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SYFY WIRE Rebecca Ferguson

Apple TV sending Rebecca Ferguson to a toxic future in new series 'Wool', based on Hugh Howey's book trilogy

By Josh Weiss
Rebecca Ferguson

The word "wool" might conjure up thoughts of adorable sheep in most people, but not in Rebecca Ferguson's case. Apple TV+ announced this week that the Mission: Impossible actress will executive-produce and star in Wool, a post-apocalyptic drama series based on a trilogy of novels penned by Hugh Howey.

Set in a toxic future, the show is set to follow a community of humans that live deep underground in a massive silo containing hundreds of levels. "There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them," adds the synopsis. "Ferguson will star as ‘Juliette,’ an independent and hardworking engineer." In the first book, Juliette finds herself as the head of law enforcement for the entire silo, allowing her to break with convention and uncover a deadly conspiracy.

Emmy-nominated writer Graham Yost (Band of Brothers) has been tapped to adapt the series, while the Oscar-nominated Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game) is set to direct. Both are also executive-producing the series alongside Ferguson, Howey, Remi Aubuchon, Nina Jack, and Ingrid Escajeda.

Rebecca Ferguson Wool

"I think living in fear . . . it’s kind of what Wool is about, it’s about whether or not you should live like that or live completely naïve, the way I live," Howey remarked during a 2013 interview with Lightspeed Magazine. "I would rather be naïve and get burned than live with the idea that we have to have a Leviathan locking everything down."

Chatting with Wired the year before, the author discussed his audience, not all of whom were longtime fans of the sci-fi genre. "One of the many things that surprised me about Wool is how many of its fans don't consider themselves science fiction readers," he said. "There have been dozens of reviews and emails that start off with, 'I don't normally read science fiction, but...' This pleases me because I think the genre suffers from an unfair stigma. I love bringing new readers into the fold."