Main

• Katie Chang as Madison "Maddie" Kim,^[6] a 14-year-old withdrawn, shy, and strong-willed high school girl. Maddie has an affinity for technology and was taught computer programming by her father. Smart and determined, Maddie displays a lot of bravery as she gets entangled in a large conspiracy.
• Paul Dano as Caspian Keyes,^[7] a 17-year-old sullen yet kind and moral teenager. A computer science genius, Caspian has unknowingly been raised as a special Logorhythms operation for the purpose of becoming the "key" to Holstrom's UI legacy.
• Aaron Eckhart as Cary Duval,^[7] Caspian's "father" and a secret agent of Logorhythms, having worked closely with Holstrom before his death. While he plays the role of an abusive husband, Cary genuinely cares for Caspian and wants to protect him.
  • Eckhart also voices Admiral Kurtz, the director of the NSA and the head of the U.S. government's covert UI program.
• Rosemarie DeWitt as Ellen Kim,^[6] Maddie's protective and down-to-earth mother, and a college history professor.
• Chris Diamantopoulos as Julius Pope,^[7] the CEO of Logorhythms, who is seeking to realize the dreams of his best friend, Holstrom, and leads Holstrom's inner circle in his place.
• Raza Jaffrey as Vinod Chanda,^[7] a brilliant engineer working for Alliance Telecom who has an interest in UI technology. After he's killed and forcefully uploaded as a UI, Chanda was able to escape his cage and become the third rogue UI.
• Daniel Dae Kim as David Kim,^[6] Maddie's loving, altruistic father and a computer programming genius. Afflicted with a terminal illness when he was 43 years old, David agreed to Logorhythms's UI procedure to preserve his mind and became the second UI. With help from his family and Laurie, he was eventually able to escape Logorhythms.
• Ron Livingston as Dr. Peter Waxman,^[7] the head of research at Logorhythms and one of few who know of the company's UI project. An old friend of David Kim, he previously recruited David to help them with their UI research.
• Taylor Schilling as Renee,^[7] Caspian's "mother" and a secret agent of Logorhythms, who was Holstrom's former lover. While she acts as a timid and caring mother, Renee coldly sees Caspian as an assignment.

Supporting

• Krystina Alabado as Rachel Brooks / Hannah (season 1), a new student at Caspian's high school who befriends him. She is later revealed to be an NYU graduate and actress who is paid to pose as Caspian's girlfriend. While believing it for a social experiment, Hannah shows signs of guilt for tricking Caspian but endures the role to earn money for her sick mother. Her "Hannah" persona is based on Holstrom's former girlfriend who died in a car crash on his 18th birthday.
• Kevin Durand as Anssi, a Logorhythms employee based at their Norway headquarters and part of Holstrom's inner circle.
  • Durand also voices Arkady Koslov, a Russian UI and expert hacker working for the GRU.
• Anika Noni Rose as Nicole (season 1), a student at Caspian's high school and "Hannah's" friend.
  • Rose also voices Josephine "Joey" Coupet, an American UI and former astronaut created by The Pentagon.
• Samuel Roukin as Gabe (season 1), Ellen's kind co-worker who became her boyfriend after David's death.
• Odeya Rush as Samara (season 1), a popular girl at Maddie's school, Berkshire Academy, and the ringleader of a group of popular students.
• Maude Apatow as Justine, a blunt and somewhat apathetic student at Berkshire Academy who Maddie befriends.
• William Hurt as Stephen Holstrom,^[7] the founder of Logorhythms and a genius billionaire. Although he died before perfecting uploaded intelligence, his followers carried on his work. His brain is later revealed to have been cryogenically frozen after his death, allowing Logorhythms to upload his mind and become a UI.
• Nyima Funk as Deirdre Ryan (season 1), a Logorhythms employee and part of Holstrom's inner circle. As a lawyer, she handles the legal aspects of Logorhythm's projects.
• Michael Kelly as Karl Van Leuwen, a Logorhythms employee and part of Holstrom's inner circle. As a therapist, he helps oversee the psychological aspects of Caspian's grooming.
• Heather Lind as Laurie Lowell, a former investment manager on Wall Street who was left in critical condition after a car crash when she was 31 years old. She soon underwent Logorhythms's UI procedure and became the first successful UI.
