Apple TV+’s smash hit mystery-thriller ‘Silo‘ is back for its sophomore season this week.
Audiences will now see the world expanding past the underground chamber we’ve come to know throughout the beginning of the show, plus, we’re also introduced to some new characters. Like Solo, played by Steve Zahn.
Zahn joins an already all-star cast (including Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins and Common) in this story, which follows a community of people living underground in a giant silo commanded by strict rules and regulations. It’s when a series of traumatic events happens to one of the silo’s engineers, Juliette (Ferguson), that she begins to question the leadership and the truth behind what’s really happening in and out of their world.
The story of ‘Silo’ actually dates back to 2011. The plot began as a stand-alone piece by Hugh Howey, which he self-published online. But when support for the story began to grow mainly due to the strength of its characters, the stand-alone became a best-selling novel trilogy, and now, a full-blown series.
In Season 2, we see Juliette moments after where the show ended in its finale last year. After being framed by Bernard Holland (Robbins) and Robert Sims (Common), Juliette is sent outside to “clean,” and ends up surviving her exile, which causes quite a stir in the community. Where she ends up is another story on its own (hint, it’s an abandoned silo) and it’s also where she meets one of the series’ most interesting characters, a loner named Solo.
“I wanted to sign on because of this character pitch. And then reading Season 2, and watching Season 1—it’s rare that you can jump into something that’s already well established and successful and that looks great,” Zahn explains.
Zahn’s writing partner Rick Gomez (who plays Kennedy on the show) worked with the actor on a series of shorts a few years ago. Ferguson, who’s also friendly with Gomez, knew Zahn would be perfect for the part after watching one of those short films.
“[I was ]this fictional photographer that was famous for taking pictures of fireworks. She was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Steve would be great in this part next year.’ So that’s kind of where the seed was planted,” Zahn continues.
“I kind of workshopped this character in that short, which is interesting. But obviously, it evolved and became something much bigger. I had time, which is really rare for a character actor. I don’t typically have a lot of time to prepare, there’s usually a week or two or three or whatever. With this one, I had months. So I could grow out my hair and my beard. It was a really fun gig.”
Season 2 finds Solo and Juliette in a lot of scenes just on their own at the beginning. And in true ‘Silo’ fashion, the duo also gets involved in some precarious life or death situations.
“It was a very unique situation where I’m going to work every day with the same person. And thankfully, we’re buddies and got along so great. We also shot in sequence because we were in the studio and we have access to all the sets,” Zahn notes. “Usually you’re just all over the place when you shoot. So it was really great to learn about each other and trust each other as actors, but also our characters did it at the same time— so we could just be free in these moments. We almost felt like we were doing a Beckett play.”
Speaking of the sets, the actors on Season 1 noted just how grandiose and detailed each sound stage was. And that rang true for Zahn’s experience as well.
“My sets were insane. There are only a couple of movies that I can think of where I was like, oh wow, this is insane. Your jaw drops and you get scared because it’s your set, and you have to match how great it is with your performance. So, the heart starts beating hard. But when I walked into my room, I was moved. I had conversations with the set designers months before,” says Zahn. “I’d ask what would be in here? How would somebody survive that long?”
That helped inform his character.
“I think they’d have to be really creative,” finishes Zahn. “They’d have to have ADHD and not be able to focus on anything and just paint and play guitar and listen to music just to stay alive without companionship. So all those things we talked about were there in this insane room. And when I wasn’t shooting or I had a break or had lunch, I always went to my room and I took naps and played guitar. It was great.”
In ‘Silo,’ audiences go along for the ride to unravel the mysteries happening within the story (and it will differ from the book a bit.) Ultimately, this new chapter of the series will help explain some of what mystified audiences in the first season, but with the expansion of the already colorful environment. Plus, plenty more action.
‘Silo‘ Season 2 will debut on Apple TV+ with the first episode on Nov. 15, followed by new episodes on Wednesdays.
