Dystopian TV Series
Dystopian, which literally means "bad" and "place" in Greek - refers to a setting primarily based around a society under the control of a repressive regime. The nature of these societies may vary. Not always explicitly political, some may be religious, corporate or criminal in nature. You can expect, as a normality, political and social oppression, secret police, open political corruption as well as a totalitarian scope to their power. Dystopian narrative often implicitly or sometimes explicitly offer dialogue about contemporary society.
They may also emerge as the byproduct of the crumbling of society, leaning into Post-Apocalyptic fiction.
This list does not include shows where a Dystopian setting is peripheral, or adjacent or only present within certain episodes of the show.
Feel free to vote for your favourites here: https://www.ranker.com/list/best-dystopian-live-action-tv-shows/skavation
They may also emerge as the byproduct of the crumbling of society, leaning into Post-Apocalyptic fiction.
This list does not include shows where a Dystopian setting is peripheral, or adjacent or only present within certain episodes of the show.
Feel free to vote for your favourites here: https://www.ranker.com/list/best-dystopian-live-action-tv-shows/skavation
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- CreatorFrank SpotnitzStarsAlexa DavalosLuke KleintankRufus SewellIn a dystopian America dominated by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, a young woman discovers a mysterious film that may hold the key to toppling the totalitarian regimes.
- CreatorBruce MillerStarsElisabeth MossYvonne StrahovskiAnn DowdSet in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship.
- CreatorRyan J. CondalCarlton CuseStarsJosh HollowaySarah Wayne CalliesPeter JacobsonIn the wake of a mysterious alien invasion, a family fights to stay together in a new world order.
- StarsSam RileyJames CosmoRainer BockA British homicide detective investigates a murder in a German-occupied England in a parallel universe where the Nazis won World War II.
- CreatorDavid PastorÀlex PastorStarsSean TealeAllison MillerEddie RamosA man attempts to thwart a giant corporation that seems to have unlimited power.
- CreatorChris RolandRobert WertheimerStarsJeffrey PierceMichael FilipowichMichele BurgersA missing persons detective finds himself caught between three parallel universes.
- CreatorJames RolandStarsAlan RitchsonChristina OchoaThomas DominiqueIn a dystopian alternate 1999, a former cop is forced to take part in a death race in which cars run on human blood as fuel.
- CreatorJames DeMonacoStarsGabriel ChavarriaDerek LukeHannah Emily AndersonIn an altered United States, several unrelated people discover how far they will go to survive a night during which all crime is legal for 12 hours.
- CreatorBruno HellerStarsJack BannonRyan FletcherDorothy AtkinsonThe origin story of Alfred Pennyworth, a former special-forces soldier living in London and how he came to work for Bruce Wayne's father.
- CreatorJordan PeeleCharlie SandersStarsLeVar BurtonCynthy WuAnthony HolidayA Twilight Zone-esque look at the life and people living in a futuristic city where the haves and the have nots are strictly separated by a wall.
- CreatorRussell T. DaviesStarsAnne ReidRory KinnearJessica HynesAs Britain slowly turns into a dictatorship throughout the years, the lives of a typical busy family from Manchester converge on one crucial night in 2019.
- StarsPhoebe FoxAndi OshoBilly ZaneA group of amateur drivers from all over the world compete in an illegal night-time street race.
- CreatorGrant MorrisonBrian TaylorDavid WienerStarsAlden EhrenreichJessica Brown FindlayHarry LloydIn a utopia whose perfection hinges upon control of monogamy and privacy, members of the collective begin to question the rules, putting their regimented society on a collision course with forbidden love and revolution.
- CreatorPedro AguileraStarsCarla SalleSandra CorveloniJonathan HaagensenIn a city where citizens are monitored 24/7, a tech employee must outsmart her surveillance drone in order to investigate a murder.
- CreatorJoshua LongStarsRobert WieckiewiczMaciej MusialMichalina OlszanskaDecades after a 1983 terrorist attack, a law student and a cop uncover a conspiracy that's kept Poland as a police state and the Iron Curtain standing.
- CreatorDaniel ÉcijaStarsUnax UgaldeOlivia MolinaEleonora WexlerIn 2045, Spain like the rest of the western world has been driven into a dictatorial regime by the lack of natural resources. Life in the countryside is impossible, and in the city a fence divides peoples into the powerful, and the rest.
- CreatorUrmi JuvekarStarsHuma QureshiRahul KhannaSiddharthIn a near-future world where an oppressive regime segregates society, one woman skirts the system to search for the daughter taken from her years ago.
- CreatorPedro AguileraStarsBianca ComparatoVaneza OliveiraRodolfo ValenteA post-apocalyptic thriller set in near-future Brazil, where a select few are allowed to join a privileged society after undergoing an intense and competitive process.
- CreatorYoung-Hyun KimSang-yeon ParkStarsJung In-sunKim Kang-wooHan Sang-jinA Sci-Fi-Mystery drama - episodes contain two shorter stories, the first half is set in 2017 called "Beta Project," and the second half in 2037 called "Grand New World.
- CreatorJames CameronCharles H. EgleeStarsJessica AlbaMichael WeatherlyRichard GunnA group of genetically-enhanced children escape from a lab project. Years later we meet Max, one of the escapees who now works for a messenger service in the post-apocalyptic Pacific Northwest.
- StarsSunny JainKatrina LawKeith AndreenSet in the dying world of Aurordeca, The Resistance is an action-packed thriller revolving around an epic tale of destiny and revenge. Syrus Primoris, a brilliant chemist, has taken control of the ten regions of Aurordeca in the wake of a devastating plague. Half the population is already dead. It is only Syrus and his miracle suppressant, Noxe, that can keep the other half from succumbing to the virus. In exchange, the people grant Syrus absolute power. Only one group stands in open opposition to the regime. The Aurordecan Resistance Movement (ARM), led by the fierce and driven Lana. ARM sees Syrus for the despot he truly is and fight tirelessly to find a cure for the disease and to free the people from their enslavement to the suppressant. But everything changes through a chance encounter with a mysterious and deadly drifter, Arclite.
- CreatorBruce WagnerStarsJim BelushiDana DelanyRobert LoggiaA multi-national corporation attempts to take over America while small pockets of resistance hold out against rampant technology.
- StarsOla RapacePascal GreggoryTchéky KaryoSet in the near future, multi-national corporations are Europe's new leaders. One of the most powerful, Promethee, wishes to further secure their growing dominance by replacing the police force with their own private militias, the Black Squad, led by Henry Munro. Following the shooting of his daughter, his life in shambles and darkest secrets exposed, an idealistic law enforcement officer, Sirius, with nowhere to turn, aligns himself with an old cop Franck Varnove. Sirius takes charge of Franck's clandestine, elite squadron, Section Zéro, to battle these dark, violent militias, promising a return to traditional law enforcement before the world they've known disappears forever.
- CreatorAntarès BassisSophie HietStarsLéonie SimagaPierre DeladonchampsRonit ElkabetzThe economic situation is a nightmare: only 20% of the population is employed. The Actives live inside the city. On the fringes, in the Zone, live the Jobless. Separating them is a wall.
- CreatorCharlie BrookerStarsWunmi MosakuMonica DolanDaniel LapaineFeaturing stand-alone dramas -- sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales that explore techno-paranoia -- "Black Mirror" is a contemporary reworking of "The Twilight Zone" with stories that tap into the collective unease about the modern world.
