3-Part Sci-Fi Show On Netflix Is Silo Meets The Last Of Us

Image courtesy of MovieStillsDb Published Sep 14, 2026, 4:01 PM EDT Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020. While a mix of Silo and The Last of Us might sound like a guaranteed blockbuster hit, the Netflix sci-fi series that melds these two shows went surprisingly under the radar upon its original release. It has been great, in recent years, to see how many non-English language shows have become massive hits on Netflix and other streaming services worldwide. While the Squid Game franchise might be the most visible example, it is hardly the only success story that highlights this welcome cultural phenomenon. Money Heist, The Asset, Lupin, and the German time travel sci-fi series Dark are just a handful of major hits that became global sensations despite the potentially perilous language barrier. More recently, the South Korean psychological thriller Mousetrap enjoyed similar success, as it turned out the show’s propulsive, twisty storyline didn’t need any translation to set pulses racing across the world. However, not every non-English language show is so lucky. For every breakout hit, there are plenty of shows that have the potential to be mainstream sensations, but never quite become the huge hits they could be. Take, for example, a post-apocalyptic Netflix series that mixed Silo’s setting with the premise of The Last of Us, but didn’t enjoy the massive mainstream success of either later series. The show was The Rain, a Danish sci-fi thriller that still hasn’t received its flowers six years after its three-season run wrapped up. Netflix’s The Rain Blends The Last of Us’s Story With Silo’s Claustrophobic Setting Based on author Hugh Howey’s successful novel trilogy of the same name, the Apple TV series Silo takes place in the titular underground silo, where 10,000 survivors of a mysterious apocalyptic event live in a regimented society divided across 144 floors. This technologically advanced bunker setting is central to the series as, like The Expanse before it, Silo gradually opens up its perspective to explore the stories of characters throughout its futuristic society. In much the same way, The Rain begins with siblings Simone and Ramus confined to a bunker after the eponymous deadly rainfall wipes out almost everyone in Scandinavia. However, The Rain almost immediately changes the premise up as the show’s main characters leave the safety of their bunker to search for their missing father, encountering other survivors on their perilous quest. This plot owes as much to Netflix’s underrated Pacific Rim spinoff The Black or the iconic anime Gurren Langan as it does to Silo, but this is where The Rain’s similarities to The Last of Us become more apparent. Like the main characters of HBO’s later critically acclaimed video game adaptation, The Rain’s heroes must embark on a treacherous cross-country trek where other survivors pose just as much of a threat as the apocalyptic danger that has already wiped out most of the population. The Rain’s Three-Season Run Includes A Satisfying Ending While the story of The Last of Us sees a fungal infection turn most of human civilization into hordes of unrecognizable mushroom monsters, The Rain’s central threat is the deadly virus found in, of course, rain. However, the Danish Netflix show’s story still has a lot in common with The Last of Us and Prime Video’s Fallout, another twisty post-apocalyptic story that starts out in an underground bunker and sends its heroes on a quest of discovery across a treacherous wasteland. The Rain didn’t become as big a breakout hit as many of Netflix’s other foreign language offerings, despite its critical success. However, this didn’t stop the show from earning a three-season run, and offering viewers a satisfying resolution to its storyline as a result. Admittedly, The Rain’s ending isn’t perfect, and some viewers found season 3’s plot twists a touch too rushed and convenient for their tastes. That said, The Rain’s unique blend of Silo and The Last of Us still deserved to be a bigger hit throughout the original release of the Netflix sci-fi series. Release Date 2018 - 2020-00-00