Series synopsis
Life After People: The Series is an American documentary television series that premiered on History on April 21, 2009. It was created by David De Vries. It stars James Lurie, Hakeem Muata Oluseyi, Don Wildman and Andrew Patrick Nelson.
Life After People is a television series on which scientists, structural engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of Earth should humanity instantly disappear. The featured experts also talk about the impact of human extinction on the environment, and the vestiges of civilization thus left behind.
Premise
Life After People is a television series on which scientists, structural engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of Earth should humanity instantly disappear. The featured experts also talk about the impact of human extinction on the environment, and the vestiges of civilization thus left behind.
Premise: Population Zero.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- James Lurie as Self - Narrator
- Hakeem Muata Oluseyi as Self - Astrophysicist/Author
- Don Wildman as Self - TV Host/Historian
- Andrew Patrick Nelson as Self - Historian
- Dan Riskin as Self - Evolutionary Biologist
Episodes
This series spans 4 seasons with 29 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 1 | January 21, 2008 | January 21, 2008 |
| Season 1 | 10 | April 21, 2009 | June 23, 2009 |
| Season 2 | 10 | January 5, 2010 | March 16, 2010 |
| Season 3 | 8 | July 14, 2025 | September 13, 2025 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Life After People The Series begins in the moments after people disappear. As each day, month, and year passes, the fate of a particular environment, city or theme is disclosed. Special effects, combined with interviews from top experts in the fields of engineering, botany, biology, geology, and archeology provide an unforgettable visual journey through the ultimately hypothetical. As modern metropolises like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington DC are ravaged by nature; the series exposes the surprising insights about how they function today. Basing this futuristic world on the surprising history of real locations, already abandoned by man, like a century-old shack in the arctic and an abandoned island that was once the most densely populated place on earth are featured in the series. |
January 21, 2008 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Bodies Left Behind What if every human being on earth disappeared? This isn't the story of how we might vanish--it is the story of what happens to the world we leave behind. In this episode, we'll see what happens to some of the bodies left behind. Most embalmed and buried, some mummified, others cryogenically frozen. Will any of them truly achieve immortality? Or will they be outlived by other memorials to mankind, like the Statue of Liberty or the Sistine Chapel. This is just part of a journey that will take us to the future of cities of Boston and Houston--as well as haunting sites already devoid of man. CC HD [TVPG] |
April 21, 2009 |
| 2 |
Outbreak An examination of what will become of the flora and fauna after the human demise, and how they may someday dominate the planet. |
April 28, 2009 |
| 3 |
The Capital Threat An examination of Washington, DC and all it's monuments. Plus, a look at the fate of Los Angeles. |
May 5, 2009 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Wrath Of God With no people, churches begin to crumble and other structures of God and symbols of Satan face their fate. |
January 5, 2010 |
| 2 |
Toxic Revenge Toxins and chemicals are released in a wold without people, and these deadly gasses turn lakes and rivers into pools of acid. |
January 12, 2010 |
| 3 |
Crypt Of Civilization In the post-apocalyptic world, man's mysterious relics meet very different fates, including those in a site in the U.S. called the "Crypt of Civilization". Other crypts, safes, and time capsules are exposed to new threats. An abandoned Mental Hospital in Connecticut offers clues regarding man's ability to preserve records. Can the military training given to Marine Corps dogs help them succeed in the wild? |
January 19, 2010 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Water World In a world without humans, water turns from life-giver to destroyer-flooding cities, collapsing dams, and triggering ancient forces long kept at bay. |
July 14, 2025 |
| 2 |
Shop 'Til You Drop When humanity disappears, the global retail machine collapses--malls rot, shipping lanes turn explosive, and ghostly grocery stores become battlefields for rodents, predators, and time. Yet from gold objects to jars of honey, some remnants of consumer culture might outlast civilization itself. |
July 21, 2025 |
| 3 |
Urban Jungles In the absence of humanity, the world's most iconic cities—from New York, to Orlando, to Rio de Janeiro—are reclaimed by nature, as forests rise, animals roam free, and fire and flood undo centuries of construction. |
July 28, 2025 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | History |
|---|---|
| First aired | April 21, 2009 |
| Last aired | September 13, 2025 |
| Runtime | 60 minutes |
| Status | Returning Series |
| Schedule | Monday at 22:00:00 |