Navigation Drawer
close
Search
Light System Dark
-
Tech
-
Reviews
-
Science
-
Entertainment
-
AI
-
Policy
-
Gadgets
-
Verge Shopping
-
Gaming
-
Streaming
-
Transportation
-
Verge Video
-
Podcasts
Mystery box shows are complicated for everyone — even the actors
Comments Drawer
Comments
- Entertainment Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Entertainment
- Report Report Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Report
- Streaming Streaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Streaming
Mystery box shows are complicated for everyone — even the actors
The team behind Silo talks about managing the series as it gets even bigger in season 3.
by Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Senior entertainment editor
Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All by Andrew Webster
Jul 2, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC
Image: Apple
- Entertainment Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Entertainment
- Report Report Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Report
- Streaming Streaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Streaming
Mystery box shows are complicated for everyone — even the actors
The team behind Silo talks about managing the series as it gets even bigger in season 3.
by Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Senior entertainment editor
Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All by Andrew Webster
Jul 2, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC
Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All by Andrew Webster
is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.
Silo is such a complicated show that even its showrunner gets confused sometimes. While filming the final seasons of the Apple TV sci-fi thriller, Graham Yost remembers two instances where he messed up details: once it was an actor who realized that a conversation they were about to shoot should’ve already taken place, the other involved the Japanese localization team pointing out that a subtitle didn’t match what was going on onscreen. In both instances, the problem was ultimately fixed, but Yost’s reaction was the same: “Oh shit, you’re right.”
Keeping everything straight is one of the big challenges of working on such a complex series, and as Silo enters into its final two seasons, the challenge has only increased. So it’s a good thing Yost has a team working alongside him looking for those mistakes. “It’s a lot to keep track of, but everyone is pitching in,” he says, “and I love this sense of collaboration.”
Season 3 of Silo starts streaming on July 3rd, and it expands the story’s scope quite a bit. The series follows the lives of the residents of a huge underground bunker hundreds of years in the future. The silo is home to 10,000 people who essentially live in a vertical city, one divided into layers that each have their own jobs and cultures, from the mines at the bottom to the government up top. The only way to navigate the silo is through a massive spiral staircase that goes from top to bottom, creating a very physical form of class division.
Video 251/1 Skip Ad Continue watching after the adVisit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE
Related
Initially it seemed the residents were the last remnants of humanity living in a postapocalyptic wasteland. But over the course of the first two seasons, it became clear that they lived in but one silo of many, each housing their own communities while isolated from the rest. Season 3 adds a new wrinkle: showing how the world came to be this way in the first place, a process that starts in a world that looks much like our own.
The season 3 premiere constantly jumps back and forth between the bleak future where we’ve spent the last two seasons and our present day, when the decisions were made that led to everyone being trapped inside of underground bunkers. Things are already complicated as the show picks up from last season — protagonist / silo mayor / reluctant revolutionary Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) has just become the first person to venture between silos and is now suffering from memory loss — and the multiple timelines only ratchets that up.
“It’s a lot of pieces you’re trying to put together.”
The cast of Silo all have different techniques for dealing with this challenge, which becomes even harder given that scenes are rarely shot in chronological order. For some, daily team meetings with directors can be an invaluable tool. “A lot of days, we’d start the day with story time, and the director would go through where we’re at, where we just came from, what happens next,” explains Alexandria Riley, who plays newly promoted authority figure Camille Sims in the show. “It’s already a complicated story anyway, but then when shooting out of order, you do get a bit foggy.” Ferguson notes that the hair-and-makeup team can be particularly helpful in tracking the story, as they need to be on top of things like scars and burns to maintain consistency. Every detail counts. “The little changes that you do have enormous ripple effects going forward,” she says.
“It’s a lot of pieces you’re trying to put together,” adds Common, who plays Camille’s husband Robert on the show. “It is our job to know where we are, but thank god we had support, too. There are times when I’d have to talk to Alex about something just to be reminded.” The two actors even had separate rehearsals together to make sure they had everything down.
Others took a different approach. Jessica Henwick, for instance, joined the main cast as the present-day investigative reporter Helen in season 3, and says that “I didn’t read any scenes except my own. Because I’m a fan of the show, I wanted to preserve that experience. I will watch season 3 as a fan and see what happens. I don’t know what happens except in our storyline.” (Henwick is such a fan that, soon after she was cast, she had a single goal in mind: “I went to the set and explored the stairs.”)
Image: Apple
One thing that doesn’t help much, however, is delving into the source material. Silo is based on a trilogy of books by author Hugh Howey; the first two seasons explored the first book, while the final two will wrap up the rest of the story. But much has changed in the adaptation as the TV show attempts to both make Juliette a more visible figure in the central part of the story and update some of the plotlines to reflect present day concerns like AI.
