Foundation

Follow a band of exiles on their monumental journey to save humanity and rebuild civilization amid the fall of the Galactic Empire.

Foundation (2021-present) is an American space opera series created by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman for Apple TV, adapted from Isaac Asimov's classic novels. Jared Harris plays Hari Seldon, a mathematician whose predictive science foresees the collapse of the Galactic Empire, and Lee Pace plays Brother Day, a clone-born ruler clinging to imperial power. Lou Llobell's Gaal Dornick and Leah Harvey's Salvor Hardin move through the margins of this order, as a band of exiles works to shorten a coming dark age into a thousand years of rebuilding. The engine is a long-range plan that must survive political intrigue, rival factions, and the aging of everyone who carries it. Each season covers a new stretch of centuries, so the show plays like a sweeping chronicle rather than a single adventure, with season-long arcs and a serialized structure in which order matters. Its tone is contemplative and grand, with dense political maneuvering, quiet philosophical debate about prophecy and free will, and sleek visual scale. Viewers who enjoy Dune: Prophecy, The Expanse, and Battlestar Galactica will find resonance in its ambitious worldbuilding and its interest in how institutions outlive the people who built them. The series spans three seasons and thirty episodes, with the latest still airing.

Reviewers praise the ambitious scale, visual craft and political intrigue of Asimov's adaptation while finding its sprawling timeline and uneven character attachment divisive.

• Battlestar Galactica (2004)epic space opera scope, political intrigue across centuries, grand civilizational stakes
• Dune: Prophecyfar future empire decline, long-arc prophecy and scientific planning, sweeping sci-fi drama
• The Expansespace opera, empire politics, morally complex characters across a vast universe
• Star Wars: The Mandalorianscience fiction literary source, galactic empire, long-term civilizational arc

Created by

David S. Goyer, Josh Friedman

Release Date

2021-09-23

Episode runtime

57 min

Rating

7.6 / 10 (1849)

What is Foundation about?

A band of exiles undertakes a monumental mission to preserve human knowledge and rebuild civilization as a galactic empire collapses.

What is Foundation like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Foundation as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as dense.

Is Foundation violent?

Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Foundation as moderate.

What did critics think of Foundation?

Reviewers praise the ambitious scale, visual craft and political intrigue of Asimov's adaptation while finding its sprawling timeline and uneven character attachment divisive.

Which shows are like Foundation?

Shows with a similar feel include Battlestar Galactica (2004), Dune: Prophecy, The Expanse, and Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

How long is Foundation?

Foundation: 3 seasons, 30 episodes.

Is Foundation still running?

Yes, Foundation is still running.

Where can I watch Foundation?

In United States, Foundation streams on Apple TV, Apple TV Amazon Channel.