Hulu releases official trailer for The First
Hulu released the first official trailer for its forthcoming science-fiction drama The First and it makes the series look somewhat promising.
The first big project from House of Cards creator Beau Willimon since leaving the hit Netflix program in 2016, The First will chronicle humanities first attempt to establish a colony on Mars. The series will be led by Academy Award winner Sean Penn and its cast is filled out by Natascha McElhone (Designated Survivor), LisaGay Hamilton (The Practice), Oded Fehr (The Mummy) and Keiko Agena (Gilmore Girls).
As opposed to the show’s Terrence Malick-influenced teaser trailer which was released in June, the official trailer is rich in detail. It shows that the series will not only cover the mission to Mars but also the lives of family members that are being left behind.
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The trailer also suggests that The First’s space travelers will bring it a great deal of psychological baggage to the Red Planet. Some of which is due to the stress and separation associated with being astronauts and some of which is due to general human relationship issues. For instance, it looks Sean Penn’s character has a daughter who will run into some difficulties with the law. That said, the trailer does end on an optimistic note with McElhone intoning that the five-person crew will “fulfill the destiny of 8 billion.”
Given the pedigree of the series’ cast and crew, The First could easily become the next big prestige drama. Unless he gives a performance of unprecedented awfulness, Sean Penn will almost certainly receive a slew of award nominations. And if nothing else, the show will look amazing. Judging by its cinematic production value, Hulu gave Willimon and his collaborators a budget to match their ambitions. Additionally, IndieWire reported that some episodes of the show will feature cinematography by Adam Stone (Loving, Midnight Special).
However, at first glance, the show doesn’t look all that intriguing. It looks very similar to other astronauts in trouble fiction like Interstellar and The Martian, with a bit of Apollo 13 and The Right Stuff pragmatic optimism mixed in. And there doesn’t appear to be a high concept hook to differentiate the series from its thematic predecessors.
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On the other hand, the fact that The First has a hopeful tone that will set it apart from the current prestige drama landscape. As opposed to great but morally ambiguous shows like Better Call Saul, Westworld and The Sinner, The First’s focus on good people pursuing a noble goal. After two decades of Golden Age TV detailing the very worst human beings are capable of, a show about humanity’s potential to transcend its limitations might be a refreshing change of pace.
Will you check out The First when it debuts? Leave your answer in the comments below.
The full first season of The First will debut on Hulu on Sept. 14.