While the cultural phenomenon known as the Hunger Games franchise may seem like a thing of the past to some, the popularity of the movies during their brief time on Netflix this year begs to differ. Even though all four Hunger Games movies were only on Netflix for the month of March, the first two movies spent weeks in the top ten with millions of views totaled by the end of the month and on TikTok, #hungergames has 8.2 billion views and counting. With the prequel movie The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes also set to come out later this year, it’s not surprising that there’s been a reawakening of this series’ passionate fanbase.
If rewatching The Hunger Games has left you wanting more compelling dystopian stories, and you can’t wait until November for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, then I highly recommend checking out the Apple TV+ series Silo. The show is set in a world where the outside environment has become toxic, and humanity has been forced to live in an underground silo.
For 140 years, the silo has lived in peace, operating strictly by a Pact that forbids relics from the “before” times, strongly discourages digging into the silo’s past, and blames a group of rebels for the destruction of any records of humanity’s existence before the silo. The only glimpse at the outside world the silo residents get is from a sensor that displays the same angle of the barren wasteland that awaits them. Being sent outside to clean the sensor is considered one of the worst punishments a person can receive, but it’s also something that people can choose to do if they become curious enough about the outside world and demand to be let out. However, once that request is made, there are no take backs.
Based on the Wool series of novels by Hugh Howey, season 1 of Silo follows Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson), a silo mechanic who is suddenly thrust into the role of sheriff after the previous sheriff names her as his successor before requesting to leave the silo to join his wife on the outside. As Juliette learns more about why Holston (David Oyelowo) and his wife voluntarily went outside and the secrets they uncovered about the silo, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that forever changes her life.
Not only does the production design of Silo feel reminiscent of District 13’s underground bunker in the Mockingjay movies, but Juliette’s journey to expose the truth of the silo is also similar to Katniss’ (Jennifer Lawrence) journey to take down the corrupt Capitol. Both women are reluctant heroes that are kind of forced to be saviors of their people, even though they’d much rather spend their days in the quiet solitude they’ve built for themselves. They both think about walking away, but ultimately decide to fight for the lives of their loved ones and a better future for their society.
Silo does feel a little more grounded than The Hunger Games, given it doesn’t have the lavishness of the Capitol nor its cruel genetic experiments, but it still features many of the core themes that have continued to draw fans to Katniss’ story in the 15 years since the first book was released. With a TV-MA rating, Silo is aimed at a slightly more mature audience than The Hunger Games movies, but that just means the series is perfect for adult fans who grew up with the books and movies and are looking for their next dystopian obsession.
The first two episodes of Silo are available to stream on Apple TV+ now. New episodes premiere weekly, culminating with a finale on June 30.