Rebecca Ferguson stars in showrunner Graham Yost’s adaptation of Hugh Howey’s Silo books, and after only one season, the show landed on our list of best Apple TV+ shows ahead of renewal. The series’ vast accomplishments cannot be understated, either, because Howey’s Wool excelled at world building in a way that felt both palpable and impossible to execute onscreen/in real life. Yet Yost did the thing, and now, it’s time to turn to where the books arguably dove into much more of the “fiction” leg of science fiction, which makes the challenge even larger for the small screen.
With that said, the second season of Silo will head into territory explored in Howey’s Shift book, and this sleeper TV series heads from where the first season ended (on the surface with Juliette being exiled from her silo, only to walk over the hill and see more silos) back underground. Let’s get down to business on where this sci-fi thriller plans to take us next.
Plot
We won’t focus too much on the book-related events here other than to say that the Shift book is expansive with multiple timelines and many additional characters, and none of those characters have been mentioned by Yost or the cast other than a key addition: Solo.
The prospective casting of that character has been of great interest to fan forums, and dare we say that the perfect actor for this role joined the second-season cast? Steve Zahn (whose first season turn in The White Lotus helped make the franchise the ongoing sensation that it remains today) was cast as the neighboring-silo survivor who will form the basis of Juliette’s human interaction for the season. Solo has been alone for decades after a mysterious event left him fending for himself, and as Rebecca Ferguson recently (during San Diego Comic-Con) revealed to Variety, he is a “scary and weird” dude.
Solo probably isn’t exactly feeling like befriending Juliette, either, but sometimes, you just gotta roll with it, and both Zahn and Ferguson confirmed that process. And as Graham Yost further detailed, “There are two storylines in Season 2. One that follows Juliette and one that happens in her home Silo.” This checks out, but again, there’s another timeline in the book that might or might not make it into the second season. For simplicity’s sake, Yost could have decided to simply stick with the Solo/Juliette stuff in one silo while making visits to Juliette’s old stomping grounds.
As viewers will also remember, Juliette’s season-finale decision not to “clean” after being pushed out of her home threw her silo’s occupants into a tizzy. This could be tantamount to the start of war, as Apple TV+ teased with an ominous little clip containing the following message: “In the event of a failed cleaning, prepare for war.” — The Order
“In the event of a failed cleaning, prepare for war.” — The Order
Silo Season 2 arrives November 15 on Apple TV+ #JulietteLives #Silo pic.twitter.com/uDqxqAM5ve
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) July 27, 2024
Bernard (Tim Robbins) and Sims (Common and his un-silo-like attire) will be left with a mess to deal with, but that’s what Juliette would probably want, so we’ll respect it. Meanwhile, Ferguson has detailed how she works to infuse Juliette with “this awkwardness. What happens to people with trauma who have blocked things within themselves, but are so good at fixing other things.” She also previously confirmed that Juliette will continue attempting to fix
things by teasing, “It gets incredibly intense… wet” in this second season.
Finally, would you care to see some BTS tattoo action? Sure, why not:
Design birthed from the down deep. Uncover the meaning behind the tattoos that shape Juliette’s character.#Silo #AppleTV #RebeccaFerguson pic.twitter.com/BwdR2X8PZt
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) July 28, 2024
The weight of this second season was surely heavy to balance from a storytelling standpoint because “intense” doesn’t even begin to describe what Juliette will go through, but in Graham Yost, we trust.
Cast
Rebecca Ferguson returns as Juliette with Steve Zahn being her main scene partner as Solo. Common and his damn leather jacket will continue to embody Sims with Tim Robbins as Bernard. Harriet Walter will also return in Juliette’s home silo, and other confirmed second-season cast members include Alexandria Riley, Shane McRae, Remmie Milner, Clare Perkins, Chinaza Uche, Avi Nash, Billy Postlethwaite, Rick Gomez, and Caitlin Zoz.
It does not sound like the second season will touch on the other timeline of characters previously mentioned above, so perhaps those actors shall appear in the third season, or the show will eschew them altogether.
Release Date
The second season debuts on November 15.
Trailer
We should see a formal teaser trailer soonish, but for now, here’s the full Variety group discussion (with Graham Yost, Hugh Howey, Rebecca Ferguson, Common, and Steve Zahn) from SDCC: