The most ambitious sci-fi series of all time isn’t on Netflix. Season 2 is coming in a few days!

news culture The most ambitious sci-fi series of all time isn’t on Netflix. Season 2 is coming in a few days!

A major work by SF

Before we get to the heart of the matter and dive into the Apple TV+ series, it’s worth paying tribute to the body of literature without which the adaptation project simply wouldn’t exist. Foundation (or Foundation as it was originally titled) is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov.

The book consists of five short stories, four of which were pre-published in Astounding Science-Fiction magazine between 1942 and 1944, and was actually published for the first time in 1951. If Asimov’s name comes to mind, that’s normal. This North American author is the originator of the term “robotics” which is part of everyday speech today, but also the laws of robotics with “The Cycle of Robots”.

Coming back to Foundation, this novel is the cornerstone of the Foundation cycle, which has its origins in a trilogy: foundation (Foundation, 1951), foundation and empire (Foundation and Empire, 1952) and finally Second foundation (Second Foundation, 1953). Over the decades, this saga has been enriched by several literary works, both sequels and prequels.

Here is the chronological order of reading (rather than publishing) The Founding Cycle:

• Prelude to founding
• Dawn of Foundation
• foundation
• foundation and empire
• Second foundation
• Blasted foundation
• earth and foundation

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An adaptation of Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s fondness for science fiction is well known. With the For All Mankind series, the SVOD service received its letters of nobility, and the Foundation series ultimately only underscored its expertise in the field. At the forefront of this massive project are showrunners David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman, two outstanding personalities who have proven their talents in large-scale projects.

The former was the screenwriter in the Christopher Nolan-directed Dark Knight trilogy and even initiated the late DC Extended Universe with Zack Snyder with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The second is illustrated in the underrated series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and more recently Avatar: The Way of the Water.

The first season of Foundation will air one episode per week between September 24 and November 19, 2021, for a total of 10 episodes. As of October 2021, Apple TV renewed the series for a second season, also consisting of 10 episodes, which will continue to air weekly. Foundation is not a one-to-one adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s novel. The series is inspired by the literary work, but goes its own way. Leading the cast to bring the characters of this modern vision to life are Jared Harris (Chernobyl, Mad Men), Lee Pace (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Guardians of the Galaxy), Lou Llobell (Voyagers) and others Leah Harvey (Les Miserables). Here’s the official synopsis of the Foundation (or Foundation) series on Apple TV+:

Based on the award-winning novels by Isaac Asimov, Foundation chronicles the extraordinary journey of a group of exiles to save humanity during the fall of the Galactic Empire and rebuild civilization. -AppleTV+

Foundation Season 2 begins July 14, 2023 exclusively on Apple TV+ and ends after 10 episodes on September 15.

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