In a toxic dystopian future where a community exists in a giant silo hundreds of stories deep underground, ten thousand people live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them.
Cast and characters
Main
Rebecca Ferguson as Juliette Nichols, an engineer who works on the generators in the lowest levels of the Silo
Amelie Child-Villiers portrays a young Juliette
Rashida Jones as Allison Becker, the wife of Holston who works in the IT department in the Silo. During her attempts to conceive a child, she becomes suspicious of the Silo's true history and how it is governed.
David Oyelowo as Holston Becker, the devoted husband of Allison and the sheriff of the Silo
Common as Robert Sims, the head of security for the Silo, who enforces the laws set by Judicial, the Silo's governing organization
Tim Robbins as Bernard Holland, the strict head of the IT Department in the Silo
Harriet Walter as Martha Walker, an electrical engineer who runs a workshop in the lower levels of the Silo
In a massive underground bunker called the "Silo", a community thrives without knowing their history, as all records were supposedly destroyed 140 years earlier during a failed rebellion uprising. Sheriff Holston tells Deputy Sam that he wants to "go out". Three years earlier, Holston and his wife Allison receive permission to try to become pregnant, but are unsuccessful. During this time Allison learns subversive beliefs about the Silo from Gloria, a fertility expert, and helps a man named George Wilkins explore a forbidden computer drive dating from before the rebellion. Allison tells a skeptical Holston her belief that the people in power have been lying to them and that the view on Silo's screens of a dead outside world are fake. Allison declares that she wants to "go out", and promises to only clean the Silo's external camera if the outside is beautiful. In accordance with the Silo's Pact, Allison is allowed to leave on a one-way journey. The Silo residents watch as she cleans the camera but collapses shortly after. Two years later, Holston investigates George's death, and meets an engineer named Juliette who claims he was murdered.
Holston learns from Juliette that George, her lover, collected forbidden historical relics. Upon learning that George and Allison worked together, Holston agrees to investigate and promises to send Juliette a signal when he finds something. A few months later, Holston leaves the Silo and is shocked to see that the outside is lush and beautiful like Allison claimed. He cleans the camera, takes off his helmet, and crawls to Allison's body before dying. Mayor Ruth Jahns learns that Holston left behind a statement nominating Juliette to be his replacement as sheriff. Juliette knows that George was looking for a door, and tries to retrace his steps in the watery dig space underneath the Silo.
3
"Machines"
Morten Tyldum
Ingrid Escajeda
May 12, 2023 (2023-05-12)
Ruth and Sam trek down 144 levels to meet Juliette. Along the way, Ruth meets Juliette's estranged father, Dr. Pete Nichols, and Juliette's engineer friend, Martha Walker, for opinions of Juliette's character. Despite the disapproval of Judge Meadows, head of Judicial, and Bernard Holland, head of IT, Ruth offers Juliette the role of sheriff. Juliette initially declines but changes her mind when she's given Holston's badge, which has the word "TRUTH" carved on the back. Juliette requests that Ruth allow the main generator to be switched off for repairs, which has never been done in living memory. At shutdown, the Silo's screens briefly show a healthy green view of the outside. The Mechnical team successfully fix the main generator. Before leaving for her new job, Juliette asks Martha to study a camcorder she found among George's relics. Ruth collapses with blood in her mouth.
Ruth is dead; Sam believes she was poisoned, and that he was the real target because they drank from each other's water flasks. Bernard, as Mayor Pro Tem, signs Juliette in as the new sheriff. Juliette asks Sam to help her investigate George's death, in return for her helping him investigate Ruth's death. Robert Sims, of Judicial, tells Sam that Judge Meadows is ready to remove Juliette as sheriff, but Sam tells him to let Juliette quit on her own. Later, Sam is attacked in his apartment. Juliette meets Lukas, a resident who spends late nights in the cafeteria, and later finds Holston's file on George. In flashback, Juliette leaves home at thirteen after the deaths of her mother, Hanna, and younger brother, Jacob.
5
"The Janitor's Boy"
David Semel
Graham Yost
May 26, 2023 (2023-05-26)
Sam is found dead. Paul Billings, Judicial's original choice for sheriff, is made Juliette's chief deputy. Sandy, who works in the sheriff's office, tells Juliette to find Sam's killer before Judicial picks a scapegoat. Juliette discovers that Doug Trumbull, who works for Judicial, planted evidence to frame a resident for Sam's murder. Robert tells Doug that his father was supposedly a janitor but in actuality had a secret job that was crucial to the Silo's survival. Robert kills Doug before he can be arrested, and Doug is posthumously blamed for Sam and Ruth's murders. Juliette learns that Lukas has been studying the cafeteria's display screens at night to observe the movement of the "lights" in the sky at night, Silo residents being ignorant that these lights are stars. Martha shows Juliette that the camcorder's technology is far more advanced than what is permitted in the Silo.
The project was first announced as being in development as a feature film at 20th Century Fox, which entered negotiations to acquire the self-published e-book Wool by Hugh Howey on May 11, 2012.[5] Five days later, 20th Century Fox acquired the rights to the novel, with Ridley Scott and Steven Zaillian among those attached to produce the film.[6] On November 28, 2012, it was announced that J Blakeson was in negotiations to write and direct the film.[7] It was later announced on June 5, 2015, that Nicole Perlman had been hired to rewrite the screenplay, with Blakeson no longer involved in the project.[8] The film was ultimately shelved as a result of the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney.[9]
By July 30, 2018, a new iteration of the project was in development for television at AMC, with LaToya Morgan attached to write the adaptation under her overall deal at AMC Studios.[10] The series eventually moved to Apple TV+ on May 20, 2021, with the project receiving a series order consisting of 10 episodes. Graham Yost was attached to replace Morgan as creator and writer, marking his third series at Apple TV+ under his overall deal with the network. Morten Tyldum was also attached to direct and serve as an executive producer of the series, with Yost serving as showrunner.[11]
The second season began filming by mid-April 2023.[18]
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 87% approval rating with an average rating of 7.4/10, based on 52 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "With deft writing, awe-inspiring production design and the inestimable star power of Rebecca Ferguson, Silo is a mystery box well worth opening."[19]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 75 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews ".[20]
Release
Silo had its special screening during the 2023 Canneseries on April 14, 2023.[21] The television series was released on Apple TV+ on May 5, 2023, with the first two episodes set to be available immediately and the rest scheduled to debut on a weekly basis until June 30.[22]
