''Amazing Stories'' is an American

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

based on the 1985 television series of the same name created by Steven Spielberg. The series is produced for

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

and its executive producers for the series include Spielberg,

Edward Kitsis Edward Lawrence Kitsis (born February 4, 1971) is an American television writer and producer, best known for his work with his writing partner Adam Horowitz on the popular ABC drama series ''Lost'' and '' Once Upon a Time''. Early life and e ...

Adam Horowitz Adam Horowitz (born December 4, 1971) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is known for co-creating the ABC fairy tale drama series '' Once Upon a Time'' with his writing partner Edward Kitsis. Days after the show ended its seven-year ...

, Darryl Frank, and Justin Falvey. It premiered on March 6, 2020. The name ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...

'' is taken from the first science fiction magazine, which was launched in 1926 and has continued in various formats for decades.

Episodes

Production

Development

On October 23, 2015, it was announced that

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

was developing a reboot of the 1985 anthology television series ''

'' created by Steven Spielberg. Bryan Fuller was expected to write the pilot episode and executive produce alongside Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...

. At that time, Spielberg was not expected to be involved with the series. On October 10, 2017, it was announced that

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

had given the production a ten-episode series order. It was further announced that Amblin Television would serve as an additional production company for the series. On February 7, 2018, it was reported that Fuller had stepped down as showrunner of the series over creative differences. It was unclear as to whether Fuller would have a different role in the production going forward but it was clarified that he had not delivered a script to Apple before his departure. Later that day, it was also reported that executive producer

Hart Hanson Hart Hanson (born July 26, 1957) is an American-born television writer and producer, as well as an author. His family moved to Canada when he was a child. He received a B.A. from the University of Toronto and a MFA from the University of Britis ...

was exiting the series as well. On May 22, 2018, it was announced that ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in t ...

'' creators

and

had joined the production as executive producers and showrunners. On December 4, 2018, it was reported that

Mark Mylod Mark Mylod is a British television and film director and executive producer. He is known for his work on the television series ''Succession'' and '' Shameless'', as well as for directing the horror-comedy film '' The Menu'' (2022). Career Mar ...

would direct an episode of the series executive produced by

Edward Burns Edward Fitzgerald Burns (born January 29, 1968) is an American actor, producer, writer, and director best known for appearing in several films including ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), '' 15 Minutes'' (2001), ''Life or Something Like It'' (200 ...

Casting

On December 4, 2018, it was announced that

Austin Stowell Austin Stowell (born December 24, 1984) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in ''Dolphin Tale'', its sequel ''Dolphin Tale 2'', ''Love and Honor'' (2013), ''Whiplash'' (2014), and as Francis Gary Powers in Steven Spielberg's '' Bridg ...

, and

Kerry Bishé Kerry Lynne Bishé (born May 1, 1984) is a New Zealand-born American actress, known for her lead role as Donna Clark in the AMC television series '' Halt and Catch Fire''. Bishé played the lead/narrator role in the final season of the ABC medi ...

would guest star together in an episode. On October 11, 2019, it was announced that

Robert Forster Robert Wallace Forster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019) was an American actor, known for his roles as John Cassellis in '' Medium Cool'' (1969), Captain Dan Holland in ''The Black Hole'' (1979), Abdul Rafai in '' The Delta Force'' (1986 ...

would appear on the show and would be his final role after his death in the episode "Dynaman and the Volt." On January 19, 2020, it was announced that

Dylan O'Brien Dylan Rhodes O'Brien (born August 26, 1991) is an American actor. His first major role was Stiles Stilinski on the MTV supernatural drama ''Teen Wolf'' (2011–2017), where he was a series regular during all six seasons. He achieved further pr ...

Victoria Pedretti Victoria Pedretti (born March 23, 1995) is an American actress. Her accolades include an MTV Award and nominations for two Critics' Choice Awards and a Saturn Award. Pedretti rose to prominence for her work in the Netflix anthology series '' ...

Josh Holloway Josh Lee Holloway (born July 20, 1969) is an American actor best known for his roles as James "Sawyer" Ford on the television show ''Lost'' and as Will Bowman on the science fiction drama ''Colony''. Most recently he had a recurring role in sea ...

, and

Sasha Alexander Sasha Alexander (born Suzana Drobnjakovic on May 17, 1973), is an American actress and TV director. She played Gretchen Witter in ''Dawson's Creek'' and has acted in films including '' Yes Man'' (2008) and ''He's Just Not That Into You'' (20 ...

would also appear on the show.

Filming

Principal photography for the series began in November 2018 in Georgia, US. Filming took place in various locations around the state that month including Alto,

Forsyth Forsyth may refer to: Places Oceania * Forsyth Island, Queensland, Australia, one of the West Wellesley Islands (aka Forsyth Islands) * Forsyth Island, Tasmania, Australia * Forsyth Island (New Zealand), in the outer Marlborough Sounds of South I ...

, Griffin,

Dobbins Air Reserve Base Dobbins Air Reserve Base or Dobbins ARB is a United States Air Force reserve air base located in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb about northwest of Atlanta. Originally known as Dobbins Air Force Base, it was named in honor of Captain Charles M ...

, and

Downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county ...

. In December 2018, the production was shooting in areas such as

Sandy Springs Sandy Springs is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia and an inner ring suburb of Atlanta. The city's population was 108,080 at the 2020 census, making it Georgia's seventh-largest city. It is the site of several corporate headquarters, i ...

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

, Kirkwood, and

Flowery Branch Flowery Branch is a city in Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 9,391. It is part of the Gainesville, Georgia metropolitan area, and lies on the shores of Lake Lanier. History Flowery Branch wa ...

. In January 2019, the series was working out of locations in Atlanta including the Starlight Drive-In Theatre,

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

's Briarcliff campus and the Centennial Olympic Park.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the series has an approval rating of 40% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 5.07/10. The website's critical consensus states, "While ''Amazing Stories aspirations are admirable, it feels more like a dated retread than a heartfelt reboot." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". ''Amazing Stories'' has been nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Television Presentation (under 10 episodes).

References

External links

* * {{Apple TV+ 2020 American television series debuts 2020s American drama television series 2020s American science fiction television series 2020s American anthology television series English-language television shows American fantasy television series Apple TV+ original programming Television series by ABC Studios Television series by Amblin Entertainment Television series by Universal Television Television series reboots Television shows filmed in Georgia (U.S. state)