Foundation's David S. Goyer Shares His Biggest Criticism Of Season 1 And How He Fixed It In Season 2 [Exclusive]
Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" books are a Very Serious series of science fiction novels, and the Apple TV+ adaptation follows suit. Even as the streaming adaptation incorporated more action and spectacle alongside Asimov's brainy ideas (a choice that was not only necessary, but one that paid off), showrunner David S. Goyer and his team hewed close to Asimov's original tone. This is a story told on a galactic scale, one about the fate of civilization spread across thousands of years. It's an epic story, and one that could veer into silliness if you weren't asked to accept its reality. Who has room for jokes when the stakes are so high?
Well, there is a big difference between "jokes" and "humor," and Goyer himself seems to recognize this. Speaking with /Film's Vanessa Armstrong ahead of the premiere of the second season, the showrunner acknowledged the chief criticism levied against the first season — yes, it was all oppressively serious at times. And yes, he took that criticism to heart and deliberately introduced new characters who were capable of lending the show some much-needed levity.
A little bit more humor
In season 2, the brooding emperors and po-faced scientists still scowl and growl and plot, but there's some humor to be found in margins. Specifically, the characters of Brother Constant (Isabella Laughland) and Hober Mallow (Dimitri Leonidas) keep season 2 from ever feeling too dark. Goyer admitted that giving these characters a sense of humor was a very deliberate choice on his part, a decision that he made after digesting criticism of season 1:
"It was definitely very conscious on my part. If there was one criticism I had of season 1 is that it was very serious. And yes, it's still a drama with the capital D, but I wanted more moments of levity. And even when you have life and death circumstances, I think it's important, especially in a big novelistic show like this, to have characters that might not take things like psychohistory seriously, or might be much more dismissive of Empire. And I think if you can appropriately sometimes get the audience to laugh with a character or laugh with you, you can win them over in ways that are harder to win them over just through straight drama."
Goyer is right on the money here. Hacky one-liners have no place in a science fiction epic like "Foundation," but characters who are innately humorous can't help but feel like a necessity. After all, this is a show about a fight to preserve human culture. What good is that fight if we don't meet people who represent worldviews and perspectives that are different and worth saving?
Increasing the Pace
But the new characters aren't the only ones bringing some humor to the apocalyptic gallows of "Foundation." Goyer also recognized that Lee Pace, who plays the literal emperor of the galaxy, is an inherently funny performer, and brought unexpected laughs during a key scene in season 1. Naturally, he decided to lean into that going forward:
"And so I felt we'd done one scene like that in season 1 in episode 4 with Lee Pace, where there was some very dark humor when he screams at a statistician and the guy has a heart attack. And Lee proved so good at it that I said, 'I want to do a bit more of that with Lee.' And in introducing Brother Constant and Hober, I thought, 'Oh, here's an opportunity to introduce more levity and hopefully just broaden our audience.'"
If there's one thing "Foundation" proves, it's that Lee Pace is essentially capable of playing just about anything. Let him be funny!
"Foundation" season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ on July 14, 2023.