I became drawn to a certain category of shows that feel like a microcosm of human society represented by a small group of people with different personality types thrown together in a dire situation they can’t escape from. Survival themes are a necessity but it also needs some kind of speculative fiction element (scifi, supernatural, fantasy, etc) to add intrigue, mystery and up the stakes and scope/scale of the story even further.
A tier - Lost and From - these are the best of the best when it comes to this type of series. The gold standard to aim for.
B tier - Snowpiercer and Silo (haven’t seen past the first episode yet but I think it looks like one to check out). Also Wayward Pines was pretty good. Must include The Prisoner even though it’s kind of in its own wacky category. Yellowjackets, The Wilds, and The Society barely scrape in. I’m aware of Class of '07 and Wrecked even though they’re somewhat of comedies.
C tier - Under the Dome, La Brea, The 100 - these ones are quite a bit lower quality as you can see in the budget, acting, writing and overall production value. They don’t feel as prestige or premium, but they’re still enjoyable shows to me. I don’t even care how trashy they are at times, or most of the time. They tick that box for me, scratch that itch.
Movie tier: Not a TV show, but the movie/film “The Incident” (2014) by Isaac Ezban is uncannily like From and has elements of Lost too. Definitely wish this was a proper TV series.
I don’t have many examples of this kind of show that really match the likes of Lost and From, or even Under the Dome and La Brea which feel almost like they’re deliberately trying to recreate it. Currently watching Terra Nova to try to recapture that feel and it’s decent so far. I’d love more examples. And I can sort of include The Walking Dead even though it barely meets the criteria, because it just feels very similar to Lost in my opinion. The Rain, Into the Night and Les Revenants too, I guess. If Dark and 1899 count then those are probably A/B tier. I suppose that Fallout sort of fits the bill, very loosely.
On my radar:
Jericho (no speculative fiction element as far as I know but it sounds like a comparable vibe).
Persons Unknown
Dark Matter (2015 series)
What “group of people stuck somewhere” show did you fall for?
I found The Terror fairly compelling. Two ships stuck in the Arctic, 150 cranky sailors, maybe a dozen that actually have lines, and one super fucked-up hellbeast trying to eat them.
I think Stargate Universe might be something you’re looking for. If you don’t know anything about the movie or shows, they’re space exploration like startrek but with wormhole technology/portals on planets, left by an ancient and gone more advanced race. So, science and military guys going to other planets daily on exploration missions, without suits and ignoring that everything would get you infected or you might portal into a dead world without oxygen.
Anyway, the Stargate Universe show is where they portal into a derelict ancient ship, massive and highly advanced, but it’s running out of all resources, it’s not in their control and is fully automated, and they’re running out of time to find resources to keep the lights, air, and AC on, while also finding food. They’re also separated from earth and pretty much stuck on this ship or new planets that are also separated from earth. (They’re on the other side of the known universe and can’t get back.)
It was canceled early, after season 2, but was still very good within its niche.
RIP Stargate Universe. We hardly knew you.
Yellowjackets- oops, you mentioned this one
Lost in Space (The new one) - Not what you meant exactly, but it works pretty much exactly
The Prisoner
Blue Gender (do you like anime?)
The Mist - It doesn’t get any better. Read the novella before you watch the movie. I haven’t seen the show, so I can’t vouch for that.
Black Hammer if you like comics. It’s excellent; give it a try.
The Grey - This movie is fabulous, and I literally do not understand the hate it receives.
Pitch Black - One of my all time favorites. Brilliant characters and writing.Upvote for The Mist. The movie ending is fucked. Even King admits it’s better than his original ending.
I enjoyed the TV show of The Mist even though it felt a little bit janky here and there. Watched the movie a long time ago but I might’ve seen The Fog instead (those are so similar right?)
The newer Jumanji kind of fits your criteria, plus comedy.
You might like The Leftovers?
The recent Dungeons & Dragons movie sort of lightly fits your description, while also being unexpectedly good.
Interesting, a lot of the shows here are on my list of “they were really good but…”
Wayward pines S1 had me hooked, but s2 didn’t recreate the magic.
Terra nova only just started to get intriguing as it was cancelled (I’d love a continuation)
From S1 again had me hooked but also triggered “lost” style “do they have a plan where this is going?” Thanks for reminding me there is a S2
Ift never plucked out the elements that I enjoy from these, I hope there are more suggestions!
Season 3 of From is airing rn! It’s brilliant imo. The mystery becomes deeper and more intriguing, as it meticulously unravels and we slowly begin to understand it. Though don’t get me wrong, there are still a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of confusion & uncertainty, and I felt the same way as you, as did probably most people watching it. Thankfully, the creators seem to be aware of this and apparently have planned out the story from the beginning specifically to avoid making the same mistakes as Lost (it’s helmed by a few of the key writers for that show, and they assert they learned their lessons with that experience). They’ve strongly reiterated that all the questions will be answered and everything will be explained and make sense, though who knows what form that will take. It seems like a Herculean task to weave it all together at this point and wrap it up cohesively but it sounds like we’re in good hands at least. There is a direction and that’s becoming gradually more clear as it progresses, even if it happens drip by drip. In the meantime, I think it’s quite enthralling and tantalising to watch.
Does Star Trek Voyager count?
Was just about to comment this, just finished it and it’s prob my favorite classic star trek-type planet of the week adventure show I’ve seen :3
Check out Travelers. They start out with a lot of agency but stuff gets wrong and it’s more and more desperate.
Odyssey 5 goes well with Travelers.
And if you like Travelers, make sure to watch Sarah Conors Chronicle
It’s not an entire show, but your opening sentence perfectly describes the premise of one episode of the original The Twilight Zone, “Five Characters In Search Of An Exit” (S3.E14, for anyone who wants to look it up). The synopsis from IMDB:
An Army major awakens in a small room with no idea of who he is or how he got there. He finds four other people in the same room, and they all begin to question how they each arrived there, and more importantly, how to escape.
The mounting tension and mystery of this short story made a lasting impression on a very young me that remained long after I’d forgotten how the episode ends, with its inevitable TZ twist.
Years ago I bought the entire show-run on DVD. I remembered only scattered images and the leftover feeling of unease from this episode, little more than is outlined in the synopsis above, and as I had forgotten its overall story, I was looking forward to seeing it as if anew. I didn’t even know the name of the episode, and avoided looking up any information beforehand – even so much as where it occurred in the order of episodes – so that as I made my way through the show’s 5-year run I could come upon it unsuspecting, to savour its re-discovery spoiler-free.
Battlestar Galactica has what’s left of the entire human race ripped from Earth, wandering in space, trying to find a new home.
The Starlost needs a remake. Great premise, dollar store execution.
“Centuries after its original launch however, most of the descendants of the original crew and colonists are unaware that they are even aboard a spaceship”
Damn it that sounds delicious
It’s older, but I recall liking Earth 2 quite a bit
David Bergeaud made the soundtrack too… I tried watching it once but never stuck with it. Thanks for reminding me
Land of the Lost
Maybe Delicious in Dungeon.
Cube maybe? movie… 3% on netflix… kinda.
