Brave New World TV Series at Peacock Gets First Trailer

Brave New World, an adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s seminal sci-fi novel, is coming to NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service. The series was originally set for USA Network, where it received a straight-to-series order for a 10-episode inaugural season by the NBCU-owned cable outlet.

The network is sticking with the writer/showrunner it appointed originally – as part of a writer’s room – in David Wiener, who brings writing and executive producer experience from Amazon’s Homecoming, CBS All Access’s Strange Angel, AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead and Starz’s Flesh and Bone. Serving as director for the pilot episode is Owen Harris (Black Mirror‘s “San Junipero”). 

Huxley first published Brave New World in 1931 – originally intended as a parody of H.G. Wells’s dystopian efforts – depicting a far-future (in approximately 2540 AD,) in which even the most miniscule aspects of civilization and its inhabitants are controlled; a world in which genetically engineered people are born from artificial wombs, divided into castes, prohibited from privacy and families, and have designated roles in life. However, despite the strictness of this existence, people are mollified through the encouragement of a hedonistic lifestyle centered around loose consumption, abundant sex and, most importantly, a happiness-inducing drug called Soma.

The series order represents the culmination of a developmental process for the Brave New World project several years in the making, stemming back to May 2015 with its initial arrival on NBCU’s slate for its other cable outlet, Syfy. The project originally appointed Les Bohem as writer, subsequently replacing him with Grant Morrison and Brian Taylor the following year. However, Wiener will now work with Morrison and Taylor, both of which remain executive producers for the pilot. 

Here’s everything else we know about the series:

Brave New World TV Series Release Date

Brave New World is set to launch on July 15 on the new NBC Universal streaming service Peacock.

Brave New World TV Series Trailer

Peacock has released the first trailer for Brave New World. The world of New London certainly looks appealing here. But there’s an aura of menace underneath it all.

Brave New World TV Series Cast

Alden Ehrenreich was cast for a lead role in USA’s Brave New World, reported Variety. The solo acquisition will headline the series as John the Savage, a product of both the World State from which his mother fled and the Savage Reservation on which he was raised, though he’s kind of an outsider amongst the natives there as well. However, the young man – raised on the works of Shakespeare, notably The Tempest, which contains the story’s title line – will have his life forever changed when New London exiles Bernard Marx and Lenina Crowne show up at his reservation.

Harry Lloyd (Game of Thrones) co-stars as Bernard Marx, a denizen of the micro-managed future urban dystopia of New London, who, joined by Lenina Crowne, leaves the city behind for a life-changing vacation in the Savage Lands. 

Demi Moore has been announced for the cast of USA Network’s Brave New World for the recurring role of Linda, “the brash, hard-living mother” of John the Savage (Alden Ehrenreich). 

Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey) will play the crucial role of Lenina Crowne, who, along with fellow future dystopian denizen Bernard Marx (Lloyd), embarks on a revelatory journey into the wild.

Kylie Bunbury (Game Night, Pitch) will play Frannie, “Lenina’s best friend, a Beta Plus who embraces her conditioning and New London’s social order.”

Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp, Killjoys) will play Wilhelmina “Helm” Watson, “a hedonistic artist and New London’s premier maker of Feelies.”

Sen Mitsuji (Altered Carbon Season 2, Origin) will play Henry Foster, “an Alpha Plus in every way, who works alongside Bernard as a counselor at The Bureau of Stability.”

Joseph Morgan (The Originals, The Vampire Diaries) will play CJack60, “an Epsilon relegated to physical, tedious jobs, who is deeply impacted after witnessing a horrifying incident.”

Nina Sosanya (Good Omens, Killing Eve) will play Mustafa Mond, “a World Controller who is responsible for maintaining New London’s social structure and utopian promise.”

Brave New World TV Series Story

As the official Brave New World logline reads:

As citizens of New London, Bernard Marx and Lenina Crowne have only ever known a rigid social order, a perfect pharmaceutical called Soma, and a culture of instant gratification and ubiquitous sex. Curious to explore life beyond the strictures of their society, the two New Worlders embark on a vacation to the Savage Lands, where they become embroiled in a harrowing and violent rebellion. Bernard and Lenina are rescued by John the Savage, who escapes with them back to New London. John’s arrival in the New World soon threatens to disrupt its utopian harmony, leaving Bernard and Lenina to grapple with the repercussions. The three become entwined in a fraught relationship that awakens them to the dangers of their own conditioning.