“Dead End” / “Dead End”, 2008
In 2020, during the peak of the global coronavirus outbreak, viewers in Germany watched with growing unease as the Big Brother participants remained unaware of what was unfolding in the wider world. The producers carved out a separate segment for the crisis, and the nation watched in real time as the cast, isolated from reality, struggled to grasp the shocking news that changed everything.
Back in 2008, a British mini-series hinted at this same anxiety through a zombie-apocalypse lens. The plot of “Dead End” follows Big Brother contestants who have been in confinement for two months, oblivious to a zombie-ruled world beyond the walls. When the doors finally open, the only survivors appear to be the people behind the screens, forcing them to confront the undead in a new and terrifying way.
In true British fashion, horror merges with drama and a touch of dark humor. It isn’t as biting as some sharper parodies, yet it still leaves a lasting, unsettling impression on a relatively small audience.
“In Meat” / “In Meat”, 2013-2014
The central figure, Kieren Walker, is caught between life and the undead, haunted by partial death syndrome. After a perilous brush with the other side, Kieren rises again as a revenant, a walking corpse tethered to memory and emotion.
Returning to Roarton, the home town, proves more terrifying than the transformation. A real panic spreads as a zealot priest rallies townsfolk against the resurrected, forming volunteer squads that capture the undead for profit and sport. The climate grows increasingly hostile, revealing deep-seated prejudice toward those who are different, including the recently dead.
Writers of In the Flesh use the zombie premise as a mask for a sharper social drama, probing questions about life, death, and the essence of humanity with a quiet, unflinching gaze.
“To the Call of Sorrow” / “Les Revenants”, 2012-2015
This French adaptation of a 2004 film unfolds in a small alpine town. A dam collapse in 1977 floods the valley, claiming hundreds of lives, and the following years bring strange, troubling events that hint at a new normal for the survivors. Thirty-five years later, the dead begin returning, among them Camille, a 15-year-old who died four years earlier, and Simon, who died ten years prior. The city is abuzz with rediscovered lives that refuse to stay quiet or straightforward.
As more victims of murder and disaster reappear, townsfolk and newcomers alike stumble through blurred lines between memory and reality. The returners share a genuine desire to resume life as it was, yet not everyone welcomes the reentry of the dead or the unsettling truths it uncovers.
“I am a zombie” / “I am a Zombie”, 2015-2019
This mid-2010s series blends whimsy with the macabre, adapting a popular comic book into a television narrative. The project follows Olivia Moore, a medical examiner who becomes a zombie after a party mishap. Her new hunger for brains grants her memories and skills from the deceased, guiding her as she helps solve crimes from the morgue.
“Zombolodka” / “Zombot!”, 2019
Escaping a vast undead invasion, brothers Kat and Joe, along with companions Sunny and Amar, find themselves aboard a Grand Union boat heading toward uncertain shores. The escape exposes a harsher truth: life as they knew it may be gone for good.
This satirical zombie series, crafted on a modest budget with a relatively unknown ensemble, proves that entertaining storytelling doesn’t demand blockbuster names. Six compact episodes squeeze a full arc into two days of chaotic escapades.
“Ash vs Evil Dead” / “Ash vs Evil Dead”, 2015-2018
Continuing from the iconic Evil Dead film franchise, the show follows Ash three decades after the original episodes. He once fought to save humanity but now aims for a quieter life. A moment of bravado sets off a fresh wave of catastrophe, as he rereads an ancient book and unleashes a new zombie invasion.
Ash vs Evil Dead stands as a benchmark for horror television, blending humor with horror, and gently poking fun at genre tropes while keeping the scariness alive. The result is a program that both thrills and amuses in equal measure.
“Survive After”, 2013-2016
This local interpretation of a zombie scenario follows eleven strangers trapped in an underground bunker. They cannot recall how they were locked inside, only to discover that they are part of an alarming Apex Corporation experiment intended to birth a new superhuman race through a virus. The virus spirals out of control, transforming Moscow’s residents into the living dead.
As a loose precursor to Epidemic, Survive After anticipates the strain of a global pandemic and its dramatic consequences, weaving a tense, claustrophobic mood with questions about power, ethics, and resilience.