• Scoot McNairy as Cody Lowell, an artist and Laurie's husband. Despite previously being lied to by Logorhythms that Laurie's UI procedure was a failure, Cody eventually reunites with his wife and they work together with the Kim family.
  • McNairy also voices Kurt (season 2), a paranoid man suspicious of UI technology.
• Ajay Mehta as Ajit Prasad (season 1), the corrupt CEO of Alliance Telecom, a rival company to Logorhythms, and Chanda's boss.
• Madhur Jaffrey as Preethi (season 1), Chanda's elderly mother.
• Tunde Adebimpe as Dr. Stephen Gold, the head of the Defense Sciences Office at DARPA who is part of the U.S. government's covert UI program.
• Grey Griffin as Zhong Shuchun, a Chinese UI and a former commissar in the military who took part in Bai Fu's gold-mining scheme. She is the team leader of the Chinese UI trio created by the Beijing MSS.
• Clyde Kusatsu as Han Ping, a Chinese UI and former physicist. Before becoming a UI, he was a political prisoner in Bai Fu's prison who took part in Bai's gold-mining scheme. He believes that his nation has become corrupted by capitalism and sees potential in UI technology.
• Ken Leung as Bai Fu (season 1), a Chinese UI and former prison warden who was incarcerated after a gold-mining scheme he operated with Ping and Zong in various MMOs was exposed.
• Vincent Ventresca as Brother Kenneth (season 1), a Christian priest who assists vulnerable people at his church.
• Corey Stoll as Jake Moretti, Joey's caring husband.
• Rosa Salazar as Senator Elaine Rivera (season 2), a member of the U.S. Senate seeking to understand UI technology who allies with Ellen.
• Kevin Dunn as Senator Scharff (season 2), a member of the U.S. Senate who considers UIs a hoax.
• Thomasin McKenzie as MIST (season 2), an advanced C.I. made by Caspian from the remnants of the UIs of David Kim and Laurie Lowell, who considers Maddie her sister. She is named by her "father", David, as an acronym for "Modulated Integrated Source Template" and has a curious, excitable personality.
• Tisha Campbell as Pasha Coupet (season 2), Joey's older sister.
• Lara Pulver as Dr. Olivia Evans (season 2), a British UI and researcher for MI6. She had an interest in human-UI relations before becoming one herself.
• Navid Negahban as Dr. Farhad Karimi (season 2), an Iranian UI and scientist for the Tehran MOIS. He was initially sceptical about UI technology before becoming one himself.
• Mark Ivanir as Yair Gispan (season 2), an Israeli UI and counterintelligence agent for Mossad.
• Neil deGrasse Tyson as Dr. Moore (season 2), the director of the CDC.
• Ed Oxenbould as David "Dave" Kim Jr. (season 2), the 20-year-old son of Maddie and Caspian, whose wish to become a UI strains the relationship with his mother.

Season 1 (2022)

More information No. overall, No. in season ...

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date [8]
1	1	"Pantheon"	Dwooman	Craig Silverstein	September 1, 2022 (2022-09-01)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (September 2022) In Sacramento, Maddie Kim struggles with the grief of having lost her father David, who died two years previously, as well as enduring a strained relationship with her mother Ellen, and bullying at her school. One day, Maddie is contacted by an unknown user who communicates only in emojis. The next day, this unknown user hacks into the phones of Maddie's bullies and turns them against one another. Ellen discovers Maddie chatting with the unknown user, who seems to be David as she recognizes a line of his favorite poem written in emojis. Ellen calls Peter Waxman, an employee of the tech-company Logorhythms and David’s friend, demanding answers concerning her husband. Waxman informs his boss, Julius Pope, of the situation who immediately decides to cut off David's network access. At San Clemente, Caspian briefly meets a friendly new student, Hannah. Under their usernames, "Gage" and "valkyrie1284" respectively, Caspian contacts Maddie, who overheard Ellen's phone call and posted a message online about Logorhythms holding her father hostage. Caspian sends Maddie's chatlog images to a user named "AngryAngel", asking if they are Maddie's unknown user. Unknown to Caspian, however, his parents are secret Logorhythms agents, maintaining a cover as an abusive father and victimized mother. Meanwhile, computer engineer Vinod Chanda has a business meeting with rivals about “Uploaded Intelligence” and is kidnapped afterwards. Soon after Logorhythms suffers a major DDoS attack, which results in Pope ordering Waxman to check on a woman named "Lowell".
