TV Review: Devs
An Engrossing, Tech-Fueled Nightmare
Writer and director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) brings his brand of heady sci-fi to television in the form of Devs, a joint production between FX and Hulu. As an intimate exploration of the human condition framed by macro science fiction, Devs keeps Garland’s signature style intact in a serialized and thrilling way. Three episodes watched for review, minor spoilers ahead…
A young coder conducts a Turing test on the world’s most sophisticated android. A guilt-wracked biologist ventures into the heart of a mysterious cosmic anomaly. Writer and director Alex Garland loves to play in the sandbox of macro science fiction; a novelist turned filmmaker, his last two directorial efforts - 2014’s Ex Machina and 2018’s Annihilation - have tackled big ideas such as artificial intelligence, the singularity, and alien mutation. And while Garland excels at exploring large-scale concepts and reality-shattering sci-fi, he rarely leaves behind the most crucial aspect of effective storytelling: the human quotient. Where Ex Machina explored the birth of true artificial intelligence, it also served as a thoughtful examination of free will, control, and individuality; where Annihilation dared to venture into the reaches of the cosmic unknown, it also grappled with human nature’s gravitation towards self-destruction. His new show Devs, premiering on Hulu and in association with FX Networks, is no different - a fascinating look at a mysterious tech company and its super-secretive quantum mechanics project, the series combines brainy sci-fi with some very uncomfortable truths about the human condition.
Devs centers around Lily Chan (Sonoya Mizuno, Ex Machina, Maniac), a computer engineer for Silicon Valley tech giant Amaya. Run by the enigmatic Forest (Nick Offerman, tapping into equal parts menace and charisma), Amaya functions like Google on steroids - its many divisions serve as digits in every figurative pie of tech capitalism, while its steely-eyed head of security Kenton (Zach Grenier) lords over the campus, keeping a particularly tight lid on the company’s prized and secretive Devs program. When Lily’s boyfriend Sergei (Karl Glusman), who also works at Amaya, impresses Forest and is inducted into the Devs program, Lily is happy for him. However, her elation is short-lived: On his first day at Devs, Sergei discovers the true, earth-shattering nature of the program, and goes missing soon after. As Lily struggles to uncover the truth behind Sergei’s disappearance, she’s brought face to face with cutting edge quantum mechanics, existential revelations, and the murky depths of corporate espionage.
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A fascinating look at a mysterious tech company and its super-secretive quantum mechanics project, the series combines brainy sci-fi with some very uncomfortable truths about the human condition.”
Devs is a well-oiled, clockwork beast; withholding but deliberate, mysterious but transparent, Garland’s new series works as the best version of a “mystery box” show. While some might complain of its slow-drip storytelling, the narrative breadcrumbs that it leaves behind in each new episode are plenty enough to keep hawk-eyed theorists and sci-fi buffs engaged. And as a secondary weapon in its arsenal, Devs employs a sinister and unsettling atmosphere, bolstered by a discordant and synth-heavy soundtrack. As Lily falls deeper and deeper into the Amaya rabbit hole, the show’s sense of foreboding and unease seep into its every corner. From Amaya’s cold and sterile campus to the genuinely creepy statue of Forest’s late daughter (the namesake of his company), it’s difficult to shake the feeling that something is very, very wrong.
The show is also remarkably well-balanced. Both narrative threads are equally compelling: Lily’s investigation into the mysteries behind Amaya is gripping noir that works great as a detective story, and the show’s B-plot within the Devs department is just as entertaining. Following a trio of developers (Allison Pill, Stephen McKinley Harrison, Cailee Spaeny) as they work on Forest’s top-secret quantum computing program, there’s plenty of heady sci-fi to unpack as they delve into concepts such as the many-worlds hypothesis, simulation theory, and perhaps even time travel with their revolutionary project.
The cast of Devs does a great deal of heavy lifting as well. Nick Offerman is routinely fantastic as Amaya CEO Forest, impressively toggling between ruthless and soulfully tender; it’s a performance that sells without reservation that this man is brilliant and charismatic, but also undoubtedly dangerous. On the other hand, however, it takes a little while to warm to Sonoya Mizuno’s as Lily, but even then, she overcomes a little woodenness in the first two episodes to really come into a killer performance in episode three. The Devs team provides a good amount of caustic wit and comedic relief, and the chemistry between the three provide some of the biggest laughs in an otherwise bleak show.
Devs is unmistakably an Alex Garland joint. Making a seamless transition from feature filmmaking to television, Garland has applied his brand of unsettling sci-fi to the streaming model, producing one of the most engrossing shows I’ve seen in recent memory. And while its moroseness may threaten to swallow the narrative whole, the parts of the whole combine for thrilling television and a true boon to fans of science fiction. A gripping detective story wrapped up in a tech-induced nightmare, Devs is one to watch.
GRADE: A-
Episode 9: “Devs”
This week, we're talking about Alex Garland's new television miniseries, Devs. Listen as we discuss this sci-fi mind-bender using our very rudimentary knowledge of quantum mechanics. Does Garland's latest live up to the lofty standards of Ex Machina and Annihilation? Tune in and find out! As usual, SPOILERS!
