# Brave New World (American TV series)
*Brave New World* is an American science fiction drama television series based on [Aldous Huxley](https://www.edgepedia.org/aldous-huxley)'s 1932 novel of the same name, developed for the [Peacock](https://www.edgepedia.org/peacock-streaming-service) streaming service by [Grant Morrison](https://www.edgepedia.org/grant-morrison) and Brian Taylor with David Wiener as writer and showrunner. Its nine-episode first season premiered on July 15, 2020, the same day Peacock itself launched, and Peacock canceled the series after one season that October.[1](https://www.tvline.com/news/brave-new-world-cancelled-season-2-peacock-1234589086/) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/brave-new-world/) • [3](https://www.thelimelight.app/details/tv/93289-brave-new-world)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Basis | Adaptation of Aldous Huxley's 1932 dystopian novel, with a 21st-century spin[4](https://scifibulletin.com/us-tv/brave-new-world-interview-david-wiener/) |
| Developed by | Grant Morrison and Brian Taylor (creators); David Wiener (writer and showrunner); Owen Harris (director and executive producer)[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/brave-new-world/) • [5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As2sMgm0Szo) |
| Premiere | July 15, 2020, at the launch of Peacock; part of the service's inaugural original slate[1](https://www.tvline.com/news/brave-new-world-cancelled-season-2-peacock-1234589086/) |
| Format | 1 season, 9 episodes; genres sci-fi, drama, thriller[3](https://www.thelimelight.app/details/tv/93289-brave-new-world) |
| Lead cast | Alden Ehrenreich (John the Savage), Jessica Brown Findlay (Lenina Crowne), Harry Lloyd (Bernard Marx), with Nina Sosanya, [Joseph Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/joseph-morgan-actor), Kylie Bunbury, Hannah John-Kamen, Sen Mitsuji, and Demi Moore[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/brave-new-world/) • [5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As2sMgm0Szo) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 54 (mixed or average, 30 reviews); Rotten Tomatoes 47% from 58 critics against a 77% audience score[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/brave-new-world/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/brave_new_world/s01) |
| Cancellation | Peacock declined a second season, announced October 28, 2020[1](https://www.tvline.com/news/brave-new-world-cancelled-season-2-peacock-1234589086/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The series is set in a post-disaster "New London," a seemingly utopian society whose peace and stability depend on abolishing monogamy, privacy, money, family, and history itself. Residents are conditioned from birth at the Hatchery, assigned a letter of the [Greek alphabet](https://www.edgepedia.org/greek-alphabet), and placed in life roles matching their bio-engineered caste, under the maxim that everyone belongs to everyone else. The plot turns on John the Savage ([Alden Ehrenreich](https://www.edgepedia.org/alden-ehrenreich)), a man Bernard Marx ([Harry Lloyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-lloyd)) and Lenina Crowne (Jessica Brown Findlay) met while on vacation in the Savage Lands, whose arrival in New London destabilizes its rules.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/brave-new-world/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/brave_new_world/s01) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/27/brave-new-world-london-reimagined-after-a-disaster) In Peacock's version, the Savage Lands are combined with a theme park where World State tourists watch inhabitants perform reenactments of pre-utopian life, including a staged Black Friday at a big-box store.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/27/brave-new-world-london-reimagined-after-a-disaster)
**A modernized adaptation.** The writers described the show as giving a 21st-century spin to the 1932 book, emphasizing Huxley's ideas on freedom, identity, and colonialism while dispensing with what Vanity Fair called Huxley's "glaringly racist themes and some of the misogyny."[4](https://scifibulletin.com/us-tv/brave-new-world-interview-david-wiener/) • [8](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/brave-new-world-show-review) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/brave-new-world/critic-reviews/) One prominent addition is Indra, an artificial intelligence that literally builds the world of New London, which the show uses as its modernizing conceit.[10](https://www.motionpictures.org/2020/09/brave-new-world-vfx-supervisor-producer-thomas-horton-on-peacocks-ambitious-new-series/)
## Production
The project spent years in development before reaching the screen. In May 2015, [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)'s Amblin Television was reported to be developing a *Brave New World* series for the cable network Syfy, with Universal Cable Productions as studio; the show later moved to Peacock.[11](https://www.thewrap.com/steven-spielbergs-amblin-television-developing-brave-new-world-series-for-syfy/) Amblin remained among the executive producers on the finished series, alongside Morrison, Taylor, and Wiener.[5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As2sMgm0Szo)
**Design and visual effects.** New London's look was designed by the British architecture firm Studio Evans Lane working with an American production design team, on the premise of a city that "might have been built all at once, through some form of artificial intelligence."[7](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/27/brave-new-world-london-reimagined-after-a-disaster) VFX supervisor and producer Thomas Horton oversaw the world-building, using what he described as the largest blue-screen volume he had ever had to fill with CGI, because the AI-designed cityscape was largely rendered digitally behind the actors.[10](https://www.motionpictures.org/2020/09/brave-new-world-vfx-supervisor-producer-thomas-horton-on-peacocks-ambitious-new-series/) Some reviewers felt this heavy reliance on CGI gave the show "the look and feel of a modestly-priced Syfy miniseries."
