The adaptation wheel goes round and round, and once again it’s landed on a science fiction classic about a man existing in distressing conditions. George R. Stewart’s 1949 novel Earth Abides is the latest book to move from “in development” to “actual series happening,” with MGM+ planning a six-episode limited series based on the post-apocalyptic novel. Vikings’ Alexander Ludwig (pictured above) is set to star.
We do love the post-apocalypse (The Last of Us, Fallout, The 100) and we sure do love terrible viruses (The Last of Us, Station Eleven). The official description of the show’s take on these perennial favorite horrors, per The Hollywood Reporter, goes like this:
“Leading character Ish (Ludwig) is a brilliant but solitary young geologist living a semi-isolated life who awakens from a coma only to find that there is no one left alive but him. A plague of unprecedented virulence has swept the globe, and yes, there are a few scattered survivors, but there are no rules. His journey is to learn the difference between sanctuary and survival and to open his heart to love if he is to find meaning in his life after the great machine of civilization has broken down.”
The best part of this description is definitely “brilliant but solitary young geologist.” I hope he really loves a good rock.
The show has as its showrunner Todd Komarnicki, the writer of the movie Sully. He and his team are clearly moving fast on this one; production begins next month, and the show may premiere later this year.
