“Brave New World” is an upcoming sci-fi dystopian drama series based on the 1932 Novel by Aldous Huxley, which will premiere on NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock on 15th July.
The series is set in a utopia whose perfection hinges upon control of monogamy and privacy, members of the collective begin to question the rules, putting their regimented society on a collision course with forbidden love and revolution.
“Brave New World” is set in the World State city of London in AF (After Ford) 632 (AD 2540 in the Gregorian calendar), where citizens are engineered through artificial wombs and childhood indoctrination programmes into predetermined classes (or castes) based on intelligence and labour. Lenina Crowne, a hatchery worker, is popular and sexually desirable, but Bernard Marx, a psychologist, is not. He is shorter in stature than the average member of his high caste, which gives him an inferiority complex. His work with sleep-learning allows him to understand, and disapprove of, his society's methods of keeping its citizens peaceful, which includes their constant consumption of a soothing, happiness-producing drug called soma.
Now that we all have a little idea what “Brave New World” is all about, let's dive into the main characters who are going to feature in this series.
John the Savage:
John is the illegitimate son of the Director (played by Ed Stoppard) and Linda, born and reared on the Savage Reservation ("Malpais") after Linda was unwittingly left behind by her errant lover. John the Savage is an outsider both on the Reservation—where the natives still practice marriage, natural birth, family life and religion—and the ostensibly civilised World State, based on principles of stability and happiness. He has read nothing but the complete works of William Shakespeare, which he quotes extensively, and, for the most part, aptly, though his allusion to the “Brave New World.” John is intensely moral according to a code that he has been taught by Shakespeare and life in Malpais but is also naïve: his views are as imported into his own consciousness as are the hypnopedic messages of World State citizens. The admonishments of the men of Malpais taught him to regard his mother as a whore; but he cannot grasp that these were the same men who continually sought her out despite their supposedly sacred pledges of monogamy. Because he is unwanted in Malpais, he accepts the invitation to travel back to London and is initially astonished by the comforts of the World State. However, he remains committed to values that exist only in his poetry.
Alden Ehrenreich is playing John the Savage in the series.
Linda:
John's mother, decanted as a Beta-Minus in the World State, originally worked in the DHC's hero Room, and subsequently lost during a storm while visiting the New Mexico Savage Reservation with the Director. Despite following her usual precautions, Linda became pregnant with the Director's son during their time together and was therefore unable to return to the World State.
Demi Moore is playing Linda in the series.
Lenina Crowne:
Lenina Crowne is a young, beautiful fetus technician at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. She is part of the 30% of the female population that are not freemartins (sterile women). Lenina is promiscuous and popular but somewhat quirky in her society. She had a four-month relation with Henry Foster, choosing not to have sex with anyone but him for a period of time. She is basically happy and well-conditioned, using soma to suppress unwelcome emotions, as is expected. Lenina has a date with Bernard, to whom she feels ambivalently attracted, and she goes to the Reservation with him. On returning to civilization, she tries and fails to seduce John the Savage.
Jessica Brown Findlay is playing Lenina Crowne in the series.
Bernard Marx:
Bernard Marx, a sleep-learning specialist at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. Although Bernard is an Alpha-Plus (the upper class of the society), he is a misfit. He is unusually short for an Alpha; an alleged accident with alcohol in Bernard's blood-surrogate before his decanting has left him slightly stunted. Bernard's independence of mind stems more from his inferiority complex and depressive nature than from any depth of philosophical conviction. Unlike his fellow utopians, Bernard is often angry, resentful, and jealous. At times, he is also cowardly and hypocritical. His conditioning is clearly incomplete. Bernard is in love with Lenina but he doesn't like her sleeping with other men, even though "everyone belongs to everyone else".
Harry Lloyd is playing Bernard Marx in the series.
Mustafa Mond:
Mond is an urbane and hyperintelligent advocate of the World State and its ethos of "Community, Identity, Stability". She is uniquely aware of the precise nature of the society she oversees and what it has given up to accomplish its gains. Mond argues that art, literature, and scientific freedom must be sacrificed to secure the ultimate utilitarian goal of maximising societal happiness. She defends the caste system, behavioural conditioning, and the lack of personal freedom in the World State: these, She says, are a price worth paying for achieving social stability, the highest social virtue because it leads to lasting happiness.
Nina Sosanya is playing Mustafa Mond in the series.
Henry Foster:
Henry Foster, One of Lenina's many lovers, he is a perfectly conventional Alpha male, casually discussing Lenina's body with his coworkers. His success with Lenina, and his casual attitude about it, infuriate the jealous Bernard. Henry ultimately proves himself every bit the ideal World State citizen, finding no courage to defend Lenina from John's assaults despite having maintained an uncommonly longstanding sexual relationship with her.
Sen Mitsuji is playing Henry Foster in the series.
CJack60:
CJack60, is an Epsilon (the lower class of the society)) in this dystopian city. Relegated to menial labor, Epsilons are treated almost as if they aren't even human. That status quo doesn't last long, however, and CJack60 is at the heart of the upheaval that could save or destroy the characters of “Brave New World,” depending on how you look at it.
CJack60 doesn't exist in the original Novel.
Joseph Morgan is playing CJack60 in the series.
In an interview regarding “Brave New World,” Morgan revealed that "CJack60 is involved in a kind of horrific incident in the first episode of “Brave New World,” And because of that, he starts to question the reality of the world that he's involved in, and he starts to feel. All the people in New London are encouraged to suppress their emotions with this drug, soma. He stops taking that soma, and he starts to wonder, 'Well, why do the Epsilons have to do all of these jobs? Why are we stuck doing all of these jobs? Why is the world like this? And why do I feel like this?"
Among other characters, we have Kylie Bunbury as Frannie, Hannah John-Kamen as Wilhelmina 'Helm' Watson, Sophie McIntosh as Jane, Kate Fleetwood as Sheila and Ed Stoppard as Director. David Wiener has developed this series for Peacock.
The novel “Brave New World” was banned in india in 1967, with Aldous Huxley accused of being a "pornographer" and the novel accused of being a means to spread pornography.
So, If you are into the dystopian world kind of series, “Brave New World” is definitely for you. Watch it on NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock which is also launching on the same day, July 15. Below is the trailer: