Netflix is the streaming home of a compelling 6-part sci-fi thriller that even manages to make Silo and Fallout look small. Like Silo and Fallout, the show in question is also an adaptation and is all set to return soon with a new installment. While only time will tell what the future holds for the series, it shows enough ambition and storytelling scope in season 1 to make audiences anticipate its return.
While there are quite a few post-apocalyptic TV shows on Netflix, one of the most recent and promising series in the streaming service’s catalog in the genre has been The Eternaut. Based on a classic and acclaimed comic book of the same name, the show hooks viewers with a harrowing opening sequence in which a deadly snowfall envelops the entire planet.
With what follows, the show not only unfolds the panic and chaos that brings out the worst in survivors, but also gradually unfolds a tale about an alien invasion that serves as a perfect metaphor for colonialism. Boasting a Rotten Tomatoes score of 96%, Netflix’s The Eternaut barely leaves any dull moments in its six-episode runtime.
Netflix’s The Eternaut Makes Silo & Fallout Look Small
The Eternaut‘s opening seems a little too familiar. Like most post-apocalyptic shows, it starts with a massive disaster that wipes out a significant chunk of the human population. In the wake of the apocalypse, the survivors turn against each other and reveal the darker side of humanity. However, just when one assumes the show is just another run-of-the-mill addition to the genre, it introduces an extraterrestrial threat.
The otherworldly villains in the series first appear as giant insects, reminiscent of the cosmic monsters from Stephen King’s The Mist. As the show continues, it subtly dabbles with ideas surrounding parallel universes and time travel. Even its portrayal of a worldwide alien invasion becomes an effective allegory for political oppression and humanity’s tendency to give up on individuality in the face of fear.
In its closing moments, The Eternaut season 1 promises to expand its vision even further in season 2 and dabble with more complex sci-fi concepts and themes. While The Eternaut is, by no means, a perfect show, its vision alone keeps one intrigued. Its portrayal of aliens can seem a little too bizarre and novel at first. However, it starts feeling more grounded when the show captures the central invasion as a relatable metaphor for real-world oppressive and authoritative regimes.
Unlike Fallout, The Eternaut takes itself quite seriously and lacks the satire that drives the Prime Video game adaptation. The Netflix sci-fi show also lacks the political intrigue and mystery-box approach that makes Apple TV’s Silo incredibly compelling.
However, what makes it seem far bigger in scale is its ability to capture an ongoing apocalypse and how it gradually descends into a desperate urban guerrilla war against an invisible, overwhelming alien force. Even the show’s aliens have a “Russian Doll” hierarchy, where each new threat is more and more terrifying and overpowered than the last.
The Eternaut’s Confirmed Season 2 Will Be Even Better Than Season 1
First published in 1957 by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López, The Eternaut‘s source material holds immense cultural significance. The comic’s deeply moving portrayal of how humanity can only fight oppression if it stands against it in union has also become the mantra for many social movements in Latin America.
Although the Netflix series only seems to scratch the surface of the original comic’s real-world parallels and ambitious sci-fi ideas, its second season will likely dive deeper into all the elements that make the source material so popular.
The Eternaut season 2 has already been confirmed, but it seems unlikely that it will come out anytime before 2027. The wait for its next installment might feel long, but viewers can anticipate its return while checking out its original comic book.
Like The Eternaut season 2, Fallout season 3 will also probably get a 2027 release. Silo season 3, however, will soon land on Apple TV in Summer 2026.