The anticipation for Apple TV+’s upcoming sci-fi series, Extrapolations, is palpable. The recently released inside look featurette has offered a glimpse into the show’s production, including its star-studded ensemble cast led by Meryl Streep, Sienna Miller, Kit Harington, and others. But this featurette, unlike the main trailer released earlier, focuses more on the humanistic stories that the show aims to tell. As writer Scott Z. Burns puts it, Extrapolations is an “enormous theme played on an enormous stage, with very personal, small stories.”
The show’s premise is simple yet profound. Its eight interwoven stories explore love, work, faith, and family on a global scale, all against the backdrop of a near future where the effects of climate change have become a daily reality. Every story is different, but the questions they ask are universal: What choices must we make when the planet is changing faster than the people? Are we brave enough to become the solution to our own undoing before it’s too late?
For all its promises, however, I can’t shake off the feeling that Extrapolations should also be harsh and honest about humanity’s failure to address climate change. It’s a topic that is often discussed in terms of statistics and projections, but seldom in terms of the lives it will upend and the tragedies it will cause. I hope the show, in addition to being hopeful and inspiring, will also be a wake-up call to the urgent need for action.
Extrapolations will premiere on March 17th, 2023, exclusively on Apple TV+.
