The Sexiest Sci-Fi Dystopia Ever Made Is Buried On Peacock

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 24 seconds ago

If someone told you that the sexiest sci-fi dystopia of the decade turned monogamy into a dirty word, considered sexual pleasure to be more important than, you know, the continuation of the human race, and turned public displays of affection into not only socially acceptable, but the law, you’d wonder what strange HBO series hit when you weren’t looking. Now, if that same person said that all of this was found in a Peacock original sci-fi series from 2020, you’d think they were insane. Well, it is.

Brave New World, the adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s 1932 landmark sci-fi novel, includes all of the above. It’s sexy, it looks great, and for as dark as it gets, it only skims the surface of the nearly 100-year old story. 

Perfection Comes At A Price

Brave New World stars Alden Ehrenreich (Han Solo from Solo) as John, and Demi Moore as his mother, Linda, residents of The Savage Land. Kept around as an amusement attraction for the sophisticated residents of New London, The Savage Land includes cheap reenactments of such old-fashioned lifestyle choices as monogamy, family, and privacy. That’s because in the utopian society of New London, there’s no such thing as monogamy, privacy, or even history. Every citizen is ranked, from “A” to “F,” which leads to the surprising result when John arrives in the city and it’s discovered he’s an A-rank citizen. 

John helped save Bernard (Harry Lloyd) and Lenina (Jessica Brown Findlay) during a worker’s revolt in the Savage Land amusement parks. His mother sacrifices herself, taking with her the secret of his parentage: he’s the son of the Director of New London. Bernard, far more of a weasel in this adaptation of the novel, tries to help John adapt to life in New London. The creative, intelligent John balks at integrating into the hedonistic utopia, instead becoming a celebrity thanks to his ability to tell a story. Turns out, living in a perfect utopia that discourages individual expression is bad for artists. 

Brave New World Is A Sci-Fi Masterpiece No One Can Get Right

Aldous Huxley’s novel had the rough edges sanded off, particularly with regards to the Savage Land, which exists in the Peacock series as an amusement park compared to an actual reservation as depicted in the source material. The inclusion of the AI Indra, a way for easy monitoring of the characters that turns New London into the largest Big Brother set imaginable, is also new for the series. It’s a smart inclusion to transform the events of the novel for a visual medium, but it also softens the creepiness of the alleged utopia. 

Thankfully, what remains the same between the two is Helm (Killjoy’s Hannah John-Kamen) and her “feelies” drugs that let the residents feel any type of emotion. Pharmaceuticals have changed drastically from 1932 to today, making that particular part of Huxley’s vision much more relevant now. 

Brave New World was lambasted by critics when it premiered for its slow pace and unlikable characters, both of which are, arguably, found in the original text. The problem is that it takes too long for John to reach New London where the meat of the story takes place. Viewers turned away in droves and NBC pulled the plug on the show after only one season. 

Peacock hasn’t had any success with original sci-fi series since it launched. Brave New World was the streamer’s first high-profile cancelation, and the latest in a line of failed adaptations of the complex novel. At least this time it looks good.