Silo Stars and EPs Share a Look at Life in Apple TV+'s Dystopian Drama, Weigh In on Snowpiercer Comparisons

Life in the Silo isn’t the absolute worst… but it sure ain’t easy! That’s the skinny from Graham Yost and Hugh Howey, executive producers of Apple TV+’s adaptation of Howey’s Wool/Shift/Dust trilogy, which debuts this Friday with its first two episodes (of 10).

Based on Howey’s novels (shop Amazon) and created for television by Justified alum Yost, Silo tells the story of the last 10,000 people on Earth, who reside in a mile-deep home that protects them from the world outside. No one knows when or why the silo was built, and any who try to find out — possibly by way of illegal “relics” (items that predate the silo) — risk decidedly fatal consequences.

The cast boasts EP Rebecca Ferguson (of the Mission: Impossible franchise), Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption), Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation), David Oyelowo (Selma), Common (Hell on Wheels), Harriet Walter (Succession), Chinaza Uche (Dickinson), Will Patton (Outer Range), Geraldine James (Anne With an E), Iain Glen (Titans) and Avi Nash (The Walking Dead).

In the TVLine video above, Howey and Yost open by giving us us a lay of the Silo land — including exactly how many levels deep this spiral-shaped community is, the amenities it does (and doesn’t) offer, and who is in charge (or at least thinks they are).

Common and Tim Robbins then show up to tell us a bit about their respective Silo characters — Judicial department enforcer Sims, and IT chief Bernard — and how they fit into the power-grabby mix. Robbins then veritably throws to castmate Rebecca Ferguson, who tees up for us the first sighting of her character, a master mechanic named Juliette.

Now maybe you, as we did, got to thinking: A long/deep vehicle/structure in which the “better people” live at one end and the blue collar are at the other? And there’s conflict between the government and law enforcement? In a dystopian world where the outside environment is deadly?

How is Silo not just the Snowpiercer train sat on its butt in a deep hole..? We (respectfully!) pose that question at the 4:25 mark, and Howey and Yost weigh in on the sci-fi comparison.

Want scoop on Silo, or for any other show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.

Launch Gallery: Deep Inside <I>Silo</I>: Your Guide to Who's Who in Apple TV+'s Dystopian Drama