Station Eleven does not depict the usual post-apocalyptic world, where barbarism and violence dominate the landscape. I usually dismiss post-apocalyptic stories because of their pessimistic (and, I'm sure, false) view. People will cling to anything that makes their world pleasant and worth striving for. Cooperation is needed to rebuild a world that will make their survival a bit more likely. Civilization is a really old, old thing - though not always as great as say the Roman Empire - and not something that is shrugged of and forgotten once a catastrophic collapse has occurred. Sure, there will be rough encounters or individuals seeking power, but they will be incidental, not the common scene.
Anyway, that is the optimistic view about humanity I wish to maintain. In stead of being depressing (and basically boring, in that the message of the usual PA-story is generally about brutal violence and little else), stories like Station Eleven are far more fascinating and entertaining. I read the book awhile ago and enjoyed it. There are some plot changes in the series compared to the book, but overall I found these changes strengthened the plot as a whole.
Yes, if you expected action, warlords and depravity, you probably found it boring. But this was about people struggling to cope with the loss of their familiar and trusted world, the traumas of losing so many loved ones, the insecurities of staying alive and facing until then unimagined challenges. You need diversion every now and then, something meaningful and captivating to have a retrieve of this new, raw every day life. Where some find the idea of a traveling theater ridiculous, I think ideas like this could be a life saver. It certainly was to the people of the Traveling Symphony.
The story follows several people, across time, which makes for a somewhat jumpy plot. It shows how the lives of several people, even after 20 years and a collapse of civilization, still were entangled. It also is a way of showing the mental state of Kirsten, the main MC, and how she is dealing with the traumatic events she endured as a 8 year old girl, mixing fantasy (the comic-book Station Eleven), Shakespearean plays and real events.
A entertaining and fascinating TV-series.
PS
I haven't seen or heard anything about prolongation of the series. Nor do I think that would be appropriate.