After a global viral pandemic wipes out over 80% of the world's population, the 218-person crew of an unaffected U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the fictional USS Nathan James (DDG-151), must try to find a cure and save humanity.

[1] In July 2012, TNT ordered a pilot episode for a potential series based on William Brinkley's 1988 novel The Last Ship.

[14] The series was produced by Channel Road Productions and Platinum Dunes, with Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, Steinberg, and Kane.

The website consensus states: "Movie-sized action sequences and a pretty cast provide smooth sailing for The Last Ship, though it's not anything that hasn't been seen before.

"[32] In July 2015, Entertainment Weekly's Ray Abdur Rahman said of the second season, "The story is getting more interesting as we get an on-the-ground sense of how the pandemic-ravaged US has fared.