20 Post-Apocalyptic Stories That Aren’t Totally Depressing

LOS ANGELES – JULY 14: Things are quiet and peaceful in small-town Jericho, Kansas, but when a baffling mushroom cloud appears on the horizon Jericho’s residents are plunged into chaos. (Photo by CBS/CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images)

12. Jericho

Haven’t heard of Jericho? That’s a shame, really. Though this 2006 series has long since disappeared from television screens, its brief two seasons (plus a couple extra “seasons” carried out in comics form) present an interesting portrait of a community after the apocalypse.

Jericho is a small town in Kansas. At the beginning of the series, 23 major cities throughout the United States suffer nuclear attacks. The explosion in Denver, Colorado is large enough that residents of Jericho, though far to the east, can see it. Though communications are quickly limited, townspeople soon learn that the attacks were all intentional. In fact, just who orchestrated the attacks makes for some major plot points throughout the series.

However, the saga of small town dynamics in the face of the apocalypse is just as fascinating. Jake Green, the closest thing we have to the main character, is something of a drifter, though he’s the son of Jericho’s mayor. Despite his rambling nature, though, the nuclear attacks effectively trap him in the town. This forces him into a leadership role that bolsters his relationships with his family and other townspeople.

Of course, this wouldn’t be an exciting TV show if we only watched people get along for an hour each week. There’s plenty of drama with what remains of the government, independent militia forces, and more. Yet, at the heart of it all lies Jericho and its people, struggling and oftentimes succeeding in their quest to remain good in the face of disaster.