US Network FX Picks Up Sci-fi Show ‘Devs’ To Series From Writer/Director Alex Garland
FX has handed a straight-to-series order to ‘Devs‘, a new sci-fi thriller from ‘Ex Machina’ writer/director Alex Garland the US network announced today.
‘Devs’ is based around a young computer engineer called Lily (Sonoya Mizuno – ‘Ex Machina’, ‘Maniac’) who is investigating a secretive development division of her employer. She works for Amaya, a cutting-edge tech company based in San Francisco, which she believes is behind the disappearance of her boyfriend.
Other cast includes Nick Offerman (‘Parks and Recreation’) as Amaya’s CEO, who is obsessed with the covert work of the company’s development division. Jin Ha (‘Jesus Christ Superstar Live’) will play Jamie, a gifted cybersecurity specialist, and Lily’s former boyfriend. Zach Grenier (‘The Good Wife’, ‘Deadwood’) plays Amaya’s head of security Kenton, who is described as terse, dry and dangerous. Stephen McKinley Henderson (‘Ladybird’, ‘Manchester by the Sea’) stars as Stewart, a cultured intellectual from another era and one of the top technical minds working in Amaya’s secret development division. Alison Pill (‘The Newsroom’, ‘American Horror Story’) plays Katie, a gifted quantum physicist tapped by Forest to be his second in command at Amaya. Lastly, Cailee Spaeny (‘Pacific Rim: Uprising’) joins the cast as Lyndon, a young, brilliant, and stubborn employee who works in Amaya’s secret development division.
Whilst you might not recognise the name of show creator Alex Garland immediately, there is a very good chance you’ve seen his work. He first came to prominence with his novel ‘The Beach’, which was then turned in to the Danny Boyle movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He continued that partnership with Boyle writing the screenplay for ’28 Days Later…’ and ‘Sunshine’. Garland followed that with the screenplay for ‘Dredd’ which starred the brilliant Karl Urban, and then turned his hand to directing along with writing in the critically acclaimed ‘Ex Machina’. His most recent movie, ‘Annihilation’, starring Natalie Portman and Benedict Wong, also landed great critical reviews and a strong box office.
The show was originally supposed to be piloted but ended up bypassing that process completely. According to FX Networks CEO, John Landgraf “After reading all 8 scripts and hearing Alex’s brilliant vision and commitment to direct all of the episodes, it was an easy decision to order Devs to series. Alex is a visionary artist who with his partners has put together a stellar cast.”
As ‘Devs‘ has only just been announced, there is no timescale or premiere date yet, but we’ll keep you posted.
