The Peripheral

A review of the new Prime Video series The Peripheral, premiering on October 21st.

It’s as if the creators forgot that this is more or less all about a video game, and that we don’t play them for the cut scenes. But it’s not until episode four that the series gives a sense of what’s really going on here, of what we should be afraid of, and does so with a flashy “museum” presentation that illustrates what catastrophic events happened before these stark 2090s. A local drug lord and businessman named Corbell Pickett ( [Louis Herthum](/cast-and-crew/louis-herthum)) is brought into the mix when some armed men with invisible SUVs and automatic weapons just don’t cut it. Instead it gets tangled up with an added conspiracy to have Flynn and Flynne killed back in the 2030s, which requires Burton to recruit his drinking and war buddies, including Connor ( [Eli Goree](/cast-and-crew/eli-goree)), who lost his legs and an arm, but rides around on a badass unicycle and gives cold glares when not disarmed by booze. In this case, it’s Flynne ( [Chloe Grace Moretz](/cast-and-crew/chloe-grace-moretz)), back in 2030s North Carolina, who gets the headset from her brother Burton ( [Jack Reynor](/cast-and-crew/jack-reynor)) courtesy of a mysterious Colombian company that wants him to try it out. But this is a different feeling than just Flynn wearing a headset for her virtual reality gaming; the pain is real, like getting a kick in the stomach while plugged into the matrix in “

In 2032, tech savvy Flynne Fisher helps her brother with a virtual reality game and ends up in a disturbing London 60 years later. William Gibson's 2014 ...

William Gibson’s 2014 sci-fi thriller The Peripheral is so stuffed with ideas it will need seasons to unpack [William Gibson](/article/mg24532640-500-william-gibsons-agency-drops-time-travel-paradoxes-for-big-questions/) has acquired quite a reputation as a seer. Despite this, he has long insisted that he, like all writers of science fiction, is “ [almost always wrong](https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mhpbooks.com%2Fwilliam-gibson-says-science-fiction-is-almost-always-wrong%2F&data=05%7C01%7CAlison.Flood%40newscientist.com%7C51ca68c7bba64319a3c008dab1c80988%7C0f3a4c644dc54a768d4152d85ca158a5%7C0%7C0%7C638017769949420305%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=IvSEHIDbEzdVYhcHu9zjEQkPGFRy2%2BI5JeIYK7rTkBs%3D&reserved=0)”.

Chloë Grace Moretz stars in Prime Video's new sci-fi drama The Peripheral, which is executive produced by Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy.

For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the [Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast](https://www.radiotimes.com/audio/podcasts/). - The Peripheral episode 7 - Friday 25th November 2022 - The Peripheral episode 8 - Friday 2nd December 2022 - The Peripheral episode 6 - Friday 18th November 2022 - The Peripheral episode 5 - Friday 11th November 2022 - The Peripheral episode 4 - Friday 4th November 2022 - The Peripheral episode 3 - Friday 28th October 2022 The Peripheral trailer - The Peripheral episode 2 - Friday 21st October 2022 (out now) - The Peripheral episode 1 - Friday 21st October 2022 (out now) The Peripheral release schedule The Peripheral release date

In this eight-part adaptation of William Gibson's sci-fi novel, Chloë Grace Moretz stars as an expert videogame player who ends up caught between a ...

[Up to 60% off - Target Promo Code](https://www.wsj.com/coupons/target) (“Winged Victory” is elsewhere, along with gargantuan versions of the Discobolus of Myron and the David of Michelangelo). In the 2099 London imagined by “The Peripheral,” the Gherkin, the Eye and the Strand have all survived.

Here's how you can watch the exciting new sci-fi series The Peripheral starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Jack Reynor.

Can the threats in the future get to Flynne in the present? But, one man’s murder slips through the cracks and his vengeful daughter, who is a tech employee must outsmart her drone surveillance to investigate the murder and uncover other secrets in The System. Morgan, Altered Carbon is a cyberpunk TV series that tells the story of a prisoner who returns to life in a new body and must solve a mind-bending murder to win his freedom in a world where consciousness can be transferred to different bodies. Omniscient (2020): Omniscient is set in a city run by The System, where citizens are always monitored by tiny drones to prevent crimes from being committed. The HBO award-winning show was created by the executive producers of The Peripheral (Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy) and stars Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Luke Hemsworth, Ed Harris, Anthony Hopkins, Tessa Thompson, and Aaron Paul. The show is set in the future and follows the lives of Flynne Fisher and her brother, Burton. The Peripheral will be released exclusively on Prime Video. [Westworld](https://collider.com/tag/westworld/) [ (2016 - present)](https://collider.com/tag/westworld/), serve as executive producers of The Peripheral alongside Smith, Athena Wickham, Steve Hoban, Greg Plageman, and Vincenzo Natali. The park is populated by android hosts and caters to high-paying guests who wish to indulge their wildest fantasies without fear of retaliation from the hosts, who are programmed not to harm humans. As Flynne searches to discover who has connected their worlds, and for what purpose, her presence here sets dangerous forces into motion…forces intent on destroying Flynne and her family in her own world. The Peripheral was created by Scott Smith. As Flynne tries to understand the connection between both worlds, her presence causes her to put her life and that of her family in danger.

More than three years into their mega overall deal at Amazon Studios, married producing duo Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy await the Oct. 21 debut of their ...

And in this series and in Gibson’s book, this game is a portal to the worlds that could be and to the selves that could be. We’re really excited that when Scott Smith, who’s a brilliant writer, and Vincenzo brought on this project, I think sometimes the best way of honoring a piece of writing that is as great as all of Gibson’s writing is is to understand, in a book form, it looks like this, and then in a series, to do it justice, certain things have to change and evolve in order to reach the same effect. A lot of Gibson’s work is set in the far future — is set in Tokyo, is set in world capitals. He just nailed the answer to the question of, how can you weave a narrative inside the concept of time travel, which is not exactly fitting here, somehow, because Gibson’s take on it is so throughly worked out. It’s just a thrill for me, personally, to be working with and collaborating with someone whose work was so influential on mine. And the future is only worth fighting for if you have something to love in the present that you want to hold onto and cherish and protect. Flynne Fisher’s home feels and looks a lot to me like the home I was in in New Jersey when I grew up. The idea that you have parts of rural America that are being left behind, that their closest intersection with advanced technology is the people who spent their time in the military and then come home and carry these things around with them felt very acute, very smart, very in line with where things are headed. And not only does it have his signature prophetic kind of futurism — which in “The Peripheral” isn’t so far in the future anymore, we’re really seeing the events of “The Peripheral” play out even today — but the thing that really drew me in was the idea of Flynne Fisher and her world. I think I was 14 when I read “Count Zero” first, and then I worked my way back to “Neuromancer.” I was always reading nonlinearly when I was a kid, a particular foible of mine. And so when that Vincenzo came to us and said, this is something I want to do, can you help? Nolan and Joy sat down with Variety at the JW Marriott Essex House hotel in New York City to discuss embarking on a new future with “The Peripheral,” alongside creator and showrunner Scott B.

Chloë Grace Moretz stars in this bravura adaptation of a William Gibson short story, which is still immensely satisfying even if you have no idea what's ...

The futuristic capital is the real London of 2099, where we have already seen – at the very start – a man called Wilf Netherton being visited by a girl who saved his life in the past and has come to say goodbye before she goes off to save the world. Soon she is enjoying a thrilling adventure as a James Bondish figure caught up in a twisting quest, and soon after that she is not enjoying it at all. Is this (she says, at time of going to press unsure of who the home secretary, chief whip and the PM might be by the time you read this) the best of times?

Chloe Grace Moretz plays Flynne Fisher, a talented virtual reality gamer who is caught in a sinister plot in new sc-fi series The Peripheral.

However, Flynn quickly discovers the virtual reality world is actually the future - London 2099. The Peripheral is one of those classic mind-warp sc-fi stories where the lines between virtual reality and reality are blurred as the present and future are in a state of flux. The majority of The Peripheral's tension is created in the not-too distant future of 2032, rather than Flynn's travels to 2099 London.

Chloe Grace Moretz plays Flynne Fisher, a talented virtual reality gamer who is caught in a sinister plot in new sc-fi series The Peripheral.

However, Flynn quickly discovers the virtual reality world is actually the future - London 2099. The Peripheral is one of those classic mind-warp sc-fi stories where the lines between virtual reality and reality are blurred as the present and future are in a state of flux. The majority of The Peripheral's tension is created in the not-too distant future of 2032, rather than Flynn's travels to 2099 London.

About halfway through the first episode of The Peripheral, Flynne Fisher's (Chloe Grace Moretz) brain starts to hurt. I know exactly how she feels; having ...

[Karl Quinn](/by/karl-quinn-hvecw)is a senior culture writer at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via It’s a brain puzzle, a maze (there’s that Westworld echo again), in which the real and the fabricated are entirely enmeshed. This magical piece of hi-tech kit arrives in the mail addressed to Burton Fisher (Jack Reynor), a former Marine. Burton and his veteran buddies are linked not just by their wartime experiences and traumas; they’re literally connected via implanted nodes that allow them to sync up and operate as a highly specialised team in combat mode. About halfway through the first episode of The Peripheral, Flynne Fisher’s (Chloe Grace Moretz) brain starts to hurt. Perhaps all you need to know about this series is that Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are behind it.

lynne (Moretz) and her brother Burton (Reynor) carve out a meagre living in near-future America, running 'security' in cyberspace for online gamers.

A jargon-heavy sci-fi with not one but two future worlds to digest isn’t going to be to everyone’s tastes, and the occasionally lurid violence (episode one features a scene of ocular trauma that’s not for the faint-hearted) might further give pause. The end-result is a streamlined neo-noir that explores its bifurcated premise to great effect, ping-ponging between futures as Moretz’s Flynne gradually begins to redefine the boundaries of her accepted reality. [Chloë Grace Moretz](https://www.empireonline.com/people/chloe-moretz/) and [Jack Reynor](https://www.empireonline.com/people/jack-reynor/)’s siblings care for their sickly mother while scraping by with a side-hustle in online gaming (think [Winter’s Bone](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/winter-bone-review/) if Jennifer Lawrence had been a whizz at World Of Warcraft). The first fruits of their new creative partnership with cash-splashing streamer Prime Video, The Peripheral is a (rather loose) adaptation of [William Gibson](https://www.empireonline.com/people/william-gibson/)’s 2014 novel — the author’s return to the cyberpunk genre he pioneered, after a 15-year hiatus — adapted and overseen by [A Simple Plan](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/simple-plan-2-review/) writer Scott Smith. Hardcore Gibsonites will note that much of the author’s cutting social commentary and cultural projection has been sidelined, bringing the story’s central murder mystery to the fore. In one, we see a rural quarter of North America where jobs are scarce and the only thriving industry is that of the local meth-lord.

Science fiction has always existed to warn humans about the ramifications of their actions. But it seems like we are just getting a barrage of sci-fi shows.

