''Station Eleven'' is an American
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; ast ...
dystopian fiction
Utopian and dystopian fiction are genres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal t ...
miniseries created by
Patrick Somerville based on the 2014
novel of the same name by
Emily St. John Mandel. The miniseries premiered on
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
on December 16, 2021, and ran for ten episodes until January 13, 2022.
It received critical acclaim and was nominated for seven
Primetime Emmy Awards, including
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Patel.
Premise
Twenty years after a flu
pandemic resulted in the collapse of civilization, a group of survivors who make their living as traveling performers encounter a violent cult led by a man whose past is unknowingly linked to a member of the troupe.
Cast
Main
*
Mackenzie Davis
Mackenzie Rio Davis (born April 1, 1987) is a Canadian actress, producer, and model. She made her feature film debut in '' Smashed'' (2012). In 2013, she appeared in ''Breathe In'' and '' The F Word'' (for which she was nominated for the Canadia ...
as Kirsten Raymonde, a young woman who is now the star actress with the Traveling Symphony
**
Matilda Lawler as Young Kirsten, an eight year old stage actress at the onset of the pandemic who was starring in a production of ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...
'' with Arthur Leander
*
Himesh Patel
Himesh Jitendra Patel (born 13 October 1990) is a British actor, musician, and singer. He is known for portraying Tamwar Masood on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' from 2007 to 2016, for starring in the 2019 musical romantic comedy film '' Y ...
as Jeevan Chaudhary, an audience member the night of the pandemic who takes care of Kirsten
*
David Wilmot
David Wilmot (January 20, 1814 – March 16, 1868) was an American politician and judge. He served as Representative and a Senator for Pennsylvania and as a judge of the Court of Claims. He is best known for being the prime sponsor and epon ...
as Clark Thompson, Arthur Leander's former best friend who now leads an isolated compound at the Severn City airport
*
Nabhaan Rizwan
Nabhaan Rizwan (born November 30, 1996) is a British actor known for crime drama '' Informer'', his supporting roles in '' The Accident'' and '' 1917'', and the miniseries ''Station Eleven''. Rizwan is originally from Essex and now lives in London ...
as Frank Chaudhary, Jeevan's brother, a writer who became a recluse after an injury left him disabled
*
Daniel Zovatto as Tyler Leander, the son of Arthur and Elizabeth, he leads a group of rogue children.
**Julian Obradors as young Tyler
*Philippine Velge as Alexandra, a younger member of the Traveling Symphony
*
Lori Petty
Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She is noted for her roles in the films ''Point Break'' (1991), ''A League of Their Own'' (1992), '' Free Willy '' (1993), and the title role in '' Tank Girl' ...
as Sarah, the co-founder of the Traveling Symphony
Recurring
Episodes
Production
Development
In February 2015, producer
Scott Steindorff acquired the TV and film rights to the novel. On June 25, 2019, the series was ordered by the streaming service
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
, created by
Patrick Somerville with
Hiro Murai attached as a director. Both are executive producing alongside Scott Delman, Dylan Russell,
Scott Steindorff, Jessica Rhoades,
Jeremy Podeswa
Jeremy Podeswa (born 1962) is a Canadian film and television director. He is best known for directing the films '' The Five Senses'' (1999) and ''Fugitive Pieces'' (2007). He has also worked as director on the television shows '' Six Feet Under ...
, and Nate Matteson.
The miniseries premiered on December 16, 2021. Podeswa,
Helen Shaver
Helen Shaver (born February 24, 1951) is a Canadian actress and film and television director. She has received Emmy and Saturn Award nominations, among other honours.
Early life
Shaver was born and raised, with five sisters, in St. Thomas, Ont ...
, and Lucy Tcherniak also directed episodes.
Differences from novel
Somerville made several major changes from the original novel's plot, such as creating a more significant relationship between Jeevan and Kirsten. In addition, the Canadian setting of the majority of the novel is replaced with an American setting. Though much of the Year Zero setting in the original novel is St. John-Mandel's native Toronto, Somerville moved the action to his own native Chicago. Ironically, due to the COVID pandemic, shooting was moved from Chicago to Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto.
