Apocalypse: this end-of-days survival show is an absolute slam dunk
Channel 4's new reality show Apocalypse, launching on Sunday 13 September, drops seven strangers into an abandoned town with no phones, electricity or infrastructure to see how they cope in a simulated societal collapse. The Guardian's TV critic argues the premise is a "slam dunk" because it tests a scenario almost everyone has idly imagined, but finds the results bleak rather than reassuring, as contestants quickly resort to hoarding, lying and tribal violence.
The cast includes stock reality-TV "types" such as a content creator, a Paralympian, a theatre director, a diesel mechanic and an Australian hunter, rather than ordinary members of the public. Food scarcity drives early conflict, with some contestants going three or four days without eating, rationing to a quarter of a tomato a day, and rival teams arming themselves with baseball bats after a can of Spam is stolen. The reviewer compares the show to Hunted but notes it imagines a world with no state at all, calling it unsettling viewing that reflects real anxieties about climate change, global instability and job insecurity.
- Channel 4's Apocalypse simulates societal collapse with seven strangers, airing 13 September.
- Contestants face starvation, rationing and violent conflict over scarce resources.
- Reviewer finds the show compelling but a bleak reflection of human behaviour under pressure.
New here? Start with this
Channel 4's new series Apocalypse places seven people in a deserted town with none of the usual comforts of modern life – no phones, no power, no shops – to see what happens when everyday systems disappear. It is part of a growing trend of survival-based reality television, sitting alongside shows like Hunted, though it goes further by removing any outside authority or support network altogether.
The participants are not ordinary members of the public but familiar reality-TV character types, including a content creator, a Paralympian, a theatre director, a mechanic and a hunter. Much of the early drama centres on the search for food, with contestants going days without eating and disputes breaking out over stolen supplies, prompting rationing, mistrust and occasional aggression between groups.
The programme has drawn attention partly because its premise touches on anxieties many people already have about the fragility of modern life, from climate change to economic and political instability. Its appeal lies in imagining how ordinary people might actually behave if the structures we rely on suddenly vanished, rather than offering a comforting picture of resilience.