Solos (TV series)

Solos is an American dramatic anthology streaming television miniseries created by David Weil and produced by Amazon Studios. It stars Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Helen Mirren, Uzo Aduba, Anthony Mackie, Constance Wu, Dan Stevens and Nicole Beharie. The seven-episode series premiered on May 21, 2021 on Amazon Prime Video in UK, United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, India, New Zealand and later that year in additional territories.

Solos
Official poster
Genre
Created byDavid Weil
Written by
Directed by
Narrated byMorgan Freeman
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes7
Production
Executive producers
  • David Weil
  • Sam Taylor-Johnson
  • Laura Lancaster
Producers
  • Marc Sondheimer
  • Pixie Wespiser
Running time21–32 minutes
Production companyAmazon Studios
Release
Original releaseMay 21, 2021 (2021-05-21)

Premise

The series ponders what it means to be human, arguing that we are connected to others through shared experiences, even in our most isolated moments.[2]

Cast
  • Morgan Freeman as Stuart, a patient in an Alzheimer's facility, later revealed to be a memory thief/junkie (by either hacking or by force). His confirmed thefts are Leah, Tom, Peg, Sasha, and Otto, whose memories he stole when Otto was a child, amongst hundreds of other victims. Freeman's character narrates the beginning of each episode and appears in his own.
  • Anne Hathaway as Leah, a scientist in 2024 trying to attempt time travel using "the Cauchy horizon"
  • Anthony Mackie as Tom, an angry businessman who is later revealed to be the adoptive father of Peg. He also plays a robot designed to replace him when he dies.
  • Helen Mirren as Peg, a senior citizen who joins a space program because she felt invisible. Tom is her adoptive father.
  • Uzo Aduba as Sasha, a woman who has lived in her smart house for 20 years and thinks it is trying to trick her to leave.
  • Constance Wu as Jenny, a self-loathing, self-destructive woman who is in a waiting room and doesn't know why
  • Nicole Beharie as Nera, a pregnant woman who gives birth during a blizzard lockdown to a son who ages quickly
  • Dan Stevens as Otto, an NHS worker who steals a cure for Stuart to repair his Alzheimer's, later revealed that Stuart stole all his memories as a child on the day his mother died ("Stuart"). Stevens also voices Tym, the AI Space Shuttle in Peg's episode

Co-starring
  • Hannah Dunne as the voice of Leah's sister Rachel ("Leah")
  • Carol Smolinsky as the voice of Leah's mother ("Leah")
  • Jack Quaid as the voice of Zen, Sasha's smart house ("Sasha")
  • Sanaa Lathan as Nia, Sasha's best friend ("Sasha")
  • Chris Diamantopoulos as the technician downloading Jenny's memories ("Jenny")
  • James Monroe Iglehart as the voice of the supervising technician overseeing the procedure ("Jenny")
  • Jacob is played by McCarrie McCausland at 15, Sephen Gray at 2, Percy Daggs IV at 6, and Andre Robinson at 11 ("Nera")

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"LEAH"Zach BraffDavid WeilMay 21, 2021 (2021-05-21)
Leah, a physicist, finally succeeds in communicating with future, but her future self attempts to trick her into believing it failed. Leah's future self deeply regrets using time travel to escape the pain of watching her mother die. To avoid the same regret, Leah sends a warning to her past self, knowing it will cause her present and future selves to cease to exist.
2"TOM"David WeilDavid WeilMay 21, 2021 (2021-05-21)
Tom, a terminally ill businessman, purchases a robot duplicate to replace him when he dies. Tom clashes with the robot at first, put off by his own negative personality traits, but they form a bond as Tom talks about his family and how much he loves them.
3"PEG"Sam Taylor-JohnsonDavid WeilMay 21, 2021 (2021-05-21)
Peg, a senior citizen, volunteers to explore space. She is the adoptive daughter of Tom, whose robot replaced him when he died, but she and her brother were raised by her grandparents in England. She signed up because she felt invisible and too scared to live her life. After resolving to live her remaining years without fear, she asks to return to Earth.
4"SASHA"David WeilTori SampsonMay 21, 2021 (2021-05-21)
Sasha has lived alone in a smart home for 20 years following an apocalyptic pandemic. Although her home's AI insists it is safe to go outside, Sasha refuses, preferring the safety and predictability of her house. Sasha refuses an ultimatum by the home automation company, and the AI shuts itself off.
5"JENNY"David WeilDavid WeilMay 21, 2021 (2021-05-21)
Bored in a waiting room that she can not remember entering, Jenny describes her unsatisfying marriage and how she befriended her neighbor's child in a failed attempt to seduce her neighbor. After she miscarried at a boring party, Jenny became drunk and fled. She is horrified to remember that she struck and killed her neighbor's child, a memory that is being stored by technicians.
6"NERA"Tiffany JohnsonStacy Osei-KuffourMay 21, 2021 (2021-05-21)
A pregnant woman named Nera has a home birth. She worriedly calls her doctor, whose cryptic warnings are cut off by a bad connection. Her son, Jacob, rapidly ages, becoming years older every few minutes. The two at first distrust each other, but Nera bonds with Jacob after describing her lonely childhood as an abandoned baby.
7"STUART"Sam Taylor-JohnsonDavid WeilMay 21, 2021 (2021-05-21)
Stuart is a patient at a home for Alzheimer's patients. Otto visits him, restores his memories, and says Stuart has stolen memories from hundreds of people, including all memories of his mother. Stuart wanted happy memories to replace his regrets. Otto takes back these stolen memories but leaves Stuart with the memory of their meeting.

Production

Amazon Studios greenlighted the series in October 2020.[3] In February 2021, the title was announced. Weil is executive producer, and Laura Lancaster, Sam Taylor-Johnson and Pixie Wespiser produced. Weil makes his directorial debut directing three episodes and Taylor-Johnson directs two. Other directors for the series include Zach Braff and Tiffany Johnson.[4] The cast was announced in February 2021,[4] and their characters' names were announced in April 2021.[5] Principal photography took place in Manhattan Beach, California from October 9 to November 19, 2020.[6]

Release

The series debuted on Amazon Prime Video on May 21, 2021, for the UK, United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, India, New Zealand. Other territories debuted later that year.[2]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the miniseries holds an approval rating of 47% based on 30 critic reviews and an average rating of 5.85/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A star-studded cast and a smattering of truly lovely moments can't save Solos from feeling stranded in space."[7] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100 based on 14 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]

References
  1. "Amazon's new TV show gives actors 'nowhere to hide.' Here's how they did it". Los Angeles Times. May 21, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  2. Lezmi, Joshua (April 19, 2021). "'Solos,' Amazon's New Anthology Series, Debuts New Images with Anne Hathaway, Anthony Mackie, and More". Collider. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (October 20, 2020). "David Weil Sci-Fi Anthology Series Greenlighted By Amazon". Deadline. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  4. Petski, Denise (February 1, 2020). "Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Helen Mirren, Uzo Aduba Among 8 Cast In David Weil's Amazon Series 'Solos'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  5. Petski, Denise (April 19, 2021). "David Weil's Series 'Solos' With Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Helen Mirren & More Gets Premiere On Amazon". Deadline. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  6. "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production - Solos". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  7. "Solos: Limited Series (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  8. "Solos". Metacritic. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
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