''Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams'', or simply ''Electric Dreams'', is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

television

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

based on the works of

Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his l ...

. The series consists of ten standalone 50-minute episodes based on Dick's work, written by British and American writers. It premiered on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

in the United Kingdom on 17 September 2017, and in the United States on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

on 12 January 2018.

Production

Development

The series was initially planned to run on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...

and

, before AMC pulled out, leading Channel 4 to announce the series. In February 2017, it was announced that Amazon Video had bought the U.S. rights to the series. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television with

Ronald D. Moore Ronald Dowl Moore (born July 5, 1964) is an American screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for his work on ''Star Trek''; on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, for which he won a Peabody Award and an Em ...

, Michael Dinner, and Bryan Cranston serving as executive producers. Cranston also stars in one of the episodes. The episode writers include Ronald D. Moore, Michael Dinner,

Tony Grisoni Tony Grisoni (born 28 October 1952) is a British screenwriter. He lives in London. His first feature film, ''Queen of Hearts'', directed by Jon Amiel, won the Grand Prix at the 1990 Festival du Film de Paris. Life and career He has co-written se ...

, Jack Thorne,

Matthew Graham Matthew Graham is a British television writer, and the co-creator of the BBC/Kudos (production company), Kudos Film and Television science fiction series ''Life on Mars (UK TV series), Life on Mars'', which debuted in 2006 on BBC One and has re ...

, David Farr,

Dee Rees Diandrea Rees (born February 7, 1977) is an American screenwriter and director. She is known for her feature films '' Pariah'' (2011), '' Bessie'' (2015), ''Mudbound'' (2017), and '' The Last Thing He Wanted'' (2020). Rees has also written and di ...

, and

Travis Beacham Travis Beacham (born 1980) is an American screenwriter, best known for writing and co-writing the films ''Dog Days of Summer'' (2005), '' Pacific Rim'' (2013), '' Clash of the Titans'' (2010), and proposing the concept for the Amazon Prime fan ...

. Jack Thorne wrote the teleplay for "The Commuter", based on the short story of the same name, with Tom Harper directing the episode.

Casting

In March 2017,

Timothy Spall Timothy Leonard Spall (born 27 February 1957) is an English actor and presenter. He became a household name in the UK after appearing as Barry Spencer Taylor in the 1983 ITV comedy-drama series ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''. Spall performed in '' S ...

joined the episode "The Commuter", starring opposite Anthony Boyle and

Tuppence Middleton Tuppence Middleton (born 21 February 1987) is an English actress known for her performances in film, television and theatre. In 2010, she was nominated for the ''London Evening Standard'' Film Awards for Most Promising Newcomer. Middleton appea ...

. The following month, Jack Reynor and Benedict Wong were cast to lead the episode "Impossible Planet", alongside a supporting cast including Geraldine Chaplin and Georgina Campbell. Also in April,

Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi ( ,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself, some may insist that his pronunciation of his own name is "wrong" because it does not match the original Italian pronunciation as well. It is not uncommon for people to pronou ...

was cast in "Crazy Diamond", and

Greg Kinnear Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''As Good as It Gets'' (1997). Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, including ''Sabrina'' (199 ...

and Mireille Enos joined the episode "The Father Thing". On 3 May 2017, Anna Paquin and Terrence Howard were cast in the episode "Real Life", with a supporting cast including

Rachelle Lefevre Rachelle Marie Lefèvre (, ; born February 1, 1979) is a Canadian actress. She has starred in the television series ''Big Wolf on Campus'' and had recurring roles in ''What About Brian'', ''Boston Legal'', and '' Swingtown''. She played the vamp ...

, Jacob Vargas, Sam Witwer,

Guy Burnet Guy Burnet (born 8 August 1983) is a British theatre, film and television actor. Early life Burnet was born in London, England. He attended Holland Park School where his interest in drama first developed, taking an A level in the subject. Befo ...

and Lara Pulver. Also in May, Richard Madden and

Holliday Grainger Holliday Clark Grainger (born 27 March 1988), also credited as Holly Grainger, is an English screen and stage actress. Some of her prominent roles are Kate Beckett in the BAFTA award-winning children's series ''Roger and the Rottentrolls'', Luc ...

were announced to star in "The Hood Maker". Later that month,

Vera Farmiga Vera Ann Farmiga ( ; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress who is best known for portraying paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films '' The Conjuring'' (2013), '' The Conjuring 2'' (2016), '' Annabelle Co ...

and

Mel Rodriguez Melvin Dimas Rodríguez (born June 12, 1973) is an American actor, best known for starring as Nurse Patsy de la Serda on the HBO comedy '' Getting On'', as Todd Rodriguez on the Fox comedy '' The Last Man on Earth'', and as Ernie Gomes on the S ...

were cast to lead the episode "Kill All Others", with

Jason Mitchell Jason Mitchell (born January 5, 1987) is an American actor. Mitchell started his career acting in minor roles in films such as the action-thriller '' Contraband'' (2012), and the neo-noir ''Broken City'' (2013). He is best known for portraying ...

