The Last Ship premiered in 2014 as a CBS action-drama about a virus that wipes out nearly everyone on Earth, leaving the USS Nathan James as one of the few remaining vessels. It was based on William Brinkley’s novel of the same name. The show followed Commander Tom Chandler (Eric Dane) as he led the ship’s crew through the aftermath of global collapse, searching for survivors and trying to keep his people alive.
Six seasons later, the show ended in 2020. Its reputation has cooled since its run, and it now sits with a Metacritic score of 6.0 out of 10. That number reflects a series that started strong but lost focus over time.
Trailer, via TNT.
The Premise
The setup is simple. A pandemic kills almost everyone, and the Nathan James is at sea when it happens. The crew survives, but they are cut off from the world. The show’s early episodes are tense, character-driven, and grounded in survival logistics.
Chandler is a capable leader who loses his wife early in the series, and that loss shapes his decisions throughout. His deputy, Cmdr. Kate Burton (Annabelle Wallis), is his equal and often his foil. The chemistry between Dane and Wallis carries the first few seasons.
The premise is strong. The execution drags.
Gabriel Takes Over
The show’s middle stretch is where it starts to lose shape. Season three introduces a new enemy in the form of a religious cult led by a man named Gabriel (David Anders). The cult wants to remake society in its image, and the Nathan James becomes the target of its wrath.
The cult storyline is the show’s biggest misstep. It is cartoonish and overstuffed, full of villains who speak in grandiose terms and fight for reasons that feel thin. The cultists are not scary because of their tactics or ideology; they are scary because they are relentless and numerous. The show treats them as a threat, but they feel less like a believable menace and more like a plot device.
“The Last Ship is a show about people surviving, not a show about a virus.”
That quote captures the show’s central problem. The virus is the engine that drives the story, but the show spends more time on political intrigue and factionalism than on the actual consequences of extinction. The show’s writers seem more interested in power struggles than in the quiet desperation of a world without people.
Victor’s Network
Season five brings a new threat in the form of a terrorist group called the Shadow Network. The network is led by a former CIA officer named Victor (Christopher Carley). Victor wants to start a new civilization from scratch, and he sees the Nathan James as the seed of that new world.
The final season wraps up the series with a resolution that is both satisfying and rushed. The show ends on a hopeful note, with the crew establishing a settlement on a remote island. It is a fitting end for a show about survival, even if the journey there was uneven.
What Works
The show has a few things going for it. The cast is uniformly good, especially Dane and Wallis. The visual effects are solid, and the ship itself is rendered with care. The show also benefits from a strong premise that allows for moments of genuine tension.
The best episodes are the ones that focus on the characters rather than the action. The show’s quieter moments, where Chandler and Burton talk about their losses and their fears, are far more compelling than the big set pieces.
What Doesn’t Work
The show’s biggest weakness is its pacing. The middle seasons drag, with episodes that feel padded and unnecessary. The cult storyline runs for too long, and the Shadow Network arc feels like a retread of earlier plots. The show also has a habit of introducing new threats only to resolve them quickly, which leaves the audience feeling cheated.
The show’s writing is also uneven. Some episodes are sharp and well-crafted, while others are clunky and filled with exposition. The dialogue can be stiff, and the show’s attempts at humor often fall flat.
The Legacy
The Last Ship is not a great show, but it is not a bad one either. It is a middling show with a strong premise and a talented cast. The show’s ambitions exceeded its means, and that is a common fate for serialized dramas.
The show’s influence can be seen in other post-apocalyptic stories, particularly those that focus on small groups of survivors. The show’s approach to character development and its emphasis on interpersonal relationships over spectacle are worth noting.
Ranking the Seasons
If you were to watch The Last Ship, the order to see them would be:
- Season one — the strongest, with a tight premise and strong character work.
- Season two — still good, though the cult storyline begins to take shape.
- Season three — the weakest, weighed down by the Gabriel cult arc.
- Season four — a mixed bag, with some strong episodes and some filler.
- Season five — better than the third, but still weighed down by the Shadow Network arc.
- Season six — the finale, which resolves the story satisfactorily but feels rushed.
The show is worth watching for fans of military drama and disaster narratives. It is not worth seeking out for casual viewers. The show’s strengths are real, but its weaknesses are too pronounced to ignore.
The Last Ship is a show that starts well and ends well, with a long stretch in the middle that drags. It is a flawed but occasionally compelling series that rewards patience and punishes skimming. The final verdict is a 6.0 out of 10.
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