.

12 Monkeys poster
12 Monkeys
2015–2018 · 4 seasons · Syfy
★ 7.7sci-fi & fantasy · dramaPrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: life after the end

The provocative story of Cole, a time traveler from a decimated future in a high-stakes race against the clock. Utilizing a dangerous and untested method of time travel, he journeys from 2043 to the present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will all but annihilate the human race.

The Last Ship poster
The Last Ship
2014–2018 · 5 seasons · TNT
★ 7.4action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

Both are built on the same subject: survival

Their mission is simple: Find a cure. Stop the virus. Save the world. When a global pandemic wipes out eighty percent of the planet's population, the crew of a lone naval destroyer must find a way to pull humanity from the brink of extinction.

Raised by Wolves poster
Raised by Wolves
2020–2022 · 2 seasons · HBO Max
★ 7.4sci-fi & fantasy · drama

Both land ideas and dream logic at once

After Earth is ravaged by a great religious war, an atheistic android architect sends two of his creations, Mother and Father, to start a peaceful, godless colony on the planet Kepler-22b. Their treacherous task is jeopardized by the arrival of the Mithraic, a deeply devout religious order of surviving humans.

Snowpiercer poster
Snowpiercer
2020–2024 · 4 seasons · TNT
★ 6.9sci-fi & fantasy · dramaPrime VideoHulu

Contemplative where it counts, bleak underneath

More than seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, the remnants of humanity inhabit a gigantic, perpetually-moving train that circles the globe as class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival play out.

Silo poster
Silo
2023– · 4 seasons · Apple TV
★ 8.1sci-fi & fantasy · dramaApple TV+

Cerebral sci-fi & fantasy, and it commits to that

In a ruined and toxic future, thousands live in a giant silo deep underground. After its sheriff breaks a cardinal rule and residents die mysteriously, engineer Juliette starts to uncover shocking secrets and the truth about the silo.

The Rain poster
The Rain
2018–2020 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 6.3sci-fi & fantasy · dramaNetflix

Common ground: survival

After a brutal virus wipes out most of the population, two young siblings embark on a perilous search for safety. A Scandinavian thriller series.

Has Fallen poster
Has Fallen
2024– · 2 seasons · Canal+
★ 6.5action & adventure · war & politicsHulu

Howard Overman working the same nerve twice

The difference: Trades the ideas of War of the Worlds for an angle of its own

A protection officer and an MI6 operative team up after a terrorist attack. They suspect a mole as they race to thwart a larger conspiracy threatening Paris.

Sweet Tooth poster
Sweet Tooth
2021–2024 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.7drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

Drama built on dream logic, twice over

On an epic adventure across a postapocalyptic world, a lovable boy who's part human and part deer searches for family and home with a gruff protector.

The Walking Dead: Dead City poster
The Walking Dead: Dead City
2023– · 3 seasons · AMC
★ 7action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

Sci-fi & fantasy with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Maggie and Negan travel to post-apocalyptic Manhattan - long ago cut off from the mainland. The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made it a world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror.

The Man in the High Castle poster
The Man in the High Castle
2015–2019 · 4 seasons · Prime Video
★ 7.9sci-fi & fantasy · dramaNetflixPrime Video

Both lean on bleakness more than on drama

Explore what it would be like if the Allied Powers had lost WWII, and Japan and Germany ruled the United States. Based on Philip K. Dick's award-winning novel.

Into the Badlands poster
Into the Badlands
2015–2019 · 3 seasons · AMC
★ 7.9action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasy

Cerebral sci-fi & fantasy in both cases

In a land controlled by feudal barons, a great warrior and a young boy embark on a journey across a dangerous land to find enlightenment. A genre-bending martial arts series very loosely based on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West.

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The best-reviewed series that share War of the Worlds’ defining feeling.