''Extant'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Mickey Fisher and, as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

. The story revolves around

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

Molly Woods Molly Woods is a fictional character from the science fiction drama series '' Extant'', played by Halle Berry. She made her first screen appearance in the show's pilot episode "Re-Entry", which first aired on July 9, 2014 on the CBS network in t ...

(

Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry (; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Mis ...

) who returns home to her family inexplicably pregnant after 13 months in outer space on a solo mission. On August 7, 2013, CBS announced that it had placed a 13-episode straight-to-series order, bypassing the traditional pilot stage. Steven Spielberg served as one of the executive producers. Production began in Los Angeles on February 10, 2014. The series was broadcast in the United States on the CBS television network, and was a production of

Amblin Television Amblin Television is the television production division of Amblin Partners. It was established in 1984 by Amblin Entertainment as a small-screen production arm for Steven Spielberg's ''Amazing Stories'' anthology series for NBC. The company ha ...

. ''Extant'' premiered on July 9, 2014. On October 9, 2014, CBS renewed ''Extant'' for a second season, which premiered on July 1, 2015, and concluded on September 9, 2015. On October 9, 2015, CBS cancelled ''Extant'' after two seasons.

Premise

Molly Woods, an astronaut with ISEA (International Space Exploration Agency) is assigned a 13-month solo mission aboard space station ''Seraphim''. She returns home to her husband John, a robotics engineer who created their son Ethan, a prototype android called a "humanich". When Molly discovers that she has mysteriously become pregnant despite years of infertility, she begins a search for answers.

Cast

Main cast

, an ISEA

and scientist who mysteriously becomes pregnant after seeing her dead former lover while on the ''Seraphim''

space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...

. * Goran Visnjic as Dr. John Woods, Molly's husband, a robotics engineer heading the Humanichs Project. (season 1, guest season 2) *

Pierce Gagnon Pierce Gagnon (born July 25, 2005) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the film ''Looper'' and in the CBS series ''Extant'', as well as voicing Tim Templeton in the Netflix series '' The Boss Baby: Back in Business''. Personal life ...

as Ethan Woods, Molly and John's son, a

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...

robot and the

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

for the Humanichs Project. *

Grace Gummer Grace Jane Gummer (born May 9, 1986) is an American actress. She received a Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of '' Arcadia''. Her television work includes recurring roles in '' The Newsroom'' and '' American Horror ...

as Julie "Jules" Gelineau, John Woods' assistant on the Humanichs Project. * Hiroyuki Sanada as Hideki Yasumoto, owner of the Yasumoto Corporation. (season 1) * Michael O'Neill as Alan Sparks, Director of ISEA. (season 1) * Camryn Manheim as Dr. Sam Barton, a physician employed by ISEA and Molly's friend. (season 1) * Jeffrey Dean Morgan as James Daniel "JD" Richter (season 2), a cop working special patrol (

bounty hunting A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

) who teams up with Molly.

Recurring cast

Tyler Hilton Tyler James Hilton (born November 22, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Hilton began his professional career in music in 2000. '' Rolling Stone magazine'' compared him to his contemporary, Howie Day, while others have compared H ...

as Charles "Charlie" Arthurs, the Chief Coder on the Humanichs Project alongside Julie. *Lynnanne Zager as the voice of G.I.N.A., the Woods family's personal home A.I. system and helper. *Shannon Merrill Brown as the child "Offspring".

Season 1

* Annie Wersching as Femi Dodd, a member of the Yasumoto Corporation Board of Directors. She's highly skeptical of the Humanichs Project and is revealed to be part of Odin's underground group that seeks to eradicate advanced technology from Earth. *

Brad Beyer Brad Beyer (born September 20, 1973) is an American actor. He may be best-known for his role in the CBS series '' Jericho'', playing Stanley Richmond. Early and personal life Beyer was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he graduated from Catho ...

as Harmon Kryger, an ISEA astronaut who saw his dead mother on the ''Seraphim''; he faked his own suicide and now lives in isolation. *

Maury Sterling Charles Maury Wallace Sterling (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Max Piotrowski in ''Homeland'', Rafferty in the comedy film '' Beverly Hills Chihuahua'' and Lester Tremor in the action film ''Smokin' Ace ...

as Gordon Kern, the new deputy director of ISEA. *Sergio Harford as Marcus Dawkins, an astronaut and Molly's deceased lover, who died in the car accident in which he and Molly were involved years ago. *

Tessa Ferrer Tessa Rosiola Ferrer (born March 30, 1986) is an American actress. She is known for playing Dr. Leah Murphy, a surgical intern then resident, in ''Grey's Anatomy''. She is the daughter of singer Debby Boone and Gabriel Ferrer. Career In 2012, S ...

as Katie Sparks, an astronaut and daughter of Alan and Anya Sparks. She died in space under mysterious circumstances. * Louis Gossett Jr. as Quinn, a retired doctor and Molly's undependable, estranged father. *