Because the best-case scenario is that she’s going to get better, and the worst-case scenario is that she’s going to die (which is better than the situation she’s in). But all the parties are making the mistake of thinking that Aelita and/or Flynne are the assets, whereas that headset is the key to some earth-shattering revelation. And both of these timelines are out to get Flynne because – and this is a massive guess – Aelita did manage to download some vital information into Flynne’s headset via Burton’s peripheral. As expected, Flynne does go in and get the lowdown from Wilf as he explains the whole-time travel aspect of this exchange. This is essentially a commentary on both the financial crisis and the healthcare crisis we are currently facing in real life, which is something that’s only going to increase as we go forward if we don’t take important steps to correct it. In the present, we see this employer, Lev Zubov, telling Wilf about the attack on Flynne and her family and how he needs to talk to her Peripheral when she enters it. As the narrative shifts to the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2032, it becomes clear that that’s a diorama of Flynne and Burton Fisher’s home. Anyway, Flynne laments about how she has this one life and this one world, and she has to deal with it. is directing her to seduce a character named Mariel, drug her while they are in the car, and take her to an undisclosed location. Before going to her workplace, Flynne not only accuses Burton of stealing their mother’s pills but also does a better job of playing the FPS multiplayer that Burton is apparently proficient at. [Exception](https://dmtalkies.com/exception-season-1-ending-explained-2022-netflix-animated-action-series/),” “ [Glitch](https://dmtalkies.com/glitch-season-1-review-2022-netflix-korean-drama-thriller-series-noh-duk/),” “ [Andor](https://dmtalkies.com/andor-episodes-1-2-3-recap-ending-explained-2022-star-wars-series/),” “Quantum Leap,” “ [Cyberpunk: Edgerunners](https://dmtalkies.com/cyberpunk-edgerunners-season-1-ending-explained-2022-netflix-series/),” “Pantheon,” “ [Resident Evil](https://dmtalkies.com/resident-evil-season-1-ending-explained-2022-capcom-netflix-series/),” “Spriggan,” “ [Paper Girls](https://dmtalkies.com/paper-girls-season-1-ending-explained-2022-series-stephany-folsom/),” “ [Night Sky](https://dmtalkies.com/night-sky-season-1-ending-explained-2022-series-holden-miller/),” “ [The Time Traveler’s Wife](https://dmtalkies.com/the-time-travelers-wife-season-1-ending-explained-2022-hbo-series/),” “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” “Interstellar Ranger Commence,” “ [Halo](https://dmtalkies.com/halo-season-1-ending-explained-master-chief-2022-paramount-series/),” “ [Shining Girls](https://dmtalkies.com/shining-girls-season-1-recap-ending-explained-2022-appletv-series/),” “ [The Man Who Fell to Earth](https://dmtalkies.com/the-man-who-fell-to-earth-season-1-ending-explained-2022-showtime-series/),” “ [Severance](https://dmtalkies.com/severance-season-1-world-and-concepts-explained-2022-series/),” “ [All of Us Are Dead](https://dmtalkies.com/all-of-us-are-dead-season-1-summary-ending-explained-2022-series/),” “The Orbital Children,” and there are many more on the way. But it seems like we are just getting a barrage of sci-fi shows while humanity and the planet continue to find new ways to destroy themselves.

In terms of Nolan brothers productions, "The Peripheral" appears to have been made for people who think "Tenet" and the fourth season of "Westworld" weren't ...

Granted, the criteria for success in streaming are often difficult to read, but for a show that explores two separate futures, it doesn’t feel like it has much of one. Television, like CNN, a unit of Warner Bros. (Props, though, for using the Clash’s “London Calling” over the premiere’s closing credits.) Adapting William Gibson’s sci-fi novel, this Amazon series again deals with themes of virtual reality and sort-of time travel, but in a grinding fashion that should push it to the periphery of one’s “watch” list, if not off it entirely. But the real problem is that the scenes as written by Scott B. Because of Flynne’s role in that future threats keep invading her present, which is every bit as confusing as that sounds.

The Peripheral stars Chloe Grace Moretz of Kick Ass and Let The Right One In fame as Flynne, a girl who lives with her mother and her brother Burton (Jack ...

As it turns out, the reveal is that this is not VR, but instead, 70 years in the future, technology has advanced to the point where human consciousness itself can time travel, transported as “data” through quantum tunneling. The Peripheral stars Chloe Grace Moretz of Kick Ass and Let The Right One In fame as Flynne, a girl who lives with her mother and her brother Burton (Jack Reynor). After Flynne is asked to test a new form of screenless, brain-controlled VR (think The Matrix) which transports her to a surreal, hyper futuristic version of London, she begins to wonder just what sort of company she’s gotten into bed with, despite the fact that the money is stellar. Gibson novel, of Neuromancer fame, and responsible in part for the “metaverse” craze currently going on in tech. If Rings of Power was Amazon’s stab at a massively popular fantasy series like Game of Thrones, than The Peripheral is their attempt to replicate HBO’s Westworld to a certain extent, using many of the same people involved. Amazon is committed to the show for the long haul, so it will be back soon enough, but in the meantime, they’re attempting to fill the void.

VR gamer Flynne Fisher (Chloë Grace Moretz) tries to make sense of what's going on in “The Peripheral.” (Sophie Mutevelian / Prime Video).

