If you've been on the Internet lately, you're well aware that hysteria over the Ebola outbreak is in full swing. When your current reality is so scary, sometimes it helps to escape in the fictional worlds of movies and TV shows.
However, Ridley Scott wants to make the headlines part of your entertainment. The legendary director is creating a limited series based on Richard Preston's 1994 non-fiction best-seller The Hot Zone about the origins of the Ebola virus.
If you're ready to cry "Too soon!" over this news, there are many movies and TV shows already out there that you should probably stay away from, too. Usually, it's thrilling to see if humanity will discover a way to save themselves from the imaginary pandemic in movies and TV shows or if the human race is doomed. But now that our real life has turned into the stuff of science fiction, it's probably best to not watch these movies and TV shows unless you really want to feed your paranoia.
1. 12 Monkeys (1995)
Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt star in this time-traveling adventure to try to stop a deadly epidemic before it spreads and kills the vast majority of the earth's population. And in case you can't wait for Scott's Ebola TV series, 12 Monkeys is getting its own TV adaptation on SyFy starting Jan. 16, 2015.
2. 28 Days Later (2002)
A group of survivors tries to find refuge from a lethal viral outbreak in the U.K. in this Danny Boyle-directed horror film.
3. The Andromeda Strain (1971)
Aliens are the source of a deadly virus on the brink of an outbreak in this 1971 sci-fi thriller based on a novel by Michael Crichton. It was also turned into an A&E mini-series in 2008.
4. Contagion (2011)
In Contagion, the fear of contracting a mysterious, new disease spreads more than the virus itself. Sound familiar?
5. I Am Legend (2007)
I Am Legend proves that just because you're the last person on Earth to survive a deadly plague doesn't mean you shouldn't still try to save humanity. As only Will Smith could.
6. The Last Ship (2014 to present)
A naval destroyer becomes the last beacon of hope, or last ship if you will, of the human race as a disease destroys most of the earth's population on this TNT drama renewed for a second season. It is not to be confused with Sting's new Broadway musical of the same name.
7. Outbreak (1995)
There's so many great actors in this movie, it will almost make you forget how terrifying the premise is. Almost.
8. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
In this 2011 reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise, what at first seems like a medical miracle quickly turns into a nightmare.
9. The Stand (1994)
In this mini-series based on a 1978 novel by Stephen King, after a viral outbreak ravages the earth, the survivors split into two groups, one good and one evil. How very Kingsian indeed.
10. The Strain (2014 to present)
The Strain premiered on FX this year, and it's a bit more fantastical than other movies and TV shows about viral outbreaks, thankfully. The show follows Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, who leads a team investigating an evil strain of vampirism in New York. The posters for this show alone will give you nightmares.
11. The Walking Dead (2010 to present)
You'd think people would have had enough of the zombie trend already, but the fifth season of AMC's hit series The Walking Dead just premiered. So people must still be curious about what's going to happen to this group of people trying to survive in a zombie apocalypse.
12. World War Z (2013)
What's worse than a viral outbreak that destroys humanity? A viral outbreak that turns everyone into zombies.
13. Zombieland (2009)
Nobody ever said movies about viral outbreaks and zombies couldn't be funny.
