Back in February, we reported that Amazon had acquired the U.S. rights to Electric Dreams, an anthology series based upon the works of famed novelist Philip K. Dick. The series, a collaboration between British and American writers, premiered on September 17 on the United Kingdom’s Channel 4.
On Friday, October 6, at New York Comic Con, Amazon unveiled the first official trailer (viewable above), which gives us an extended look at the stories we’ll see across the first season’s ten episodes. There’s a very Black Mirror-esque vibe in play, with most of the stories being based in the future, but Electric Dreams seems to distance itself from Black Mirror by injecting some hope and happiness into the proceedings.
There’s even a sequence late in the trailer where the phrase, “The future is still human,” flashes across the screen, along with some uplifting music and shots of characters that look happy. We don’t know much about any of the plotlines, but there’s a healthy smattering of A-list talent here, including Bryan Cranston, Terrence Howard (Hustle and Flow), Steve Buscemi, and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones‘ Robb Stark).
Dick was a science fiction author whose work inspired many films, including Blade Runner (and, of course, Blade Runner 2049) Total Recall, Minority Report, and The Adjustment Bureau. Electric Dreams hails from Sony Pictures Television, and is executive produced by Cranston and his Moon Shot Entertainment banner, along with Ronald D. Moore, showrunner for Outlander.
With 10 episodes, Electric Dreams takes inspiration from Dick’s short stories, and includes a roster of established writers to pen various episodes, including Dee Rees, who wrote and directed HBO’s Bessie; Tony Grisoni (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas); Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child); Matthew Graham (Life on Mars); David Farr (The Night Manager); and Travis Beacham (Pacific Rim), as well as Moore himself, and Michael Dinner, who also serves as executive producer.
An accomplished actor, Cranston is best known on the small screen for roles like the terrifying Walter White in AMC’s Breaking Bad, the hilarious and goofy Hal in Fox’s Malcolm in the Middle, and President Lyndon B. Johnson in the TV movie All the Way, as well as for big-screen performances in films like Trumbo, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.
But this isn’t Cranston’s first dance with Amazon — he currently serves as creator of, and recurring character in, the crime drama series Sneaky Pete, which debuted on the streaming site earlier this month, and has already been renewed for a second season.
Dick, who passed away in 1982 at the age of 53, is known for exploring philosophical, sociological, and political themes in his science fiction novels. He wrote the 1962 alternate history novel The Man in the High Castle, on which the extremely dark eponymous Amazon series is loosely based. There’s no confirmed debut date for Electric Dreams, but the trailer indicates that it will hit Amazon Video in 2018.
