Dystopian sci-fi, when done right, is often genre-defining. Think about the impact Blade Runner continues to have on film and filmmaking. Try to imagine popular culture without The Matrix, or Black Mirror, or The Planet of the Apes franchise. These stories have shaped not just the genre to which they belong, but the medium through which they’ve been told. More recent examples are a bit harder to come by, but there is one series that could potentially age just as well as the aforementioned classics, and it’s been available to stream since 2023.
Until now, viewers could enjoy Season 1 of the excellent, Rebecca Ferguson-led Silo on either Apple TV+, its home platform, or Prime Video, where you could stream it for an additional fee. After August 13th, however, the series will only be available to Apple TV+ subscribers. The show, currently sporting a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, follows a community living in a massive subterranean silo that holds more questions than answers. Ferguson portrays Juliette Wills, a Silo resident and engineer who begins digging into the community’s history and uncovers its horrifying truths. Graham Yost adapted the story from Hugh Howey’s Silo novels, which first appeared in 2011 as the short story “Wool.” On Rotten Tomatoes, Seasons 1 and 2 hold respective approval ratings of 88% and 92%.
Silo is currently midway through its third season, which is currently enjoying almost universal acclaim among critics. Its fourth season is confirmed to be its last.
At least half of what makes Silo so monumental is its cast, which has swelled to include some of TV’s biggest names. In addition to Ferguson, Silo‘s cast includes Parks and Rec star Rashida Jones, former Marvel actress Jessica Henwick, Selma star David Oyelowo, rapper and actor Common, Tim Robbins, and Steve Zahn. The characters and performances are so layered, so rich, that emotional investment is almost guaranteed. Critics heap praise on Ferguson’s performance, and just as deserving of admiration and possible accolades are Tim Robbins and Steve Zahn, who shine in their respective turns as menacing IT head Bernard Holland and Jimmy Conroy, the sole survivor of a violent and costly rebellion. Together, they offer viewers some very welcome nuance while still illuminating the contrast between the people pulling the strings and the people at the end of those strings.
Thankfully, Silo‘s story and the world it depicts are perfect matches for such high-caliber performers. Silo loads itself with all the twists and turns viewers could want from a mystery series, and it does so without compromising its social commentary and obvious entertainment value. It’s busy and ambitious, but never to a degree it can’t manage or grow into. Believe the hype: Silo is not only one of the best sci-fi shows of the last decade, but one of the best shows on TV, period.
Silo Season 3 airs weekly on Apple TV+ until September 4th.
