Apple TV’s 3-Part Sci-Fi Masterpiece Demands More Than One Watch

Image via Apple TV+ Published Aug 18, 2026, 6:48 PM EDT Lade Omotade is a News and Features Author at Collider. She covers everything from casting announcements and streaming trends to behind-the-scenes stories and the cultural impact of today's biggest film and television franchises. Her work has also been featured on AOL and IMDb, reflecting her passion for delivering timely entertainment news, insightful analysis, and engaging features for a global audience. Sign in to your Collider account Over the past few decades, science fiction has grown far beyond what many fans were accustomed to. Once dismissed as niche and believed to be only for geeks soon evolved into a phenomenal genre with prestige storytelling that appeals to the mainstream. Amid this evolution is Apple TV, the streaming platform that has quietly built a reputation as the home for original and ambitious sci-fi projects. Among these is Foundation, one of the streamer's best sci-fi series yet, inspired by Isaac Asimov's legendary novels, which recently concluded its third season. From creators David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman, Foundation premiered on September 24, 2021, introducing the world to its sprawling, Star Wars-like universe — albeit more philosophical— with shifting timelines and distant worlds. At the center of the show is the visionary mathematician and psychohistorian Hari Seldon (portrayed by the iconic Jared Harris), who predicts the inevitable collapse of the Galactic Empire, dominated by the dictatorship of the genetically cloned triarchy of Cleons. This prediction is just the beginning, as far grander things are at play, with tons of hidden details that challenge viewers to think beyond what's in front of them, while also rewarding their attention. Apple TV Boasts an Impressive Library of Sci-Fi Shows Apple TV has quickly become the go-to platform for outstanding sci-fi shows that are actually worth watching. The streamer, although not the largest compared to Netflix and Prime Video, has consistently proven that substantial investment in the genre is not a problem, as evidenced by the high production values and detailed world-building in these sci-fi shows, not excluding Foundation. Foundation is just one of several gems, which also includes the similarly popular Severance, that is not only critically acclaimed but has also won ten Emmy Awards within three years. Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one. 🏜️Paul Atreides 🖖Capt. Kirk ✊Princess Leia 🔦Ellen Ripley 🔥Max Rockatansky FIND YOUR HERO → 01 How do you lead when the stakes couldn't be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you. AI absorb everything — every variable, every pattern — and move only when I know the path forward. BI read the room, make the call, and own the consequences. Hesitation costs more than mistakes. CI rally people. A cause needs a voice, and I refuse to let fear be louder than conviction. DI assess the threat, establish what needs doing, and get it done without waiting for permission. EI don't lead. I act. Others can follow or not — I'm already moving. NEXT QUESTION → 02 What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails. APrescience — the ability to see further ahead than anyone else and plan accordingly. BImprovisation — I'm at my best when the plan falls apart and I have to invent a new one. CConviction — I know what I'm fighting for, and that certainty doesn't waver under fire. DComposure — I stay functional when everyone around me is falling apart. Panic is a luxury. EEndurance — I outlast things. I take the hit and keep moving long after others have stopped. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What is the thing you'd sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass. AThe survival and dignity of my people — even if I have to become something frightening to ensure it. BThe safety of my crew — every single one of them. No one gets left behind. CFreedom — for my people, for every world still crushed under the weight of an empire. DThe truth — what actually happened, what's actually out there, whether anyone believes me or not. EThe one person — or the one memory — that still makes any of this worth surviving for. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are. AWith intensity and distance — I care deeply, but the weight I carry makes closeness complicated. BWith warmth and irreverence — I take the mission seriously, not myself. CWith directness and trust — I say what I mean, and I expect the people I work with to rise to it. DWith professional care but clear limits — I'll protect you, but I won't pretend we're family. EWith wariness that slowly becomes loyalty — I don't trust easily, but when I do, it holds. NEXT QUESTION → 05 You're facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you're the only one who sees it defines everything. APrepare in silence. If they won't listen, I'll be ready when they finally have to. BKeep pushing until someone listens — and if no one does, handle it myself. CBuild the case, find the allies, and make the threat impossible to ignore. DDocument everything. The truth matters even if no one believes it yet. EStop trying to convince anyone. Survive it. That's the only argument that counts. NEXT QUESTION → 06 What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they'd pay it again. AMy innocence — I've seen what I'm capable of, and I can't unsee it. BPeople I loved — the command chair has a view, but it's a lonely one. CA normal life — I gave up everything ordinary the moment I chose the cause. DMy sense of safety — I know exactly what's out there now, and I can't pretend otherwise. EAlmost everything — and I'm still not sure what I'm carrying it all for. But I keep going. NEXT QUESTION → 07 How do you feel about the rules of the world you're in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What's yours? AI understand them deeply — and I know exactly which ones must be broken, and why. BI respect the spirit of them and bend the letter when the situation demands it. CThe system is the problem. I'm not here to work within it — I'm here to dismantle it. DI follow protocol until protocol stops being useful. Then I make the call myself. EThe rules collapsed a long time ago. What's left is instinct, and mine are reliable. NEXT QUESTION → 08 When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you. ADestiny — or something that feels so much like it that the difference no longer matters. BThe people on my ship — their faces, their trust, the fact that they're counting on me. CThe belief that what we're fighting for is worth every sacrifice, including this one. DSheer refusal to let it win — whatever it is. I don't stop. That's just who I am. EI'm not sure anymore. But the road is still there, and I'm still on it. REVEAL MY HERO → Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible. Paul AtreidesYou carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you're capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become. You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you. You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn't ask for but can't escape. Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway. That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won't, is exactly you. Captain KirkYou lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you've always believed there's a third option nobody else has thought of yet. You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously. Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you've earned it. Kirk's genius isn't tactical — it's human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction. That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours. Princess LeiaYou are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you're fearless, but because giving up simply isn't something you're capable of. You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable. You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you've never looked back. Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion. That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you. Ellen RipleyYou are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone's hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters. You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself. Ripley's heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn't have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan. You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn't there. When it counts, you don't flinch. That's everything. Max RockatanskyYou have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril. You don't ask for help, don't need validation, and don't wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply. Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it's earned in silence and tested in action, not in words. Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting. That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ Severance, unlike Foundation, is set in a corporate world where employees undergo a procedure to separate their work memories from their personal lives, sounding more straightforward than it actually is. Apple TV has since greenlit a third season, making it one of several sci-fi shows that the streamer confidently renewed between last year and this year. Others include Foundation (of course), the Rebecca Ferguson-starring Silo, Dark Matter starring Jennifer Connelly, Joel Kinnaman's For All Mankind, as well as Alexander Skarsgård's Murderbot, all of which are as outstanding as the reviews say. Apple TV Created Magic With 'Foundation's Storytelling Image via Apple TV+ Comprising three seasons for now, Foundation ended its third run on September 12, before which it was renewed for a fourth season, though fans shouldn't expect that any time soon, considering the two-year wait between the previous seasons. This could be the perfect time to revisit this masterpiece from the beginning (or check it out for the first time), though keep in mind that you can't just jump in to start from any season, but only from the very first episode. Unlike other straightforward sci-fi adventures, Foundation is intricately constructed, weaving together prophecy, politics, rebellion, faith, and survival, all of which come to the forefront following Hari's (Jared Harris) prediction in Season 1. Because of the prediction, Hari creates the "Foundation" in the debut season, a colony on the remote planet Terminus, to preserve knowledge and rebuild civilization, thereby moderating the impact of the impending disaster. However, he doesn't live long enough to be a part of it, as he's murdered by his adopted son, Raych Foss (Alfred Enoch), which apparently was always part of the plan. After Hari's shocking death, his followers struggle to carry out his vision while facing suspicion and hostility from the Cleons: Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton), Brother Day (Lee Pace), and Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann). The tyrannical trio, at the same time, fight to maintain their dynasty's grip on power with their ever-loyal humanoid robot, Demerzel (Laura Birn), by their side, supposedly the last of her kind. Meanwhile, Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), Hari's genius protégée from Synnax, who was supposed to lead the Foundation, is unaware of the happenings on Terminus as she has been in cryosleep for 34 years, only to wake up and discover, among other things, that she has a daughter, Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey). The sophomore season of Foundation, just as mind-blowing as its predecessor with similarly hypnotic visuals —or even better— takes place 138 years after the Season 1 finale, highlighting how Hari's plan to slow down the Empire's downfall begins to crack. As predicted, things aren't going so smoothly for the Cleons on Trantor, the capital of the Galactic Empire, starting with Brother Day, who questions tradition and seeks marriage outside the genetic line to Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion (Ella-Rae Smith). Although the marriage, which is only a political move to strengthen the Empire's position, doesn't come to fruition, instead, Sareth and Brother Dawn elope in rebellion, indicating just how fragile the once-everlasting Empire had become. Moving forward 152 years, Foundation Season 3 now portrays the titular movement as a major Galactic power, continuing to grow while the Cleonic Empire is in steep decline. The conflict between both parties is well emphasized in Seasons 1 and 2, but this season sees them form an uneasy alliance as a new threat emerges: The Mule (Pilou Asbæk). The Mule is a powerful "Mentalic," also a warlord whom Gaal has been having visions about since Season 2, and whose only goal is to conquer the Empire and the Foundation. Without revealing too much, the Season 3 finale thankfully sees him meet his end, only for the identity of the real Mule to be revealed —the least expected character. 'Foundation's Cast Ensemble Bolsters The Sci-Fi Show's Narrative Complementing Foundation is a stellar cast ensemble led by Harris, Pace, Llobell, Harvey, and Birn, whose performances make every episode even more enthralling, contributing to the show's ever-growing appeal that could stand the test of time. Thanks to Harris, Hari is depicted not only as a character with a commanding intellect but also as deeply flawed, with past mistakes of his own. Opposite him, Pace's versatility steals almost every scene, as he radiates both majesty and menace as Emperor, which later in Season 3 transforms into nonchalance —for a little while. Birn is just as remarkable, delivering the show's most haunting and tragic performance as Demerzel, who is torn between serving her masters and regaining her identity, giving emotional depth to what could have otherwise been a purely mechanical character. As Foundation continues to evolve on Apple TV with each season, it has also become one of the rare modern shows designed for longevity, not just streaming hype. The adaptation may appear more complex than a few of your sci-fi favorites, but you certainly get the hang of it; besides, it's just too thought-provoking not to be on your "to watch" or "rewatch" list. All three seasons of Foundation are streaming on Apple TV. Release Date September 23, 2021 Network Apple TV+ Showrunner David S. Goyer Directors Alex Graves, Roxann Dawson, Jennifer Phang, Mark Tonderai, Andrew Bernstein Writers Jane Espenson, Leigh Dana Jackson, Liz Phang, Eric Carrasco, David Kob, Addie Manis, Marcus Gardley, Lauren Bello, Olivia Purnell Creator(s) David S. Goyer, Josh Friedman