And they reside in a brilliant depiction of a near-future America, where there’s finally broadband in town and trailer and where big business fleeces the working class in the discomfort of their own homes under the guise of connectivity and modernism. Bright spots in “The Peripheral” include excellent performances by Moretz and Eli Goree as Conner Penske, a struggling, demoralized vet who finds purpose in the battle. Forcibly having an eye removed during anesthesia-free surgery — and, yes, because it’s disgusting and hard to watch the series spends an inordinate amount of a time on the operation. Drones, hackers, invisible cars and all manner of digital surveillance are deployed to win the fight. Connecting all these places and spaces is a new VR “game” so advanced that it blurs the line between the physical realm and the simulated experience, leaving players — and viewers of the show — incredibly confused. Skilled VR gamers Flynne Fisher (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her brother Burton (Jack Reynor) are small-town mountain folk making a meager living playing games for wealthy benefactors, using their earnings to take care of their sick mother.

Taking place in a near-future where technology has altered society, the series stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Flynne Fisher, a young woman who discovers a secret ...

[Midsommar](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a28289822/midsommar-ending-explained-plot/)] did a really good job because he actually had to have the instrument in his eye. [The Peripheral](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a36079854/riverdale-eli-goree-chloe-grace-moretz-tv-series-peripheral/)'s gruesome eyeball scene is more significant than you realised. "But, yeah, it was pretty gruesome to watch. "Jack [Reynor of Some people totally latch onto them, and notice them, like yourself. I don’t want anything to happen, I want to keep all my limbs.

Here's how to watch "The Peripheral" online for free and where to stream the sci-fi show starring Chloe Grace Moretz without a television.

[Amazon Prime Video](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/offers/?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F)‘s [free trials](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/offers/?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F) and what else to know about the show. [Amazon Prime Video](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/offers/?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F). [Watch The Peripheral With Amazon Prime Video’s Free Trial](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/offers/?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F) [Amazon Prime Video’s free trial](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/offers/?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F) is four times longer than most other streaming services. Here’s [how to watch it for free](https://stylecaster.com/amazon-prime-video-free-trial/). Amazon Prime costs [$14.99 per month](https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F) or [$139 per year](https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F), which saves subscribers about $36 from the monthly subscription. [Amazon Prime Video](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/offers/?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F) costs [$8.99 per month](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/offers/?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F) for non-Prime members. Amazon Prime Video costs [$8.99 per month](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/offers/?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F) for non-Amazon Prime members. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale. The Peripheral cast includes Chloë Grace Moretz as the main character, Flynne Fisher, a woman who witnesses a murder after she takes the place of her brother, Burton Fisher, a veteran of United States Marine Corps’ Haptic Recon force, in his cyberspace security job. But perhaps the best part about [Amazon Prime Video’s free trial](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/offers/?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F) is that customers can sign up for it multiple times. According to Amazon, users can sign up for [Amazon Prime Video’s free trial](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/offers/?tag=scprimevideo-20&asc_source=web&asc_campaign=web&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstylecaster.com%2Fhow-to-watch-the-peripheral%2F) over and over again as long as it isn’t within the same 12 months. [how to watch The Peripheral](https://stylecaster.com/amazon-prime-shows/) online for free to see the wild series from start to finish.

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for The Peripheral. We are in an era of fantasy and sci-fi, from Andor to House of the Dragon.

The book ends far in the future of Flynne’s timeline, which had departed from Wilf’s due to Wilf and Aelita’s meddling. Daedra and Hamed had actually conspired with Sire Henry to exterminate the Patchers and sell the profits for themselves. [Andor](https://www.distractify.com/p/how-many-episodes-will-andor-have) to [House of the Dragon](https://www.distractify.com/t/house-of-the-dragon). Burton and his military colleagues, including his friend Conner (Eli Goree), with the help of Burton’s job’s front, Milagros Coldiron, are able to fight back against the assassins sent from the future. [Chloë Grace Moretz](https://www.distractify.com/p/chloe-grace-moretz-meme)) and Burton Fisher (Jack Reynor), viewers may be surprised by the satisfying ending. The new series, produced by [HBO’s](https://www.distractify.com/t/hbo-max) Westworld creators, shares [Westworld’s](https://www.distractify.com/t/westworld) dystopian perspective.

