Foundation: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes (original) (raw)
Where to Watch What to Know Reviews Cast & Crew Episodes More Like This Related News Videos Photos Media Info
Critics Consensus
Foundation's big-budget production and impressive performances are a sight to behold, but it struggles to wrangle the behemoth that is its source material into a fully satisfying series.
Brad Newsome Sydney Morning Herald As with all good sci-fi, Foundation gives you plenty to chew on -- and the chewing has only just begun. Rated: 4/5 Oct 7, 2021 Full Review Scott Bryan BBC.com It would be enjoyable if they had a bit more fun with it, but watching it felt like I was in a meeting. Oct 6, 2021 Full Review Chancellor Agard Entertainment Weekly By keeping the audience at arm's length, Foundation also makes it that much harder to connect with any of the characters, despite some solid performances from the entire cast. Rated: C+ Oct 4, 2021 Full Review Alachia Queen Alachia Queen This series is what all science fiction shows should use as their standard. The scope of the story telling, the production value, and character performances are all outstanding. Rated: A Aug 6, 2023 Full Review Aaron Phillips But Why Tho? A Geek Community Foundation season 1 is a highly compelling piece of sci-fi that has some magnificent visual effects. Lee Pace, and Jared Harris light up the show with their commanding character portrayals. Rated: 8/10 Jan 23, 2023 Full Review Cris Kennedy The Canberra Times (Australia) Some of the worlds we visit are pulled right from the pages of Tekhnika Molodezhi... But this world building does produce long ponderous scenes, and pace can be an issue at times in the screenplay from show runners David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman. Rated: 4/5 Aug 23, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews
Audience Member Nice visuals, but terrible acting and music, and absolutely ludicrous plots.. it’s a shame, I enjoyed the three books when I was a teenager and had high hopes for the series. A huge disappointment. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/25 Full Review Walter W Great series. Blah blah its not exactly the books. I get it, but most of us haven't read Asimov. On its own merits its a fascinating world and concept. A professor makes mathematical prediction of civilization's future history, and its not good. An autocracy trying to silence it. It's an old theme in World history, autocratic institutions like monarchies and theocratic elements, who silence science and academia. Has been going on for a long long time all over in places too numerous to mention that are autocratic and esp theocratic. It's going on right now, again, in USA at the Federal level. Deny Evolution, Climate Change and Vaccines. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/25 Full Review Ian M It isn't the foundation. It's a melodrama. Decently entertaining but better to read the foundation if you want to know the story Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/25 Full Review Juan L I love it, catchy from beginning to end Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/08/25 Full Review Miguel A On one hand there are some enjoyable moments. The first two chapters are fine. The visuals are amazing. Demerzel and the concept of the Emperor is intriguing. Trantor is pretty. The vault is a good mystery at first. But there are some pretty stupid plot points and action set pieces. There are whole pointless subplots. I could not care less for a number of characters just saying expository dialogue that I didn't really need. Some of the scale is out of whack. An empire with trillions of subjects, ruled by three people? Seemingly no bureaucracy, no ministers, no interest groups, nothing but commoners and an emperor with faux gladiator armour declamating utter self-important piffle, with the other two selves doing nothing but look puzzled or angry? The emperor seems to do too much hand to hand fighting and there is absolutely no court protocol in this 12.000 year old empire. You've got budget, you've got CGI, give us one or two shots of pomp and some weirdness, not just a guy in armour talking to a grey multitude. If budget constraints make you do the throne room sparsely populated, at least give it scale. I don't know too much about Asimov's original material. I read it 35 years ago and remember next to nothing. I find it flawed even if you don't think at all about the original. It has some good stuff in between flawed, dumbed-down writing. I can't care less for characters shrieking in tiny rooms. Emotion does not have to be soppy sentimentality or hysterics. I think that the good stuff that it's got were things better explored by Alastair Reynolds in his novels, which would probably make for a better space opera with weirder human factions, not just silly tribes that use hunting bows or what not. The stakes of the story are supposed to be the fate of the whole galaxy, but we are given a mostly pointless plot with neo-klingons that play clever but are dumb as rocks. It is needlessly convoluted and implausible and filled with unbearable speeches by the huntress. I give it 2 stars because even though I fast forwarded through most of it, I was somewhat hooked. