All the way back during last year's Comic-Con, a plucky little sci-fi show about a killer AI had its premiere episode debut in anticipation of its upcoming release. And then...silence. Now, more than a year later, Fox has finally revealed that NeXt is scheduled to premiere on October 6.
Starring John Slattery of Mad Men fame, NeXt features a 24-esque storyline in which the hero teams up with a cybercrime task force to take down a murderous AI. It seems showrunner Manny Coto, who has significant experience working on 24, is attempting to bring the classic rogue AI story into the format of a TV procedural.
Other than the basic premise and cast list, little is known about the plot of the show beyond what is evident in the released teaser. The trailer displays a rather grounded take on the premise, with no robot bodies or Ultron-style world domination plans to be seen. Rather, the clips revealed show that the real threat of the AI is its ability to inhabit and access any sort of tech system it sees, messing with elevators, ventilators, and even smart-driving cars in attempts to kill its chosen targets. How one tackles that sort of invisible enemy is an interesting question indeed, and one the show will hopefully have some interesting answers to.
The 24 influences are apparent, with Manny Coto outright stating at last years Comic-Con: "Having worked on 24 for so long, I said this is a great way to do a 24-like thriller with a race against time to stop an AI." Now that the show finally has a concrete release date, it looks to offer an entertaining battle of wits between an off the rails AI and its increasingly paranoid targets, one that can presumably only end in dramatic fashion. It's more grounded setting and teaser may comfort audiences looking for a a more realistic take on killer AI stories than the typical space robots or military android stories. For viewers who like what they see, NeXt will be arriving on Fox, so it can viewed and enjoyed in full this coming October.
NeXt will premiere on Fox October 6.
Source: SyF y