“I started reading the books and realized very quickly that that wasn’t going to help, because the books are so different,” explains Ashley Zukerman, who plays a congressman in the present day storyline. He says that keeping both the novels and the TV show in his mind at the same time wouldn’t be helpful and instead found “that reading the whole scripts and then finding a way to forget [what his character wouldn’t know] was useful.”
With two seasons to go, Silo is racing toward a conclusion as it attempts to wrap everything up. Yost says that four seasons was always the plan, so the process has been figuring out how to fit everything into a set number of episodes. But since the final two seasons were filmed back to back, it also means that the Silo team are done having to worry about keeping all of those complicated plotlines straight. And as much as she says she’ll miss the experience of working on the show, there is one thing Ferguson is excited to be done with beyond memorizing storylines.
“I fucking hated running up and down those stairs,” she says.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
- Andrew Webster Andrew Webster Senior entertainment editor
Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All by Andrew Webster
- Apple Apple Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Apple
- Entertainment Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Entertainment
- Interview Interview Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Interview
- Report Report Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Report
- Streaming Streaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Streaming
- Tech Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Tech
- TV Shows TV Shows Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All TV Shows
Featured Videos From The Verge
Google's new speaker and your smart home questions | The Vergecast
Video 341/1 Skip Ad Continue watching after the adVisit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE
Google is shipping its first smart speaker in six years, and we're starting to test it. The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy joins the show to explain why the Home Speaker matters, whether Google actually cares about the smart home, and more. Then, she helps answer a few questions from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about the power of Ikea and the future of your thermostat.
Most Popular
Most Popular
- Xbox testing disc-to-digital feature that digitizes a physical game collection
- Sony is killing all physical PlayStation game discs
- Range anxiety
- Sony is killing discs — and showing us why it’s a terrible idea
- How to end a TV show
Video 411/1 Skip Ad Continue watching after the adVisit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE
The Verge Daily
A free daily digest of the news that matters most.
Email (required)
Sign Up
By submitting your email, you agree to ourTerms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the GooglePrivacy PolicyandTerms of Serviceapply.
Advertiser Content From This is the title for the native ad
More in Entertainment
The funeral for PlayStation discs has begun
Xbox’s ‘reset’: all the news about Microsoft’s looming layoffs and studio closures
Krafton settles with Subnautica 2 developer after drawn-out dispute over $250 million
Comcast’s split could make or break Peacock
Sony is killing discs — and showing us why it’s a terrible idea
Sony is closing the PS3 and Vita digital stores
The funeral for PlayStation discs has begun
Jay Peters Jul 119
Xbox’s ‘reset’: all the news about Microsoft’s looming layoffs and studio closures
Verge Staff Jul 11
Krafton settles with Subnautica 2 developer after drawn-out dispute over $250 million
Jay Peters Jul 11
Comcast’s split could make or break Peacock
Emma Roth Jul 130
Sony is killing discs — and showing us why it’s a terrible idea
Andrew Webster Jul 1204
Sony is closing the PS3 and Vita digital stores
Jess Weatherbed Jul 112
Advertiser Content From This is the title for the native ad
Top Stories
An hour ago
BitTorrent’s disastrous, legendary, and controversial story
Jul 1
Sony is killing discs — and showing us why it’s a terrible idea
Jul 1
Rivian makes the iconic American car — but that may not be enough
Jul 1
Xbox testing disc-to-digital feature that digitizes a physical game collection
Jul 1
Google built a great smart speaker, but Gemini isn’t ready for it
-
Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Data
© 2026Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved
Notifications Drawer
Sign in to see your notifications or create an account to join the conversation.
Opt-Out Request Honored
Privacy Center
When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.
Cookie Policy Vendor List
Allow All
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Essential
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
-
Functional Cookies
Essential
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
-
Performance Cookies
Essential
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
View Vendor Details
Allow the Sale or Sharing/Targeted Advertising
- Allow the Sale or Sharing/Targeted Advertising
As a valued user, we are providing you the ability to opt-out from the sharing of your personal information to advertisers and social media companies at any time across business platform, services, businesses and devices. You can opt-out of the sharing of your personal information by using this toggle switch. For more information on your rights and options see our privacy notice.
-
Social Media & Embedded Content
- Switch Label
Content embedded on our sites (e.g. social media posts, video clips, polls and games) originates from third party sources such as social media platforms, video sharing sites, or other third party websites. When this content loads on pages you visit, any cookies or similar tracking technologies set by the third party source in connection with that content may also load. Vox Media doesn't set these cookies and doesn't control them. These cookies may be capable of tracking your browser across sites and/or building a profile of your interests. Not allowing these cookies will impact what content you can see and engage with on our sites.
-
Targeting Cookies
- Switch Label
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
View Vendor Details
Vendors List
Clear
-
- checkbox label label
Apply Cancel
Consent Leg.Interest
-
checkbox label label
-
checkbox label label
-
checkbox label label
Confirm My Choices