Science fiction is pretty popular these days, but mainly sci-fi action. We don’t get many big, meaty, old school, cerebral science fiction on our screens (well, there is Dune). But if you know your Asimovs, Besters, and Clarkes you’ll be thrilled to know that season two of Foundation is hitting Apple TV+ on July 14.
Classic science fiction doesn’t get more classic than Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series of books, a sprawling future history about the collapse of a vast Galactic Empire and the efforts of the titular organisation to preserve knowledge and technology and so shorten the inevitable dark age to come. Heavy stuff, and long thought unfilmable. Numerous creators had tried and failed over the years before showrunner David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight) cracked the code.
Our hero is “psychohistorian” Harri Seldon (Jared Harris), who has predicted the coming collapse through the power of super-mathematics. The three clone-emperors who rule the Empire, Brother Day (Lee Pace), Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann), and Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton), aren’t sure what to make of his conclusions, and vacillate between empowering Seldon and sentencing him to death while they tighten their grip on an increasingly chaotic galaxy. They hope that Seldon’s brilliant young assistant, Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), will poke holes in his theories, but no luck. Harri is on the money, and decisive action is needed to save humanity from itself.
Season two picks up about a century after season one, with the galaxy teetering on the brink of war—just as Seldon predicted. Foundation is real big brain, high concept stuff, covering a vast sweep of galactic history and brimming with complex ideas and concepts. If you can imagine what it’d look like if Ken Burns made a sci-fi series, you’re in the right ballpark. And with eight seasons planned to encompass the entire story, it’s worth jumping on board sooner rather than later.
