Apple TV+ has renewed Foundation for a third season. Foundation, an adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s series of sci-fi novels, has quietly been one of the best sci-fi shows on television. That it has been relatively quiet excellence has always made its future uncertain in the minds of fans, but it seems it has drawn enough attention to earn another greenlight from Apple. David S. Goyer developed the series and is the showrunner responsible for turning Asimov’s sprawling, generations-spanning sci-fi epic into a television series. Foundation Season 2 teased the arrival of an antagonist called the Mule, who will likely play a bigger role in Foundation Season 3, challenging Hari Seldon and his disciples.
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“I’m thrilled Apple has given us the opportunity to continue chronicling Asimov’s pioneering galactic saga. This time, the stakes for Foundation and Empire are even higher as the Mule takes center stage, along with fan-favorites Bayta, Toran, Ebling, and Magnifico Giganticus,” Goyer said in a statement.
“We have all been incredibly impressed with the ambitious, action-packed and imaginative adaptation that David and the rest of this gifted creative team and cast have brought to life with this premium sci-fi series from day one,” said Matt Cherniss, Apple TV+’s. “To watch Foundation become such a global hit has been beyond exciting with audiences around the world continuing to be captivated week after week by this dramatic and compelling journey to save humanity. We can’t wait for everyone to experience what is in store for characters old and new in season three.”
Speaking to ComicBook.com during Foundation Season 2’s press day, Goyer expressed that he hoped to grow the show’s audience by making its sophomore outing a bit more action-packed and easily digestible than its first, which had the difficult task of building out the show’s world and laying the groundwork for conflicts to come. “Season 1, as you alluded to had a lot of exposition, of pipe laying. There were a lot of crazy concepts that we had to explain to the audience whether it be psychohistory itself or the concept of the Foundation or the genetic dynasty. All of that heavy lifting has been done by the time we get to Season 2. Season 1 had a number of time jumps. Season 2 largely plays out in a linear fashion. There are a couple of flashbacks but they’re simply traditional flashbacks. I think Season 2 is a much easier entry point largely because we weren’t burdened with that exposition and because we had more time in Season 2 to not do exposition, I think we get to dig deeper into the characters. So if anything, I think the biggest challenge for Season 2 was just wanting to broaden our audience so that we could get to 80 episodes if that’s the case. So I was very cognizant of that when I met with the writers to map out Season 2. How do we broaden the audience and how do we make sure that this appeals to even people that wouldn’t consider themselves fans of science fiction?”
Foundation Synopsis and Cast
The official synopsis for Foundation Season 2 reads, “More than a century after the season one finale, tension mounts throughout the galaxy in Foundation season two. As the Cleons unravel, a vengeful queen plots to destroy Empire from within. Hari, Gaal and Salvor discover a colony of Mentalics with psionic abilities that threaten to alter psychohistory itself. The Foundation has entered its religious phase, promulgating the Church of Seldon throughout the Outer Reach and inciting the Second Crisis: war with Empire. The monumental adaptation of Foundation chronicles the stories of four crucial individuals transcending space and time as they overcome deadly crises, shifting loyalties, and complicated relationships that will ultimately determine the fate of humanity.”
Foundation Season 2 features returning stars Jared Harris as Hari Seldon, Lee Pace as Brother Day, Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick, Leah Harvey Salvor Hardin, Laura Birn as Eto Demerzel, Cassian Bilton as Brother Dawn, and Terrence Mann as Brother Dusk. It also introduces newcomers to the series, including Isabella Laughland, Kulvinder Ghir, Ella-Rae Smith, Holt McCallany, Rachel House, Nimrat Kaur, Ben Daniels, and Dimitri Leonidas.
Foundation is streaming now on Apple TV+.
