I became drawn to a certain category of shows that feel like a microcosm of human society represented by a small group of people with different personality types thrown together in a dire situation they can’t escape from. Survival themes are a necessity but it also needs some kind of speculative fiction element (scifi, supernatural, fantasy, etc) to add intrigue, mystery and up the stakes and scope/scale of the story even further.
A tier - Lost and From - these are the best of the best when it comes to this type of series. The gold standard to aim for.
B tier - Snowpiercer and Silo (haven’t seen past the first episode yet but I think it looks like one to check out). Also Wayward Pines was pretty good. Must include The Prisoner even though it’s kind of in its own wacky category. Yellowjackets, The Wilds, and The Society barely scrape in. I’m aware of Class of '07 and Wrecked even though they’re somewhat of comedies.
C tier - Under the Dome, La Brea, The 100 - these ones are quite a bit lower quality as you can see in the budget, acting, writing and overall production value. They don’t feel as prestige or premium, but they’re still enjoyable shows to me. I don’t even care how trashy they are at times, or most of the time. They tick that box for me, scratch that itch.
Movie tier: Not a TV show, but the movie/film “The Incident” (2014) by Isaac Ezban is uncannily like From and has elements of Lost too. Definitely wish this was a proper TV series.
I don’t have many examples of this kind of show that really match the likes of Lost and From, or even Under the Dome and La Brea which feel almost like they’re deliberately trying to recreate it. Currently watching Terra Nova to try to recapture that feel and it’s decent so far. I’d love more examples. And I can sort of include The Walking Dead even though it barely meets the criteria, because it just feels very similar to Lost in my opinion. The Rain, Into the Night and Les Revenants too, I guess. If Dark and 1899 count then those are probably A/B tier. I suppose that Fallout sort of fits the bill, very loosely.
On my radar:
Jericho (no speculative fiction element as far as I know but it sounds like a comparable vibe).
Persons Unknown
Dark Matter (2015 series)
What “group of people stuck somewhere” show did you fall for?
RIP Stargate Universe. We hardly knew you.
Yellowjackets - oops, you mentioned this one
Lost in Space (The new one) - Not what you meant exactly, but it works pretty much exactly
The Prisoner
Blue Gender (do you like anime?)
The Mist - It doesn’t get any better. Read the novella before you watch the movie. I haven’t seen the show, so I can’t vouch for that.
Black Hammer if you like comics. It’s excellent; give it a try.
The Grey - This movie is fabulous, and I literally do not understand the hate it receives.
Pitch Black - One of my all time favorites. Brilliant characters and writing.
I enjoyed the TV show of The Mist even though it felt a little bit janky here and there. Watched the movie a long time ago but I might’ve seen The Fog instead (those are so similar right?)
