The pros and cons of TV shows that tackle life in — or after — a pandemic

When Prince Amponsah nabbed a supporting role in HBO's Station Eleven, the Toronto-born actor knew that the post-apocalyptic series set in the aftermath of a pandemic would be a tough sell for some. 

The show was adapted from a wildly successful 2014 novel by B.C.-born novelist Emily St. John Mandel, about a future society that was ravaged by a plague-like disease 20 years prior. While technology has been rendered all but obsolete, a traveling theatre group performs Shakespeare for survivors, demonstrating the value and meaning that art can bring during times of despair. 

"I know a lot of people that were pretty hesitant in saying, 'I'm not sure if I really want to watch this, you know, based on the things that we're ... still dealing with today in real life,'" Amponsah told CBC News. 

An increasing number of TV shows are trying to address the elephant in the room: Does the COVID-19 pandemic exist in their universe or not? Some programming executives are shunning COVID-related content, while others find creative ways to address the pandemic, both directly and indirectly.

In the case of Station Eleven, despite a gritty first episode, it's ultimately a hopeful story, said Amponsah.

"I'm glad that people are taking the time to invest in the story and the outcome of the hope that it sort of tries to portray," he said.

And the show's time jump saves it from lingering too long on how things fell apart.

"I think the reason some people are able to watch Station Eleven right now is that it abstracts the apocalypse; it mostly happens off screen," said Emily VanDerWerff, a TV critic for U.S. news site Vox. "That gives us space to imagine our own version of it."

Before it began airing in December 2021, a TV adaptation of the novel had been in development at WarnerMedia — HBO's parent company — for two-and-a-half years. The series began filming in January 2020 and was put on hold when the pandemic began two months later. A year passed, and the show started shooting again in February 2021. 

WATCH | The trailer for HBO Max series Station Eleven:

When asked if the studio had thought about nixxing the show in light of the pandemic, creator Patrick Sommerville told Rolling Stone magazine it was never a consideration. 

The first episodes "were following through on the premise we had pitched, which was a post-apocalyptic show about joy," Somerville said. 

"We had just enough proof of concept that there was a feeling that Station Eleven wasn't leaning into despair, exactly. It was filtering terror out of the equation, to make our executives and the studio feel safe that whenever we could get up and running again, this would be a worthy venture to keep pursuing."

WATCH | The trailer for Netflix series Sweet Tooth: