It has been too long since we binged all 10 episodes of Apple TV’s 2021 epic sci-fi series Foundation, loosely adapted from Isaac Asimov’s hugely influential Foundation series of novels. We’re finally getting a second season this summer, announced with the release of the first teaser.

(Some spoilers for S1 below.)

As I wrote in my review, Asimov’s Foundation series is notoriously difficult to adapt to the screen. The author admitted that he wrote strictly for the printed page, and he always refused invitations to adapt his work for film or TV. But Asimov was more than happy to let others adapt his work to a new medium, and he was wise enough to expect that there would—and should—be significant departures from the print version. That’s just what showrunner David S. Goyer (Dark Knight trilogy, Da Vinci’s Demons) set out to do with Foundation, describing it as more of a remix than a direct adaptation. Reviews of S1 were mixed, but I personally found the first season to be:

… a visually stunning, eminently bingeable new series … [and] … a smashing success in storytelling. This series respects Asimov’s sweeping visionary ideas without lapsing into slavish reverence and over-pontification. That said, how much you like Goyer’s vision might depend on how much of a stickler you are about remaining faithful to the source material.

(You can read my November 2021 interview with Goyer and science adviser Kevin Hand of Jet Propulsion Lab here.) Ars Senior Technology Editor Lee Hutchinson loved the series, too, declaring Foundation to be “a fascinating tale that was told well, with a cast I enjoyed watching, and with a visual language that really connected with something in my head.” 

Asimov’s fundamental narrative arc remains intact, with the series taking place across multiple planets over 1,000 years and featuring a huge cast of characters. Perhaps the biggest change from the books is the replacement of the Empire’s ruling committee with a trio of Eternal Emperor clones called the Cleons—a genetic dynasty. Brother Day (Lee Pace) is the primary ruler, with Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann) serving in an advisory/legacy role. Meanwhile, Brother Dawn (played as a child by Cooper Carter and as a teenager by Cassian Bilton) is being groomed to take over as the new Brother Day. Technically, they are all perfect incarnations of the same man, at different ages, and this is both the source of their strength as a team and of their conflicts.

Pace’s Brother Day is front and center in this teaser, which bodes well for S2, since his arc—indeed, the entire Cleon subplot with its gripping family drama—was one of the most interesting aspects of S1. Per the official premise:

More than a century after the season one finale, tension mounts throughout the galaxy in Foundation season two. As the Cleons unravel, a vengeful queen plots to destroy Empire from within. Hari, Gaal, and Salvor discover a colony of Mentalics with psionic abilities that threaten to alter psychohistory itself. The Foundation has entered its religious phase, promulgating the Church of Seldon throughout the Outer Reach and inciting the Second Crisis: war with Empire. The monumental adaptation of Foundation chronicles the stories of four crucial individuals transcending space and time as they overcome deadly crises, shifting loyalties and complicated relationships that will ultimately determine the fate of humanity.

Mann and Bilton will reprise their roles as Brother Dusk and Brother Dawn, respectively. Also returning for S2 are Jared Harris as Hari Seldon; Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick; Leah Harvey as Salvor Hardin; and Laura Birn as Eto Demerzel, one of the last surviving androids from the ancient Robot Wars, who serves the Cleons. And we’re getting some new faces in the mix: Isabella Laughland as Brother Constant; Kulvinder Ghir as Poly Verisof; Ella-Rae Smith as Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion; Holt McCallany as Warden Jaegger Fount; Rachel House as Tellem Bond; Nimrat Kaur as Yanna Seldon; Ben Daniels as Bel Riose; and Dimitri Leonidas as Hober Mallow.

The second season of Foundation debuts on Apple TV+ on July 14, 2023.

Listing image by YouTube/Apple TV+

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1938528