1 Year Before The Last of Us, Netflix Released a Better Zombie TV Drama

Naughty Dog's The Last of Us is often considered one of the most emotionally powerful stories in gaming history. Its blend of post-apocalyptic survival horror and intimate character exploration set a new bar for video games, with critics citing it as one of the best games ever made. When HBO adapted it into The Last of Us TV show, expectations were high, considering it seemed tailor-made for prestige television. With a tightly written, high-stakes, and genuinely tense survival story at its core, it's no wonder critics, new fans, and long-time players enjoyed HBO's adaptation so much.

While The Last of Us is arguably the biggest zombie TV show of the past few years, Netflix actually released a better title just 12 months before the HBO show. All of Us Are Dead released in 2022 and is set in a South Korean high school, where a zombie outbreak traps the students in their school. It's a smart, thrilling zombie drama that manages to handle a few elements better than The Last of Us.

The Last of Us Went Slightly Downhill With Season 2

All of Us Are Dead Doesn't Face the Same Issues As Season 2

The Last of Us Season 1 was an overwhelming success. 20 years after a fungal outbreak collapses civilization, hardened survivor Joel is tasked with escorting a young, immune child named Ellie across the country to a rebel group named the Fireflies. Along the way, the pair face hostile communities, numerous infected, and military factions. Though the survivors are navigating a brutal world, The Last of Us primarily centers on the heartwarming connections in the ruin: Joel and Ellie's bond is the center of this, but Frank and Bill's tragic love story brought one of the most phenomenal TV episodes audiences have seen in a long time.

Ellie and Joel's story continues in Jackson, Wyoming, five years after the events of Season 1, as they attempt to heal their strained relationship before an act of violence shatters their world. While Season 2 was also well-reviewed, fans noted that the pacing felt off, struggling through some episodes and rushing through big character moments. Altered arcs from the game also upset viewers. Most notably, Ellie became a watered-down version of her game counterpart. Naughty Dog's game had Ellie embarking on a bleak and dark revenge quest, but The Last of Us Season 2 sanitized this too much.

While Bill and Frank's episode "Long Long Time" was a welcome divergence from the game's narrative, Ellie's storyline was far less well received. All of Us Are Dead, on the other hand, embraces the genre's dark tone, violence, and bleak storylines. Unlike the slower, more contemplative tone of The Last of Us, All of Us Are Dead thrives on urgency, chaos, and escalating stakes. The Netflix series successfully turns familiar zombie tropes into a high-energy, emotionally charged experience. And, it doesn't let up for 12 entire episodes.

All of Us Are Dead is a Very Different Kind of Zombie Drama

There's No Holding Back in Netflix's Show

Based on the webtoon of the same name by Joo Dong-geun, All of Us Are Dead follows a group of students who are left trapped when a science experiment goes wrong and triggers a viral outbreak through their school and the city of Hyosan. What follows is a relentless survival story that blends action with coming-of-age drama. Instead of focusing on a central duo like Ellie and Joel, All of Us Are Dead juggles multiple perspectives and characters, each of whom respond to the emergency in wildly different ways.

This wider lens makes the outbreak feel more immediate and unpredictable, while also allowing for social commentary on general anxiety, social hierarchy, and bullying. With large-scale set pieces and genuine tension, the students try every desperate measure to survive without contact from the outside world. None of the young people are safe in All of Us Are Dead, proven by how frequently the system fails them. While The Last of Us was praised for its depth and restraint, All of Us Are Dead goes all in on zombie tropes and horror imagery.

By embracing genre maximalism and multiple perspectives, All of Us Are Dead captures the raw panic of survival, feeling closer to pure horror yet still grounding the characters in relatable storylines. In doing so, it creates a more compelling version of what zombie TV shows can be. All of Us Are Dead exceeds The Last of Us because it embraces momentum, variety, and genuinely bleak storylines over introspective minimalism. For some viewers, this is far more engaging than what The Last of Us offered.