Casting
In October 2019,
Mackenzie Davis
Mackenzie Rio Davis (born April 1, 1987) is a Canadian actress, producer, and model. She made her feature film debut in '' Smashed'' (2012). In 2013, she appeared in ''Breathe In'' and '' The F Word'' (for which she was nominated for the Canadia ...
,
Himesh Patel
Himesh Jitendra Patel (born 13 October 1990) is a British actor, musician, and singer. He is known for portraying Tamwar Masood on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' from 2007 to 2016, for starring in the 2019 musical romantic comedy film '' Y ...
and
David Wilmot
David Wilmot (January 20, 1814 – March 16, 1868) was an American politician and judge. He served as Representative and a Senator for Pennsylvania and as a judge of the Court of Claims. He is best known for being the prime sponsor and epon ...
were cast to star in the series. Matilda Lawler would be added in November 2019. In January 2020,
Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal (; born 30 November 1978) is a Mexican actor and producer. He is best known for his performances in the films '' Bad Education'', '' The Motorcycle Diaries'', '' Amores perros'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Babel'', '' Coco'', ...
was cast in a recurring role. In February 2020,
Danielle Deadwyler joined the cast in a recurring capacity.
Nabhaan Rizwan
Nabhaan Rizwan (born November 30, 1996) is a British actor known for crime drama '' Informer'', his supporting roles in '' The Accident'' and '' 1917'', and the miniseries ''Station Eleven''. Rizwan is originally from Essex and now lives in London ...
and Philippine Velge would join as series leads in March 2020. In April 2021,
Daniel Zovatto and
Lori Petty
Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She is noted for her roles in the films ''Point Break'' (1991), ''A League of Their Own'' (1992), '' Free Willy '' (1993), and the title role in '' Tank Girl' ...
joined the cast in lead roles, while
Andy McQueen
Andy McQueen (born, March 2, 1991) is a Canadian actor. He is most noted for his performance in the 2019 film '' Disappearance at Clifton Hill'', for which he received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 8th Canadi ...
,
David Cross
David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series '' Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix si ...
,
Enrico Colantoni
Enrico Colantoni (born February 14, 1963) is a Canadian actor and director, best known for portraying Elliot DiMauro in the sitcom ''Just Shoot Me!'', Keith Mars on the television series ''Veronica Mars'', Louis Lutz on the short-lived sitcom ''H ...
, Julian Obradors, and
Deborah Cox
Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...
joined the cast in recurring roles. Luca Villacis, Prince Amponsah,
Dylan Taylor,
Joe Pingue
Joe Pingue is a Canadian actor and film maker.
Early life
Pingue was born and raised in St. Catharines, Ontario. He attended Ridley College for both elementary and high school, and studied theatre at York University.
While attending Ridley Col ...
,
Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Ajahnis Charley, Milton Barnes and
Kate Moyer joined the cast in recurring capacities in June 2021.
Filming
Filming began in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
in January 2020. Due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, production moved to
Mississauga on February 1, 2021, and concluded on July 9, 2021.
Release
The first three episodes premiered on HBO Max on December 16, 2021.
Home media
The miniseries will be released on
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
,
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
, and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on February 21, 2023, by
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global.
The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
.
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 ...
reports a 98% approval rating with an average rating of 8.1/10, based on 54 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "''Station Eleven'' rewards patient viewers with an insightful and thematically rich assertion that—even in the post-apocalypse—the show must go on." On the review aggregator
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 ...
, the series has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Accolades
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{Emily St. John Mandel
2020s American drama television miniseries
2020s American science fiction television series
2021 American television series debuts
2022 American television series endings
English-language television shows
HBO Max original programming
Post-apocalyptic television series
Television shows about influenza outbreaks
Television shows based on Canadian novels
Television shows filmed in Illinois
Television shows filmed in Ontario
Television series by Paramount Television
Television series set in 2020
Television series set in 2021
Television series set in the 2040s
Television series impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic