Beacon 23

Beacon 23 is an American science fiction psychological thriller television series created by Zak Penn, based on a series of short stories of the same name by Hugh Howey. It stars Lena Headey and Stephan James, and is a co-production between Spectrum and Boat Rocker Media. Although originally greenlit by Spectrum Originals and AMC Networks, it premiered on MGM+ on November 12, 2023, in the United States. The second season premiered on April 7, 2024.
Set in the 23rd century, the series takes place on a remote "lighthouse" in space.
In September 2024, the series was cancelled after two seasons.

Premise

Beacon 23 follows Aster and Halan, two people whose fates become entangled after they find themselves trapped together at the end of the known universe. Aster mysteriously finds her way to a lonely beacon keeper, on his lighthouse in the darkest recesses of space. A tense battle of wills unfolds as Halan begins to wonder if Aster is friend or foe as her ability to disguise her agenda and motives could make her a formidable opponent.

Cast and characters

Lena Headey as Aster Calyx
Stephan James as Halan Kai Nelson
Natasha Mumba as Harmony
Wade Bogert-O'Brien as Bart
Stephen Root as Solomon
Barbara Hershey as Sophie
Eric Lange as Milan/Aleph
Marc Menchaca as Keir
Jess Salgueiro as Saldana
Daniel Malik as Finch
Marnie McPhail as Kanadey
Carolina Bartczak as Dr. Ree Avalon
Cyrus Faird as Tech Wrecker
Tara Rosling as Randall
Sandrine Holt as Coley
A.J. Simmons as Farut, Parsim's father
Sydney Meyer as Grisha, Parsim's mother
Matilda Legault as Parsim
Ellen Wong as Iris
Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2023)

Season 2 (2024)

Production

Development

Initial development of the series was announced in 2018. In March 2021, Lena Headey was named as the series lead, and in September 2021, Stephan James was named as the co-star. Prior to its initial broadcast, it was announced that the series would be picked up for a second season. It was also reported that season one and two would film back-to-back and that Glen Mazzara and Joy Blake would take over as co-showrunners after season one because of scheduling issues for Zak Penn. In September 2024, MGM+ cancelled the series after two seasons.

Filming

was initially scheduled to begin in Toronto in 2021. After a series of delays, it finally began on April 19, 2022. The pilot episode was directed by Daniel Percival. Production on the first season finished in November 2022, but the series stayed in production concurrent with the filming of the second season. On July 2, 2023, the author of the adaptation's source material, Hugh Howey, confirmed that two seasons had been filmed and were in post-production.

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 55% approval rating with an average rating of 5.5/10, based on 11 critic reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Beacon 23 is full of clever world-building flourishes while light on character depth, making for an uneven saga full of invention but lacking in inspiration."