Rebecca Ferguson Talks the Genre-Bending Murder Mystery in New Series Silo

With many stories that take place in a post-apocalyptic world, a major focus is on how the world became that way and how to recover from it, but in the case of the Apple TV+ series Silo, the focus is on much more human elements and what the survivors of a cataclysmic event have to cope with. This means that Rebecca Ferguson’s Juliette is thrown into a murder mystery, a timeless formula for an engaging story that then allows audiences to uncover compelling details about the sci-fi world. Silo is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on May 5th.

Speaking with ComicBook.com about the series’ many themes and which was the prevailing element that drew her to the project, Ferguson confirmed, “I think, for me, and it sounds weird, but it was literally a link and a quilt of all of those together. I love a good old murder mystery, I love an old whodunit, and the fact that she was such a cool character that develops throughout time. You have this introvert who has to become an extrovert, a non-formed asked-for leader in an environment that is so controlled and shaped, it’s just fun. There was so much to play with. There was so much to do.”

Silo is the story of the last ten thousand people on Earth, their mile-deep home protecting them from the toxic and deadly world outside. However, no one knows when or why the silo was built and any who try to find out face fatal consequences. Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette, an engineer, who seeks answers about a loved one’s murder and tumbles onto a mystery that goes far deeper than she could have ever imagined, leading her to discover that if the lies don’t kill you, the truth will.

The ensemble cast starring alongside Ferguson includes Academy Award-winner Tim Robbins (Mystic River), Common (The Chi), Emmy-nominee Harriet Walter (Succession), Chinaza Uche (Dickinson), Avi Nash (The Walking Dead), Critics Choice Award and NAACP winner David Oyelowo (Selma), and Emmy-nominee Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation). 

The series has been in development for years, dating back to before the coronavirus pandemic, with the themes of isolation and conspiracy feeling even more resonant now than they did initially. Ferguson went on to note how the series itself didn’t change to reflect contemporary themes but that the real-world unexpectedly mirrored the events of the story.

“I think that there’s a lot to relate to right now after the pandemic. I think it stands alone as a really good series,” the actor detailed. “I think it doesn’t need all the trauma that we have gone through to be able to be highlighted, and I think that when Hugh Howey wrote the books, the man is such an … I want you to ask a lot of philosophical questions about how we see the world through the eyes of a screen, because the guy is extremely intelligent. And yes, that is why it would’ve worked five years ago, because it has questions that we have asked ourselves for centuries and centuries. The controlled environment, power, greed, and that’s why it’s so good.”

Silo premieres on Apple TV+ on May 5th.

Are you looking forward to the new series? Let us know in the comments!