Silo: Season 1

Reviews

iNews *****
The Mercury News 4/4
Empire ****
The Guardian ****
The Age (Australia) ****
JoBlo 8/10
IGN Movies 8/10
Collider B+
The Playlist B+
San Francisco Chronicle 3/4
Evening Standard ***
Yahoo ***

Ambitiously staged, with a central mystery that only grows more absorbing as it continues, Silo is another Apple-calyptic hit.

Tim Robbins is especially brilliant here, playing a dry IT autocrat with a nice line in cold stares, and the show is bolstered by a wealth of veteran British thesps, too (Harriet Walter, Geraldine James and Iain Glen all put in memorable turns).

– John Nugent, Empire ****

There is no denying that Silo benefits from having a passionate team of creatives behind it, while the presence Hugh Howey as an executive producer brings its own kind of kudos. Not only ensuring that this world is authentically replicated on screen, but that any story within its walls benefits as a result.

– Martin Carr, Yahoo ***

There’s also [Juliette’s] emotional side as her relationship with her estranged father, Dr. Pete Nichols (Iain Glen). Juliette didn’t start her life in mechanical engineering, and how her history with her father unfolds is one of her most captivating story arcs.

Right from the start, “Silo” was in good hands. Showrunner Graham Yost has created a thrilling science-fiction mystery from the pages of Howey’s novel series. The first few episodes were directed by Morten Tyldum and quickly set the tone of this cerebral drama. Each episode delivers plenty of action and questions, emphasizing killer cliffhangers.

If a hard science-fiction mystery show is what you’ve been looking for, then “Silo” more than fits the bill. Ferguson’s Juliette is the full package, a hard-hitting hero with plenty of range to carry the dramatic parts with equal power. Not to be outdone is a fantastic supporting cast that makes even the briefest of appearances memorable. “Silo” is a riveting and equally start-studded series whose next season can’t come soon enough.

– Max Covill, The Playlist B+

Tim Robbins and Common are great as the faces of the Silo’s bureaucracy, but by far the highlight is the ensemble playing the Silo populous, including Shane McRae, Iain Glen, and Harriet Walter.

– Dais Johnston, Inverse

The production design is stunning, the cast – which includes David Oyelowo, Tim Robbins, Harriet Walter, Iain Glen and Sophie Thompson – is terrific and an intriguing opening sequence is likely to hook viewers even before the opening titles roll.

– Neil Armstrong, BBC

It’s an elegant, immersive puzzle, but also an exploration of the mutual obligations that hold every society together.

– Craig Mathieson, The Age (Australia) ****

And performances from Chinaza Uche, Tim Robbins, Harriet Walter, Geraldine James, Ferdinand Kingsley, Iain Glen, and the rest of the ensemble cast sharpen the show.

– Nicole Gallucci, Decider

An instant dystopian classic. Apple TV+’s new drama sneaks in commentary on social division, authoritarianism and the way in which ignorance is fertile ground for conspiracy theories.

– Neil Armstrong, iNews *****

…it also has its own confident voice, a complex storytelling tone more reminiscent of literature than traditional streaming dramas. One of the many things I love about this show is that it embraces episodic structure—a lost art in the era of “my season is more like a chopped-up movie”—and these episodes play out like chapters in a book. The stunning premiere—one of my favorite first episodes in a long time—sets the stage in a way that doesn’t even center on the eventual protagonist of this show. “Silo” trusts its viewers with complex themes, multiple arcs, and a shifting narrative that forces us to trust the creators too. It’s great stuff.

Guided by the brilliant Graham Yost and directed by Morten Tyldum to start, “Silo” is a remarkably confident show that refuses to hold your hand. In many ways, we are as lost and confused as the characters. We are dropped into the Silo with them, unpacking its purpose, history, regulations, and impact. Yost and his team absolutely nail this complex writing. It’s thrilling to see something this confidently plotted, always a step ahead of the viewer but not far enough down the narrative path that we don’t want to see what’s around the next corner.

Inspired by the writing and involvement of Yost, “Silo” attracted a great cast that includes a few familiar faces I haven’t even mentioned, like Iain Glen, Harriet Walter, and Will Patton—all excellent.

– Brian Tallerico, rogerebert.com

Silo can be read as a lot of things. It works as a critique of the class system […] and as a study in erasure and who gets to write, and rewrite, history. It’s also about the cross-competing advantages and disadvantages of truth and of living in denial for the individual and for the collective. But before all of that, it is a fantastically made story that embraces classic tropes and cliffhanger endings as enthusiastically as it does delicate characterisations and deferred gratifications. Dig in.

– Lucy Mangan, The Guardian ****

It’s definitely not a show to skip. It has a first-rate cast including Harriet Walter, Iain Glen, David Oyelowo, Tim Robbins and the former rapper Common, and lots of money and effort has clearly gone into the world-building – the look and feel, the direction, the score, and so on. It oozes class rather than early Doctor Who and you do get emotionally invested in the whole Silo concept and in the big question of what really is happening in the world outside.

– James Delingpole, The Spectator

Silo is more than another dystopian drama, and the effortless transition between a post-apocalyptic thriller, a murder mystery, and a conspiracy with flashes of horror adds to its potency. Its debut season is riveting from top to bottom – and all the many floors in between.

– Emma Fraser, IGN Movies 8/10