The first season of Silo has come to an end, and it was a very welcome surprise for sci-fi fans. Apple TV+ lined up Justified veteran Graham Yost to adapt Hugh Howey’s Wool novels, and that bet has clearly paid off with a show that has resonated with viewers. Within the dystopian future world of this series, the remnants of humanity live in an underground silo that goes down 144 stories. No one can leave for the surface, and the survivors are forced to live under draconian rules in the name of keeping everyone “safe.” When engineer Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) begins challenging the status quo, some surprising revelations emerge.
Silo has already been renewed for a second season by Apple TV+, so the story will continue. The only question is when. Even if the writers strike were to end this month, Silo season 2 is a minimum of two years away. What are hard sci-fi fans supposed to watch in the meantime? As it happens, there are five TV shows that we want to recommend to anyone who liked Apple TV+’s Silo. Checking out these series should help pass the time between seasons.
Foundation (2021-Present)
Apple TV+ doesn’t have a monopoly on sharp sci-fi dystopia dramas, but it does have more than one. Foundation takes its cues from Isaac Asimov’s classic science fiction novels and adds more life to the proceedings. In a universe ruled by the Galactic Empire, mathematician Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) has come up with a way to accurately predict the future. And what he sees is that the Empire’s fall will collapse the galaxy into a new dark age. There’s no stopping that, but Seldon’s methods may be able to make that dark age much shorter.
Lee Pace co-stars as multiple clones of Cleon I, the Emperor of the universe. However, a good deal of the spotlight falls on Seldon’s protégée, Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), who has to keep Seldon’s vision alive under some very dangerous conditions. Foundation Season 2 arrives on July 14, so you have two weeks to catch up on Season 1 beforehand.
Stream Foundation on Apple TV+.
The Expanse (2015-2021)
The Expanse is a modern sci-fi masterpiece that feels like nothing else on TV or streaming. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was such a big fan that he swooped in after SYFY canceled the series and ran it for three additional seasons on Prime Video. The show takes place in a future where the solar system has been colonized, but inequality is greater than ever. Earth and Mars are in a cold war with each other, while the people living in the asteroid belt (the belters) are justifiably angry about being exploited by both sides.
After surviving the destruction of their ship, James Holden (Steven Strait), Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper), Amos Burton (Wes Chatham), and Alex Kamal (Cas Anvar) find themselves thrust into the greatest conspiracy in the history of mankind. They learn that not only are aliens real, but their biotechnology may spell doom for humanity.
Stream The Expanse on Prime Video.
Snowpiercer (2020-2022)
Fans of Silo should instantly recognize the premise of Snowpiercer. Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but after an ecological disaster, the remnants of humanity are forced to live in a confined and uncomfortable new environment. That could really be said of both shows, but Snowpiercer places the last remnants of humanity on a train that constantly travels across the globe. And class warfare means the rich have once again landed at the top of the food chain.
Hamilton’s Daveed Diggs stars as Andre Layton, the train’s detective, who uses his authority to slowly build a rebellion among the underclass to free them from oppression. That brings Layton into conflict with Melanie Cavill (Hulk‘s Jennifer Connelly), the woman who quite literally keeps the train moving. If Layton and Cavill can’t find common ground then humanity’s last survivors will die.
Stream Snowpiercer on Prime Video.
The Peripheral (2022-Present)
Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy adapted William Gibson’s The Peripheral for Prime Video, and as you may have guessed, it presents a dim outlook for humanity. In the near future, Flynne Fisher (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a desperate young woman whose only escape from reality comes when she is playing video games. When Flynne’s gaming skills attract attention from an unknown party, she is sent a new device to test and a new game to play.
However, Flynne’s latest game isn’t a game at all. It’s a link to an even more distant future. And just because Flynne lives in the past doesn’t mean that she can easily get away from the danger that she has uncovered.
Stream The Peripheral on Prime Video.
Altered Carbon (2018-2020)
How’s this for a sci-fi dystopia? Immortality has been achieved in the world of Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon. but really only for the rich. While anyone can get their memories backed up, it’s the wealthy who have their pick of new bodies to inhabit. As a member of The Envoys, Takeshi “Tak” Kovacs (Will Yun Lee) fought against that system only to find himself killed and resurrected in a new body (portrayed by Joel Kinnaman in season one and then Anthony Mackie in season two) 250 years later to handle some rich guy’s dirty work.
This show looks and feels like it belongs in the Blade Runner universe, and it has some of the most jaw-dropping sci-fi visuals on this list. But the reason we love Altered Carbon is because Kovacs has his own agenda in the future. He wants to find his lost love, Quellcrist “Quell” Falcone (Renée Elise Goldsberry), even if it takes forever to do so.
Stream Altered Carbon on Netflix.