It was not the first screen adaptation of the novel: NBC had aired made-for-television movies in 1980 (directed by Burt Brinckerhoff) and 1998.[12](https://gizmodo.com/aldous-huxleys-brave-new-world-is-finally-coming-to-tv-1832591934)
## Reception and cancellation
Critics were divided. The show scored 54 on Metacritic, with 10 of 30 critics positive and the remaining 20 mixed, and 47% on Rotten Tomatoes against a much warmer 77% audience score.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/brave-new-world/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/brave_new_world/s01) Positive notices praised the production's wit and visual quality; The Oregonian found it "much more rewarding to watch" than the tonally comparable *Westworld*, and IndieWire called season 1 "an emotionally intelligent thriller" despite criticizing an overcomplicated finale and Alden Ehrenreich's lead performance.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/brave-new-world/critic-reviews/) Common criticisms, echoed by CNN and Newsday, were a reduction in scale, and a plot that started strong but did not end as well; the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted a tonal shift toward dark humor beginning around episode four.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/brave-new-world/critic-reviews/) TIME's review argued the series "owes more to *Westworld* than to Aldous Huxley," finding the characters thin compared with the philosophical novel's idea-driven approach.[13](https://time.com/5863307/brave-new-world-peacock-review/)
On October 28, 2020, Peacock canceled the series after one season. It had been one of the streamer's higher-profile originals and the only homegrown scripted series available at launch.[1](https://www.tvline.com/news/brave-new-world-cancelled-season-2-peacock-1234589086/)
## References
1. ['Brave New World' Cancelled — No Season 2 For Peacock Sci-Fi Drama, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/news/brave-new-world-cancelled-season-2-peacock-1234589086/)
2. [Brave New World Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/brave-new-world/)
3. [Where to watch Brave New World (2020), Limelight](https://www.thelimelight.app/details/tv/93289-brave-new-world)
4. [Brave New World: Interview: David Wiener, Sci-Fi Bulletin](https://scifibulletin.com/us-tv/brave-new-world-interview-david-wiener/)
5. [Brave New World | Official Trailer | Peacock, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As2sMgm0Szo)
6. [Brave New World: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/brave_new_world/s01)
7. [Brave New World: London reimagined after a disaster, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/27/brave-new-world-london-reimagined-after-a-disaster)
8. ['Brave New World' show review: Smart, sexy sci-fi with identity issues, Inverse](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/brave-new-world-show-review)
9. [Brave New World critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/brave-new-world/critic-reviews/)
10. ["Brave New World" VFX Supervisor & Producer Thomas Horton on Peacock's Ambitious New Series, The Credits](https://www.motionpictures.org/2020/09/brave-new-world-vfx-supervisor-producer-thomas-horton-on-peacocks-ambitious-new-series/)
11. [Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television Developing 'Brave New World' Series for Syfy, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/steven-spielbergs-amblin-television-developing-brave-new-world-series-for-syfy/)
12. [Aldous Huxley's Brave New World Is Finally Getting a Modern TV Adaptation, Gizmodo](https://gizmodo.com/aldous-huxleys-brave-new-world-is-finally-coming-to-tv-1832591934)
13. [Peacock's 'Brave New World' Is More 'Westworld' Than Huxley, TIME](https://time.com/5863307/brave-new-world-peacock-review/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Genre and subject-scripted series › Science fiction television series › Dystopian and post-apocalyptic series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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