---
title: "Silo"
year: 2023
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/silo"
fi1m_score: 75
critics_score: 69
critics_reviews: 8
published: "2026-09-17T16:52:36.749785+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-17T16:52:53.240046+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Silo (2023)

Created by Graham Yost · MPA TV-MA · Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama

**Fi1m score: 75** · Critics 69 from 8 reviews

*In a sentence:* Rebecca Ferguson deserves a window and a quicker answer to her questions

> Rebecca Ferguson makes *Silo* worth the patience it demands. This is a good underground mystery with a persuasive setting, though its wandering plot too often delays the discoveries we have come for.

## Synopsis

In a vast underground silo, an enclosed society lives with unanswered questions about its origins and the world outside. Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) is at the centre of a murder mystery that reaches into the history of the place she calls home. Robert Sims (Common) and Paul Billings (Chinaza Uche) belong to the same community. Juliette wants answers, but deception makes it difficult to know whom to believe. Understanding what has happened means investigating a society whose inhabitants depend on their underground home while knowing little about why they are there.

## Review

Graham Yost’s *Silo* is a good dystopian mystery that takes longer than it needs to. It asks how an underground society survives, what its inhabitants know about their home and whether they can trust what they are told. The appeal is straightforward: somewhere in this enclosed place are answers, and Rebecca Ferguson is a persuasive reason to keep looking. Some stretches spend too long postponing the next discovery.

Gavin Bocquet’s production design does much of the early persuading. The silo feels inhabited, which matters when a programme asks us to care about a society as well as a central character. Its enclosure makes the uncertainty about the outside world harder to dismiss, because there is nowhere else for our attention to go. We felt hemmed in by that underground space, and for a while the discomfort was pleasurable. The setting makes us wary before the investigation has much explaining to do.

Rebecca Ferguson gives Juliette Nichols the sort of reserve that makes us watch more closely. Her stoicism is useful in a story built around deception: we can follow her uncertainty without needing every doubt explained aloud. There is enough feeling beneath the guarded performance to make the investigation matter beyond the next piece of information. The ensemble helps the silo feel populated, although some of its characters receive more attention than their contribution to the story warrants.

The cinematography team includes Mark Patten and David Luther, and the oppressive look keeps the underground setting present even when the drama slows. The lack of relief from the confinement helps us share the inhabitants’ unease about how little they know. Atli Örvarsson’s music adds to that unease, although the sombre tone can grow wearing. During the less purposeful stretches, more apprehension is not what we need; a little progress would do.

The pacing is less reliable. Editors Hazel Baillie and Keith Henderson are among those handling a story that can build considerable tension within an episode, then struggle to carry that urgency into the next. The search for answers sometimes circles material that has already made its point, and the attention given to secondary characters interrupts the central investigation. These are not fatal problems, but they make the first season’s ten episodes feel like more of a commitment than they should.

As dystopian science fiction, *Silo* benefits from keeping a murder investigation close at hand. A question about what happened to a person is easier to care about than another general warning that a society has gone wrong. Graham Yost gives the larger questions about the silo’s origins and the outside world somewhere to start. The writing loses some interest when it spends too long reminding us that things are being kept secret.

We recommend *Silo* to those who enjoy living with an unresolved question, provided they also have an appetite for sombre television. Rebecca Ferguson makes the slower passages easier to tolerate, but she cannot make every detour necessary. Anyone hoping for a brisk science-fiction thriller should choose something else.

*Fi1m score 75, published 17 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond warmly to Silo, with praise clustering around its underground setting, production design and Rebecca Ferguson’s lead performance. The world-building gives the dystopian premise enough detail to sustain curiosity, while the central mystery supplies much of the series’ pull. Ferguson’s restrained performance is a recurring strength, and several reviews also praise the ensemble. For the more enthusiastic critics, the setting and storytelling make this an absorbing science-fiction drama.

The spread is fairly wide, however, and the main disagreement concerns how well that mystery sustains a full series. Even some favourable reviews acknowledge repetition and wandering storylines; others find the pacing and character development substantially more damaging. The Evening Standard argues that promising plots are squandered by scattered storytelling and uneven performances. The Telegraph is the clearest dissenter, finding the atmosphere stifling rather than engrossing and the ten-episode commitment difficult to justify.

