The Man in the High Castle (TV series)

The Man in the High Castle is an American dystopian alternate history television series created for streaming service Prime Video, depicting a parallel universe where the Axis powers of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan rule the world after their victory in World War II. It was created by Frank Spotnitz and is produced by Amazon Studios, Scott Free Productions, Headline Pictures, Electric Shepherd Productions, and Big Light Productions. The series is based on Philip K. Dick's 1962 novel of the same name.
In the parallel universe, Germany and Japan have divided the United States into the Greater Nazi Reich in the east, with New York City as its regional capital, and the Japanese Pacific States to the west, with San Francisco as the capital. These territories are separated by a neutral zone that encompasses the Rocky Mountains. The series starts in 1962 and follows characters whose destinies intertwine when they come into contact with newsreels and home movies that show Germany and Japan losing the war. The title of the series refers to the mysterious figure believed to have created the footage.
The pilot premiered in January 2015, and Amazon ordered a ten-episode season the following month which was released in November. A second season of ten episodes premiered in December 2016, and a third season was released on October 5, 2018. The fourth and final season premiered on November 15, 2019.
Setting.
Set in 1962, the series' main setting is a parallel universe where the Axis powers have won World War II in 1946 after Giuseppe Zangara assassinated the United States President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, which creates a series of developments that include the Germans dropping an atomic bomb on Washington, D.C. (now renamed "District of Contamination"). Eastern and Midwestern North America is a colony controlled by the Greater Nazi Reich (GNR) under an aging Adolf Hitler. The colony, headed by a " of North America", is commonly referred to as "Nazi America" or "the American Reich" and its capital is New York City.
Western North America, now part of the "Japanese Pacific States", is occupied by the technologically less-advanced Shōwa-period Empire of Japan, which has assimilated its formerly American citizens into Japanese culture, although high-class ethnic Japanese are extremely fascinated by pre-War American culture. Japan's Trade and Science ministers work in the Pacific States' capital, San Francisco. A Neutral Zone, which encompasses the Rocky Mountains, serves as a buffer zone due to Cold War-like tensions between the German and Japanese blocs. The Japanese rulers subject non-Japanese people to racial discrimination and grant them fewer rights, while the Nazis continue to hunt minorities and euthanize the physically and mentally sick. The superior technology of the Germans is highlighted by the use of video phones and Concorde-like "rockets" for intercontinental travel.
Views of numerous other Earths, some where the Allies were victorious, some featuring executed Allied leaders, such as Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, some where an American resistance is doing well, are seen in the films collected by "the Man in the High Castle".
Production.
In 2010, it was announced that the BBC would co-produce a four-part TV adaptation of "The Man in the High Castle" for BBC One together with Headline Pictures, FremantleMedia Enterprises and Scott Free Films. Director Ridley Scott was to act as executive producer of the adaptation by Howard Brenton. On February 11, 2013, "Variety" reported that Syfy was producing the book as a four-part miniseries, with Frank Spotnitz and Scott as executive producers, co-produced with Scott Free Productions, Headline Pictures and Electric Shepherd Prods.
On October 1, 2014, Amazon Studios began filming the pilot episode for a potential television drama to be broadcast on their Prime web video streaming service. Adapted by Spotnitz, the project was produced for Amazon by Scott, David Zucker and Jordan Sheehan for Scott Free, Stewart Mackinnon and Christian Baute for Headline Pictures, Isa Hackett and Kalen Egan for Electric Shepherd and Spotnitz's Big Light Productions. The pilot was released by Amazon Studios on January 15, 2015. Amazon Studios' production process is somewhat different from those of other conventional television channels in that they produce pilot episodes of a number of different prospective programs, then release them and gather data on their success. The most promising shows are then picked up as regular series. On February 18, 2015, Amazon announced that "The Man in the High Castle" was given the green-light along with four other series, and a full season would be produced.
The pilot, which premiered in January 2015, was Amazon's "most-watched since the original series development program began". The next month, Amazon ordered a ten-episode season, which was released in November to positive reviews. A second season of ten episodes premiered in December 2016, and a third season was announced a few weeks later. Amazon announced in January 2017 that they were bringing on new executive producer and showrunner Eric Overmyer for the third season to replace Spotnitz, who had departed from the show during the second season. Season three was released on October 5, 2018. In July 2018, it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that the series had been renewed for a fourth season, which was confirmed in February 2019 to be the last one of the series. Daniel Percival and David Scarpa took over as showrunners for the final season.
Filming.
