Introduction

Raised by Wolves is an American science fiction drama television series created by Aaron Guzikowski that premiered on HBO Max on 03 September 2020.

The first two episodes were directed by Ridley Scott, who also serves as an executive producer for the show.

After Earth is rendered uninhabitable, Androids start a settlement and a new family with human embryos on the planet Kepler-22b.

Outline

Raised by Wolves centres on two androids, Father and Mother, tasked with raising human children on Kepler-22b after the Earth was destroyed by a great war. As the burgeoning colony of humans threatens to be torn apart by religious differences, the androids learn that controlling the beliefs of humans is a treacherous and difficult task.

Cast

• Main:
  • Amanda Collin as Mother/Lamia, a powerful war android known as a necromancer, reprogrammed to raise human children on virgin planet Kepler-22b to establish an atheist colony.
  • Abubakar Salim as Father, a generic service model android reprogrammed to protect and support the colony’s children.
  • Winta McGrath as Campion, the youngest and only survivor of six children born from embryos brought to Kepler-22b by Mother and Father.
  • Travis Fimmel as Marcus/Caleb, an atheist soldier and Mary’s partner.
    • Jack Hawkins portrays Caleb with his true face.
  • Niamh Algar as Sue/Mary, an atheist soldier/medic and Caleb’s partner.
    • On Earth, she (Mary) and Caleb had killed a Mithraic couple, Sue and Marcus.
    • Mary and Caleb altered their appearances to resemble the couple to get onto the Ark.
    • Sienna Guillory portrays Mary with her true face.
  • Jordan Loughran as Tempest, a surviving Ark child who despises the Mithraic due to having been raped by a religious leader.
  • Felix Jamieson as Paul, the biological son of Marcus and Sue, raised by Caleb and Mary as their own child.
  • Ethan Hazzard as Hunter, one of the surviving Ark young adults.
  • Aasiya Shah as Holly, one of the surviving Ark children.
  • Ivy Wong as Vita, one of the surviving Ark children.
  • Matias Varela as Lucius, a loyal Mithraic soldier and survivor of the Ark crash.
  • Peter Christoffersen as Cleaver (season 2).
  • Selina Jones as Grandmother (season 2).
  • Morgan Santo as Vrille (season 2).
  • James Harkness as Tamerlane (season 2).
  • Kim Engelbrecht as Decima (season 2).
  • Jennifer Saayeng as Nerva (season 2).

• Recurring:
  • Cosmo Jarvis as Campion Sturges, a former Mithraic scientist who changed his faith, fought for the atheist cause, and created Mother. He is the namesake of one of the colony children.
  • Michael Pennington as the Trust, a computer, it was administrator of atheist collective domain.

• Guest:
  • Steve Wall as Ambrose.

Production

On 08 October 2018, it was announced that TNT had given the production a series order. Executive producers were expected to include Ridley Scott, Aaron Guzikowski, David W. Zucker, Jordan Sheehan, Adam Kolbrenner, and Robyn Meisinger. Scott was also set to direct the first two episodes from Guzikowski’s screenplays. Production companies included Scott Free Productions, Studio T, and Madhouse Entertainment. The series was filmed in the Western Cape, specifically Somerset West, Stellenbosch and Cape Town, South Africa. On 17 September 2020, HBO Max renewed the series for a second season to also be produced in South Africa. On 08 March 2021, actor Abubakar Salim announced that filming was in progress. Jennifer Saayeng, who plays Nerva in the second season, announced on Instagram that the filming for second season wrapped on 15 August.

Casting

In January 2019, it was announced that Travis Fimmel, Amanda Collin, Abubakar Salim, Winta McGrath, Niamh Algar, Felix Jamieson, Ethan Hazzard, Jordan Loughran, Aasiya Shah, and Ivy Wong had been cast in starring roles. In March 2019, Matias Varela was cast in a starring role. On 20 May 2021, Peter Christoffersen, Selina Jones, Morgan Santo, James Harkness, Kim Engelbrecht, and Jennifer Saayeng joined the cast in starring roles for the second season.

Release

Podcast

On 26 August 2020, an official companion podcast produced by iHeartRadio was announced with the first episode premiering on 03 September 2020, in tandem with the launch of the series. The podcast features Aaron Guzikowski and invites “innovators from science and technology to discuss the most fascinating questions raised by the series.”

Broadcast and Streaming

On 29 October 2019, it was announced the series would be moving to WarnerMedia’s HBO Max streaming service. The series premiered on 03 September 2020.

In Canada, the series premiered on 03 September 2020, on CraveTV and CTV Sci-Fi Channel, and in French on 14 January 2021, on Super Écran. In Australia, the series premiered on 03 September 2020, on Fox Showcase. In the UK, the first three episodes were shown on Sky Atlantic on 05 December 2020. In France, the series premiered on 07 December 2020, on Warner TV. In Italy, it started on 08 February 2021, on Sky Atlantic.

Reception

The first season was met with generally positive reviews from critics, while the second season has received critical acclaim.

