[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]
Pilot episodes are a tricky thing, especially in the world of single-episode viewing amid a sea of full-season, same-day drops, although it seems that more shows are going back to that old-school, tease-it-out model. Alongside that, pandemics have become pretty mainstream fare, from The Walking Dead universe to Station Eleven to The 100 to Y: The Last Man and The Last of Us. Sunday night, Earth Abides enters the chat with its first episode with a slow-burn episode that introduces us to our narrator, Ish. It’s not indicative of the episodes that follow, with the exception of it establishing the way Ish responds to and rationalizes the extreme.
Based on a fairly prescient 75-year-old novel of the same name by George R. Wright, the six-episode adaptation of Earth Abides tracks the familial enclave that’s born out of a fast-moving pandemic that decimates the human race in scorched-earth fashion, leaving behind a hardy, immune few. Our protagonist into the proceedings, Ish (Alexander Ludwig), is a geologist who has the misfortune of being bitten and poisoned by a snake while on a dig. As he lapses into a multi-day fever dream, the world dies, or comes close to it.
Recovered and emerging from seclusion, he drives from his rural California cabin back into the nearest town and discovers the horrific aftermath of a catastrophe that apparently swept through fast and literally stopped time (although we don’t get a timeline on how fast/how long he was sick). Finding himself alone, really alone, and evaluating where to go and what to do next, he’s alternately resolute and fraught. The first episode is a slow burn, focusing almost completely on, and narrated by, Ish, as he mourns the loss of his family and then searches for other survivors, pretty quickly realizing that might not actually be in his best interest.
Over the five episodes that follow, each demarcated by an annual or multi-year, post-event timestamp, Ish adjusts his POV, and finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Emma (Jessica Frances Dukes), who opens his eyes to what the next iteration of the world might look like. Together, they create a family and a found family, and the show evolves into an ensemble format. The recurring characters, who find a sometimes uneasy place in Ish and Emma’s home, are introduced over subsequent episodes and include several familiar Canadians:
- Jorge (Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll), a civil engineer in his native Venezuela who rediscovers his purpose amongst the San Lupo community.
- Maurine (Elyse Levesque), who is used to a life of wealth and sophistication, but past traumas have left her despondent.
- Molly (Luisa D’Oliveira), a doctor with a deep-rooted strength and directness, who is supportive and dependable, helping others through their struggles while hiding her own.
- Ezra (Birkett Turton), a charismatic former music club owner who sets Ish on edge.
- Jean (Hilary McCormack), formerly a mesmerizing musician and singer who is now a loving mother in recovery.
- Evie (Jenna Berman), a young autistic woman who finds peace in art.
- Charlie (Aaron Tveit), the leader of a group of travelers whose charm conceals a darker side that only Ish can see.
Series creator and showrunner Todd Komarnicki adapted Wright’s novel into six episodes alongside writers Karen Janszen, Tony Spiridakis, Evan Hart, and Kyle Stephen. Bronwen Hughes, Rachel Leiterman, and Stephen Campanelli each direct two-episode blocks.
Earth Abides premieres Sunday, December 1st on the MGM+ app at 12:01 am ET /11:01 pm c and via the app and on Prime Video in the US, nd linearly at 9 pm/8c on MGM+. Here are a couple of sneak peeks.
Photos and videos courtesy of MGM+.