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/06/25 Full Review Malcolm D This is a reasonable show, but other than lifting character and planet names it is NOT Isaac Asimov's Foundation. The original Foundation Trilogy is, of course, not easy to translate to the screen, big or small. It is an intellectual investigation, not a Star-Wars-esque space opera. So I could forgive a lot of liberties being taken with the plot, perhaps even this show's complete abandonment of the themes of Asimov's story. However, introducing a robot into the Foundation story and not even having a nod to the Three Laws of Robotic is definitely sacrilege. Asimov certainly explored the edge cases of those laws, but in this story a robot kills without compunction and allusions are made to a past robot war. The writers have obviously confused the Foundation Trilogy with Blade Runner. So, whatever you may think of this show, it isn't Asimov, and I can't recommend it. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/04/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Show LessCast & Crew Show MoreCast & Crew
Episode 1 Aired Sep 24, 2021 The Emperor's Peace Gaal Dornick leaves her life in Synnax behind when the galaxy's greatest mathematician, Hari Seldon, invites her to Trantor. Details Episode 2 Aired Sep 24, 2021 Preparing to Live The Foundation makes the long journey to Terminus as Gaal and Raych grow closer; the Empire faces a difficult decision. Details Episode 3 Aired Oct 1, 2021 The Mathematician's Ghost Brother Dusk reflects on his legacy as he prepares for ascension; the Foundation arrives on Terminus and finds a mysterious object. Details Episode 4 Aired Oct 8, 2021 Barbarians at the Gate Salvor faces off with an enemy of the Empire; Brothers Day and Dusk are at odds, while Brother Dawn wrestles with his truth. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 15, 2021 Upon Awakening A flashback reveals the origin of Gaal's conflict between faith and science; the standoff on Terminus takes an unfortunate turn. Details Episode 6 Aired Oct 22, 2021 Death and the Maiden Brother Day meets Zephyr Halima, a would-be leader who opposes the Empire; Brother Dusk grows suspicious of Brother Dawn. Details Episode 7 Aired Oct 29, 2021 Mysteries and Martyrs The Anacreons and their hostages board the fabled Invictus warship; the bond between Brother Dawn and Azura intensifies. Details Episode 8 Aired Nov 5, 2021 The Missing Piece Brother Day embarks on a journey that no other Cleon has ever attempted; Salvor prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice to return home. Details Episode 9 Aired Nov 12, 2021 The First Crisis On Terminus, the null field has become even more powerful; Brother Dawn makes a daring choice. Details Episode 10 Aired Nov 19, 2021 The Leap An unexpected ally helps Salvor broker an alliance; a confrontation between the Brothers leads to unthinkable consequences. Details
Home Before Dark 81% 82% Home Before Dark Watchlist TRAILER for Home Before Dark Swagger 93% 96% Swagger Watchlist TRAILER for Swagger Moonhaven 67% 53% Moonhaven Watchlist TRAILER for Moonhaven Krypton 80% 68% Krypton Watchlist TRAILER for Krypton NEXT 64% 68% NEXT Watchlist TRAILER for NEXT Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
Foundation: Season 1 Finale Trailer Foundation: Season 1 Finale Trailer 1:21 Foundation: Season 1 Featurette - Building an Empire Foundation: Season 1 Featurette - Building an Empire 2:29 Foundation: Season 1 Featurette - The Saga Foundation: Season 1 Featurette - The Saga 3:24 ‘Foundation’ Stars Talk Apple TV+’s Hugely Ambitious Sci-Fi Epic: “This Is Going to Be Emotional” ‘Foundation’ Stars Talk Apple TV+’s Hugely Ambitious Sci-Fi Epic: “This Is Going to Be Emotional” 27:28 Foundation: Season 1 Trailer Foundation: Season 1 Trailer 2:40 Foundation: Season 1 Teaser Foundation: Season 1 Teaser 2:11 Foundation: Season 1 Teaser 2 Foundation: Season 1 Teaser 2 2:04 Foundation: Season 1 Episode 10 Sneak Peek The Bending Dynasty Foundation: Season 1 Episode 10 Sneak Peek The Bending Dynasty 1:14 Foundation: Season 1 Episode 7 Sneak Peek - Every Day Is A Test Foundation: Season 1 Episode 7 Sneak Peek - Every Day Is A Test 0:54 View more videos
Foundation Foundation Foundation View more photos
Executive Producer
David S. Goyer, Josh Friedman, Cameron Welsh, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Robyn Asimov, Victoria Morrow, Leigh Dana Jackson, Russell Rothberg
Screenwriter
David S. Goyer
Network
Apple TV+
Rating
TV-14
Genre
Sci-Fi, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date
Sep 24, 2021
Watch Now on