The Sci-Fi Series On Hulu Everyone's Raving About
Every once in a while, a show comes along the ambitions of which are just too damn big for television. For those who've seen even a single episode of Alex Garland's bracing, small-screen sci-fi stunner Devs, there's little question it's one of those shows that packs more intellectual ingenuity, emotional immediacy, and mind-melting moodiness into a single episode than most dare to conjure in an entire season.
So dense is the narrative throughout the first season of Devs that it demands 100% of a viewer's attention, as even the most seemingly minor details can have major implications for the characters involved. Like Garland's previous runs in the director's chair (see 2015's masterful Ex Machina and 2018's equally impressive Annihilation), Devs takes a hard science approach to its science fiction setup. It also takes a decidedly slow-burn approach to its puzzle box of a narrative, building a near-claustrophobic sense of tension throughout and utlilizing a starkly cinematic visual palette that, like the show itself, seems better suited to big-screen grandiosity.
That's not to say that Devs doesn't work on TV. Quite the opposite is true. Garland deftly uses the space provided by a six hour-plus runtime (split over eight episodes) to build a richly textured world populated with immaculately drawn characters. The series finds an enigmatic Silicon Valley entrepreneur (Nick Offerman) funding a top-secret tech project that promises to have an unimaginable impact on humanity, and a driven employee motivated to expose not just the danger of the project, but the grievous misdeeds of the man behind it.
That intriguing setup, and the fact that every episode of Devs was written and directed by Garland, should've made it one of the biggest shows of 2020. Perhaps because of that dense, slow-burning narrative, it didn't quite prove a ratings powerhouse when it aired on FX. Luckily, the series is finally finding its audience via a surprisingly strong showing on Hulu.
Will we ever see a second season of Devs?
If you've yet to join the growing sect of Devs fandom, there really is no time like the present. We can confirm beyond doubt that the critically praised series is every bit as viscerally thrilling and emotionally satisfying as the rest of Alex Garland's striking sci-fi output, a list that includes 28 Days Later, Never Let Me Go, and Sunshine, all of which he penned.
As with the best modern television shows, Devs fully fits into the binge-worthy mold, so don't be surprised if you devour the entire series in a single sitting once you get going. It might be a good idea to pace yourself if you're really digging the mystery box drama, though, because once you finish Devs' Earth-shattering finale, there's apparently no more story to tell.
To be clear, there will not be a second season of Devs. That'll hardly come as a surprise to fans of Garland's work, as the writer-director has been infamously opposed to sequels throughout his career. Make no mistake, the finale of Devs firmly closes the door on its sprawling narrative, with series star Allison Pill even proclaiming via a Collider interview, "It has an ending. You can't go from there."
Despite the finality of Devs' story, Garland has been adamant about getting the troupe back together, offering news of an in-the-works companion piece via the same Collider article. "I subsequently thought that it would be an interesting thing to take what theater does, quite often, which is to have a company, and then you move around the parts within the company, and you can do a different play with the same actors."
Yes, it's a bit of a bummer that Devs is a one-off piece of work. But we should all be pumped that Garland and the Devs team might soon be reuniting for more sci-fi shenanigans.