Raised by Wolves Season 1 primer: Everything to know before you watch
By Mads Lennon
Raised By Wolves Season 1: What is it about?
Raised By Wolves Season 1 is a highly-anticipated new series from executive producer Ridley Scott. The story revolves around an alternate world where Earth has fallen, and the remaining survivors send the last remaining children to a virgin planet where humans can live. Two androids are entrusted with the last of humanity to raise them as atheists. Religion is believed to be what brought about Earth’s demise.
But a warring human faction, deeply immersed in religious beliefs, has erected an arc to preserve their lives until they find a new home. Once they discover the planet, they travel there to take back the children, believing the androids’ involvement in their lives is a sin.
As the colony of humans begins to grow, conflict arises alongside religious differences. Soon the androids start to understand the complicated nature of humanity and how controlling the way they think, and their method of beliefs might be much more complicated than they anticipated.
Raised By Wolves Season 1: What to watch & read before the show begins
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A show like this one looks like it might stem from a sci-fi book series, but to my knowledge, it is an original creation from Aaron Guzikowski. You won’t need to watch or read anything specifically to prepare for the show. However, you might be interested in watching Guzikowski’s other works to see how you feel about his previous creations.
Guzikowski wrote the script for the 2014 film Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. It was well-received by audiences and critics and is streaming on HBO and HBO Max. He also created the short-lived series The Red Road, starring Jason Momoa.
Scott is a much bigger name, and you’re likely familiar with his work on films like The Martian, Alien, Gladiator, and more.
Raised By Wolves Season 1: A list of cast members and who they play
It looks like most of the actors in this series are newcomers with the most prominent name attached, Travis Fimmel, who played Ragnar Lothbrok on Vikings.
- Fimmel plays Marcus, who appears to be the human leader of the enemy faction, intent on eliminating the androids and taking the children.
- Amanda Collin and Abubakar Salim play the androids, who are known as Mother and Father.
Beyond these three main roles are characters played by Winta McGrath, Niamh Algar, Felix Jamieson, Ethan Hazzard, Jordan Loughran, Aasiya Shah, and Ivy Wong.
Raised By Wolves Season 1: How many episodes? What is the runtime?
It appears there are ten episodes in total, and given this is a prestige drama, I imagine each episode will have a runtime of 50 minutes to an hour, possibly less — closer to the average 45-minute runtime. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, I’m sure you could binge the season in one day, although it gives the impression of a series that might have dense mythology to ponder.
Will Raised By Wolves return for Season 2?
It’s too early to tell right now if Raised By Wolves will be renewed for a second season. Since it comes from Scott and appears to have a big production budget due to the sci-fi elements and CGI, I imagine HBO is anticipating it performing well in viewership. If it does, I have no doubt the show will be renewed, as it is already receiving critical praise.
However, if it underperforms, HBO might be less willing to pay for an expensive second season. For now, it could go either way, although the positive critical feedback does work in its favor.
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The first three episodes of Raised By Wolves Season 1 will be released on HBO Max on Thursday, September 3.