‘The Terror’ Is Ridley Scott’s Greatest TV Series

Ridley Scott is a titan in the film industry. His prolific career spans six decades, with notable credits including the seminal 1979 sci-fi horror Alien, 1982’s Blade Runner, and the 2000 epic drama Gladiator. However, film isn’t the only medium in which Scott works. He’s also made his mark in TV, executive-producing shows such as the CBS legal drama The Good Wife and the first season of Prime Video’s Philip K. Dick adaptation, The Man in the High Castle. Scott executive-produced HBO Max’s (unfortunately) short-lived dystopian sci-fi series Raised by Wolves, and even helmed two episodes for his first foray into television directing in 50 years.

However, among Scott’s TV projects, one criminally underrated thriller, which wrapped its second season almost eight years ago, deserves some love. AMC’s The Terror is a genre-bending beast like no other, and it should have a place on all horror fans’ watch lists.

About AMC’s Twisty and Dark Anthology Series, ‘The Terror’

AMC

The 10-episode first season debuted on AMC on Mar. 25, 2018. It boasted an all-star cast, with Jared Harris, Tobias Menzies, Ciarán Hinds, Paul Ready, Adam Nagaitis, Nive Nielsen, Ian Hart, and Trystan Gravelle. Based on author Dan Simmons’s 2007 novel of the same name, the synopsis is as follows:

“Inspired by a true story, The Terror centers on the Royal Navy’s perilous voyage into uncharted territory as the crew attempts to discover the Northwest Passage. Faced with treacherous conditions, limited resources, dwindling hope and fear of the unknown, the crew is pushed to the brink of extinction. Frozen, isolated and stuck at the end of the earth, The Terror highlights all that can go wrong when a group of men, desperate to survive, struggle not only with the elements, but with each other.”

After the wild success of Season 1, AMC brought the supernatural horror anthology back for Season 2, subtitled Infamy, which premiered on Aug. 12, 2019. Co-created by Alexander Woo and Max Borenstein, the setting whisked audiences away to World War II. It starred renowned Star Trek icon George Takei, with Derek Mio, Kiki Sukezane, Miki Ishikawa, Shingo Usami, and Naoko Mori rounding out the cast. Here’s a brief logline:

“Set during World War II, the second season of The Terror centers on a series of bizarre deaths that haunt a Japanese-American community, and a young man’s journey to understand and combat the malevolent entity responsible.”

In February 2024, AMC shocked fans by renewing The Terror for a third season. This time, it’ll adapt Victor LaValle’s The Devil in Silver. Dan Stevens will executive-produce and star as Pepper, a working-class man wrongfully committed to New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital. There, Pepper must contend with the hospital’s grim secrets and a malicious entity that thrives on patients’ suffering. AMC initially ordered six episodes for Season 3, with an initial debut slated for 2025. As of writing, there are no updates regarding the season’s production or a premiere date.

‘The Terror’ Pushes Genre Boundaries

There are a lot of safe shows on TV. It’s easier to commit to something that colors within the lines, especially from a business standpoint. Nowadays, few studios and streamers are willing to take a risk on unique material. There’s the potential of financial loss if it fails to find an audience. Of course, The Terror‘s first two seasons aired before COVID-19 – before studios really started leaning into the safety of nostalgia with reboots and remakes.

Horror done well is a thing of beauty. The Terror delivers a masterful blend of tension and suspense, incorporating elements like drama and supernatural/fantasy to create something truly innovative. Immersive to its core, it plays on audiences’ psyches and makes them question what’s real. Here’s hoping Season 3 takes the genre to a new level.