MGM+, of all platforms, is slowly becoming the go-to destination for innovative sci-fi TV. The Amazon Prime add-on service, previously known as Epix, has made a big splash with ambitious sci-fi projects like the Hugh Howey adaptation Beacon 23 and the nostalgic puzzle box From. Next, the streamer is reaching deep into the archives with a tense post-apocalyptic drama based on a novel written three-quarters of a century ago.
Earth Abides, based on the 1949 novel by George R. Stewart, follows Isherwood “Ish” Williams (Alexander Ludwig), a young man living deep in the woods who emerges into a completely different world eradicated by a mysterious virus. It’s up to him and the handful of survivors he finds to rebuild society, but the biggest obstacle isn’t the elements; it’s each other. Watch the full trailer below.
The series also stars Jessica Frances Dukes as Emma, the woman Ish falls in love with after the apocalypse, and Aaron Tveit as Charlie, a mysterious stranger who challenges Ish’s authority. Much like the book, viewers can expect the series to cover a long span of time. In the trailer alone, we see Ish meet Emma, fall in love, and have a child with her, so the scope here is wide.
However, it looks like there’s more source material being saved for a possible second season. The novel is split into three parts, with Part I set right at the start of the post-apocalypse, with Ish emerging into a changed world. Part II is set 22 years after the first, and Part III is set decades later, all the way up to the end of Ish’s life. It’s likely this series will get into Part II, as that’s when Charlie is introduced, but there would be a lot of material to pull from for a hypothetical renewal.
As a novel, Earth Abides can show its age, but it’s still a genre classic with a long reach, having influenced writers like Stephen King and Kim Stanley Robinson. That might just help it stand out in the crowded subgenre of post-apocalyptic TV, which is already occupied by The Last of Us, Fallout, Silo, and whatever Walking Dead spinoffs are still airing, among others. Uniquely, this latest entrant could prove that you don’t need zombies, ghouls, or mushroom monsters to tell a gripping story; you only need people.
