Invasion TV Series Overview (2021)

Introduction

Invasion is an American science fiction television series created by Simon Kinberg and David Weil.

It premiered on Apple TV+ on 22 October 2021, and has received a mixed critical response. Season 01 aired on 22 October 2021 and season 02 on 23 August 2023.

Outline

An alien invasion is seen through the different perspectives of various people on different continents across the world.

Cast

Main:
- Golshifteh Farahani as Aneesha Malik
- Shamier Anderson as Trevante Cole
- Shioli Kutsuna as Mitsuki Yamato
- Firas Nassar as Ahmed “Manny” Malik (season 1)
- Billy Barratt as Caspar Morrow
- Azhy Robertson as Luke Malik
- Tara Moayedi as Sarah Malik
- Daisuke Tsuji as Kaito Kawaguchi (season 1)
- Sam Neill as Jim Bell Tyson (pilot: “Last Day”)
- India Brown as Jamila Huston (season 2; recurring season 1)
- Paddy Holland as Monty Cuttermill (season 2; recurring season 1)
- Enver Gjokaj as Clark Evans (season 2)
- Nedra Marie Taylor as Rose Callaway (season 2)
- Naian González Norvind as Maya Castillo (season 2)

Recurring:
- Olivia-Mai Barrett as Ryder Evans
- Rinko Kikuchi as Hinata
- Togo Igawa as Ikuro Murai
- Tamara Lawrance as Learah
- Louis Toghill as Darwin Charles
- Cache Vanderpuye as Alfie Ademura

Production

Development

Apple gave an order for ten episodes in January 2019 with Simon Kinberg and David Weil creating, writing, and executive producing the series, with Audrey Chon also executive producing. Deadline reported that Chad Feehan was briefly brought in as a showrunner “out of necessity”, but soon departed the series in September 2019. When filming was announced to resume, Jakob Verbruggen was said to be director and executive producer of the series with Amy Kaufman, Andrew Baldwin, and Elisa Ellis also executive producing; however, further reporting stated that Amanda Marsalis had also directed some episodes of the series. Invasion is reported to have a $200 million budget.

On 08 December 2021, Apple renewed the series for a second season.

Casting

Deadline revealed in August 2020 that Neill, Anderson, Farahani, Nassar, and Kutsuna were all to be part of the cast.

Filming

Filming was originally planned to commence in mid-2019 with Kinberg directing but was delayed due to his work on the feature film The 355. According to a report by Deadline, Invasion planned to film in New York, Manchester, Morocco, and Japan. “Portions of the series had been shot in New York and Morocco, and producers were prepping for the UK shoot when the coronavirus-related industry shutdown started in mid-March.” In February 2021, filming occurred in Greenwich, one of the last filming locations for the series. Filming for the first season concluded on 15 March 2021.

Release

The series premiered on 22 October 2021, with the release of its first three episodes; the remaining seven episodes were released weekly, concluding on 10 December 2021. Season 02 premiered on 23 August 2023 and concluded on 25 October 2023.

Invasion Series

Series 01 (2021):
- Episode 01: Last Day.
- Episode 02: Crash.
- Episode 03: Orion.
- Episode 04: The King Is Dead.
- Episode 05: Going Home.
- Episode 06: Home Invasion.
- Episode 07: Hope.
- Episode 08: Contact.
- Episode 09: Full of Stars.
- Episode 10: First Day.

Series 02 (2023):
- Episode 01: Something’s Changed.
- Episode 02: Chasing Ghosts.
- Episode 03: Fireworks.
- Episode 04: The Tunnel.
- Episode 05: A Voice from the Other Side.
- Episode 06: Pressure Points.
- Episode 07: Down the Rabbit Hole.
- Episode 08: Cosmic Ocean.
- Episode 09: Breakthrough.
- Episode 10: Old Friends, New Frontiers.

Production & Filming Details

Director(s):
- Amanda Marsalis … (4 episodes, 2021).
- Jakob Verbruggen … (3 episodes, 2021).
- Jamie Payne … (2 episodes, 2021).
Producer(s):
- Philipp A. Barnett … co-executive producer (10 episodes, 2021).
- John Blair … producer (10 episodes, 2021).
- Melissa Gelernter … producer: new york segments / producer / producerL new york segments (8 episodes, 2021).
- Wes Hager … executive producer assistant (8 episodes, 2021).
- David Rosen … Consulting Producer (6 episodes, 2021).
- Amanda Marsalis … producer (4 episodes, 2021).
- Bridget Greene … associate producer (3 episodes, 2021).
- Reily Valentine … Showrunner’s Assistant (3 episodes, 2021).
- Andrew Baldwin … executive producer (1 episode, 2021).
- Audrey Chon … executive producer (1 episode, 2021).
- Elisa Ellis … executive producer (1 episode, 2021).
- Amy J. Kaufman … executive producer (1 episode, 2021).
- Simon Kinberg … executive producer (1 episode, 2021).
- Katie O’Connell … executive producer (1 episode, 2021).
- Jakob Verbruggen … executive producer (1 episode, 2021).
- David Weil … executive producer (1 episode, 2021).
Writer(s):
- Simon Kinberg … (created by) (10 episodes, 2021).
- Simon Kinberg … (written by) (10 episodes, 2021).
- Simon Kinberg … (story by) (10 episodes, 2021).
- Simon Kinberg … (teleplay by) (10 episodes, 2021).
- David Weil … (created by) (10 episodes, 2021).
- David Weil … (written by) (10 episodes, 2021).
- Gursimran Sandhu … (story editor) (9 episodes, 2021).
- Gursimran Sandhu … (story by) (9 episodes, 2021).
- Andrew Baldwin … (teleplay by) (4 episodes, 2021).
- Andrew Baldwin … (written by) (4 episodes, 2021).
- Andrew Baldwin … (story by) (4 episodes, 2021).
- David Rosen … (story by) (1 episode, 2021).
Music:
- Max Richter … (10 episodes, 2021).
Cinematography:
- Julian Court … (10 episodes, 2021).
- Laurie Rose … (9 episodes, 2021).
- Armando Salas … (4 episodes, 2021).
- Tim Ives … (3 episodes, 2021).
Editor(s):
- John Petaja … (5 episodes, 2021).
- Sarah C. Reeves … (3 episodes, 2021).
- Eleanor Infante … (1 episode, 2021).
- Michelle Rueda … (1 episode, 2021).
Production:
- Genre Films.
- Platform One Media.
Distributor(s):
- Apple TV+ (World-wide) (all media).
Release Date:
- Series 01: 22 October 2021 to 10 December 2021.
- Series 02: 23 August 2023 to 25 October 2023.
Rating: 15.
Running Time: 123 minutes.
Country: US.
Language: English and Japanese.