'Tales From The Loop' Trailer: The Impossible Is Possible

What is Tales From the Loop? Well, for one thing, it's the first TV series to ever be adapted from digital paintings. The show is inspired by the dreamy, surreal sci-fi artwork from Simon Stålenhag, and this adaptation appears to have perfectly captured the nature of Stålenhag's paintings. In the first Tales From the Loop trailer below, the imagery is strange and tantalizing, drawing you into what is sure to be a unique new series.

I was aware of Tales From the Loop, but the show wasn't really on my must-see list until now. This is such a well-done trailer, full of surreal imagery and a surprising tenderness that completely threw me for a loop. Created by Nathaniel Halpern and executive produced by Matt Reeves, Tales From the Loop "explores the town and people who live above 'The Loop,' a machine built to unlock and explore the mysteries of the universe – making things possible that were previously relegated only to science fiction. In this fantastical mysterious town, poignant human tales are told that bare universal emotional experiences, while drawing on the intrigue of genre storytelling."

The cast includes Rebecca Hall, Paul Schneider, Daniel Zolghadri, Duncan Joiner, and one of the Two Popes, Jonathan Pryce. Halpern wrote all eight episodes of the series, and serves as executive producer alongside Mark Romanek, Matt Reeves, Adam Kassan, Rafi Crohn, Mattias Montero, Samantha Taylor Pickett, and Adam Berg. Romanek directed the pilot.

"My art is basically science-fiction-themed landscape painting," Stålenhag said in an interview. "I try to approach scenes as if they're real, as if I'm actually seeing these things. I'm more inspired by landscape artists and wildlife art than science fiction art. Although, I am also very inspired by science fiction...I started with landscape and wildlife art. I drew birds and Swedish wildlife when I was a kid. That was my big passion. I always wanted to paint things that I see in my everyday life. And then I started working in the video game industry and I learned to draw all these the robot and monsters and science fiction themed stuff, and it just kind of bubbled out while I was doing the landscape."

I really hope the series itself can live up to the effectiveness of this trailer, because if so, we might be in for something special. Tales From the Loop premieres on Amazon Prime Video April 3, 2020.