Best Pre-Apocalyptic Series of 2023 Drops on Netflix With Rare 100% Rotten Tomatoes Score
The Apocalypse has never been so charming.
Summary
- Carol and The End of the World is a surprising new look at the apocalypse
- The show follows a forty-something woman in the final months of humanity
- Critics are raving about the animated comedy.
When we think of the end of the world in movies, we probably think of humanity desperately attempting to survive in noisy CGI action sequences. Alternatively, we think of shows and movies that take place in the bitter aftermath of a world-shattering event (The Last of Us, The Road).
We tend to imagine that humanity, when faced with its own demise, will immediately go screaming and kicking into that dark night. But a new animated comedy on Netflix offers a different vision.
What's It About?
Carol and the End of the World takes place in the final seven months of humankind, as another planet is on a collision course with Earth. Instead of everything turning into The Purge, humanity all starts living their best lives – they go base jumping, they have joyful orgies in the streets, they learn the trombone, they spend time with their loved ones.
In one particularly poignant episode, a choir serenades a street full of onlookers that are all taking the time to watch the sunset.
In the middle of all this is Carol, a quiet and unassuming forty-something woman. While everyone else is finding joy, Carol doesn't quite know what to do with herself. She has dinner with her parents (who have become nudists and started a throuple with their handsome nurse), she goes grocery shopping, she goes home. Sometimes she sits in deserted chain restaurants, or goes to Office Depot.
When asked what she misses about the old world, Carol responds: 'Recycling, mostly. And the feeling you get from saving money? And Applebee's.'
One day Carol sees a businesswoman who looks to be on her way to an office, even though nobody on Earth works any more. Carol follows the stranger and discovers something amazing: a humdrum accounting firm where everyone shows up to clack at keyboards in a cubicle every day. She gets a job there immediately.
Self-Discovery in the Mundane
It doesn't make any sense – the world is ending, and money doesn't matter any more. But for some reason Carol finds her purpose by simply showing up and doing paperwork all day, making friends with her fellow office drones and finding the joy in simple connections and routines.
It's a strangely meditative topic for an animated series, like if The Office took place pre-apocalypse. Carol finds comfort and meaning in her cubicle, though it's never clear what meaningless work is going on there.
Every Episode is Different
If that sounds dull, you've underestimated the mind of Dan Guterman (Community, Rick & Morty). Each episode shifts focus, tone, and style. Here, it's a cruise ship heist; there, it's a short film about surfing. In one episode, the objects in the office's lost and found lead to a series of short stories about the objects within. Yet another episode is an animated version of a found footage movie.
Although Carol is the heart of the show, every character is treated with the dignity of having their own story, and their own journey of self-discovery. Even characters who might in any other series be a one-off joke – like the Russian cleaning lady or the pirates looking for a little R&R – are given a surprisingly full arc.
Plus there's lots of nudity and orgies, so you'll never be bored.