The pros and cons of TV shows that tackle life in — or after — a pandemic

When Prince Amponsah nabbed a supporting role in HBO’s Station Eleven, the Toronto-born actor knew that the post-apocalyptic series set in the aftermath of a pandemic would be a tough sell for some. 

The show was adapted from a wildly successful 2014 novel by B.C.-born novelist Emily St. John Mandel, about a future society that was ravaged by a plague-like disease 20 years prior. While technology has been rendered all but obsolete, a traveling theatre group performs Shakespeare for survivors, demonstrating the value and meaning that art can bring during times of despair. 

“I know a lot of people that were