Tales from the Loop

Tales from the Loop is an American science fiction drama television series developed and written by Nathaniel Halpern based on the art book of the same name by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag. The eight-episode first season was released in its entirety on Amazon Prime Video on April 3, 2020.

Series overview
Tales from the Loop follows the interconnected lives of the residents in the fictional town of Mercer, Ohio. Mercer is home to the Mercer Center for Experimental Physics, an underground facility known as the Loop. It is here that researchers attempt to "make the impossible possible".

Main

 * Rebecca Hall as Loretta, the mother of Jakob and Cole. She works alongside her husband George as a physicist at the Loop.
 * Abby Ryder Fortson as Young Loretta
 * Paul Schneider as George, the father of Jakob and Cole.
 * Emjay Anthony as Young George
 * Duncan Joiner as Cole, the youngest son of Loretta and George.
 * Shane Carruth as Adult Cole
 * Daniel Zolghadri as Jakob, the oldest son of Loretta and George.
 * Jonathan Pryce as Russ, the founder of the Loop. He is also the father of George and the husband of Klara.

Recurring

 * Jane Alexander as Klara, the wife of Russ and the mother of George.
 * Tyler Barnhardt as Danny Jansson
 * Ato Essandoh as Gaddis
 * Nicole Law as May
 * Danny Kang as Ethan
 * Christin Park as Stacey
 * Dan Bakkedahl as Ed
 * Lauren Weedman as Kate
 * Alessandra de Sa Pereira as Beth
 * Leann Lei as Xiu
 * Dominic Rains as Lucas
 * Jon Kortajarena as Alex
 * Brian Maillard as Kent
 * Elektra Kilbey as Alma
 * Stefanie Estes as Sarah

Background
Tales from the Loop is based on the 2014 narrative art book of the same name by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag; also drawing inspiration from the fact Stålenhag never fully explains what the science fiction objects he depicts do or where they come from.

Development
On July 17, 2018, it was announced that Amazon had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of eight episodes. Executive producers include Matt Reeves, Adam Kassan, Rafi Crohn, Nathaniel Halpern, Mark Romanek, Mattias Montero, Adam Berg, and Samantha Taylor Pickett. Halpern serves as showrunner and Romanek directed the pilot episode. Production companies involved with the series include 6th & Idaho, Indio, Amazon Studios, and Fox 21 Television Studios. The first season was released in its entirety on April 3, 2020. A first trailer was released on February that year.

Writer and showrunner Nathaniel Halpern drew inspiration from the short story cycle Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson; its themes of loneliness and isolation, and its focus on small town characters. Executive producer and director Mark Romanek drew inspiration from the Dekalog, the 10-part series of television films by Krzysztof Kieślowski. Other directors cited to influence the production include Ingmar Bergman, Yasujirō Ozu, and Andrei Tarkovsky.

Filming
The team, headed by visual effects producer Andrea Knoll, attempted to preserve the "painterly feeling" of Stålenhag's artwork, earning them an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role. In his attempts to "crack the code" of Stålenhag, cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth chose to shoot night scenes during dusk instead.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, season one has an approval rating of 86% based on 69 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Though the show around them burns a bit too slowly, Tales from the Loop beautifully transposes Simon Stålenhag's paintings into moving art and provides a welcome dose of warmth and humanity with its sci-fi." On Metacritic, season one has a score of 68/100 based on reviews from 15 critics.

David Baird from The B.C. Catholic characterizes the series as "a set of loosely interrelated meditations upon ephemerality, the impact of technology, and human vulnerability infused with a mild science fiction savour" and considers it "a beguiling fusion of forward-looking nostalgia". Joshua Thomas from The Michigan Daily simply considers it "superb sci-fi"; "exactly what good sci-fi should look like." Writing for Firstpost, Prahlad Srihari thinks its "wide shots, the symmetrical frames, and the play of light and space all do justice to Stålenhag's retrofuturistic vision". According to The Verge's Joshua Rivera, "Tales from the Loop is so pretty it breaks your heart." Writing for /Film, Hoai-Tran Bui thinks the show explores "universal elements of grief, aging, parenthood, loneliness, and love" but also that it "often toes the line between beguiling and boring". Polygon's Charlie Hall, meanwhile, was left "feeling uneasy and confused".