A Critically Acclaimed Science Fiction Show Just Got Saved
Fans rejoice!
With the June announcement that Raised by Wolves got the axe, the ongoing struggles behind the curtain at Netflix that seem to put every one of its original series in jeopardy, not to mention The CW shedding fan-favorite series including most of its superhero fare, sci-fi fans may feel like their favorite shows are all in danger. After all, science fiction tends to cost more to produce and so would seemingly be the first to go when it’s time to trim the proverbial fat. But fans of AMC+’s Moonhaven have no need to worry — at least not yet. The utopian sci-fi hit has been renewed for a second season on the streamer.
Deadline and others reported the renewal yesterday, as the penultimate season 1 episode of Moonhaven became available on AMC+. The show is a bonafide hit for the streamer, becoming the most watched of all the AMC+ exclusive series. While Dark Winds is the most watched new series in the history of AMC+, in a relatively short time Moonhaven has secured the #2 spot just behind it.
Dystopian storytelling is all over the place these days — zombie dystopias and robot dystopias and climate dystopias. Perhaps that has something to do with the popularity of Moonhaven. While the Earth is very much a dystopia in the storyline of the show, the Moon, as the title suggests, is a utopia. Set a century into the future, Moonhaven finds the smuggler Bella Sway trapped on the Moon. Bella doesn’t believe in the miracles the rest of Moonhaven’s residents accept, and she gets the help of Detective Paul Serno to find out exactly what is going on in the strange place.
Moonhaven is led by Emma McDonald (The Picture of Dorian Gray) as Bella Sway, Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) as Serno, and Joe Manganiello (Magic Mike XXL) as Tomm Schultz who has a life-changing encounter with a mysterious moon drug. Rounding out the cast are Amara Karan (The Darjeeling Limited), Ayelet Zurer (Munich), Kadeem Hardison (A Different World), Yazzmin Newell (The Irregulars), Adam Isla O’Brien (Unexpecting), Josh Tedeku (Doctors), and Elaine Tan (Inherent Vice).
The majority of critics seem to enjoy Moonhaven, but so far the series has won the majority by only a slim margin. Its first season, which will conclude next Thursday, so far has a 63% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is not terrible but is not fantastic. Reviewers seems to like the premise and the actors, but they feel the execution is a little obvious and filled with cliche. While the audience score is even lower, at 43%, enough people seem to have liked it to make it one of AMC+’s biggest hits. Apparently not everyone who watches TV writes a review on Rotten Tomatoes.
There’s no word yet on which cast members will return or what new actors we might expect to join Moonhaven. Provided he’s asked back, Dominic Monaghan will almost certainly return for season 2, considering the hits his career has taken in the last few years after a couple of cringeworthy online scandals.
