Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World is one of the greatest science fiction books of all time. It is a brilliant imagining of a dystopian world where the personalities and souls of people have been replaced with mind-numbing drugs, state-sanctioned careers and a complete loss of identity and purpose.
The book was revolutionary and is still considered one of the finest and first satirical novels to examine and criticize culture. Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984 always go hand-in-hand — and with good reason, they are both paramount examples of dystopian fiction.
So it is kind of a bummer that a novel that special and that ground-breaking is getting a TV series that looks so generic. That’s my opinion of the new Peacock adaptation of Brave New World, which is set to premiere next year on the brand new streaming service. The series got a short teaser from Peacock and you can watch it below.
The show stars Alden Ehrenreich, Demi Moore, Jessica Brown Findlay and Harry Lloyd. It is being produced by a fairly impressive team, including Grant Morrison. It seems to have an healthy budget. That being said, the whole thing looks rather safe and bland. It feels like any number of forgettable SyFy movies-of-the-week. The costumes, the sets, the cinematography — nothing here looks special or memorable. Is that because we have seen so many dystopian movies and shows over the years? Am I just burnt out on the genre? Or is Peacock not giving Brave New World the proper treatment?
Either way, this adaptation of Brave New World doesn’t feel like it’s doing justice to the source material and that is a damn shame. A classic novel like this deserves better.
Maybe I’m being too hard on Peacock’s Brave New World, maybe it will end up being a great take on the book. But right now it feels like a bargain bin version of Huxley’s masterpiece.
Get a good look at the show (and the surprisingly good-looking Saved By The Bell reboot) below