The Ugly Truth: Combining cyberpunk and the cultural richness of a near-future Nigeria is one of the most unexpected things I have ever had the joy of reading. It doesn’t get off to a bumpy or even a slow start, but I did have to invest in it as a reader, but I’m so glad I did as it paid off dividends. Expect space stations, clones, mysterious artifacts, interplanetary diplomacy and math-based oracles galore.The Good: I can’t even attempt to summarise the good in a line or two – all I can say is that Rosewater blew my expectations out of the water in every way possible. With Lee Pace starring as Brother Day, the middle-aged clone of Emperor Cleon I, and a star-studded cast that includes Alfred Enoch ( How To Get Away With Murder) and Jared Harris ( Mad Men, Chernobyl), this big-budget TV show offers a truly epic story against its galactic backdrop.
The action kicks off when a young girl, unusually adept at mathematics, solves a long-unsolvable paradox and is thrust into the empire’s political sphere – where a mathematician claims to be able to algorithmically predict the downfall of the empire itself. This sprawling space epic is inspired by Asimov’s series of novels of the same name, taking place in a galaxy where a powerful interplanetary empire has sustained for thousands of years, ruled by the clones of an ancient emperor. When you cross the legendary sci-fi author Isaac Asimov with Apple TV, you get Foundation.
With an incredible finale cliffhanger, we really can’t wait until Severance season 2, but for those yet to dive in now is absolutely the time to do so. Produced by comedy legend Ben Stiller, and starring the likes of Adam Scott ( Parks and Recreation), John Turturro ( The Big Lebowski), Britt Lower ( Man Seeking Woman) and Christopher Walken ( Seven Psychopaths), it’s an astonishing ensemble cast – each playing a key part as the story progresses.
All that changes when one employee tries to reintegrate both sides of his psyche, setting off a chain of doubt and suspicion amongst the other members of staff. They severe their work personas to ensure they know nothing of the mysterious but presumably all-important work that goes on at Lumon’s lower levels.
In Severance, the employees at a shadowy corporation called Lumon Industries do just that. In this unmissable workplace satire, the show's creator Dan Erikson offers a techno-dystopian take on the question of work-life balance: if you could use a brain implant to split your psyche between work and leisure, leaving your primary personality free from drudgery and condemning your work persona to a never ending office basement, would you do it?
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