The futuristic dystopia of Ridley Scott and Aaron Guzikowski’s latest show, ‘Raised by Wolves,’ is bleak, but it gushes plenty of drama and blood to keep you hooked for six action-packed episodes.
If Raised By Wolves’ insipid landscape offers us any metaphor, it’s that the future looks pretty damn ugly. Earth, ravaged by a vain power struggle between an underpowered atheist faction and a technologically-advanced cult of sun-worshippers, is left uninhabitable. Planet Kepler 22-b is humanity’s second chance at getting things right. Don’t count on it, though. These interplanetary voyagers seem to have little humanity left in them after years of war, running on the fumes of their own deeply flawed spirituality.
Beyond petty political infighting and misplaced faith, these evangelicals have another obstacle to face: two eccentric, atheist androids by the name of Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim). In the series’ opening minutes, we find ourselves inside the pair’s swanky spaceship, barreling towards a chalky, mountainous desert below. Of course, nothing goes according to plan—a running theme throughout the series. They land unscathed, but their ship falls into a cavernous abyss, wedged into a slab of rock a few hundred feet down. This sort of disaster might faze a mere mortal human. Not these androids though. Mother and Father calculate their next moves with computational precision, hell-bent on carrying out their task: giving birth to and raising six science-loving children on this new planet.
This world is no Eden though. Temperatures fluctuate wildly. Food is scarce. And mysterious creatures lurk about menacingly. Mother and Father do their best to create a stable environment for their children, but this carefully engineered peace breaks down following a fateful encounter with the group of sun-worshippers. What follows is a gripping, unpredictable narrative whose idiosyncrasies are sure to charm as much as frighten viewers. The Knockturnal had the pleasure of speaking to some of the primary cast of Raised By Wolves, as well as its showrunner Guzowski, about some of the challenges faced during production and why this show’s story is so timely in 2020. Check out our exclusive interview above!
