Foundation Season 4 Gets an Important Update (and a New Showrunner)

Much like the galactic empire itself, the Foundation series has been through an upheaval, but it looks like it will come out the other side. Season 3 of the Apple TV+ original saw some production hiccups, including a budgetary issue that halted production last year, and called the show’s future into question. However, on Tuesday Deadline reported that the Apple and Skydance Television are now prepping for Season 4 — a good sign that the show will get another renewal. After the exit of showrunner David S. Goyer, Season 4 will be overseen by Ian Goldberg, who previously helmed Fear the Walking Dead.

Foundation is an adaptation of the seminal sci-fi series by author Isaac Asimov, and it lives up to the scale of its source material. Season 2 garnered even more critical acclaim than the show’s first installment, but the ambitious production has been plagued by disruptions including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Hollywood labor strikes.

In spite of all that, Apple is reportedly still betting big on this series. Sources close to the project told Deadline that Season 3 is finished, and will probably air sometime this year. Meanwhile, the studios are anticipating a renewal and are prepared to hire Goldberg as the new showrunner. Goldberg already has an overall deal in place with Skydance TV.

[RELATED: Foundation Season 3 Adds Oscar-Winning Actor to Cast]

Foundation takes a lot of creative liberties with its source material, but considering the odd nature of the books, most fans don’t seem to mind. The story is about a secretive organization working to minimize the effects of societal collapse, hopefully allowing the bloated galactic empire to fall and then rise again within 1,000 years rather than 30,000 years. They do so against the wishes of the empire itself, since many people cannot accept that the empire is collapsing in the first place.

Because of the story’s long timeline and scale, the books have few recurring characters, instead describing important episodes in the Foundation’s work and connecting them all through the same guiding principles of the organization. However, the TV series tweaks some of the technology at play in this series so that characters can stay in the narrative longer, which works better in the TV format.

The first two seasons of Foundation are streaming now on Apple TV+. Season 3 is reportedly finished, but there is no word from Apple on when it might premiere. Asimov’s books are available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats.