Apocalypse

"""Apocalypse""" is a post-apocalyptic horror television series developed for SimTV. It premiered on SimTV on the 1st February 2011. The show was renewed for a second series on the 22nd of February.

Plot
Apocalypse tells the story of the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse; it follows 5 survivors, traveling across a desolate United Kingdom in search of a new home away from the undead. The group are split in two; with Lewis and his sister Katie making up one and Beth, her son and former student Matthew making up the second. Every turn they make forces them to make tough decisions as they face a world which has seen society collapse over night.

Production
The series was initially set to be a sequel to 2009 film Night Of The Living Dead. The project was set to shoot in the summer of 2010, however, there were complications with filming. Promotional images were released for the movie and it was confirmed that filming had begun. In by late 2010 there had been no news on the development of the sequel and by October it was announced that the project was "dead". There was speculation as to why the movie had haulted like it did, some suggested that SimTV could not come to an agreement with the Universal Film Company to produce the sequel; other rumours suggested that the producer simply wasn't happy with how the film was turning out. On the 2nd of January 2011 it was officially announced on the SimTV forums that a zombie horror series was in the works. It was also announced by Nathan himself that this series would replace his intended sequel to Night Of The Living Dead, but would have a completely seperate storyline. The show aired on the 1st February and was broadcast for a 6 week run.

The series was renewed for a second season, with production beginning on the 15th March. It was revealed that writers were looking at producing a longer series with a bigger season plot than the first one provided. It was also revealed that new characters would be introduced to join the current 5 on their adventures. It has been rumoured that one of the main characters from the first series will not make a return for the second, this is mainly due to the season one cliff hanger.

Promotion
The shows main promotion took place on the website it was broadcast on; the 5 day countdown's were shown each day leading up to the first episode air date. The show was promoted on the main SimTV homepage, as well as the forums in the discussion thread. Promotion also took place on youtube, with various teasers being created in an attempt to draw more views from people outside of SimTV. The first teaser showed pictures of the pilot; the first teaser had the sound of a woman being murdered in the background, this sound was never actually used in the show. The second teaser shows the lead character Beth waking up in a desert where she had discovered the world had become extinct, she was attacked by zombies in a "screamer" type fashion. The third and final teaser showed Beth awakening from a coma and discovering the zombie apocalypse had already taken place. The third teaser was a tribute to the first Resident Evil movie.

Reception
Overall, the show received positive reviews from viewers. Many show creators from SimTV reviewed the show, one saying "Perhaps one of the best opening episodes ever on SimTV, and I'm not just saying it.", other comments were very similar to this; another viewer commented ''"WOW! Where can I start? A fantastic show, very exciting and I just couldn't stop reading. The ordering of events is spot on and I wasn't expecting what happened to Courtney at the very start! I love Beth as a character, she is such a fantastic lead character and although isn't the best mother in the world, its great listening to her stories.". ''The series continued to recieve positive reviews from viewers throughout its 6 episode run.