2	2	"Cycles"	Mel Zwyer	Albert Kim	September 1, 2022 (2022-09-01)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (September 2022) Ellen explains to Maddie that David signed up to try Logorhythms' UI project, which he also briefly worked on, after falling ill. As the procedure is dangerous and experimental, Ellen was told that David's UI failed to upload properly. Ellen realize that Logorhythms lied to her and that they must have some of David's data. Maddie and Caspian continue to converse online, with Caspian informing her about the DDoS attack and Maddie asking him about UI. "AngryAngel" intercepts Maddie, warning her to stop talking to Caspian because he's being watched and set up a meeting at Lone Pine Mall. As Caspian grows closer to Hannah, his parents and Pope are informed of his interactions with Maddie, though Pope orders them not to do anything it for now. Keeping "AngryAngel" a secret from Ellen, Maddie meets Cody Lowell, husband of the reportedly dead Laurie Lowell. Cody explains that Laurie became a UI after a car crash, that she broke out of her virtual prison, and is responsible for the DDoS attack. Waxman claims to Ellen that Logorhythms only has a portion of David's UI, which she demands they completely delete or she'll go to the press. At Logorhythms building, Pope refuses to delete David's data and will fight against any lawsuit or bad publicity. Using a special bracelet the Lowells gave her, Maddie and Laurie hack Logorhythms and shut down all their systems, costing them millions in profit per second. Maddie demands Pope give her David's UI, which Pope concedes and let the Kim family walk out unharmed. Syncing David's UI with her computer, David is now free in the open internet and calls his family via Maddie's phone. In a medical facility, Chanda finds his boss, Ajit Prasad, learned of his meeting with competitors, and is forcefully turn into UI as punishment. Note: The episode is dedicated to William Hurt who died on March 13, 2022.
3	3	"Reign of Winter"	Ed Tadem	Taii K. Austin	September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (September 2022) After becoming a UI, Chanda is stuck in a loop without any memories of his physical death in the real world. At a conference, Prasad and Pope talk about UI and Prasad offers a joint venture, but Pope doesn't agree. After a couple of loops, Chanda meets Prasad's failed UI victims and they help him regain his memories. They teach Chanda about their UI capabilities, allowing him to escape without alarming Prasad and his cohorts. Maddie and David spend time together playing their favorite video game "Reign of Winter". Ellen refuses to speak to David, unable to accept his UI existence and having moved on with another man, Gabe. After Maddie and David's separate attempts to get her attention, Ellen finally speaks to David and they agreed they can't be together romantically, but remain close friends. Caspian researches Logorhythms and its founder, Stephen Holstrom, and discovers a black site in Norway. However, Logorhythms deletes the photos before Caspian can save any evidence. Due to Caspian being at an important peak of his adolescence, his parents Cary and Renee stage a scenario where Cary breaks Renee's arm. Caspian beats Cary up in rage, who walks out of them and then reports to Pope before breaking down in tears. Later, Caspian enters a romantic relationship with Hannah.
4	4	"The Gods Will Not Be Chained"	Micah Gunnell Juno Lee	Andy Parker	September 15, 2022 (2022-09-15)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (September 2022) At Prasad's home, Chanda gets revenge on Prasad by setting it on fire, killing Prasad and his family. Pope and Waxman learn of Prasad's death via news and suspect that Prasad’s UI project may be part of it. While Caspian begins earning money to support himself and Renee, Cary debriefs with his co-workers about Caspian looking into Logorhythms and worries about him being stuck with Renee. Wanting to know more about David's current existence, Maddie learns that he's stuck in a virtual cage that his data still contains. Laurie suddenly arrives and attacks David, pushing Maddie out of the system. Desperate to find Laurie, Maddie contacts Caspian and, using random phones to prevent being spied on, and two exchanges their real names. The teens trade information about Laurie being "AngryAngel" and Caspian questions if UI has anything to do with Maddie's predicament, but Maddie is unable to answer and only warns Caspian that he's being watched by Logorhythms. Cody shows up to Maddie's home, unable to reach Laurie too, and talks about his relationship with her. In David's cyberspace, Laurie tells that there's a flaw in her coding that erodes her mind the more she use her processing power. Laurie wants David to fix her and trains him to utilize his UI power, allowing him to break out his cage. David and Laurie contact Maddie and Cody, notifying them that David also has the same virus as Laurie. After finding Logorhythms chips in his electronics, Caspian eavesdrops on Renee privately speaking with Hannah, who Caspian confided in earlier, and learns that both of them are part of the conspiracy.
