Roush Review: ‘Beacon 23’ Beckons Sci-Fi Fans to a Remote Space Lighthouse

Beacon 23

Matt's Rating:

Claustrophobia is a common side effect in the world-building of sci-fi writer Hugh Howey, whose postapocalyptic breakthrough Silo (filmed for Apple TV+) unfolds in a massive underground bunker. In the rather less compelling Beacon 23, based on a collection of his short stories, the setting is out of this world, the action largely contained within a futuristic lighthouse at the edge of the galaxy.

This is where Halan (Homecoming’s Stephan James), a soldier who may have gone AWOL, rescues the enigmatic Aster (Game of Thrones’ steely Lena Headey), sole survivor of a crashed vessel who appears to be an agent of the Interstellar Space Authority. There’s an immediate distrust between the two, inflamed by the facility’s gabby resident AI, named Bart (voiced by Wade Bogert-O’Brien), who accuses Halan of having murdered the most recent beacon keeper (a hilariously flamboyant Stephen Root).

Why is Halan even there? What’s Aster’s story, and why is she obsessed with a cache of glowing space rocks? These mysteries will keep genre fans intrigued over eight episodes. Flashback installments illuminating the beacon’s history, including an especially strong guest performance by Barbara Hershey, prevent the series from feeling too repetitive.

“No one escapes Beacon 23 with their sanity,” warns Aster’s personal AI, Harmony (Natasha Mumba), late in the season, which ends on the sort of mystical cliffhanger that could drive viewers mad. Good news, then, for sci-fi buffs that a second season has already been filmed.

Beacon 23, Series Premiere, Sunday, November 12, 9/8c, MGM+

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