, Glenn Morshower and Sarah Baker also appearing. Finally in May, Janelle Monáe and

Juno Temple Juno Temple (born 21 July 1989) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films ''Notes on a Scandal'' (2006), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008), ''The Three Musketeers'' (2011), ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), '' Mag ...

joined the cast of the episode "Autofac" alongside

Jay Paulson Joseph Andrew "Jay" Hughes Paulson is an American actor. Personal life Paulson was born in New York City, where he lived until 1984, when his father moved the family to Los Angeles. Paulson graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in History and is a li ...

and David Lyons. In June 2017,

Maura Tierney Maura Therese Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on the sitcom ''NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), Abby Lockhart on the medical drama '' ER'' (1999–2009), ...

and

Annalise Basso Annalise Nicole Basso (born December 2, 1998) is an American actress. She currently stars in ''Snowpiercer'' (2020). She has starred in the films '' Bedtime Stories'' (2008), ''Love Takes Wing'' (2009), '' Standing Up'' (2013), ''Oculus'' (2013) ...

were cast to star in "Safe and Sound", and Bryan Cranston was confirmed to appear in the episode "Human Is" with Essie Davis, Liam Cunningham and

Ruth Bradley Sharon Ruth Bradley is an Irish actress. She is best known for playing Emily Merchant in ''Primeval'' (2011) and Karen Voss in ''Humans'' (2015–18). She has also had recurring roles in ''Legend'' (6 episodes, 2006), ''The Innocence Project'' ...

Filming

Five episodes were filmed in England and five were filmed in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The fourth episode of the series, "Crazy Diamond", filmed in two locations in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England; the Dungeness estate was used for various exterior settings and driving scenes, and the Cheyne Court wind farm was used as the checkpoint Sally passes on her way in and out of the estate.

Music

Harry Gregson-Williams was hired to compose the main titles theme music and score an episode, and

Ólafur Arnalds Ólafur Arnalds (; born 3 November 1986) is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbær, Iceland. He mixes strings and piano with loops and beats, a sound ranging from ambient/electronic to atmospheric pop. He is also the ...

and Cristobal Tapia de Veer were also hired to score multiple episodes each.

Brian Transeau Brian Wayne Transeau (born October 4, 1971), known by his initials as BT, is an American musician, DJ, singer, songwriter, composer and audio engineer. An artist in the electronic music genre, he is credited as a pioneer of the trance and intell ...

and Mark Isham scored music for the episode titled "Autofac", while Bear McCreary scored music for three episodes in the first season.

Sequels

Amazon intended the production as a limited series. Some sources say Sony TV is attempting to find a new home for the drama.

Episodes

Each episode is based on a short story by Dick. The episode sequences are different on

and Amazon Video.

Reception

On review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the series has an approval rating of 73% based on reviews from 52 critics, with an average rating of 6.06/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Electric Dreams''s dreamy production values and optimistic tone help make up for a lack of originality and tonal cohesion – and save the show from feeling like just another '' Black Mirror'' clone."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

assigned the first season a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

Broadcast

The series was greenlit for production by Channel 4 in the UK and Amazon Video in the United States. The first six episodes were screened weekly on Channel 4 in 2017, with the rest premiering on 12 January 2018 on Amazon, when the entire season was released on Amazon Streaming worldwide (except UK, Canada and Australia). On Amazon, the episode order is sequenced differently from the UK broadcast. ''Electric Dreams'' was broadcast on

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

in Canada, and on the streaming service

Stan Stan or STAN may refer to: People * Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name ** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy * Stan (surname), a Romanian surname * Stan! (born 1964), American author ...

in Australia.

References

External links

* {{Philip K. Dick adaptations 2010s American science fiction television series 2010s British science fiction television series 2017 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings Amazon Prime Video original programming 2010s British anthology television series British science fiction television shows Channel 4 television dramas Dystopian television series English-language television shows Science fiction anthology television series Television shows based on works by Philip K. Dick Television series by Anonymous Content Television series by Amazon Studios Television series by Left Bank Pictures Television series by Sony Pictures Television