Brave New World (Peacock) S01: C

This is yet another streaming service that just launched, this time an NBC companion. Yes the peacock network. The premise of this show seemed interesting enough for me to give it a chance. I don't even remember when was the last time that an NBC show caught my attention. And although this show did, at the first episode I remembered why I am so picky with network shows.

Brave New World is set in New London, a city above the original London, after an apocalypse and now a utopia. Everyone is happy, everyone has its place, everyone is free to enjoy their romantic and sex life, as long as you are on a happy pill, one that would balance your levels, neutralizing negative emotions, such as anger, sadness and fear. Another thing prohibited monogamy. Also another future where a class system is pretty much still in place, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon. No one seems to be against this system, from your childhood they teach you your place at this society, how everyone is inferior than an Alpha and should obey and basically let them abuse you. Until of course John a savage (played by Alden Ehrenreich) arrives to New London as a refugee, only to discover that he is in fact an Alpha. Savages are people that live outside New London and therefor not under that class system.

Created by Grant Morrison who is responsible of series like Happy! and various DC Comics video titles. Brian Taylor who also worked on Happy! and David Wiener who worked on Homecoming. This seemed to be a good start for Peacock, but I'm afraid it wasn't.

This seemed as a rejected pilot for a network company back in the mid, late 00's, when everyone was looking for the new Lost. A sci-fi production that would blow the audience minds by their futuristic looks, better blue screens and a very different story telling, whatever that means.

I am not going to lie to you, the whole thing about a society depending on pills to be happy is extremely close to where we are right now, or a not so unbelievable future of human kind. But still that monogamy rule seems useless to the story and just a cheap way to add extended orgy scenes throughout the season. Sex might have been something that shocked audiences back in the 00's but you have to be smarter or not smarter than that nowadays to make it work.

Also on a side note about all of this orgy and sex scenes. For a streaming platform that doesn't really have to follow the censorship rules as television networks, they were very censored, but not only that, they were also sexist, most of the women were naked, bums and breast for everyone, but less than a handful of male actors showed their bums. Yes this series is not as innovating as they thought they were. Again maybe back in 2000.

Most of the cast did whatever they could do with what they were given, no complains on bad acting, just an emotionless sci-fi series that tried way too hard to be different. Also Demi Moore is in this, yeah I couldn't even believe it and yeah her character might be importan in the book, but not in the series.

For me it seems that the same strategy that left network television out of the game, in terms of captivating audiences, after all the lack of rating of a TV series is not only thanks to streaming, but also to lack of interesting stories and production quality. All of this is present in Brave New World a series that might have been planned for NBC but they decided to use it to push their new streaming platform, but following NBC rules and standards.

Sorry but this series just didn't do it for me.