The Peripheral: Season 1 – Review [Prime Video]

THE PERIPHERAL on Prime Video is a new Sci-Fi Thriller series from the creators of Westworld. It’s based on the William Gibson novel and stars Chloë Grace Moretz. Read our The Peripheral series review here!

THE PERIPHERAL is a new Prime Video Sci-Fi Thriller series. It’s based on the science fiction novel by William Gibson and comes from the creators of Westworld. Basically, you can expect gorgeous visuals and some amazing storytelling – including a future that looks rather threatening.

Chloë Grace Moretz stars as Flynne Fisher and is supported by a strong and capable cast. The story plays out in both the “present” (2032 for Flynne) and future London in 2099. As well as being a sci-fi story, it’s also a survival story.

Continue reading our The Peripheral season 1 review below, which is based on the first three episodes. The series premieres on Prime Video on October 21, 2022.

Working as a “sim jockey”

From the very first episode, The Peripheral centers on Flynne Fisher (Chloë Grace Moretz). She’s a young woman struggling to make ends meet in a small rural town. She lives with her mom and Marine Vet brother Burton (Jack Reynor).

We’re in the year 2032 and things are looking a lot grimmer than they are today. For one, medicine is even more expensive and Burton and Flynne’s mom has cancer.

Being a smart and ambitious young woman, Flynne is also resourceful. So is her brother, who is working as a “sim jockey” where wealthy clients who want to level up in VR games pay him to take over their avatar.

Whenever Burton gets stuck, his sister Flynne takes over. He thinks like a soldier while she is able to find the solutions, he was never trained to discover. Their “sim jockey” activities attract the attention of a mysterious developer, who pays Burton to beta test a cutting-edge game.

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However, Burton realizes that it’s really Flynne who has what it takes, so he convinces her to take on this task. An “easy job” that will make sure they can afford medical bills well into the future. The game has no controllers or screens. You simply put a device on your head and everything happens in your mind.

Admittedly, I immediately thought of the Black Mirror episode “San Junipero“. However, trust me when I say that this is much darker.

A cast that keeps surprising

While we meet the two main characters early on, there are many other important characters that become key to the plot development. Chloë Grace Moretz (Mother/Android, Shadow in the Cloud) works really well as Flynne. A young woman who is full of heart and wits – and doesn’t take sh*t from anyone.

Jack Reynor (Midsommar) works perfectly as her brother, Burton. He’s a Marine Vet who has plenty of scars, but also abilities that quickly come into play. Jack Reynor and Chloë Grace Moretz are very believable as siblings, which is important for the core plot to work.

Other key characters – that I won’t be revealing more about here – are portrayed by familiar faces such as the amazing T’Nia Miller (The Haunting of Bly Manor), Gary Carr (The Deuce), Eli Goree (The Guilty), Louis Herthum (Westworld), JJ Feild (Lost in Space), Charlotte Riley (Peaky Blinders), Melinda Page Hamilton (Messiah), and Chris Coy (Castle Rock).

To name just a few!

Start watching The Peripheral season 1 on Prime Video

The Peripheral is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by William Gibson with Scott B. Smith (The Ruins) as creator and showrunner of the series. The new sci-fi drama series is also produced by the Westworld creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan’s Kilter Films.

Other producers include director Vincenzo Natali (The Stand, Cube), teleplay writer Greg Plageman (Person of Interest), Athena Wickham (Westworld), and Steven Hoban (In the Tall Grass).

This new sci-fi thriller series will have one new episode released weekly every Friday with the season finale (episode 8) on December 9, 2022.

The Peripheral will premiere exclusively with episode 1 on Prime Video on October 21, 2022. 

Details

Creator: Scott B. Smith
Directors: Vincenzo Natali, Alrick Riley
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Gary Carr, Jack Reynor, Eli Goree, Louis Herthum, JJ Feild, T’Nia Miller, Charlotte Riley, Alexandra Billings, Adelind Horan, Alex Hernandez, Katie Leung, Julian Moore-Cook, Melinda Page Hamilton, Austin Rising