Sci-fi anthology series Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams will have Anna Paquin and Terrence Howard starring in an episode.
Amazon’s Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams is a 10-part anthology series based on the short stories of acclaimed sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick. The streaming service picked up the U.S. rights from Sony Pictures Television. The series is produced by Bryan Cranston and Ronald D. Moore, who is the showrunner for Outlander.
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams will join the streaming network’s flagship series The Man in the High Castle, which is based on a novel by Dick.
Here’s what we know about the anthology series so far...
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams Latest News
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams is keeping the high-profile names coming. According to Deadline, the show has cast Richard Madden (Game of Thrones), Holliday Grainger (The Borgias), and Anneika Rosa (Line of Duty) in an episode called "The Hood Maker" about a world where humans communicate exclusively through telepathy. Madden will star in the episode as Agent Ross. The episode is directed by Julian Jarrold (Kinky Boots) and written by Matthew Graham (Life on Mars).
Lara Pulver, who you'll remember as Sherlock's Irene Adler, will star in one of the ten episodes as well. Variety broke the news of Pulver's involvement in the show (which is a co-production between Channel 4 and Amazon Prime Video), but offered no details about which character she'll be playing in which episode. Of course, as more details emerge, we'll pass them straight onto you.
Another entry of the 10-episode inaugural season of the anthology series, called “Real Life,” has corralled an interesting cast, headline by a duo who have top billing experience on celebrated series in Anna Paquin (True Blood) and Terrence Howard (Empire).
“Real Life” depicts a future-set story in which policewoman Sarah (Paquin) shares a headspace with a brilliant game designer named George (Howard). In their consciousness-coupled state, the duo is impelled to pursue a group of killers who have grander plans than garden variety homicides. Yet, with the clock ticking, the catastrophe-preventing endeavor of Sarah/George is also compounded by the fact that their connection could also eventually be their undoing.
Rachelle Lefevre (Under The Dome), Lara Pulver (Sherlock), Jacob Vargas (Luke Cage), Sam Witwer (Once Upon A Time) and Guy Burnet (Hand of God) will also appear in “Real Life.”
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams Cast
THR confirmed three major casting additions. Mireille Enos, Greg Kinnear, and Steve Buscemi will all appear in episodes according to the trade. Enos and Kinner will lead an episode called "Father Thing,” which “explores a world under attack by aliens” and is written and directed by Michael Dinner (Sneaky Pete). Buscemi stars in an episode titled "Crazy Diamond," described as a “comic film noir nightmare” in which Buscemi’s character gets caught up in an “illegal plan with an attractive, but synthetic woman.”
As previously reported, Bryan Cranston, an executive producer on the series, is set to star in one episode.
Rounding out the cast so far are Timothy Spall, Jack Reynor, Benedict Wong and Geraldine Chapline.
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams Creative Team
Battlestar Galactica’s Ronald D. Moore and Masters of Sex’s Michael Dinner will be the executive producers and writers on the series. Cranston will also serve as an executive producer. One episode will be written by Dee Rees, who wrote and directed HBO’s Bessie and Mudbound, which was a favorite at Sundance. Other writers include Tony Grisoni (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) Matthew Graham (Life on Mars), David Farr (The Night Manager) and Travis Beacham (Pacific Rim).
“Philip K. Dick’s short stories have shaped iconic Hollywood films from Blade Runner to Minority Report,” Channel 4 chief creative officer, Jay Hunt, said in a statement. “Electric Dreams: The World of Philip K. Dick will adapt and modernize his singular vision for a TV audience. We are thrilled to be partnering with the talented team at Sony Pictures Television on an anthology series that brings together global stars of the calibre of Bryan Cranston and Ronald D. Moore.”
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams was commissioned for Channel 4 by Jay Hunt, Piers Wenger and Simon Maxwell in May 2016. It was made by Sony Pictures Television.
Dick wrote the science fiction masterpiece Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? which was the basis behind Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic Blade Runner, as well as the stories that were adapted as 2002’s Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and Total Recall.
“This is an electric dream come true,” Cranston said in Channel 4’s press release when the show was first announced. “We are so thrilled to be able to explore and expand upon the evergreen themes found in the incredible work of this literary master.”
“I’m thrilled to be working with this exceptional team to bring my father’s short stories to life,” Dick’s daughter Isa Dick Hackett, an executive producer on Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, said in a statement. “Often the source for big, high concept feature films, these short stories represent some of the most dazzling conceptual work of his career, and the fact that they will be adapted by such a diverse set of creative voices is truly an honor.”
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams is executive produced by James Degus (Sneaky Pete), Isa Dick Hackett (The Man in The High Castle), Kalen Egan (The Man in The High Castle), Christopher Tricarico (The Man in The High Castle), Maril Davis (Battlestar Galactica), as well as David Kanter (The Revenant) and Matt DeRoss (The End of the Tour).
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams Release Date
There’s no word yet on the release date for the Amazon series.