Eight apocalyptic series that recall this week's blackout

BarcelonaIt is often said that reality surpasses fiction, but in an age in which we have become fed up with watching apocalyptic series, many of the things that were experienced during this Monday's blackout We've already experienced them on the small screen. We review eight fictions that, in one way or another, can transport us back to the anguish suffered during the widespread power outage.

Premiered in 2022 on Movistar+, the anthology miniseries Blackout It seems premonitory todayThis fiction is the screen adaptation of a podcast that speculated on the consequences of a major power outage, in this case caused by a massive solar storm that rendered all electrical and telecommunications facilities in Spain unusable. Consisting of five separate but interconnected episodes, the series focuses on specific aspects such as emergency management in overflowing hospitals and neighborhood solidarity in working-class neighborhoods. Five renowned directors helmed each episode: Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Raúl Arévalo, Alberto Rodríguez, Isaki Lacuesta, and Isa Campo.

Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, Norwegian television produced this series in 2015 to explain the consequences of Russia's occupation of Norway—with the acquiescence of the EU—for energy reasons: a catastrophic hurricane has left Europe without gas and oil, so it is necessary to guarantee. This fiction anticipated scenarios of energy crises and shutdowns as a tool for political interference. It consists of three seasons and Netflix added it to its catalog. The country was liberated from the Nazis by the Russian army. Environmental politicians also come off badly in a series that, despite the political implications, functions above all as a thriller.

A series of nuclear explosions in the United States has wreaked havoc across the country. One of the cities affected—and isolated—is the fictional Jericho, in the state of Kansas. It lacks access to power or communications, forcing its inhabitants to endure harsh survival conditions. Among the themes explored in the series are the search for information amidst the rumour mill, the scarcity of resources, public order, and, as is typical in American audiovisuals, the value of family as a last refuge. Originally broadcast on CBS, the series' central theme is the character of Jake Green, the mayor's son, who returns to Jericho after five years of absence in the company of evil influences. The series enjoyed modest ratings, but at the same time generated a powerful cult following, even leading to its revival after its cancellation at the end of the first season.

American disaster films often use extensive special effects to show the devastating power of a hurricane, a meteorite, or a magnetic reversal. In Europe, perhaps due to a lack of budget, the proposals tend to be more austere. This is the case withThe collapse, a French series which examines life after a general crisis, the nature of which remains unclear to the viewer. Filmed primarily with long sequence shots, each episode is set further away from D-Day, starting two days later and continuing until six months later, when normality has still not been restored. The deterioration of social equilibrium becomes increasingly evident, such as the episode focusing on the supply crisis at a gas station, one of the most acclaimed. The final chapter, however, travels back in time and reveals what happened five days before the disaster. The series was dubbed into Catalan by TV3.

Far from realism and set in a post-apocalyptic future, Fallout It shows a world where the fight for resources is the norm in the wake of a nuclear catastrophe. One of the series' protagonists is Lucy (Ella Purnell), who has lived her entire life in a fallout shelter designed to accommodate a perfect, self-sufficient, retro-looking society. The girl is forced to go outside when her father, an eminent scientist, is kidnapped. The world beyond the shelter is arid, violent, and strange: there is so much cowboys ghostly like robotic soldiers. One of the stars of the series is Walton Goggins, now very fashionable for The white lotus.

One of Netflix's latest releases seems almost a prophecy of what happened this Monday in the Iberian Peninsula, although in the case of fiction the consequences are especially tragic. Day Zero, starring Robert De Niro, a cyberattack on US infrastructure causes an energy collapse that results in thousands of deaths across the country. Former President George Mullen (De Niro) is chosen to lead the commission that must investigate what happened and curb the populist rhetoric that prevails in the aftermath of the cyberattack. The story, which serves as a reminder of our dependence on the internet and security systems, is intertwined with upright politics.

Max's huge success can serve as both a metaphor for the pandemic and this week's blackout. Based on one of the most famous video games in history, The last of us It shows us a world in collapse due to a mysterious fungus that turns people into zombies. Through Joel and Ellie, who meet and team up to survive in a hostile environment, we discover the different ways humans organize to face an almost invisible threat that can end their lives.

Post-apocalyptic fiction is one of the genres most popular on platforms. This Wednesday, Netflix releases one of the most anticipated, Argentine The Eternalist. The blockbuster, which features the country's most international star, Ricardo Darín, adapts an Argentine science fiction comic by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López that began publishing in the late 1950s and is a true benchmark.

Very much in line with the dystopian fictions that have been so successful on the small screen, the miniseries begins when one summer night the city of Buenos Aires experiences a deadly snowfall that kills part of the population and leaves thousands isolated. Juan Salvo (Darín) and his friends begin a desperate fight to survive and along the way they realize that the storm is the beginning of an invasion of beings from another planet. The Eternalist It's a monumental project. For years, attempts have been made to bring the story to the screen, but so far, it hasn't materialized. The Argentine series was announced in February 2020, and the creation process has been lengthy: two years of script development; four and a half months of pre-production; 148 days of filming in Buenos Aires; and more than a year and a half of post-production.