Trivia

• When the Mithraic Order ask Mother what her name is, she responds “Lamia.”
  • In ancient Greek mythology, Lamia was a woman who became a child-eating monster after her children were destroyed by Hera, who learned of her husband Zeus’s tryst with her.
  • Hera also afflicted Lamia with sleeplessness so she would anguish constantly.
• The religious order in the series, The Mythraic Mysteries or Mithraism, was a real religion practiced in the Roman Empire from around the 1st to 3rd centuries CE.
• The new planet, Kepler-22b, is 600 light years from Earth and is the first planet found by NASA in the Kepler system to be deemed within the goldilocks zone based on its distance from the star, Kepler-22.
  • Kepler-22b was discovered in 2011 and the planet’s mass is roughly twice the size of Earth and has an orbital period of 290 days.
• The opening sequence of S1 E1 (at 00:55, when the spaceship arrives at Kepler-22b) shares some of the same aerial footage as in Ridley Scott’s movie “Prometheus” (at 24:55, when spaceship Prometheus arrives at LV_223).
• Ridley Scott often uses the opening scroll in his work, here it is used to explain the cryosleep for the Mithraic’s travels.

Raised by Wolves Series

• Series 01 (2020):
  • Episode 01: Raised by Wolves.
  • Episode 02: Pentagram.
  • Episode 03: Virtual Faith.
  • Episode 04: Nature’s Course.
  • Episode 05: Infected Memory.
  • Episode 06: Lost Paradise.
  • Episode 07: Faces.
  • Episode 08: Mass.
  • Episode 09: Umbilical.
  • Episode 10: The Beginning.

• Series 02 (2022):
  • Episode 01: The Collective.
  • Episode 02: Seven.
  • Episode 03: Good Creatures.
  • Episode 04: Control.
  • Episode 05: King.
  • Episode 06: The Tree.
  • Episode 07: Feeding.
  • Episode 08: Happiness.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Alex Gabassi … (4 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Luke Scott … (3 episodes, 2020).
  • Sergio Mimica-Gezzan … (2 episodes, 2020).
  • Ridley Scott … (2 episodes, 2020).
  • Ernest R. Dickerson … (2 episodes, 2022).
  • Lukas Ettlin … (2 episodes, 2022).
  • Sunu Gonera … (2 episodes, 2022).
  • James Hawes … (1 episode, 2020).
• Producer(s):
  • Carina Sposato … co-producer (18 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Chris Cheramie … co-producer / producer (14 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Aaron Guzikowski … producer / executive producer (14 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Ridley Scott … executive producer (14 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Jordan Sheehan … executive producer (14 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • David W. Zucker … executive producer (14 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Cheryl Eatock … line producer (13 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Abby Ex … consulting producer / co-executive producer (12 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Karen Campbell … co-executive producer / executive producer (10 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Heather Bellson … co-executive producer (10 episodes, 2020).
  • Donald Joh … co-producer (10 episodes, 2020).
  • Teresa Kelly … co-producer (10 episodes, 2020).
  • Jon Kuyper … producer (10 episodes, 2020).
  • Rudi Van As … executive producer: Film Afrika (10 episodes, 2020).
  • Julian Meiojas … co-executive producer (8 episodes, 2022).
  • Mark Huffam … executive producer (6 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Wes Brown … producer (6 episodes, 2022).
  • Lukas Ettlin … co-executive producer (4 episodes, 2022).
  • Terry Gould … producer (4 episodes, 2022).
  • Adam Kolbrenner … executive producer (4 episodes, 2022).
  • Jon Worley … co-executive producer (4 episodes, 2022).
  • Wes Brown … producer (2 episodes, 2022).
  • Marjorie Chodorov … co-producer (2 episodes, 2022).
  • India Osborne … unit producer: AngeleFine Productions (1 episode, 2020).
• Writer(s):
  • Aaron Guzikowski … (creator and writer) (18 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Caitlin Saunders … (story editor) (8 episodes, 2022).
  • Karen Campbell … (written by) (2 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Heather Bellson … (written by) (1 episode, 2020).
  • Sinead Daly … (written by) (1 episode, 2020).
  • Donald Joh … (written by) (1 episode, 2020).
  • Julian Meiojas … (written by) (1 episode, 2022).
  • Jon Worley … (written by) (1 episode, 2022).
• Music:
  • Marc Streitenfeld … (12 episodes, 2020-2022).
  • Ben Frost … (8 episodes, 2020).
• Cinematography:
  • Ross Emery … (5 episodes, 2020).
  • Kolja Brandt … (4 episodes, 2022).
  • Mark Patten … (4 episodes, 2022).
  • Erik Messerschmidt … (3 episodes, 2020).
  • Dariusz Wolski … (2 episodes, 2020).
• Editor(s):
  • Jennifer Barbot … (3 episodes, 2020).
  • Michael Ruscio … (3 episodes, 2020).
  • William Yeh … (3 episodes, 2022).
  • Christopher S. Capp … (2 episodes, 2020).
  • Stephen Philipson … (2 episodes, 2022).
  • Billy Rich … (2 episodes, 2022).
  • Claire Simpson … (1 episode, 2020).
  • Liza Schroeder … (1 episode, 2022).
• Production:
  • Film Afrika Worldwide.
  • Lit Entertainment Group.
  • Scott Free Productions.
  • Studio T.
• Distributor(s):
  • HBO Max (2020) (USA) (video) (VOD).
  • Fox Showcase (2020) (Australia) (TV).
  • Foxtel Now (2020) (Australia) (video) (VOD).
  • HBO 2 (Poland) (TV).
  • HBO 3 (2022) (Poland) (TV).
  • TNT (2020) (Spain) (TV).
  • Yousee (2020) (Denmark) (video).
• Release Date:
  • Series 01: 03 September 2020 to 01 October 2020.
  • Series 02: 03 February 2022 to 17 March 2022.
• Running Time: 42-55 minutes (per episode).
• Rating: 18.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

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