Scott B. Smith began writing the Amazon Prime Video sci-fi series The Peripheral three weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic put much of the world into ...

The creator of [Lost](https://time.com/collection-post/3103624/lost/), [The Leftovers](https://time.com/4137890/the-leftovers-season-2-finale/), and [The Watchmen](https://time.com/5700888/watchmen-hbo-graphic-novel/) has an “uncanny ability for creating quirky, unusual characters that fans love,” Scott says. “That human quality,” Scott says, “is what persists through whatever techno dystopia might be happening on screen or off.” The Peripheral wants to be a friendly reminder of that fact. Often he and his writers room would share links to stories about [Elon Musk](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2021-elon-musk/)’s forays into “ [brain chips](https://time.com/6191973/big-tech-freedom-of-thought/)” and [Humanoid robot assistants](https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/30/23374729/tesla-bot-ai-day-robot-elon-musk-prototype-optimus-humanoid). “He is so prescient, so known for his [ability to get the future right](https://time.com/3731977/science-fiction-future-wrong/), it obscures some of his astonishing capacity as a novelist.” Smith was told that Flynne and Burton’s hometown of Clanton “bears some emotional resonance with Gibson,” who grew up in a small Virginia town in the Appalachians. But it was one he was willing to take thanks to a piece of advice his producers, Nolan and Joy, gave him early in the writing process: “Keep it simple, it’s easier to convey and it’s always enough.” In other words, the viewer’s imagination is more than capable of filling in the blanks—so why not let them? (In the show, Burton describes it as “two souls becoming one” and this connection can often feel a lot like love.) But Gibson doesn’t reveal what the haptics are until later in the novel and he doesn’t do it all at once. [Chloë Grace Moretz](https://time.com/4387638/chloe-grace-moretz-twitter-trolls/)), a struggling gamer-for-hire who lives in the rural American South of the not-so-distant future. “I allowed for a certain degree of confusion and trusted that other people involved in the elaborate production would speak up if anything was incomprehensible,” Scott says. A global pandemic plays a pivotal role in the series based on [William Gibson’s 2014 novel](https://time.com/collection/must-read-books-2020/5904425/agency/) of the same name, making the experience of adapting the work “almost like watching the book unfold in real time as we’re trying to write,” Smith tells TIME ahead of the show’s Oct. Gibson, who [coined the term “cyberspace”](https://time.com/5770124/author-william-gibson-new-book-interview/) in his 1982 short story Burning Chrome, is regarded as a visionary among sci-fi authors, known for an ability to predict the future. The twisty sci-fi noir looks at a future in which reality and virtual reality are one in the same, but, in real life, the now 74-year-old Gibson is actually quite averse to technology.

"The Peripheral" star T'Nia Miller talks about Amazon Prime Video's Chloe Grace Moretz-led show and why it's a warning about society and technology.

This is not even 70 years in the future. Expect similar storytelling in The Peripheral, so pay attention; this is not a show you want to watch while mindlessly scrolling through your phone—in fact, that would actually be a little ironic. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission from the sale. It’s like 10 years in the future. Using a simple headset, someone has managed to open the door to Flynne’s consciousness and she awakens in London nearly 70 years in the future. This could happen in the blink of an eye. She possesses “the power of Facebook”, i.e. To take a more modern approach, the creators of Rick and Morty Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland suggest there are infinite realities with infinite versions of ourselves, thus our reality as we know it doesn’t matter. Because it depicts civilization a mere 10 years away, the themes presented in the series hit particularly close to home in relation to how humans interact with technological advancements. The Peripheral is set in 2032. [T’Nia Miller](https://stylecaster.com/the-haunting-of-bly-manor-hannah-tnia-miller/) was a child, she was faced with an unsettling albeit intriguing thought: “What about if we just are in a box in a laboratory somewhere?” she tells STYLECASTER, recalling her father saying. “You know, we could just be ants in a box.” Miller’s father is certainly not the first, nor will he be the last, human to question the nature of human existence.