Charlie Bewley Charles Martin Bewley (born 25 January 1981) is an English actor and producer best known for his role as the vampire Demetri in '' The Twilight Saga'' films, Charles Wentworth on '' Nashville'', and Galen Vaughn on ''The Vampire Diaries''. Pe ...

as Gavin Hutchinson (alias Odin James), a man Julie begins dating. He secretly leads an underground organization dedicated to eradicating advanced technology, and has targeted the Humanichs Project. *

Jeannetta Arnette Jeannetta Arnette is an American actress. She became known for her television role as Miss Meara on the situation comedy ''Head of the Class''. She has also appeared in numerous films, including 1992's ''Ladybugs'' and 1999's '' Boys Don't Cry'' ...

as Anya Sparks, Alan's ex-wife and mother of Katie. *Adam O'Byrne as Ryan Jackson, the new ISEA Director, replacing Alan Sparks. Kern says Molly can trust him as he was unaware of the conspiracy between Yasumoto and Sparks. *

Enver Gjokaj Enver Leif Gjokaj ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles as Victor in the science fiction television series ''Dollhouse'' and as Daniel Sousa in '' Agent Carter'', a role he later reprised ...

as Sean Glass, an ISEA astronaut. * Jimmy Jean-Louis as Pierre Lyon, a French astronaut. * Eric Martsolf as the voice of B.E.N., the on board, sentient computer aboard the ''Seraphim''. * Owain Yeoman as Dr. Mason, a scientist assigned by Yasumoto to help Molly.

Season 2

*Henderson Wade as the adult "Offspring" (known as a "Hybrid" in the second season), now self-christened with the name Ahdu. *Brody Nicholas Lee as the teenage "Offspring". *Mckenna Roberts as Adult Terra *Genneya Walton as Teenage Terra * David Morrissey as General Tobias Shepherd, Head of the Global Security Commission. Shepherd has a personal history with Molly Woods, a fact that complicates his work (and his life) in the face of a deadly new threat to humanity. *

Necar Zadegan Necar Zadegan ( fa, نکار زادگان ; born June 20, 1982) is an American actress with a prolific career on stage and screen. Zadegan made her Broadway debut alongside Robin Williams in the Pulitzer Prize–nominated production ''Bengal Tige ...

as Shayna Velez (fka Martine), a former Lt. Colonel, now Chief of Staff to Tobias Shepherd. Strong, smart, opinionated, her agenda does not always jibe with her boss's — which may bring her into direct conflict with Molly Woods. * Hilarie Burton as Anna Schaefer, a government operative charged with overseeing the militarization of the Humanichs program. * Kiersey Clemons as Lucy, a more advanced humanoid robot and Ethan's new sister. *

Lyndon Smith Lyndon Smith (born June 7, 1989) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Natalie in the NBC drama '' Parenthood'' (2013–2015) and Dierdre in the TNT police drama ''Public Morals'' (2015). Life Smith is from Pensacola, Florida ...

as Kelsey Richter; JD's estranged and rebellious daughter. * Michael Gladis as Nate Malone; a GSC (Global Security Commission) biologist who works with Molly to crack the genetic code of the hybrids. * Kate Burton as Fiona Stanton, the president of GSC who oversees the progress of Lucy and the Humanichs. *

Cleo Anthony Cleo Anthony is an American actor. Anthony has been cast as one of the three male leads in Spike Lee's 10-episode 2017 Netflix series ''She's Gotta Have It ''She's Gotta Have It'' is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy-drama film writte ...

as Ares.

Episodes

Season 1 (2014)

Season 2 (2015)

Reception

Critical reception

''Extant'' has received generally favorable reviews. On Metacritic, the first season holds a score of 68 out of 100, based on 31 critics, and season 2 has a score of 63 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a "certified fresh" rating of 81% based on 42 reviews, with the consensus reading: "While many of its ideas are clearly borrowed from other sources, ''Extant'' benefits from a unique approach to some familiar stories and a strong lead in

." The second season holds a "fresh" rating of 73% based on 11 reviews, with the consensus reading: "Extant amps up the action in Season Two, adding much-needed stamina to shore up Halle Berry's compelling performance."

Ratings

Including Live + 3 day (DVR) viewing, the series premiere was watched by 11.88 million viewers and attained an 18-49 rating of 2.2.

Accolades

In 2014, ''Extant'' was chosen, along with six others, for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series.

Home media releases

On December 16, 2014, CBS Home Entertainment released the first season on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 1. The second season was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 15, 2015.

Broadcast

The series is available for streaming on Amazon Video devices four days after broadcast on CBS. In Canada, the series premiered on July 9, 2014, on

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...

. In Australia, the series premiered on July 13, 2014, on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

. The series premiered in the United Kingdom on July 10, 2014, on Amazon Video. It made its television premiere on January 20, 2015, on

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

. In New Zealand, it debuted on July 23, 2014, on Prime.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Twitter, name=''Extant'' 2014 American television series debuts 2015 American television series endings 2010s American drama television series 2010s American science fiction television series Androids in television CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series about robots Serial drama television series Space adventure television series Television series about space programs Television series by Amblin Entertainment Television series by CBS Studios Television series set in the future