Principal filming for the pilot took place in Seattle, with the city standing in for San Francisco and locations in New York City, as well as Roslyn, Washington, which was the long-time shooting location for "Northern Exposure", standing in for Canon City and other Neutral Zone locations. Sites used in Seattle include the Seattle Center Monorail, the Paramount Theatre, a newspaper office in the Pike Place Market area, as well as various buildings in the city's Capitol Hill, International District, and Georgetown neighborhoods. In Roslyn, the production used external shots of the Roslyn Cafe, which featured prominently in "Northern Exposure", along with several local businesses and scenery.
For the series, filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the downtown area of West Georgia Street, along the promenade of the Coast Capital Savings building in April 2015. In May and June 2015 filming also took place at the University of British Columbia. Exterior shots of Hohenwerfen Castle in Werfen, Austria, were filmed in September 2015 for the tenth episode of the first season. The interior scene where Hitler and Rudolph Wegener meet was shot on the ground-floor of the Bell Tower.
Release.
The pilot and the second episode were screened at a special Comic-Con event. The season premiered on November 20, 2015. The second season was released on December 16, 2016. The third season was released on October 5, 2018. The fourth season was released on November 15, 2019.
Reception.
The pilot was Amazon's "most-watched since the original series development program began". The first season received critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes gives it an approval rating of 95% based on reviews from 58 critics, with an average rating of 7.54 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states,By executive producer Ridley Scott, "The Man in the High Castle" is unlike anything else on TV, with an immediately engrossing plot driven by quickly developed characters in a fully realized post-WWII dystopia.Metacritic gives the first season a score of 77 out of 100, based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Meredith Woerner from "io9" wrote, "I can honestly say I loved this pilot. It's an impressive, streamlined undertaking of a fairly complicated and very beloved novel." Matt Fowler from IGN gave it 9.2 out of 10 and described the series as "a superb, frightening experience filled with unexpected twists and (some sci-fi) turns". Brian Moylan of "The Guardian" was positive and praised the convincing depiction as well as the complex and gripping plot. The "Los Angeles Times" described the pilot as "provocative" and "smartly adapted by The X-Files' Frank Spotnitz". "The Daily Telegraph" said it was "absorbing", and "Wired" called it "must-see viewing". "Entertainment Weekly" said it was "engrossing" and "a triumph in world-building", cheering, ""The Man in the High Castle" is king." After the season, "Rolling Stone" included it on a list of the 40 best science fiction television shows of all time. Amazon subsequently announced it was the service's most-streamed original series and had been renewed for a second season.
The second season received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives it an approval rating of 64%, based on reviews from 25 critics with an average rating of 7.0 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states,Although its plot is admittedly unwieldy, "The Man in the High Castle"s second season expands its fascinating premise in powerful new directions, bolstered by stunning visuals, strong performances, and intriguing new possibilities.Metacritic gives season 2 a score of 62 out of 100, based on reviews from ten critics.
The third season was met with positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives it an approval rating of 86%, based on reviews from 21 critics with an average rating of 7.45 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states,The crafty addition of minor sci-fi elements and a terrific William Forsythe to the show's already engrossing narrative make "The Man in the High Castle"s third season another worthy binge.Metacritic gives season 3 a score of 70 out of 100, based on reviews from five critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
The fourth season received positive reviews but the series finale was polarizing amongst fans and critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives it an approval rating of 92%, based on reviews from 12 critics with an average rating of 7.22 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states,"The Man in the High Castle" finds something close to closure, wrapping up major threads to bring everything full circle in sufficiently dramatic fashion.
Advertising controversy.
As part of an advertising campaign for the season 1 release, an entire New York City Subway car was covered with Nazi and Imperial Japanese imagery, as seen in the show, including multiple US flags with the Imperial Eagle symbol in place of the 50 stars, and multiple flags of the fictional Pacific States.
In response to criticism from "state lawmakers and city leaders", the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) released a statement saying that there were no grounds to reject the ads because the neutral content subway ad standards prohibit only advertising that is a political advertisement or disparages an individual or group. MTA spokesperson Kevin Ortiz stated, "The MTA is a government agency and can't accept or reject ads based on how we feel about them; we have to follow the standards approved by our board. Please note they're commercial ads." Spokesperson Adam Lisberg said, "This advertising, whether you find it distasteful or not, obviously they're not advertising Nazism; they're advertising a TV show."
After complaints from New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, initial reports indicated that Amazon pulled the advertisement from the subway. It was later announced that it was the MTA, not Amazon, that pulled the ad because of pressure from Cuomo.