The Last Of Us Is Amazing, But Prime Video's 2-Part Post-Apocalyptic Show Is Even Better

Published Aug 1, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. The Last of Us is one of the best original shows of the 2020s, and easily one of the best video game-to-TV adaptations ever, but there's another adaptation on Prime Video that's even better. The Last of Us didn't kick off the video game adaptation boom, but it did show viewers and producers that video games could make for a prestige series. The ongoing adaptation of the acclaimed Naughty Dog video game franchise brought the grim zombie tale to life with exceptional tension, production, and acting work thanks to Craig Mazin's direction and Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey's performances. Season 3, the final season, is set to premiere in 2027, but it might already be too late to overtake another popular video game adaptation. Prime Video's Fallout has managed to best The Last of Us at its own game using a more tongue-in-cheek tone, brighter color palette, and all-around sensibility more reminiscent of a video game. Based on the Bethesda video game franchise, Fallout is also on to its third season. Unlike The Last of Us, there's no indication that this season will be the last. The series stars Ella Purnell as Lucy MacLean, an optimistic young woman who was born and raised in a Vault, a self-sufficient, subterranean home that was built just before the Great War resulted in apocalyptic nuclear Armageddon that destroyed most of the life on the surface. "Most" is the key word, because there were some survivors, and 219 years later, Lucy goes to the surface to discover that society has rebuilt itself as a retro-medieval, steampunk, Western civilization. It's a wonderfully realized setting, and the mystery and story at the center is even more compelling. Fallout Season 2 Was An Improvement Over Season 1 Had Fallout ended with season 1, you could probably claim The Last of Us was the better show without a lot of pushback. However, the series took a big leap forward with season 2. Purnell is not the only star of Fallout season 1. Walton Goggins as the Ghoul and Aaron Moten as Maximus are equally important to the plot. Lucy, the Ghoul, and Maximus have arcs that intersect and eventually run together, but season 1 takes too long to bring everyone together. Each story is strong on its own, but that equal screen time is devoted to each makes the viewer anxious for them to finally come together. It's a strong season, but a disjointed one. Season 2 fixes that issue. With the establishment of the main characters and providing the reasons why they are together, season 2 feels more whole. Maximus still spends some of the season apart from Lucy and the Ghoul, but you're confident that he will eventually be reeled back into their story in one way or another. Fallout Does What The Best Video Game Adaptations Do Fallout does what the best video game adaptations do, and what The Last of Us has specifically avoided doing, except in some of its best episodes, like season 1, episode 3, "Long, Long Time". Fallout does not follow one specific storyline from the game; instead, it uses the setting, NPCs, and events of the games to structure an original story. Admittedly, Fallout has an easier time of this than The Last of Us, which is a narrative-focused game rather than the open-world style of the Fallout games. Still, Fallout wisely uses the bones of the video game to attach a story to, which lets the show go in whatever surprising, fun direction it wants to. Release Date April 10, 2024 Network Amazon Prime Video Showrunner Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan Directors Frederick E. O. Toye, Wayne Che Yip, Stephen Williams, Liz Friedlander, Jonathan Nolan, Daniel Gray Longino, Clare Kilner Writers Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan Franchise(s) Fallout Creator(s) Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Graham Wagner