Apple TV+’s 93% RT Sci-Fi Series Is Already One Of Its Best Ever

While Apple TV has a lot of great series on its roster, one of the streaming service’s hits is among the best sci-fi shows in the history of the genre. It was never going to be easy for TV show runners to top the best episodes of Lost, although they put up an admirable fight throughout the 2000s and 2010s. Without Lost, viewers would never have gotten ambitious, boundary-pushing network TV shows like Fringe and the superhero drama Heroes, nor would streaming services and cable networks have been able to create complex, layered mystery box shows.

Without Lost, it is unlikely that viewers would ever have seen Netflix’s Stranger Things or Dark, nor HBO’s The Leftovers or Station Eleven. However, as the streaming revolution continued, competition in the online entertainment space meant that creators needed to get more ambitious, more experimental, and more complex in their storytelling. By the 2020s, out-there sci-fi concepts like multiverses and time travel, which were once a rare right on TV, had become storytelling mainstays.

This is where shows like Apple TV’s sci-fi masterpiece Silo come in to change the game once again. Adapted from author Hugh Howey’s novel trilogy of the same name, consisting of the books Wool, Shift, and Dust, Silo is a blend of sci-fi mystery thriller and post-apocalyptic ensemble drama set in the underground silo of the title. A massive underground dwelling with 144 floors, one of the silo’s lowest floors is home to Rebecca Ferguson’s engineer Juliette.

Silo Is A Post-Apocalyptic Masterpiece From Apple TV

When Juliette accidentally stumbles upon a conspiracy, she inadvertently sets in motion a chain of events that end up involving the silo’s sheriff, Holston, his wife, Rashida Jones’ Allison, and an array of other characters from throughout the setting’s many floors. Influenced by post-apocalyptic classics like The Platform and Snowpiercer, but with a longer runtime to explore its eponymous setting in more depth, Silo is a fully immersive dystopian drama that outdoes even Hulu’s acclaimed Paradise in its twisty storytelling.

With an ensemble cast that expands with every new season, including stars like Chinaza Uche, Jessica Henwick, Ashley Zukerman, and Avi Nash, Silo’s story grows more complex without ever becoming too opaque to follow. As many critics praising the show have noted, Silo’s ability to bounce between the compelling interpersonal romance and drama of the characters and the larger sci-fi mystery of the show’s setting calls to mind Lost at its best, when the classic ABC series was both a masterful character study and an innovative mystery.

However, while Lost got a little too convoluted for its own good and set up many storylines that never paid off, Silo’s source material ensures the show hasn’t fallen victim to this problem yet. As of season 3, the show is one of the most compelling candidates to replace the six-season masterpiece The Expanse as the best sci-fi show of the decade.

Apple TV’s Silo Success Explains Its Many Subsequent Sci-Fi Shows

Image courtesy of Everett Collection

Like Silo, The Expanse began its first season as a twisty noir-inspired mystery with a futuristic setting, only to gradually open up its fictional world and become more of an immersive, incredibly ambitious ensemble piece. It is high praise for any show to be compared to Prime Video’s 72-episode masterpiece, but this is becoming a regular occurrence for Apple TV’s sci-fi output.

From the corporate satire Severance to Vince Gilligan’s long-awaited Breaking Bad follow-up, the Twilight Zone-inspired sci-fi Pluribus, Apple TV is home to many of the most acclaimed sci-fi shows of the last few years. With the three-season masterpiece Foundation and the upcoming William Gibson adaptation Neuromancer also joining Silo on the streaming service, it is clear that Apple TV is on a mission to make small-screen history in the genre.

Release Date

May 5, 2023

Network

Apple TV

Showrunner

Graham Yost

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  Rebecca Ferguson

  Juliette Nichols

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