Silo is an American science fiction dystopian drama television series created by Graham Yost, based on the Silo trilogy of novels (Wool, Shift, and Dust) by author Hugh Howey. Set in a dystopian future where a community exists in a giant underground Silo comprising 144 levels, it stars Rebecca Ferguson as an engineer who becomes embroiled in the mysteries of its past and present. Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Common, Tim Robbins, Harriet Walter, Avi Nash, Rick Gomez, Chinaza Uche, Shane McRae, Remmie Milner, Alexandria Riley, Clare Perkins, Billy Postlethwaite, and Steve Zahn also star. Development of a film adaptation of Wool began in 2012. By the end of the decade, the project was shelved, and was picked up as a series by Apple TV+ in May 2021. Principal photography began in August 2021 and the ten-episode first season began streaming on May 5, 2023. The second season premiered on November 15, 2024. Both seasons received positive reviews from critics, particularly for the world-building, production design and Ferguson's performance. In December 2024, the series was renewed for both a third season and a concluding fourth season.

Premise

In a dystopian future where a community exists in a giant Silo that extends 144 stories underground, 10,000 people live in a society bound by 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 (season 1), a woman who works in the IT Department in the Silo and is married to Holston. During their attempts to conceive a child, she becomes suspicious of the Silo's true history and how it is governed David Oyelowo as Holston Becker (season 1), the devoted husband of Allison and the sheriff of the Silo Common as Robert Sims, the head of security for Judicial, who maintains order within the Silo 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 and acts as a parental figure to Juliette Avi Nash as Lukas Kyle, a systems analyst in the IT Department who is curious about the world outside the Silo Rick Gomez as Patrick Kennedy, a maintenance worker and former smuggler of "relics", objects from the world before the Silo Chinaza Uche as Paul Billings, the newly assigned chief deputy and a former Judicial administrator who is afflicted with the "Syndrome", a medical condition that causes tremors Shane McRae as Knox (season 2; recurring season 1), the head of the Mechanical level in the Silo and Juliette's boss Charlie Coombes portrays a young Knox Remmie Milner as Shirley Campbell (season 2; recurring season 1), an engineer in Mechanical who is Juliette's closest friend and colleague Ida Brooke portrays a young Shirley Alexandria Riley as Camille Sims (season 2; guest season 1), Robert's wife, the mother of their son, and a former raider Clare Perkins as Carla McLain (season 2; guest season 1), Walker's ex-wife and the head of the supply department Billy Postlethwaite as Hank (season 2; recurring season 1), a deputy who works in the lower levels Steve Zahn as Jimmy Conroy / "Solo" (season 2), the only living survivor of the rebellion in Silo 17 Cameron Bell portrays a young Jimmy Ashley Zukerman as Daniel (season 3; guest season 2), a United States congressman during the time before the Silos were created Jessica Henwick as Helen (season 3; guest season 2), an inquisitive journalist based in Washington, D.C.

= Recurring

= Will Patton as Samuel "Sam" Marnes (season 1), a deputy who works under Sheriff Holston and closely with Mayor Jahns Ferdinand Kingsley as George Wilkins (season 1), a computer geek who runs a repair shop. He seeks out Allison for her help to uncover the secrets of the Silo Chipo Chung as Sandy, a clerical worker in the sheriff's department Matt Gomez Hidaka as Terry Cooper (season 1; guest season 2), a rookie engineer in the lower levels and Juliette's shadow Olatunji Ayofe as Teddy, a worker in Mechanical and one of Juliette's colleagues Iain Glen as Dr. Pete Nichols (seasons 1–2), an obstetrician and the father of Juliette, from whom he has been estranged since she was a teenager Angela Yeoh as Molly Karins, a deputy who works in the mid-levels Tanya Moodie as Judge Mary Meadows (seasons 1–2), the head of Judicial who enforces the Pact, a list of rules that all Silo residents must follow Caitlin Zoz as Kathleen Billings, Paul's wife and the mother of their daughter Akie Kotabe as Diego, a Watcher monitoring the Silo Christian Ochoa as Rick Amundsen (season 2; guest season 1), a high-ranking raider, a group of armed enforcers working for Sims

