Silo is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic adaptations of the 21st century. The Apple TV sci-fi show is based on Hugh Howey’s Silo book trilogy and is set to last for four seasons. While most shows struggle to stay interesting after two seasons, Silo has surprisingly outdone itself with its latest installment by earning a perfect 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Like most book-to-screen adaptations, Silo takes quite a few creative liberties. Some of the recent book changes in Silo season 3 have also been a little controversial. Despite this, though, the Apple TV sci-fi show remains true to the essence of its source material, which explains why it has managed to perform so incredibly well.
As compelling as Silo may seem, however, it is not the only incredible post-apocalyptic adaptation out there. Over the years, quite a few brilliant adaptations of dystopian comics, books, games, and movies have premiered. Some of these small-screen sci-fi adaptations are also arguably far better than Apple TV’s Silo in more ways than one.
5
12 Monkeys (2015-2018)
2015’s 12 Monkeys loosely adapts the story of the 1995 movie of the same name, which is based on Chris Marker’s 1962 featurette La Jetée. TV remakes of acclaimed movies either end up coming off as rip-offs of their parent films or seem too afraid to deviate from the source material to justify their existence.
The 12 Monkeys show, however, brilliantly leverages the core time travel concepts from the 1995 film and turns them into something far more ambitious and compelling.
In its four-season runtime, 12 Monkeys delivers an epic closed-loop time travel story that barely has any dull moments. The show also has incredible rewatch value because of how brilliantly it pays off even small developments from season 1 in its final chapter. Similar to Silo, 12 Monkeys closed its run with a 4-season arc and ensured that every lingering question was answered before its final credits rolled.
4
Sweet Tooth (2021-2024)
Although relatively obscure, Sweet Tooth is one of the best sci-fi fantasy offerings in Netflix’s vast streaming catalog. Based on Jeff Lemire’s limited comic series of the same name, Sweet Tooth cleverly softens the bleak tone of its source material and delivers a whimsical and colorful post-apocalyptic world.
Its narrative is packed with darker dystopian themes surrounding human greed, prejudice, environmental collapse, and the moral cost of survival. However, the show balances these elements by primarily unfolding through the eyes of its young and innocent protagonist. Its main character, Gus, is a human-deer hybrid who sees his world through a sense of wonder and finds hope even when everything around him seems to crumble.
Unlike Silo, Netflix’s Sweet Tooth also avoids taking the mystery box approach. It keeps its narrative fairly linear throughout its runtime and ensures that its drama appeals to both younger audiences and adults.
3
Station Eleven (2021)
While most post-apocalyptic shows remain fixated on stories about humanity’s relentless struggle in a collapsing world, Station Eleven takes a different approach towards the genre. Throughout its runtime, Silo keeps its focus on the logistics of survival and the mystery of the lie an authoritarian government sells to its people to keep them from seeking freedom.
Station Eleven, in contrast, sets out to ask deeper questions about what humanity will seek beyond survival in the wake of the apocalypse. By focusing on a troupe of actors and musicians performing Shakespeare, called the Traveling Symphony, the show argues that art and shared stories are fabrics that keep humanity alive and even morally sound when everything else starts to fade away.
Viewers who are invested in Silo’s exploration of past relics and how they help characters recover their lost memories should certainly watch HBO’s Station Eleven after the Apple TV show’s season 3.
2
The Last Of Us (2023-)
For a long time, forced video game adaptations were pushed to the screens to milk popular franchises. However, over the years, game adaptations have become significantly better. Especially when it comes to the post-apocalyptic genre, shows like The Last of Us have proven that some of the best action-adventure games can translate incredibly well to the screen if handled well.
Unlike shows like Silo, The Last of Us, like its original game, does not try too hard to introduce compelling mysteries to immerse viewers in its drama. It riffs on some of the most basic post-apocalyptic tropes and rules and even its overarching threat comes from zombie-like infected creatures.
However, what makes it one of the dystopian shows out there is its exploration of human relationships and the heavy weight of grief in a post-apocalyptic world.
1
Fallout (2024-)
Apple TV’s Silo and Prime Video’s Fallout are often compared because both shows and their source materials have similar post-apocalyptic setups. Both focus on people who have resided in post-apocalyptic bunkers for generations after being lied to about the outside world. However, unlike Silo, Fallout is far less serious in tone and a lot more expansive with its world-building.
Instead of being confined to an indoor setting, Fallout extends its vision far beyond the central bunkers and also does not shy away from introducing wildly fantastical elements. Prime Video’s Fallout also does a brilliant job of honoring its source material while also expanding its lore. It achieves this by staying true to the games’ 1950s retro-futuristic optimism but also delivering a biting critique of unbridled capitalism and American exceptionalism.
Interestingly, Prime Video’s Fallout also seems to have enough material to last for at least two more seasons than Apple TV’s Silo.