An Apocalypse to Die For

It’s no coincidence that the opening credits of season one of the Netflix series The Rain are reminiscent of AMC’s The Walking Dead. The two shows are strikingly similar.

Both are post-apocalyptic character-driven dramas in which humankind has been decimated by a virus. Both center on a group of disparate strangers struggling to coalesce into a functional group. Both have themes about the difficulty of retaining one’s humanity in an amoral world. I could go on.

For all of these shows’ similarities, however, they differ in one crucial aspect: zombies, or rather the lack thereof in the Danish series. The Rain is a Danish series that contains no flesh-eating re-animated human cadavers whatsoever. That may hinder the import from reaching TWD-sized ratings, but it’s actually to The Rain’s benefit, planting it firmly in our universe at a time when TWD, suffering from the loss of series linchpin Andrew Lincoln, becomes more surreal, distant, and implausible (I’m talking about the introduction of talking zombies and increasingly outlandish haircuts, primarily).

Without zombies as the backdrop, the action of The Rain mostly involves the avoidance of inclement weather. Not exactly high concept, admittedly, but it’s more exciting than it sounds. This leads our heroes to to seek shelter at the first sign of crappy weather, while also avoiding and evading a group of treacherous humans known only as The Strangers. The Rain contains a potentially evil corporation known as Appollon, interesting backstories for the ensemble cast to sink their teeth into, and gorgeous visuals and high production values throughout.

The Rain’s two main characters, siblings Rasmus and Simone, played by actors Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen and Alba August, respectively, are every bit as sympathetic and heroic as TWD’s Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln. If you miss the early days of that series, there are some scenes that are clearly homages, including one portraying the importance of a good hot shower after a hard day.

Sloppy English dubbing is my only criticism, and the fact that this show may not receive a second season.

Note: Since this article was published, The Rain did receive a second season, and a third. No fourth season has been announced. All three seasons of The Rain can be viewed on Netflix.