In the crowded landscape of science fiction television, few shows dare to ask the big questions: What is reality? Can we predict the future? What happens after we die? Alex Garland's Devs didn't just ask them—it built a haunting, beautiful, and intellectually rigorous world around them. And then, after just one season, it was gone.
Premiering in 2020 on FX on Hulu, Devs follows Lily Chan (Sonoya Mizuno), a young software engineer at the enigmatic tech company Amaya. When her boyfriend Sergei (Karl Glusman) disappears after being hired for a top-secret project called 'Devs,' Lily launches an investigation that leads her into a rabbit hole of quantum computing, determinism, and the very fabric of existence. The show's central conceit—a machine that can simulate the past and future with perfect accuracy—is pure hard sci-fi, grounded in real theoretical physics.
What sets Devs apart from other sci-fi series is its emotional core. At its heart, this is a story about grief. Lily is haunted by the death of her parents, and the Devs project itself is driven by Amaya's founder, Forest (Nick Offerman), who lost his daughter in a car accident. The machine isn't just a scientific breakthrough; it's a desperate attempt to reconnect with the dead. This blend of cold, hard science and raw human emotion is what makes the show so unforgettable.
Garland, who wrote and directed the entire series, brings the same meticulous vision he applied to Ex Machina and Annihilation. Every frame is carefully composed, from the sterile, minimalist architecture of the Amaya campus to the eerie, green-lit chamber housing the Devs computer. The show's visual style mirrors its themes: order and chaos, control and surrender. The soundtrack, by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury, pulses with an unsettling, ambient tension that never lets up.
Despite critical acclaim, Devs was conceived as a limited series, and Garland has stated he has no plans for a second season. While that makes it a complete story, it also means we'll never explore the wider implications of its universe. The show's ending—a mind-bending journey into alternate realities—leaves viewers with more questions than answers, a hallmark of the best hard sci-fi. It's a show that rewards rewatching, with layers of meaning that reveal themselves on subsequent viewings.
For fans of intellectually demanding television, Devs sits alongside other emotionally devastating dramas like the most emotionally devastating drama films ever made. It's a show that doesn't just entertain; it challenges you to think about fate, free will, and the nature of consciousness. In an era of endless content, Devs stands as a singular achievement—a hard sci-fi masterpiece that was cut short far too soon.
If you haven't seen it yet, now is the time. Stream it on Hulu, and prepare to have your mind—and your heart—shattered.
