A post-apocalyptic world is examined in MGM+’s new series, ‘Earth Abides‘, but what audiences wont see is a lot of fanfare. Instead, the story holds its weight through its characters and what they have to go through rather than relying on a plague of deadly zombies or monsters from above to set the scene. The show comes from George R. Stewart’s 1949 book of the same name, which follows the fall of civilization from deadly disease and the emergence of a new culture with “simpler tools.”
Alexander Ludwig tackles the role of Ish, who wakes up after surviving a snake bite to this new world, one with hardly any inhabitants, and no technology or resources. It’s not until he meets Emma, played by Jessica Frances Dukes, that the two start to rebuild civilization. And audiences can expect different trials and tribulations (some from their circumstances and some from other characters) to play out across its six episode run.
To chat more about the series, Ludwig and Dukes sat down to delve deeper into ‘Earth Abides.’
What interested you in this project?
Ludwig: Michael Wright, the head of MGM+, gave me a call and said: “You’re perfect for this. This is my favorite book of all time, it’ll be the hardest thing you ever do and the most rewarding.” He delivered on both of those promises. I love challenges as an actor and I love doing the unexpected, I never want to be put in a box. This was without question the biggest challenge I’ve ever had in my career. What I loved so much about the story was that when you hear post-apocalyptic, you think of monsters and zombies. In this show, the monsters are within. It’s a story about people and survival, and about why humanity matters.
The themes that we deal with are what happens when you have to deal with disease and there are no doctors around, or you have to give birth to your first child, or the animals come back to retake what was once theirs. Or, someone in another tribe that you end up meeting seeks to destroy everything you’ve worked so hard to protect and build. That’s why I was fascinated by this…there’s never been anything like it, and I don’t think there ever will be.
Dukes: When I read the first episode, the writing immediately got me. I was floored by the beautiful imagery, and by the poetry. I was like, oh God, this writing is great. Then I started to read Emma and I realized that it would be an opportunity for me to play a woman that is so multidimensional and has so many layers. [She’s] skilled at a rifle, and at the same time, can bring a baby into this world with no doctors and all of that— and has to coach her husband through it. She’s such a survivor and such a force that it was immediately a yes for me.
Why do you think this story still translates so well many years later?
Dukes: For me, I was floored at how timely it felt after going through the pandemic and the things that shocked me during that time. I’m such a workaholic and it’s not a bad thing, I love what I do, but the only thing I cared about was my family and getting to them.
You realize what’s important when everything that you deem important is gone: Love and hope and community and family and all those things. So I immediately just absorbed that from the book. I actually read it bit by bit as we shot so I could go in time and I could have a full-fledged immediate reaction and then take that to set the next day.
Ludwig: I wasn’t smart enough to do that. I read the whole book, but I love that whole process and I wish I did that. To me, similar to what Jessica said, it was the hopefulness of the book that I think translated really, really well. I felt like for a book written in 1949, it was so unbelievably forward-thinking, so profound. It was almost biblical. It seems like most people understand what this is, and having watched it, they’re like, oh, this isn’t ‘The Last of Us.’ This is a love story to humanity and a love story between two people.
The process of shooting this show was difficult for both of you. Alex, you spent a lot of time shooting alone in Episode 1 and Jessica, your character has to manage being pregnant in this post-apocalyptic world. What did you take away from this filming experience?
Ludwig: In terms of the actual shooting of the show, I’ve never done a project that was so taxing—both physically and mentally. As Ish went on this journey of self-discovery, a lot of it is through and because of Emma. So I think Ish goes from being this closed-minded, stubborn human being to realizing that the very thing he was running away from at the beginning is the very thing he’s running to now. And he will protect that at all costs.
Dukes: I hope that everyone watches this show and takes a look in the mirror and asks themselves how they’re bettering humanity, how they’re helping humanity move forward and how they’re making space for others. Are they listening to other people? Are they giving to other people? All of it. I think that’s the only way we’re going to move forward.
I think we watch that in this community and this group of people. It’s a lesson in love too. It’s a lesson when to say, you know what? I know you really want to do this, I know this is a part of you, so how can I support you in doing this? Or saying, no, you’re wrong. The amount that these two (Ish and Emma) go through is so monumental, but what’s so beautiful is how they go through it together. And at no point is one ignoring the other. It is a beautiful, beautiful force.
In the post-apocalyptic genre, what sets ‘Earth Abides’ apart in your eyes?
Ludwig: Simply that it’s the unexpected. This is a show about what would actually happen in the worst-case scenario, and it’s a show about what you would actually do. I’m pretty sure after COVID, we’ve all asked ourselves some form of that question: What would we do if this got worse? What matters in the worst-case scenario? That’s why this is interesting— it’s all about people and what you would really do if this was a reality.
Catch new episodes of ‘Earth Abides‘ Sundays on MGM+
