The Hunger Gamesdefined the landscape of dystopian storytelling for a time, primarily through its blockbuster film franchise, but portrayals of totalitarian governments and devastated versions of Earth have also made their way onto prestige television. Following 16-year-old Katniss, after she is conscripted to participate in the Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins' narrative evidently draws upon some milestone literary works. While some ofThe Hunger Games’inspirations were adapted as TV shows later on, creators still delved into similar themes with original stories.
Thebest dystopian TV shows ever madeexplore different anxieties of the real world in the face of shifting governments, as well as social and ecological circumstances. They often feature a rebellion storyline or depict their protagonists surviving a desolate landscape while protecting their loved ones, offering encouragement to audiences about such worst-case scenarios. However,the primary function of a dystopia is to act as a cautionary tale,and some TV shows still use elements of1984’s style of a hopeless, open ending, where nothing is fixed.
The premise ofThe 100is based on a crisis of limited resources. The leadership on board a massive spaceship decides to send 100 criminal teenagers to the surface to determine if it is once again habitable, as they are running out of oxygen for their populace.The 100has an excellent set-up to explore tensions concerning resources,especially when some of the teenagers forced to risk their lives committed no crime except being born, with a strict one-child-per-family rule in space. LikeThe Hunger Games, matters of survival and the nature of humanity come into play.
Based on the book series of the same name,Siloalso explores hypotheticals following the planet being ravaged by nuclear destruction. It delves into ideas seen inThe Hunger Gamesof how deception is used to control a population. While inThe Hunger Games, the Capitol creates a massive spectacle of the Games that pits tributes against each other, so the districts will never come together,Siloshows a population living in an underground silo to survive the toxic wasteland above.The rules in place are supposed to be for their protection, but the real reasons are slowly, masterfully revealed to be more sinister.
Margaret Atwood’s landmark novelThe Handmaid’s Taleis certainly a text that Suzanne Collins was familiar with when she started writingThe Hunger Games.However, the award-winning TV show, withThe Handmaid’s Taleseason 6 only recently ending, fleshes out the story to go far beyond the standalone novel, depicting attempts to bring down Gilead after June’s initial testimony. The Capitol and Gilead have much in common, as both constitute a carefully constructed tyranny that threatens many into submission and allows for controlled outlets for their rage, which still serve the state.
The Handmaid’s Tale’s Gilead is most associated in the zeitgeist with stripping women of all rights and forcing those they criminalize to be unwilling child bearers.The Handmaid’s Tale’s six critically acclaimed seasonsnever let up on the harrowing tone of this story, pushing it further when it isn’t bound by the same young adult demographic asThe Hunger Games. It explores many issues of indoctrination, rage, spreading fascism, and a long-term revolution that will now continue withThe TestamentsTV show.
Based on the successful video game franchise,Fallouthas a nearly identical starting premise toSilo. Humanity has gone underground, living in fallout shelters after a nuclear war. The series certainly has a different tone but hinges on the cost of one’s own soul to survive in such a setting.Ella Purnell continues her stellar TV streak as the lead, who sets out into the apocalyptic wastelandwanting to find out what happened to her family, kicking off a lot of intense action alongside impressive visuals, both of which can easily matchThe Hunger Games.
Arcaneis arguably thebest animated fantasy TV show ever madeand irrevocably altered the animation industry, providing once and for all that this medium is perfect for this kind of mature, elevated story. There is high-octane video game-style action and a futuristic world with elements of both fantasy and dystopia, but at the core of the series' conflict is a terrible wealth gap. Thestruggle between Piltover and Zaunhappens because Zaunites have been living in extreme, toxic poverty for generations, supporting Piltover’s wealth and comfort.
Class is also a major theme inThe Hunger Games, illustrated through the ostentatious privilege of the Capitol set against the poverty of the districts.Arcanedeftly explores this divide, showing how complicated it is to fix the problemwhen those in power have no intention of letting go of their wealth, and even Silco’s plans for a revolution might not be enough. With these storylines, alongside the powerful interpersonal drama,Arcane’s storytelling is as incredible as its animation.
The Walking Deadsometimes feels like a continent-wide Hunger Games,where everything is a fight for survival, despite there being no rule that everyone has to die. However, questions about humanity and society are at the forefront when the world is thrust into this situation, and different power structures arise in its wake. All the while, we follow a group of beloved characters, whose compassion and humanity are chipped away as they continue to traverse this new world (eventually making it to other countries), encountering other groups, and making tough decisions to protect what’s most important.
AndorchangesStar Wars, using George Lucas' galaxy and the Empire as a backdrop to tell a much more nuanced story about oppression and rebellion. In some ways,Andoris a much more clarifying view of the plot ofThe Hunger Games,when Katniss' perspective on the revolution coming together is somewhat limited, as she is an underage propaganda star and not an officer.Andor, on the other hand, draws upon a lot of varied history to show how rebellions happen.
However, the show also does not shy away from the cost of a revolution.Andor’s performances are brilliant, showing many complex individuals playing different roles in this conflict that ultimately adds up to the Rebellion barely winning the war. Many aspects we would never have thought about pertaining toStar Wars’Rebellion are explored in an incredible piece of sci-fi-themed political commentary.
While the MCU is at the center of Superhero fatigue,The Boyscompletely perverts the concept.This show’s world has superheroes, but they are undeniably terrible people whose celebrity status and powers have essentially made them unchecked gods. More scenarios of how the powerful view the powerless are explored, with the “heroes” being more concerned with their own image than the people they are supposed to be saving. The brutal violence of the series is a different take on the celebrity culture thatThe Hunger Gamestouches upon (a different scenario when the Hunger Games victors are also victims).
Station Elevenis also a notable piece of dystopian literature,published by Emily St. John Mandel in 2014 — a very difficult time to enter the dystopian genre scene — before being adapted into a miniseries starring Mackenzie Davis.Station Elevenfollows a young woman 20 years after a flu outbreak decimated civilization; having witnessed this firsthand as a child, she is now the star of a traveling group of performers. Due to the main characters' profession and the mysterious graphic novelStation Eleventhey possess, this story uniquely explores the role of art in a dystopia.
Alice in Borderlandstands out as one of the most obviousHunger Gamescomparisons due to its use of the battle royal trope, or the “death games.” There is both the 2014 animated version and the 2020 live-action adaptation of the manga of the same name, about a group of characters who find themselves in an abandoned alternate version of Tokyo, where they are forced to compete in various games, lest they will be killed. Though it may not be as elegant as other such tournament plots,Alice in Borderlandis generally praised by critics and offers another perspective on this premise.
