Silo Author Hugh Howey's Short-lived Sci-fi Series Deserves A Second Look

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Most readers may know Nugh Howley from his novels "Wool," "Shift," and "Dust," which have collectively been adapted into the hit sci-fi Apple TV series "Silo," currently in its third season. "Silo," as its many fans know, is set in a very distant future after an unknown cataclysm has rendered the surface of Earth uninhabitable. Thousands of survivors live underground in a massive bunker, which is stratified according to caste; workers live way down on the lower floors, while the "elites" live near the surface. The mysteries of "Silo" have kept its fans intrigued since its debut in May of 2023. 

"Silo," however, was not the only Hugh Howley book to receive the star TV treatment that year. Some may also recall that Howley's 2015 short-story collection "Beacon 23" was adapted into a series that debuted on MGM+ the following November. Perhaps because it was on MGM+, not one of the more popular streaming services, it seemed to escape most people's attention. Regardless, it was successful enough to warrant two eight-episode seasons, finally going off the air in May of 2024. 

The premise of "Beacon 23" is pure space opera. The titular beacon is a high-powered cosmic lighthouse in deep space, designed to guide passing starships past a swirling mass of dark-matter anomalies. The pilot episode sees a starship called the Crest crashing in space, and its sole survivor, Aster (Lena Heady), fleeing to the Beacon for shelter. She finds that the Beacon is being operated by a half-mad soldier with PTSD named Halan (Stephan James) and not its usual operator. The two are suspicious of each other's motives, and animosity springs up between them. The drama only gets deeper from there. 

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Trapped together on Beacon 23, Halan and Aster begin the series on a note of suspicion, but have to team up in due course. They have to fight off pirates together in one episode. Eventually, Aster's girlfriend, Coley (Sandrine Holt), joins the action. The action centers on a mysterious mineral found nearby in deep space. Aster has a necklace made of this mysterious mineral, and it also appears to be amplifying Halan's PTSD hallucinations. What is that stuff? Eventually, there are flashbacks that explain some of the show's mysteries, while the mineral begins moving around into an alien plinth — the Artifact — and seemingly expresses a psychic will of its own. 

The remainder of the series involves various factions, resistance fighters, and saboteurs who are all keen on learning about, stealing, or snarfing up some kind of psychic residue from the Artifact. The series also had roles for Stephen Root, Barbara Hershey, Marc Menchaca, and Eric Lange. The series was created by Hollywood screenwriting vet Zak Penn, the author of movies like "Inspector Gadget," "Elektra," "X-Men: The Last Stand," "The Incredible Hulk," and "Ready Player One." He does a lot of script revisions and story consultations, including on "The Avengers." "Beacon 23" was his second TV series as a creator after "Alphas" in 2011. More recently, he has created "The Big Bang Theory" spinoff, "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe." 

"Beacon 23" wasn't a huge hit, but fans of "Silo" might want to seek it out, just to get another hit of "Silo"-like energy. Both Hugh Howey TV shows seem to feature elaborate "mystery box" plots in a sci-fi setting, and each one stars a charismatic, intense actress; "Silo" stars Rebecca Ferguson.

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The first season of "Beacon 23" was only warmly received, earning a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on a mere 11 reviews. Not even critics turned out to see this one. Indeed, this /Film write-up you're reading right now may be one of the more visible pieces of writing on "Beacon 23" since its cancellation. 

Angie Han, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, gave "Beacon 23" a positive review, writing that she definitely fell under the show's eerie spell. Han noted that the series was more interested in questions than answers — a typical feature of the mystery box genre — but that the tone might be enough to keep people intrigued. She wrote: 

"[T]he uncertainty might be the point. Its endless searching can prove frustrating at times, particularly when the sci-fi drama stumbles over basic flaws in its storytelling. But those with enough curiosity and patience to wait out its rough patches — and those with a taste for cerebral sci-fi — may find themselves falling under its plaintive spell." 

Meanwhile, Manuel Betancourt from the A.V. Club only gave the series a barely-passing C+, noting that the mysteries and plot machinations were not interesting, but that the inter-character dynamics were; he liked the scenes of Heady and James trying to suss out how trustworthy the other is. He wrote: 

"By the time the two are forced to work together to fend off increasing threats from the outside world (from wreckers, former allies, powerful AI, and, curiously, an 'Artifact' that may prove there is alien life out there after all), this unlikely pair come to anchor a provocative new entry in 21st century TV sci-fi fare." 

Sadly, the show is off the air. But it's still on MGM+ if you're interested.