= Guest

= Geraldine James as Ruth Jahns (season 1), the elected mayor of the Silo Sophie Thompson as Gloria Hildebrandt (season 1), a paranoid woman who became the Silo's fertility counselor after failing to conceive a child herself Sienna Guillory as Hanna Nichols (season 1), a surgeon and the deceased mother of Juliette Henry Garrett as Douglas Trumbull (season 1), an enforcer for Judicial who is loyal to Sims Sonita Henry as Regina Jackson (season 1), a former relic dealer and lover of George Will Merrick as Danny (season 1), a criminal hacker who disrupts the IT Department's security network Ross McCall as the Silo 17 Sheriff (season 2), the leader of the rebellion in Silo 17 Nick Haverson as Russell Conroy (season 2), the head of the IT Department in Silo 17 and Solo's father Pippa Winslow as Gladys (season 2), a worker in Mechanical during Juliette's childhood George Robinson as Mark Chambers (season 2), the overseer of a manufacturing workshop Sacharissa Claxton as Frances Boyer (season 2), Patrick's niece Georgina Sadler as Audrey (season 2), the leader of a group of young orphaned survivors in Silo 17 Orlando Norman as Rick (season 2), Audrey's boyfriend and the father of their two children Sara Hazemi as Hope / "Eater" (season 2), the outcast of Audrey's group Stuart Milligan as Terrance Penbrook (season 2), a descendant of Salvador Quinn, the former head of IT over 140 years prior Lolita Chakrabarti as Lukas' mother (season 2)

Episodes

= Season 1 (2023)

=

= Season 2 (2024–25)

=

Production

= Development

= The project's development was announced 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. Five days later, 20th Century Fox acquired the rights, with Ridley Scott and Steven Zaillian among those attached to produce. On November 28, it was announced that J Blakeson was in negotiations to write and direct. It was then announced on June 5, 2015, that Nicole Perlman would rewrite the screenplay, with Blakeson no longer involved in the project. The film was ultimately shelved as a result of the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney. By July 30, 2018, a new iteration of the project was in development for television at AMC, with LaToya Morgan attached to write under her overall deal at AMC Studios. The series eventually moved to Apple TV+ on May 20, 2021, receiving an order for ten episodes. Graham Yost replaced 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 executive produce, with Yost as showrunner. The show was renewed for a second season in June 2023. In April 2024, Rebecca Ferguson stated in an interview that they are looking to shoot seasons 3 and 4 back-to-back, which would end the series. On December 16, 2024, the series was renewed for a third and a fourth season, with it set to conclude with the latter.

= Writing

= Alongside Yost, Jessica Blaire, Cassie Pappas, Ingrid Escajeda, Remi Aubuchon, Aric Avelino, Jeffery Wang, Lekethia Dalcoe, and Fred Golan served as writers.

= Casting

= With the series order announcement, it was also announced that Rebecca Ferguson had been cast in a lead role. Tim Robbins joined the cast in August 2021, and Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Common, Harriet Walter, Avi Nash and Chinaza Uche joined in the following months. On July 27, 2024, it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that Steve Zahn had joined the cast for the second season. On January 17, 2025, it was announced that Ashley Zukerman and Jessica Henwick had joined the cast as series regulars for the third season.

= Filming

= Principal photography began in late August 2021 in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, and was scheduled to last until the second quarter of 2022. Mark Patten, David Luther, and Laurie Rose were cinematographers. Gavin Bocquet was the production designer, credited with the design of the Silo. The main set consists of three levels of stairs decorated to represent particular locations. The second season began filming in late June 2023 at Hoddesdon Studios, using the same set as season one. Filming was officially suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming restarted in early December 2023, and wrapped on March 8, 2024. Filming of season three began in October 2024, also at Hoddesdon Studios, as well as at OMA One and OMA X Film Studios in Enfield, London.

= Music

= In March 2023, Atli Örvarsson was announced as the series's composer. He collaborated with Tyldum on the Apple TV+ series Defending Jacob.

Release

Silo had its special screening during the 2023 Canneseries on April 14, 2023. The television series premiered on Apple TV+ on May 5, 2023, with the first two episodes available immediately and the rest airing on a weekly basis through June 30.

Reception

= Critical response

= For the first season, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 88% approval rating with an average rating of 7.6/10, based on 68 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." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 75 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times wrote that the series "holds our interest with intriguing characters and effective twists and turns", and took note of how Silo "shifts gears through a number of genres, from conspiracy thriller to big-picture social commentary to police procedural to end-times romance". Lucy Mangan of The Guardian opined that the "world-building is meticulous" and "the story is equally thrilling". Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson found the show to be a "feat of production design", adding that "Ferguson—in all her stern command—lends the series a necessary heft". Barry Hertz of Globe and Mail also picked up Ferguson's performance as a "standout". Conversely, Brian Lowry of CNN believed that the "inherent mystery [...] feels stretched to the point of strained, exacerbated by characters that don't consistently pop". The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg also praised the world-building and Ferguson's performance, but was critical of the performance of Common, whom he termed "the weak link in the cast". For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 7.85/10, based on 44 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Rebecca Ferguson's intrepid hero seeks answers while the rest of Silo's ensemble capably holds down the fort in this superb sophomore season." Metacritic assigned a score of 80 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

= Accolades

=

References

External links

Official website Silo at IMDb