Apple TV+ launched the first season of Foundation on September 24th, 2021 with two episodes as part of its ten-episode planned season. It’s set with David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman serving as executive producers and showrunners for it. Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Marcy Ross will also executive produce and it’ll also include Asimov’s daughter, Robyn Asimov. Rupert Sanders is set to direct the pilot.
With the fifth episode out today, the streaming service has revealed that they’ve given it a second season renewal, since the special effects involved and timing will necessitate a quick start if it’s not already gotten a lot of pre-production done for it already. No specific period was given as to when to expect the second season.
“We have been so excited to watch global audiences embrace the captivating, suspenseful and breathtaking thrill ride that is ‘Foundation,’” said Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV+. “We know how long fans of these beloved Asimov stories have waited to see his iconic work brought to life as a visually spectacular event series and now we can’t wait to showcase even more of the richly layered world, compelling storytelling and stunning world-building that David S. Goyer has created in season two.”
“Since my childhood I’ve dreamed of how Hari Seldon and Eto Demerzel would look and sound — what Terminus and Trantor would feel like,” said showrunner and executive producer David S. Goyer. “Now, with season two, our audience will get to visit more of Asimov’s indelible characters and worlds, including Hober Mallow, General Bel Riose, and all the Outer Suns. I’m thrilled that a whole new generation of fans are reading Asimov’s brilliant masterwork. We’re playing the long game with ‘Foundation’ and I’m grateful to my partners at Apple and Skydance for entrusting me with this epic. Buckle up. We’re about to fold some serious space.”
“David Goyer’s ‘Foundation’ has surpassed all my expectations by bringing my father’s philosophy and ideas to the screen in ways my father could never do while staying true to his work,” said Robyn Asimov, who serves as an executive producer on the series. “I know my father would have been proud to see his iconic story come to life through the show’s visual beauty and the layered characters, understanding full well his words would need this cinematic translation. My father was deeply indebted to his fans, to their loyalty and always hoped his work would pass through to following generations. The ‘Foundation’ TV series is fulfilling his wish (and mine) by introducing his work to a vast array of new readers. Given the cerebral nature of the Foundation books, this series is a tour de force.”
Originally, the casting we had gotten included Jared Harris to play Hari Seldon and Lee Pace as Brother Day, the current Emperor of the Galaxy. Now, Deadline is reporting five more actors that have joined the production. Lou Llobell (Voyagers), Leah Harvey (Fighting with My Family, Les Misérables), Laura Birn (Helene, The Innocents), Terrence Mann (Sense8) and Cassian Bilton (A Devil’s Harmony) are set as series regulars.
The end result is definitely going to be different in many ways from the original novels. They were done as serialized storytelling in magazine form back in 1942 before they got collected and they’re very much of the time with few female characters at all. That changed more as Asimov – and science fiction in general – changed over the decades and as his work crossed with other of his properties.
Original Concept: For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Sheldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future–to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire–both scientists and scholars–and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.
But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind’s last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun–or fight them and be destroyed.
Previous trailers:
