Pantheon is an American adult animated science fiction drama television series created by Craig Silverstein.[1] The series is based on a series of short stories by Ken Liu in The Apocalypse Triptych.[2] The series premiered on September 1, 2022 on AMC+.[3]
Pantheon | |
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Genre |
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Created by | Craig Silverstein |
Based on | "The Gods Will Not Be Chained" "The Gods Will Not Be Slain" "The Gods Have Not Died in Vain" by Ken Liu |
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Music by |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Production | |
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Running time | 40–44 minutes |
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Release | |
Original network | AMC+ |
Original release | September 1, 2022 (2022-09-01) – present (present) |
In 2001, genius visionary Stephen Holstrom and founder of Logorhythms, a technological corporation, speaks about his mission to reach digital immortality with the advancement "Uploaded Intelligence" or "UI," - scanning the human brain and uploading it on the Cloud. Years later, after Holstrom's death, Logorythms continues his project, using various illegal and unethical means to reach their goals.
Shaken by the death of her beloved father two years prior, Madison "Maddie" Kim is a bullied teen who receives mysterious help from someone online, who is soon thereafter revealed to be her deceased father, David Kim. David explains that his consciousness has been successfully uploaded to Logorhythms' cloud following an experimental and destructive brain scan, and that Logorythms lied to his family about the results. Wanting to save her father, Maddie seeks help from others and eventually gains custody of her father's U.I., but the Kim family is still facing danger from Logorythms.
At the same time, Caspian Keyes, a troubled yet highly intelligent teenage boy is embroiled in his own intrigue involving Logorythms. Since birth, Caspian's life has been a lie, raised unaware that he is in a constructed environment and constantly monitored by Logorythms, to one day fulfill a specific purpose. Through a chatroom, Caspian comes into contact with Maddie and the two aid each other in searching for the truth, which also helps Caspian gradually learn the truth about his reality.
Vinod Chanda, an engineer from the India-based Alliance Telecom company, wishes to use U.I. technology to usher in a digital utopia. After meeting with a rival company, Chanda's corrupt boss has him kidnapped and reveals that Alliance Telecom has secretly been conducting U.I. experiments, and Chanda himself is scanned, resulting in his death in the real world with his U.I. uploaded to perform menial tasks within Alliance's systems. With help from previous U.I. victims, Chanda escapes his virtual prison and becomes a rogue wildcard.
With Maddie and Caspian stuck in the middle, a global conspiracy unfolds that threatens to trigger a new kind of world war.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [5] | |||
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1 | "Pantheon" | Dwooman | Craig Silverstein | September 1, 2022 (2022-09-01) | |||
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2 | "Cycles" | Mel Zwyer | Albert Kim | September 1, 2022 (2022-09-01) | |||
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3 | "Reign of Winter" | Ed Tadem | Taii K. Austin | September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) | |||
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4 | "The Gods Will Not Be Chained" | Micah Gunnell Juno Lee | Andy Parker | September 15, 2022 (2022-09-15) | |||
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5 | "Zero Daze" | Mel Zwyer | Julia Cooperman | September 22, 2022 (2022-09-22) | |||
With all of Alliance Telecom systems down, Pope and Waxman learns of Chanda's U.I existence, but unable to anything about him since Alliance Telecom refuses to collaborate. Chanda calls his mother, expressing feeling lost without a purpose. Caspian pressures Hannah to tell him the truth - her real name is Rachel Brooks, an actor hired by a shell company for a social experiment. Caspian promises not to get her in trouble and gets her help in fooling Renee. Using hidden cameras, Caspian sees Renee being inform that Cary has gone rogue. When Renee takes Caspian on a "trip", he hijacks the car and returns home to find Cary. Cary reveals that Caspian is a clone of Holstrom and that Logorhythms has been grooming Caspian to fix the natural flaw that degrades U.I's stability. After Renee returns, she non-fatally shoots Cary, but is unable to stop Caspian and Cary from leaving. After manages to locate and destroy David's servers, Maddie's group has Cody buy new servers and store them in the basement. While dodging Logorhythms' attempts to track them, David and Laurie hacks into the Norway site and steals secret files. They learn about Chanda and Caspian, with David believing Caspian will be able to help them. | |||||||
6 | "You Must Be Caspian" | Mel Zwyer | Scott Gunnison Miller | September 29, 2022 (2022-09-29) | |||
Unable to go to any hospitals, Caspian reach out to Maddie to help Cary, leaving him with Cody to take him to a hospital. While Pope speaks to Van Leuwen, he is informed of Cary's location. With both parties wary of each other, Caspian is unwilling to help Maddie's group and tries to process his existential crisis by watching his project files. Overwhelmed by the videos, Caspian and Maddie bonds over their crazy lives. Open to meet David and Laurie, Caspian takes a look at their code and notice the flaw is a memory problem. Meanwhile, Chanda create plans of a virtual space when he finds that Laurie, who has been glitching more frequently, calls his mother in an effort to reach him. Interrupting their conversation with Caspian, Chanda speaks with David and Laurie. Chanda is livid to learn about the design flaw and has no faith that Caspian can solve it. Chanda reveals that he send U.I blueprints to many global institutes in hopes to have more U.Is and guide them. Alarmed by the news of an arms race, Caspian leaves Maddie's house, determine to live his own life before the world blows itself up. | |||||||
7 | "We Are You" | Ed Tadem | Michael Taylor | October 6, 2022 (2022-10-06) | |||
Using their own U.Is, many world governments are making many political maneuver against each other, with them keeping the flaw a secret from the U.Is. Caspian takes shelter at church and teaches math at a youth center, leading to a certain realization. After meeting with NSA officials and checking on Cary, Pope meets Caspian and offers Caspian full control of Logorhythms if he comes with him, which Caspian agrees to. Laurie and Chanda argues over revealing the U.I program to the world, but David suggests to meet the other U.Is to get their help to solve the flaw. Ellen contacts Waxman, who gives them a tracking program for locate the other U.Is. However, none of U.Is believe David's group about the flaw and a battle ensues. Laurie decides to go public and says goodbye to Cody, asking him not to recover her source code in Norway. As Laurie finished recording her message, Chanda sends a missile at Laurie’s servers and warns Maddie he will destroy David too if they get in his way. | |||||||
8 | "The Gods Will Not Be Slain" | Micah Gunnell Juno Lee | Craig Silverstein | October 13, 2022 (2022-10-13) | |||
As more nations create U.Is and utilize their power to cyberattack each other, Caspian informs Maddie of his plans to dismantle Logorhythms and the U.I program. After arriving to Norway, Caspian begins enacting his goal and Pope complies without protest. Against Maddie and Ellen's wishes, Cody tries to go public like Laurie wanted, but lacks evidence to make real headway. Chanda steals nuclear codes and is able to get the Chinese U.Is on his side. Knowing David had a copy of Laurie’s message, Chanda threatens to launch a missile unless David surrenders himself to him. At Maddie's urging, David fights back and manages to redirect the missile, but is overwhelmed by Chanda and his allies. In one last effort, David uploads Laurie’s video across the entire globe, using up the rest of his energy in the process. As the entire internet goes offline and people are protesting, Pope explains to Caspian that people will still exploit U.Is and urges him to choose a one U.I he trusts to rules over the rest. Caspian wants David to be the ruling, flaw-free U.I but learns of his demise from Maddie. However, Pope reveals Logorhythms possesses a copy of David. As Caspian begins to work on solving the flaw, Maddie and Ellen mourn David as their neighbors approach them since their house is the only with power. |
On August 3, 2018, it was reported that AMC opened a writer rooms for the animated drama Pantheon.[6] On March 10, 2020, AMC had given the production a 2-season series order consisting eight episodes each.[7] Pantheon is AMC's first hourlong animated drama original series.[8] The series is created by Craig Silverstein who also executive produced the series. AMC Studios and Titmouse, Inc. are involved with producing the series.[1] The series is based on Ken Liu's short stories "The Gods Will Not Be Chained", "The Gods Will Not Be Slain", and "The Gods Have Not Died in Vain" published in The Apocalypse Triptych.[2]
A second season was in production by August 2022.[3]
On July 23, 2020, Taylor Schilling, Rosemarie DeWitt, Aaron Eckhart, and Paul Dano were cast in starring roles.[9] On August 7, 2020, Daniel Dae Kim, Katie Chang, Ron Livingston, Chris Diamantopoulos, Raza Jaffrey, Scoot McNairy, Anika Noni Rose, Grey Griffin, SungWon Cho, Kevin Durand, Samuel Roukin, and Krystina Alabado joined the cast in starring roles.[10] On February 18, 2021, William Hurt, Maude Apatow, Corey Stoll, and Lara Pulver were cast in starring roles.[11]
The series premiered on September 1, 2022 on AMC+ and HIDIVE.[3][12] The first episode is available for all viewers on HIDIVE and on AMC+ official YouTube.[13]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 100% approval rating based on 15 critic reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A sophisticated treatise on consciousness and mortality, this absorbing mind-bender earns its own place in the pantheon of exemplary animated television."[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 77 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15]
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