Matt Reeves is best-known for brilliantly reimagining one of cinema’s greatest franchises with his 2022 movie The Batman, but sci-fi fans will appreciate his Prime Video series Tales from the Loop even more. This mindbending exploration of science’s ability to make the impossible seem possible is an overlooked masterpiece that deserves a far bigger audience.

While The Batman 2 will come out long before any potential follow-up season for Tales from the Loop, the show’s eight extant episodes are still a treasure trove of beautifully rendered sci-fi delights in and of themselves. Matt Reeves was heavily involved in developing the series from its early beginnings, along with creator and writer Nathaniel Halpern.

Because its single season didn’t make much of a splash upon its release in April 2020, most viewers have probably missed this Prime Video sci-fi show altogether. Now is the perfect time to discover it, though, with retrofuturistic science fiction currently all the rage on both the small screen and the big screen alike.

Matt Reeves Is One Of The Producers Of Tales From The Loop

Tales from the Loop is a sci-fi masterpiece co-produced by Matt Reeves, alongside the likes of Never Let Me Go director Mark Romanek. Created by Nathaniel Halpern on the basis of Simon Stålenhag’s narrative art book of the same name, it tells the story of a fictional town in Ohio which is home to a center for experimental physics.

We can see the influence of Reeves in the show’s exquisite visual effects, which render futuristic phenomena like robots, android, and time portals in tactile and accessible forms, akin to the director’s Planet of the Apes movies and horror film, Cloverfield. The result is a deeply affecting drama which reveals as much humanity as it does about science.

Tales From The Loop Is An Incredibly Underrated Sci-Fi Show

One of the most underrated sci-fi shows on Prime Video, Tales from the Loop is as emotionally powerful as anything else on the streaming platform, while taking a profoundly philosophical approach to some of the sci-fi genre’s most fundamental themes. Much like the artwork it’s based on, the series emphasizes the intricate beauty of artificial phenomena.

Tales from the Loop counterposes science to nature according to the age-old traditions of the sci-fi genre. Yet, it does so in such understated and delicate fashion that we can also infer the potential for harmony between the two from the show’s moving personal stories. The conclusion we draw is that humanity is the ultimate bridge between nature and innovation.

Why Tales From The Loop Season 2 Hasn’t Happened Yet

Despite the rare brilliance of the show’s first season, we’re still waiting for Tales from the Loop season 2, almost six years later. Sadly, it doesn’t look like materializing anytime soon. The show was quietly canceled by Prime Video following its initial release, due to relatively low viewing figures.

Tales from the Loop is certainly capable of developing a cult following in the coming years, which could drive interest in a belated follow-up season. However, for now it remains an eight-episode hidden gem on Prime Video, as well as arguably the most underappreciated production Matt Reeves has ever been involved in.

Release Date

2020 – 2020

Network

Prime Video

Directors

Andrew Stanton, Dearbhla Walsh, Jodie Foster, So Yong Kim, Charlie McDowell, Ti West

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  Robert Nahum Allen

  Logan the Bartender