With the farewell of Westworld, Raised by Wolves, and other series that mixes an apocalyptic and mysterious world, Silo, from Apple TV Plus, has filled the void and conquered fans. With an exquisite production and a first-class cast, the series that emerged from the bestselling author Hugh Howey is already more than halfway through its first season and doing well.

The books, released in 2011, form a set of four sequential stories released in sequence. The first season of the series builds on the first book and takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth where the last 10,000 survivors survive in a self-sustaining underground city – the Silo – that extends 144 floors below the surface. There is a lot of mystery about what life was like before the Silo and today’s society lives in panic from the toxic and deadly outside and in a caste system and oppression. Anyone who questions this reality is sent outside, but equally exposed to immediate death. In this universe, we meet the smart Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson), whose relationship with rebels (those who question the status quo) unwittingly exposes her to a criminal investigation while her own life is put at risk.

The factor of trying to decipher who killed, who wants what, and who is good or bad involves us in each episode, including whether the outside world is really what we see or not. The cast includes Academy Award nominees and winners David Oyelowo and Tim Robbins, Will Patton, Sophie Thompson, Harriet Walter, Iann Glenn, and Geraldine James, supported by the leadership of the ever-convincing Rebecca Ferguson, Common, and Chinaza Uche.

The initial project was to transform the Wool book into a film, but the series format ended up prevailing, initially with the production of Ridley Scott (who also signed Raised by Wolves), however, when there was a merger between Fox and Disney, the project was shelved. That was in 2012, six years later, AMC (Paramount) bought the rights, but it was in 2021 that Apple TV Plus announced that it would adapt to its platform. Recordings began in the same year and lasted until 2022, but the premiere only took place in early May 2023.

Behind the scenes, the rights war marked Silo‘s career a lot. Born as an independent short story that Hugh Howey self-published through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing system, the series quickly gained popularity and the author grew the story, selling over 140,000 copies while still being independent. Connected directly with the fans of his work (he exchanges emails with them), he resisted going down the ‘traditional path’ of publishing due to the difference in royalties (from 70% on digital to 18%” of publishers), and lack of creative freedom, but with that resolved, he also went through the battle of selling the rights to adapt the story for cinema or TV.

Critical and fan reception placed Silo in the hit category. It may be that the most cynical consider it another tale about the dystopian world and there are even several offers on the theme, with a focus on totalitarian regimes and the fight for freedom, but what I can say is that – for those who have not read the books or not did google to find out about spoilers – it is content that does not disappoint. The performances are good, the production quality is undeniable and in this moment of lack of successful series (“we lost” four of them in May when Succession, Ted Lasso, Barry, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel said goodbye in the same week) and more, for sci-fi orphans, Silo is a great option. I got stuck with her!

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