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Devs season 2: Will Alex Garland’s acclaimed TV show return for new episodes?

Garland says sci-fi show is ‘companion piece’ to 2014 film Ex Machina

Jacob Stolworthy
Friday 01 May 2020 13:46 BST
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Trailer: Devs

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Devs is one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows of the year so far.

The science-fiction series from the mind of Alex Garland – the writer and director of 2014 film Ex Machina – was shown on Hulu in the US before becoming available to stream on BBC iPlayer in the UK.

Those who blitzed through all eight episodes will no doubt be left wondering when the show is returning.

However, chances of a follow-up are currently slim to none.

The series follows Lily Chan (Sonoya Mizuno) and her search for the truth following the disappearance of her boyfriend (Karl Glusman), who vanished after starting work at a quantum computing company named Devs.

Nick Offerman plays Devs’ creator, while Alison Pill plays his second-in-command, Katie.

Garland, who has been hesitant to return to projects in the past, devised Devs as a limited series, and has even wondered how he could continue the story of Lily and Forest in a potential follow-up. Moreover, Hulu is yet to commission a second season.

The writer-director has suggested he’d rather create a story set within the same world as Devs featuring the same actors in different roles akin to Ryan Murphy’s anthology series American Horror Story.

*Spoilers follow – you have been warned*

Though, with the conclusion of Devs introducing a multiverse following Lily’s climactic decision, there is certainly an appetite to see where the story goes. This multiverse is revealed to be a simulation created by Forest under the name Deus – a word which replaces “Devs” as the title at the end of the finale.

Should the show ever return, could it be packaged under a different name altogether? It seems likely. But more than that, Garland himself told Rolling Stone it was an in-joke due to the fact he views the show as a companion piece to Ex Machina. Together, the two comprise the term “Deus Ex Machina”.

Devs is available to stream in the UK on BBC iPlayer.

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