By
Dhruv Sharma
Published 1 hour ago
Dhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns.
Before Screen Rant, he was a Senior Writer for The Cinemaholic, covering everything from anime to television, from reality TV to movies.
After high school, he was on his way to become a Civil Engineer. However, he soon realized that writing was his true calling. As a result, he took a leap and never looked back.
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Netflix is adapting a Philip K. Dick sci-fi book, which will perfectly fill the void a brilliant but under-appreciated five-year-old thriller miniseries left behind.
Many sci-fi TV shows play it safe by either dabbling with well-worn story ideas that have worked in the past or adapting popular books or video games. However, every once in a while a great sci-fi thriller comes along that not only delivers something incredibly original but also does not shy away from pushing the boundaries of the genre.
Five years ago, a similar sci-fi thriller landed on Hulu and prompted audiences to ask many philosophical questions with existential themes and story developments. The show was only a miniseries, but it achieved more with eight episodes than most shows do over several seasons. It will never return with new installments, but Netflix's upcoming Philip K. Dick adaptation could be its perfect replacement.
Alex Garland’s Devs Is A Forgotten One-Season Sci-fi Masterpiece
Alex Garland briefly stepped into the showrunner role with Devs, which went on to earn wide acclaim from viewers and critics. What really worked for Devs was its ability to initially disguise itself as a murder mystery thriller before unfolding a more complex plot that explores everything from the nature of free will to humanity's struggle with accepting determinism.
With its exploration of such existential ideas, Devs offers viewers a space of contemplation that is initially discomforting but ultimately clarifying. Even its background scores, primarily composed by Ben Salisbury, feel like horrifying lullabies that perfectly build tension while gradually immersing you in the show's harrowing world.
Devs also makes the bold move of not making any of its characters too likable. Even the main female lead is portrayed as a flawed protagonist whose journey is a mixture of conviction and moral ambiguity. Owing to this risky approach with its character beats and the complexity of its themes, Devs may not be for everyone.
However, viewers who like to be challenged will find themselves with its payoff and may even return to it time and again. Devs will never return with another installment, but viewers who miss the show can look forward to Netflix's upcoming Philip K. Adaptation.
Netflix’s Upcoming Philip K. Dick Adaptation Can Fill The Void Devs Left Behind
Netflix is adapting Philip K. Dick's The World Jones Made. The show will be titled The Future is Ours. On the surface, the sci-fi book's story is more fantastical than Devs in the sense that it introduces mutant characters with superpowers and also has a major story beat that revolves around aliens. However, thematically, it prompts viewers to ask similar questions about the duality between free will and determinism.
Like Devs, it introduces a narrative device that allows humanity to foresee the future. However, what initially seems like a blessing soon takes a complex turn before becoming a curse for humans. Although Netflix's The Future is Ours will be taking many creative liberties and deleting the alien plot from the Philip K. Dick sci-fi novel, it will, like Devs, dabble with similar ideas about human agency and the lack of it in a deterministic setting.
Devs
TV-MA
Sci-Fi
Drama
Mystery
11
8.4/10
Release Date
2020 - 2020-00-00
Network
FX
Cast
Cailee Spaeny, Amaya Mizuno-André, Alison Pill, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, Jin Ha, Nick Offerman, Jefferson Hall, Zach Grenier
Showrunner
Alex Garland
Directors
Alex Garland
Writers
Alex Garland
Main Genre
Sci-Fi
Genres
Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery
Seasons
1
Story By
Alex Garland
Streaming Service(s)
Hulu, Prime Video, AppleTV+
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