''Extinct'' is a

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

television series directed by

Ryan Little Ryan Little (born 28 March 1971) is a Canadian film director, cinematographer and producer. He is perhaps best known for his 2003 film '' Saints and Soldiers.'' His work has a broad range of genres including war films and children's subjects. ...

and written by

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...

and

Aaron Johnston Aaron Johnston is an American author, comics writer, and film producer. Johnston was an associate producer on the movie ''Ender's Game'', including a cameo appearance as an International Fleet officer. He co-authored with Orson Scott Card the Fi ...

. The series was picked up by

BYUtv BYU TV (stylized as BYUtv) is a television channel, founded in 2000, which is owned and operated as a part of Brigham Young University (BYU). The channel, available through cable and satellite distributors in the United States, produces a number ...

for ten episodes and premiered October 1, 2017. It is the network's second scripted television series, the first being ''

Granite Flats ''Granite Flats'' is an American television series, the first original scripted drama series produced by BYUtv. The show is set in a small Colorado town in the early 1960s during the Cold War, and follows several of the town's citizens as mysterio ...

''. The project was originally written to be made into a film, but BYUtv producer Adam Abel was interested in making it into a television series, and Card and Johnston re-wrote the scripts to comply with the formats. The series was cancelled after one season.

Premise

The series takes place 400 years after the human race has been exterminated by aliens. It follows Ezra, Abram, and Feena who have been revived by an alien faction for the purposes of restarting human civilization. The group cultivates their relationship with the alien restorers while dealing with conflicts from those genocidal aliens which destroyed humanity.

Cast

Main

Chad Michael Collins Chad Michael Collins (born September 22, 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for his leading role in the ''Sniper'' film series. Biography He graduated from college in New York before moving to Los Angeles. He then started taking act ...

as Ezra *

Victoria Atkin Victoria Atkin is an English actress, best known for roles in ''Extinct'', ''Hollyoaks'', and '' Assassin's Creed: Syndicate''. Early years and education Atkin attended Fernhill School and Language College, studied Dance and Theatre Performance a ...

as Feena *

Jaclyn Hales Jaclyn Hales (born September 4, 1986) is an American actress best known for acting in BYUtv scripted series ''Extinct'', ''The Sinister Surrogate'' (2018), ''Scents and Sensibility'' (2011), ''Unicorn City'' (2012), ''Christmas Eve'' (2015), '' ...

as Lynn *Yorke Fryer as Abram *Jack Depew as Silas *Matthew Bellows as Jax *

Jake Stormoen Jake Stormoen is an American actor known for his role as Dagen in the '' Mythica'' film series and as Captain Garret Spears in the fantasy-adventure drama television series '' The Outpost.'' Early life and career Jacob Leif Stormoen was born i ...

as Duncan *

Kirby Heyborne Kirby Heyborne (born October 8, 1976) is an American actor, musician, singer, songwriter, narrator and comedian. He is known for his work in films centered around the culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Heyborn ...

as voice of Red Drone *Anna Vocino as voice of Yellow Drone

Recurring

*Eliza de Azevedo Brown as Young Kylie *Bailee Michelle Johnson as Adult Kylie *Shayla McCafferey as "Forest Girl" Raven (aka Squirrel Girl) *Anna Sward Hansen as Old Eleanor *

as voice of Blue Drone *Nic Luken as Nicholas

Guest stars

*Cosette Shaha as Baby Kylie (episode: "Pilot") *Jocelyn Jay Black as Toddler Kylie (episode: "Pilot") *Joshua French as Convenience Store Clerk (episode: "Pilot") *Jake Van Wagoner as Newscaster (episode: "Pilot") *Denise Dorado as Althea (episode: "Broken") *Champagne Powell as Old Abram (episode: "Broken") *Melanie Stone as Rowen (episode: "Death Did Us Part")

Production and filming

The show was filmed in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Zion National Park Zion National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety ...

, The Salt Flats,

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

Kanab Kanab ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Utah, Kane County, Utah, United States.Find a Co ...

, Payson and Fillmore were used as locations. The main set in the LDS Motion Picture Studio in Provo was also used.

Episodes

The first two episodes premiered commercial free on BYUtv October 1, 2017. Episodes 3–8 were made available to stream on byutv.org and at extinct.tv that same night. Episodes 9 and 10 were released online when they were shown as a 2-hour finale on BYUtv on November 19, 2017.

Cancellation

The series was cancelled after one season. In an interview Card attributed the cancellation of the show to new management at BYUtv, stating that despite positive reception, "it didn't grow in their own garden, so they didn't want it."

Reception

Post Apocalyptic Media's Derek Dwilson called season 1's finale "impressive" and said "Extinct ''deserves ''to be renewed."

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

says the first season is "worth paying attention to," despite spurning

's claims that the show is family friendly. Abby White says "the show features mass grave sites, killer viruses and highly aggressive bad guys who want the heroes dead. It’s not necessarily for the faint of heart, and yet the way it’s shot, edited and written makes it quite arguably a lot tamer than most sci-fi TV." ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'' received the pilot positively writing "this pilot...making for uneven pacing at times, but intriguing backstories and a suspenseful ending leave many questions that will most likely be explored in future episodes, creating a thought provoking sci-fi show."https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865689832/BYUtv-goes-post-apocalyptic-with-new-series-Extinct-with-help-from-Orson-Scott-Card.html

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt5926494 2017 American television series debuts 2010s American science fiction television series American action adventure television series 2010s American drama television series Television series about extraterrestrial life Post-apocalyptic television series BYU TV original programming