Silo Season 3 Review: Past And Future Collide In An Addictive Season Of Apple TV's Underrated Sci-Fi Series

While "Severance" and now "Widow's Bay" appear to have broken through to the mainstream (and I suppose "The Studio" got there, too), it frequently seems like the Apple TV original shows get lost in the shuffle. This is understandable: there's just so much damn original streaming "content" these days, and while Netflix reigns supreme, streaming services like Apple TV get the short end of the stick (I suppose I should note right here that Apple, a huge billion-dollar company that can buy and sell all of us, doesn't really need anything resembling pity).

But Apple TV might have the best current track record when it comes to original material (Netflix may get all the attention, but let's be real: they produce a lot of junk). While not as good as, say, the criminally underrated Apple TV original "For All Mankind," "Silo" is the type of pulpy, twist-filled, mystery box sci-fi show that deserves more attention.

Created by Graham Yost and adapted from a trilogy of books by Hugh Howey, "Silo" is set in the distant future, where some sort of apocalyptic event has forced survivors to live in a massive underground silo. The show is returning for a third season, and I'm thrilled to say it remains the type of show you get excited to watch week after week.

"Silo" Season 1 found clever ways to keep toggling between genres: what started off as a murder mystery lead to a full-blown conspiracy thriller, as Juliette Nichols (the always watchable Rebecca Ferguson), an engineer from the lowest depths of the silo, uncovered a host of secrets that suggested a century-long cover-up was twisting and hiding the truth. Season 2 took Juliette outside to reveal there were other silos — something the residents of her silo had no knowledge of.

Season 2 also gave us one hell of a world-breaking ending: while all of Season 1 and the majority of Season 2 were set in the future, the final scene of Season 2 took us back to the past. We were introduced to a United States Congressman named Daniel (Ashley Zukerman) and intrepid journalist Helen (Jessica Henwick), who both made vague mention of a dirty bomb that had gone off in Washington D.C. and hinted at some direct connection to the silos of the future.

Season 3 now has to connect two different timelines, and it does so in exciting, unpredictable ways. While I wouldn't go so far as to call this the best season of the show (Season 1 is still holding strong on that front), "Silo" Season 3 is addictive. It helps that there's an endgame in sight — the series has already been renewed for a fourth and final season. With that in mind, the writers of "Silo" are clearly building towards something grand, and you can see the threads they're meticulously tying together (I haven't read the books, so I have to admit I have no idea where all this is going, and that's fine by me).

Before we got the shocking jump back in time, Season 2 concluded its future-set storyline Juliette returning to save the residents of her silo and seemingly being incinerated by a blast of fire for all her trouble. It's no spoiler to say that Juliette survived — she's the star of the show, and the Season 3 trailers have confirmed she's back. But things are very, very different. For one thing, Juliette, who was once an engineer and then a sheriff is now the mayor of the silo. She's also become something of a folk hero to the silo residents, since she's seemingly the only person to venture into the outside world and come back alive.

As is usually the case with "Silo," nothing is as it seems. I don't want to give too much away here, since part of the fun of the show is being swept up in its many twists and turns. But needless to say, Juliette will soon find herself caught up in more mysteries and far-reaching conspiracies as she tries to get to the truth and save the residents silo. She also finds herself at odds with people who were previously her closest confidants, including the gruff Knox (Shane McRae) and fellow engineer Shirley (Remmie Milner). And just what is the mysterious, frequently threatening Robert Sims (Common) up to? And the same question goes for his wife Camille (Alexandria Riley), who has some pretty big secrets of her own.

While Juliette's story in the future unfolds, "Silo" Season 3 also keeps cutting back to the past, where we get closer and closer to learning just how the world ended and where the silos came from. This narrative unfolds through the eyes of Daniel and Helen, the Congressman and reporter we met at the end of Season 2. Like Juliette, they find themselves wrapped up in a vast conspiracy with far-reaching complications. It all has something to do with a mysterious politician (Laura Innes), a doctor (Matt Craven), and a tech zillionaire (Colin Hanks) clearly meant to be this world's stand-in for Elon Musk. 

Without going into too much detail, I'll just say that I found this storyline to be a bit more interesting than what was happening to Juliette, even though Ferguson remains the best actor on the series. What happens to Daniel and Helen goes to an extremely dark place, resulting in one of the most harrowing scenes the show has unleashed so far. It left me unnerved and even a little depressed, and I mean that in the most complimentary way imaginable — any show that can elicit such a strong emotion within me is doing something right.

"Silo" may not exactly be prestige TV (despite its high-production value and big name star), but it has a way of hooking you with its ever-expanding world building and jaw-dropping revelations. Are some of them implausible? Sure! But like the glory days of pulp sci-fi, that doesn't really matter. "Silo" is also grimy and dark in a way that feels almost subversive in the current streaming landscape. While I hope for some sort of happy ending, a plethora of inescapable horrors have already unfolded to the point where there's really no going back. After all, in the show, the world has already ended.

"Silo" doesn't generate as much hype as "Severance" or the recent "Widow's Bay," and while I'd concede that those are both better shows, neither is quite as addictive as "Silo." It's like a salty snack you just can't put down, even if you know there are far more nutritious meals to be had. There's never been a better time to get on board with this show before it comes to an end.

/Film Rating: 7 out of 10

"Silo" Season 3 premieres July 3, 2026 on Apple TV.