Afterworld (web series)

Plot

After a business trip to New York City, Russell Shoemaker wakes to find all electronic technology dead and more than 99% of the human race missing. Driven to discover the truth and return to his family in Seattle, he embarks on a 3000-mile trek across a post-apocalyptic America. Along the way, he encounters strange new societies rebuilding themselves and attempts to solve the mystery of what caused the global event survivors call The Fall. Russell discovers that technology failed due to a persistent electromagnetic pulse from a collection of satellites activated almost simultaneously with The Fall.

A side effect of the EMP is rapid mutation of life, including Russell himself, whose night vision and endurance improve dramatically. His journey eventually leads him to San Francisco and the headquarters of the Parthia Group, which had developed nanotechnology that identified humans with a particular genetic makeup.

Cast

Russell "The Walker" Shoemaker is an ad executive from Seattle who wakes to find technology dead and humanity gone, journeying home to uncover the truth behind The Fall and rescue his daughter Kizzy from the Parthia Group. Janelle "Jan" Shoemaker, his wife and a social work supervisor, disappears during The Fall. Kizzy "Kiz" Shoemaker, their gifted fifth-grade daughter, survives The Fall and ends up in Parthia's custody after being saved from a Seattle labor camp.

Officer Delondre Baines, a mounted NYPD officer who survives The Fall, joins the cult of New Eden and is sent to kill "The Walker," but renounces her faith after meeting Russell and dedicates herself to spreading the truth. Eli, a once-wealthy jeweler turned homeless man, mentors Russell and guides him to abandon violence, later appearing as a ghostly figure. Jack Hastings, former U.S. Speaker of the House and Parthia Group member, is suspected of causing The Fall but is later revealed to have presided over an accident.

John "J.D." Daggert, an insurance salesman who founds the New Eden cult after losing his son, becomes Russell's fanatical enemy. Arnold Shafer, Ph.D., an anthropologist leading the "New World Historians," a Parthia front, is executed by his own mercenary Subu after his schemes collapse. Charles and Subu, ex-soldiers turned mercenaries for the Historians, see Charles die pursuing Russell and Subu defect after witnessing Arnold's corruption.

Afterworld: Global Contact

Sony published a mobile game set after The Fall but before Season 2, where different survivors journey the world in search of their families, traveling to cities such as Paris, Seoul, Sydney, and Rio de Janeiro. Players confront challenges and battle enemies while struggling to create communication towers to restore global contact. The game was launched in September 2008 and its narrative offers a preview of Season 2, which never aired.

Emergency Subnet

A UK-exclusive online viral series called "Emergency Subnet" for Channel 4 starred the character Maia Sturn, played by Nathalie Pownall, as a spin-off of Afterworld. Produced to promote the American animated series in the UK, it followed Maia dealing with the effects of The Fall and facing solitude in London, England. She documented her day-to-day life through video blogs and journal entries using the Emergency Subnet.