A post-apocalyptic show from 2024 is based on a seminal sci-fi book that not only defined the genre’s rules but also inspired one of Stephen King‘s most iconic novels.
Since new post-apocalyptic TV shows are created almost every single year, most of them are indistinguishable from one another. Almost all of them portray a similar world-ending event before walking through the same conflicts and similar themes of survival and grief. A few, however, strive to be a little different. Belonging to the latter category, a 2024 book adaptation brings something new to the genre.
It is far from being perfect, but it is hard not to appreciate how it takes a more grounded and relatable look at the sci-fi sub-genre. What makes it even more fascinating is that its source material inspired one of Stephen King’s best books.
Earth Abides Is One Of The Most Distinct Post-Apocalyptic Shows
In its early moments, MGM+’s Earth Abides is reminiscent of some of the best known post-apocalyptic shows out there. It begins with the main character surviving a deadly pandemic before taking it upon himself to rebuild civilization. However, as Earth Abides progresses, it becomes less about raising the stakes through escalating danger and more about examining the quiet, inevitable reshaping of humanity itself.
Earth Abides‘ main character’s biggest conflict revolves around him wanting to hold on to the past and create a world that is reminiscent of the one he and other survivors left behind. Eventually, though, he, too, accepts that the new world.
Earth Abides often struggles to rise above the conventions of the post-apocalyptic genre, but it truly thrives when it captures the quiet embrace of transience and the slow erosion of humanity’s collective memory and knowledge.
Earth Abides’ Source Material Is The Foundational Text For Most Post-Apocalyptic Stories
It might now seem like Earth Abides walks familiar territory. However, the eponymous book it adapts, written by George R. Stewart, was groundbreaking for its time. Published in 1949, the original Earth Abides novel was among the first literary works to explore a global pandemic not as a backdrop for relentless chaos, but as a catalyst for long-term societal transformation.
George R. Stewart adopted everything from biblical homages to anthropological references to capture how, as much as humans like to believe they are the central architects of history and progress, they remain subject to the same natural laws.
The Original Earth Abides Book Inspired One Of The Greatest Stephen King Novels
Interestingly, George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides served as the key inspiration behind Stephen King’s longest book, The Stand. As Stephen King revealed in Danse Macabre, he could not help but think about Earth Abides after reading up “about an accidental CBW spill in Utah.” The mere thought of the novel sparked his creativity and helped him come up with the premise of his own post-apocalyptic novel.
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