7 Great Survival Shows To Watch Before ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3
Deep down, each of us has probably wondered at one time or another how we would do in a survival situation.
Whether crash landing in the middle of the wilderness or washing up on the shores of an uncharted island, most people have pondered how well they’d brave the elements, holding out long enough for rescue to arrive and return them home.
Yet as a series like Yellowjackets makes clear, the reality of surviving with limited resources and little help from the outside can prove incredibly difficult – not to mention downright terrifying. Whether facing imminent starvation, erratic weather, or hostile wildlife in the area, Yellowjackets illustrates the profound hardships that come with living off the land around you.
As audiences await the latest installment of Showtime’s breakout survival drama, we decided to put together a list of similarly-veined series viewers could watch ahead of Yellowjackets’ third season, allowing us each to live out our most harrowing survival fantasies from the comfort and safety of our homes.
Station Eleven
Post-apocalyptic thrillers might be a dime a dozen at this point, but Station Eleven somehow finds a way to infuse its otherwise cliched subject matter with a refreshing sense of creativity. Set in a nightmarish future ravaged by a massive flu pandemic, Station Eleven traces the members of a traveling entertainment troupe as they face off against an enigmatic cult on their journeys abroad. Relying on a prevalent sense of suspense throughout the course of its 10 episodes, this HBO miniseries is guaranteed to leave viewers sleeping with a night-light on for a few weeks after they’ve hit play on the pilot episode.
The 100
Among the best and most intricate dystopian series in recent memory, The 100 focuses on a group of juvenile delinquents tasked with resettling Earth a century after nuclear armageddon has effectively ended civilization. Encountering the various human survivors roaming the ruins of Earth, The 100 specifically depicts the teenagers’ fledgling attempts to rebuild the world they once knew. Characterized by sharp writing, impressive world-building, and morally ambiguous main characters, it’s a sci-fi drama as riveting and endlessly rewarding as The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, or Prime Video’s Fallout adaptation.
Silo
Though Silo still has two seasons to go before it reaches its exciting conclusion, the first two seasons of this underrated Apple TV+ series have left viewers thoroughly entranced and hungry for more. Bolstered by a masterful lead performance from Rebecca Ferguson, Silo presents an fascinating dystopian future where the remnants of society live in an isolated silo setting. Unfolding like a mixture of 10 Cloverfield Lane and the initial three seasons of Lost, it’s a brilliant, exciting, and clever take on the post-apocalyptic genre – one where, like the characters themselves, you’re entirely sure of what’s true or a product of the Silo’s many secrets and fabrications.
The Society
All of us can probably imagine the sheer anarchy that would come from a group of teenagers building their own organized society. But as far as teen mysteries go, The Society rises above its stylistic predecessors, populating its inaugural 10-episode season with plenty of absorbing mysteries and vividly drawn main characters. While unjustly canceled by Netflix amidst COVID-related production issues, The Society lives on as a captivating drama capable of holding audiences’ attention from start to finish.
Teacup
Teacup might have been cancelled after a single season on Peacock, but don’t let that fact fool you. From the first episode of this streaming exclusive onwards, Teacup boasts an indelible lineup of thrills and chills with each of its horrifying episodes. While its palpable basis in horror might be the primary reason to tune in in the first place, Teacup’s intriguing main characters also makes it a drama worthy of your attention, dovetailing nauseating scares with a generally engaging exploration of its foremost cast members.
Lost
Crashing onto a seemingly deserted island in the middle of the Pacific is terrifying in and of itself – but what if that island were populated by hostile cults, ‘70s fringe scientists, and massive pillars of sentient black smoke? Such is the remarkable setting for ABC’s classic survival drama, Lost. Following the various survivors of a plane crash as they establish a fledgling community on their remote tropical refuge, Lost does a brilliant job illustrating each survivors’ drastically different personal lives, as well as their respective opinions about each new mystery they uncover on the island. (I.E.: “What’s in the Hatch?” “Who are the DHARMA Initiative?” and “What the heck happened to Walt?!”)
The Wilds
There have been plenty of frustrating TV show cancellations over the years, but Prime Video pulling the plug on The Wilds after two seasons? That one frankly irks us. Taking ample inspiration from pre-existing series like Lost and teen survival films like Maze Runner and Divergent, The Wilds follows the extraordinary journey of several teenagers who awake to find themselves on an apparently uncharted island. Bearing plenty of stylistic similarities to Yellowjackets in terms of its main premise and non-chronological presentation, The Wilds is a wondrous thriller guaranteed to take your breath away (making it all the more heartbreaking that we’ll never see a third season).
