Apple TV has, perhaps without trying, become one of the 2020s’ best sources for high-concept, big-budget sci-fi television. It was the first streamer, for instance, to finally make a TV series adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” stories, a towering achievement. Apple TV is also home to the real-time alien invasion show “Invasion” and “Dark Matter,” which Blake Crouch created based on his own novel. That’s on top of the dystopian series “See” and the much-celebrated “Pluribus,” in which nearly every human on Earth becomes part of a mass consciousness due to an alien virus.
Among the platform’s bigger successes, however, is “Silo,” created by Graham Yost and based on the “Silo” books by Hugh Howey. The show takes place long after an unknown cataclysm has forced humanity to move underground into giant, 144-level silos. Indeed, so much time has passed in these silos that seemingly no one remembers what even happened that forced them to move there in the first place.
“Silo” stars Rebecca Ferguson and is widely acclaimed, with Howey himself having become a celebrity thanks to its success. (The author’s “Beacon 23” stories have been adapted into a TV series as well.) He now maintains a website and often speaks out about A.I. while providing a lot of book and movie recommendations. For example, he loves the 1990 film version of “Cyrano de Bergerac.”
Answering fan questions in a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA), Howey revealed that he’s just as much a fan of Apple TV’s other sci-fi programs as he is of his own, especially “For All Mankind” (the service’s first high-profile sci-fi series) and the culture-rattling “Severance.” Yes, Howey watches “Severance,” just like the rest of us.
Hugh Howey loves For All Mankind
When asked by a Reddit user what he likes to read and watch in his downtime, as well as what books most influenced him, Hugh Howey responded:
“I read all the classic sci-fi and fantasy novels growing up. Neal Stephenson was a big influence. William Gibson. Peter F. Hamilton. Orson Scott Card. Philip K. Dick. I’m loving the quality of TV these days. Apple has been killing it with ‘Severance’ and ‘For All Mankind.’ Enjoying ‘Lanterns’ right now as well on HBO. We are spoiled for good media these days.”
“For All Mankind” debuted on Apple TV in 2019, and it pretty much gained attention right away. It’s sent in an alternate timeline where Russia landed cosmonauts on the Moon before the United States. This forced the U.S. to redouble their efforts on space travel and caused space tech to advance at a much more rapid rate. Likewise, because Russia wanted to brag that they were allowing women in their program, the U.S. matched them and began diversifying the working staff at NASA.
The first season of the show pictures what this imagined space program would’ve looked like in the 1970s. Each subsequent season fast-forwards on the same timeline a decade, further extrapolating what the world would look like with ever-advancing interest in space travel. By the time “For All Mankind” gets to Season 5, the show has almost caught up with the present. It may even go full “Star Trek” in its sixth and final season.
“For All Mankind” was co-created by Ronald D. Moore, whom sci-fi fans know as the creator of the rebooted “Battlestar Galactica” and a star “Star Trek” TV show writer in the 1990s. Sci-fi fans love the show, so it’s no wonder that Howey digs it as well.
Hugh Howey also loves Severance
“Severance,” meanwhile, remains one of Apple TV’s most-watched programs. Its premise is odd and dystopian: A super-corporate called Lumon has developed a special brain implant that can selectively erase memories. When a Lumon employee steps into their office, the chip activates and erases all of their memories of the outside world. They are wholly devoted to their work. When they leave at 5 p.m., the chip shuts off, allowing them to remember the outside world again but retain no memories of what happened at the office.
The main character of the series, Mark (Adam Scott), loves this arrangement, as he recently lost his wife and enjoys not being able to remember eight hours of his day. Inside Lumon’s offices, however, he becomes “Mark S.” and has a slightly different personality. Hence, over the course of the series, a rift begins to form between what the “innies” and the “outies” experience. The innies learn that Lumon is a creepy corporate cult that won’t let them leave when they want to. The outies, of course, have no idea.
“Severance” suffers from prolonged breaks in between seasons (it debuted in 2022 but has only had two seasons), yet it’s deeply beloved and has been nominated for many Emmys. Scott hasn’t won his Emmy yet, but that will surely change one day.
Clearly, like the rest of us, Hugh Howey has become swept up in “Severance.” There’s a reason why it’s one of Apple TV’s most successful shows, sci-fi or otherwise. Really, it’s one of the weirdest, best, and most mysterious series out there. (Just what are those goats used for, exactly?)
