How will humans hold up during an alien invasion? Upcoming Apple TV+ sci-fi series Invasion will focus on the worldwide impact of such an event, and the first trailer looks pretty epic.
The Invasion trailer, released Wednesday, offers a taste of the international story the 10-episode series will tell. Explosions, nosebleeds, a massive crop circle (or impact crater), soldiers firing into the sky, a brief glimpse of some kind of massive alien something … it’s all fairly standard-issue sci-fi stuff, but the voiceover talks about humanity.
“There’s a reason we’re all put on this earth,” says an obviously wise and somewhat world-weary character as he drives down a beautiful country road. “One purpose to everything. On the course of our life, we come to understand why. Why me?”
Oh, the humanity
Photo: Apple TV+
Sounds like the new Apple TV+ series will serve up plenty of soul-searching to go with its take on the alien invasion story line we’ve seen so many times before. So far, the streaming service is light on science fiction. See is weirdly watchable, with a second season coming this fall. Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories reboot served up its share of hits and misses. And Ronald D. Moore’s For All Mankind didn’t turn out to be the Battlestar Galactica-style must-see TV many sci-fi fans hoped.
Sci-fi fans are waiting with bated breath to see what Apple TV+ can do with Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, supposedly arriving later this year. Until then, we can hope for the best with Invasion. It definitely sounds like Apple TV+ is shooting for the moon with this one.
“Set across multiple continents, Invasion follows an alien invasion through different perspectives around the world,” Apple said in a press release announcing the series premiere date.
More sci-fi on Apple TV+
On the Apple TV app, the show’s description reads like this: “Earth is visited by an alien species that threatens humanity’s existence. Events unfold in real time through the eyes of five ordinary people across the globe as they struggle to make sense of the chaos unraveling around them.”
Man, I absolutely hate it when chaos unravels. Especially in “real time.”
If we’re lucky, Invasion might be smart like Arrival and layered like Traffic. Despite all the soldiers in the first trailer, I’m guessingit won’t be all military action like Battle: Los Angeles, thank god. But it doesn’t look as innovative as Attack the Block and it won’t be as much goofy fun as They Live or Mars Attacks!
Invasion looks ambitious — let’s just hope that doesn’t add up to boring.
Check out the first Invasion trailer:
Invasion hits Apple TV+ on Oct. 22
Invasion stars Shamier Anderson, Golshifteh Farahani, Sam Neill, Firas Nassar and Shioli Kutsuna. (Presumably their characters will be the five points of view from which we watch the story unfold.) The show boasts a long list of executive producers, led by Simon Kinberg (who produced The Martian and X-Men: Dark Phoenix) and David Weil (Solos and Hunters).
“From Academy Award-nominated and two-time Emmy Award-nominated producer Simon Kinberg and David Weil, Invasion is a sweeping, character-driven science fiction drama series that follows an alien invasion through different perspectives around the world,” says Apple’s press release.
The big question is whether the creative team can deliver something different enough — and human enough — to make Apple TV+ viewers add Invasion to their Up Next queues. And maybe lure new subscribers to the streaming service. A truly compelling sci-fi show could generate the kind of fan interest and awards that Ted Lasso did.
The first three episodes of Invasion will premiere on Apple TV+ on October 22. New episodes will follow weekly. The show is not yet rated.
Watch on: Apple TV+
