
"Jaime what the fuck? You do not put people's feet in food processors. There's a line even in these kind of situations." - Ariel Conroy
You, Me and the Apocalypse was a little watched series that was unfairly cancelled after a single stellar season in 2015. The show followed several seemingly disparate storylines as people around the world prepared for a pending Apocalypse happening in the form of a giant comet set to wipe out life on earth in just a month's time. We had the world's governments banding together to try and thwart the comet, people certain that it was all a hoax trying to cash in on others' fears, and religious figures intent on finding the second coming before the end. At its heart though, You, Me and the Apocalypse was about family - blood or otherwise - and what lengths people would go to to protect theirs. I came for Mat Baynton and stayed for the intriguing storylines and interesting characters. Each episode had me on the edge of my seat as we got closer and closer to finding out who would be in the bunker and how everything would come together, and I'm still on the edge of my seat waiting for some resolution to the epic cliffhanger that will now never be resolved.
I'm not sure why more people didn't watch the show when you look at the amazing cast that they assembled, but perhaps it was the odd way that it was promoted, at least in America (the show first aired in the UK and then a clean version aired on NBC a few months later). While the show is quirky and funny, it has so much more depth than the advertising leading up to the premiere would lead you to believe. I had already seen the entire series and was turned off by the commercials I was seeing, so I can only imagine that others were turned off from even giving it a chance in the first place. It is such a shame because the first season was so well paced and all of the characters developed in believable ways given their individual situations. While it was really an ensemble show and everyone was given ample screentime, the main storylines revolved around Rhonda: a librarian who was sent to prison after taking the fall for her teenage son, Jamie: an unassuming bank manager who was merely existing after his wife disappeared seven years ago, and Celine: a nun leaving the convent for the first time to work at the Vatican. All were forced to take control of their own lives throughout the show and find out who they really were and what they were capable of in drastically different ways. The plot twists were also well thought out and executed so they drove the story in an interesting way rather than being there simply for shock value.
Who knows what would have become of our tiny band of misfits had the show been granted a second season, but I for one was really looking forward to seeing all of these characters learning to coexist with no other options. There certainly were enough murderers and liars to keep things interesting from a dramatic storytelling perspective, and there was still so much mystery yet to be unveiled. Who was the woman in the box? What's with the monkey? How well equipped was the bunker in actuality? Can they communicate with anyone else left alive after the comet hit? What is the fallout of everyone coming to terms with what they did in the last month? Will there be survivor's guilt? And the most important question that remains unanswered: will Jaime be okay? There were so many talented people involved in this show, and so many plot points to delve into, that it seems like such a waste to end it just as the real story was beginning. I saw an idea tossed around by fans of the show that the second season could play out as a radio drama, and I thought that that was a great idea, but I'm afraid that it will simply fade away as another one of those single season shows with amazing potential.

Favorites
Jen | Liz | |
---|---|---|
Character | Jaime Winton, Scotty McNeil, Ariel Conroy, Dave Bosley, Leanne Parkins | Jaime, Scotty, Leanne, Dave |
Episode | Savior Day, The End of the World, An Erotic Odyssey, Home Sweet Home | An Erotic Odyssey, The End of the World |
Relationship | Jaime and Dave, Rhonda and Leanne, Scotty/Arnold, Jaime and Paula | Jaime and Dave, Rhonda and Leanne, Scotty/Arnold |