### Reviews we read (8)

- **The i Paper**, Neil Armstrong (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the engrossing world-building of the underground silo and calls it an instant classic with gripping storytelling and excellent performances, especially Rebecca Ferguson's. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/silo-apple-tv-review-instant-dystopian-classic-2318224)
- **Empire**, John Nugent (80/100, inferred): The review highlights the riveting puzzle-box mystery, rich world-building, compelling performances by Ferguson and others, and calls it an ambitiously staged hit with a central mystery that grows more absorbing. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/silo/)
- **Radio Times**, Louise Griffin (4/5): The critic finds it a gripping classic dystopian drama with beautiful production design, strong cast led by Ferguson, and impactful storytelling that hooks sci-fi fans. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/silo-apply-tv-review/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Daniel Fienberg (60/100, inferred): The critic notes solid world-building but spotty narrative momentum, praising some thrilling episodes and Ferguson's performance while criticizing inconsistencies and pacing issues. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/silo-review-rebecca-ferguson-apple-tv-1235479924/)
- **Evening Standard**, Vicky Jessop (50/100, inferred): The series is a claustrophobic dystopian thriller with an atmospheric setting lovingly brought to life, but it suffers from a scattergun approach to plot and characters that squanders interesting storylines. The uneven plot and performances make it hard going for many viewers. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/silo-apple-tv-review-rebecca-ferguson-b1078188.html)
- **The Telegraph** (2/5): The critic finds the 10-part series grimly claustrophobic and ultimately stifling despite its intriguing premise of a vast underground silo housing the last humans. The adaptation feels bland and the commitment to 10 episodes too much to ask. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/05/05/silo-apple-tv-review-hugh-howey-harriet-walter-iain-glen/)
- **Collider**, Chase Hutchinson (B+): The critic praises Rebecca Ferguson's stoic lead performance as the emotional core of this dystopian series defined by deception and uncertainty in an underground silo. They single out the atmospheric production design and Ferguson's understated gravitas while noting some repetition and meandering in the stretched narrative. [Read](https://collider.com/silo-tv-show-review/)
- **/Film**, Valerie Ettenhofer (80/100, inferred): The critic finds Silo a compelling post-apocalyptic neo-noir series that excels in its intricate world-building and central mystery about the silo's origins and the outside world. They single out the strong ensemble performances, especially early on with David Oyelowo and Rashida Jones, and the high-concept premise wrapped in a grounded murder mystery. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1270664/silo-review-post-apocalyptic-neo-noir-thrives-on-intrigue-steady-world-building/)

## Details

- **Created by:** Graham Yost
- **Creator:** Graham Yost
- **Director:** Bert, Michael Dinner, Aric Avelino, Morten Tyldum, Adam Bernstein, Bertie, David Semel, Alrick Riley
- **Writer:** Graham Yost, Jessica Blaire, Jeffery Wang, Remi Aubuchon, Fred Golan, Aric Avelino, Jenny DeArmitt-Stran, Katherine DiSavino, Cassie Pappas, Sal Calleros, Ingrid Escajeda, Shelley Birse, Lekethia Dalcoe
- **Cinematography:** Mark Patten, Ollie Downey, Baz Irvine, Eric Kress, Ed Moore, Jean-Philippe Gossart, Kate Reid, David Luther, Laurie Rose, Anna Valdez Hanks
- **Editor:** Harvey Rosenstock, Hazel Baillie, Jamie Alain, Jean Crupper, Christian Sandino-Taylor, Justin Li, Keith Henderson, Hunter M. Via, Bob Dewald
- **Music:** Atli Örvarsson
- **Production design:** Nicole Northridge, Gavin Bocquet
- **Costume design:** Charlotte Morris
- **Producer:** Daniel Rauchwerger, Jessica Blaire, Aric Avelino
- **Cast:** Rebecca Ferguson as Juliette Nichols; Common as Robert Sims; Chinaza Uche as Paul Billings; Ashley Zukerman as Daniel Keene; Shane McRae as Knox; Remmie Milner as Shirley Campbell; Ferdinand Kingsley as George Wilkins; Alexandria Riley as Camille Sims
- **Certificate (MPA):** TV-MA
- **Release (the US):** 4 May 2023
- **Genres:** Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZYhuvIv1pA

## Where to watch in the US

- Apple TV: streaming, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd

*Checked 2026-09-17.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, SE, SG, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *The Prisoner* (1967): Another enclosed society whose rules become more troubling the longer we watch.
- *Dark City* (1998), Fi1m 76: A murder investigation raises uncomfortable questions about the city containing it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/dark-city.md)
- *The City of Lost Children* (1995), Fi1m 78: For the elaborate enclosed world, though this one permits considerably stranger company. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-city-of-lost-children.md)
- *10 Cloverfield Lane* (2016): Life underground becomes unbearable when safety depends on believing the host.
- *Severance* (2022): Institutional secrecy and tightly controlled spaces, with more room for dry humour.

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/silo