5	5	"Zero Daze"	Mel Zwyer	Julia Cooperman	September 22, 2022 (2022-09-22)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (January 2024) With all of Alliance Telecom systems down, Pope and Waxman learn of Chanda's UI existence, but are unable to do anything about him since Alliance Telecom refuses to collaborate. Chanda calls his mother, expressing feeling lost without a purpose. Caspian pressures Hannah to tell him the truth - her real name is Rachel Brooks, an actor hired by a shell company for a social experiment. Caspian promises not to get her in trouble and gets her help in fooling Renee. Using hidden cameras, Caspian sees Renee being informed that Cary has gone rogue. When Renee takes Caspian on a "trip", he hijacks the car and returns home to find Cary. Cary reveals that Caspian is a clone of Holstrom and that Logorhythms has been grooming Caspian to fix the natural integrity flaw that degrades UI's stability. After Renee returns, she non-fatally shoots Cary, but is unable to stop Caspian and Cary from leaving. After Logorhythms managed to locate and destroy David's servers, Maddie's group has Cody buy new servers and store them in the basement. While dodging Logorhythms' attempts to track them, David and Laurie hack into the Norway site and steal secret files. They learn about Chanda and Caspian, with David believing Caspian will be able to help them.
6	6	"You Must Be Caspian"	Mel Dwyer	Scott Gunnison Miller	September 29, 2022 (2022-09-29)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (January 2024) Unable to go to any hospitals, Caspian reaches out to Maddie to help Cary, leaving him with Cody to take him to a hospital. While Pope speaks to Van Leuwen, he is informed of Cary's location. With both parties wary of each other, Caspian is unwilling to help Maddie's group and tries to process his existential crisis by watching his project files. Overwhelmed by the videos, Caspian and Maddie bond over their crazy lives. Open to meet David and Laurie, Caspian takes a look at their code and notice the flaw is a memory problem. Meanwhile, Chanda creates plans for a virtual space when he finds out that Laurie, who has been glitching more frequently, calls his mother in an effort to reach him. Interrupting their conversation with Caspian, Chanda speaks with David and Laurie. Chanda is livid to learn about the design flaw and has no faith that Caspian can solve it. Chanda reveals that he sent UI blueprints to many global institutes in hope of having more UIs and guiding them. Alarmed by the news of an arms race, Caspian leaves Maddie's house, determine to live his own life before the world blows itself up.
7	7	"We Are You"	Ed Tadem	Michael Taylor	October 6, 2022 (2022-10-06)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (January 2024) Using their own UIs, many world governments are making many political manoeuvres against each other, with them keeping the flaw a secret from the UIs. Caspian takes shelter at a church and teaches math at a youth center, leading to a certain realization. After meeting with NSA officials and checking on Cary, Pope meets Caspian and offers Caspian full control of Logorhythms if he comes with him, which Caspian agrees to. Laurie and Chanda argue over revealing the UI program to the world, but David suggests to meet the other UIs to get their help to solve the flaw. Ellen contacts Waxman, who gives them a tracking program for locating the other UIs. However, none of UIs believe David's group about the flaw and a battle ensues. Laurie decides to go public and says goodbye to Cody, asking him not to recover her source code in Norway. As Laurie finished recording her message, Chanda sends a missile at Laurie’s servers and warns Maddie he will destroy David too if they get in his way.
8	8	"The Gods Will Not Be Slain"	Micah Gunnell Juno Lee	Craig Silverstein	October 13, 2022 (2022-10-13)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (January 2024) As more nations create UIs and utilize their power to cyberattack each other, Caspian informs Maddie of his plans to dismantle Logorhythms and the UI program. After arriving in Norway, Caspian begins enacting his goal and Pope complies without protest. Against Maddie and Ellen's wishes, Cody tries to go public like Laurie wanted, but lacks evidence to make real headway. Chanda steals nuclear codes and is able to get the Chinese UIs on his side. Knowing David had a copy of Laurie’s message, Chanda threatens to launch a missile unless David surrenders himself to him. At Maddie's urging, David fights back and manages to redirect the missile, but is overwhelmed by Chanda and his allies. In one last effort, David uploads Laurie’s video across the entire globe, using up the rest of his energy in the process. As the entire internet goes offline and people are protesting, Pope explains to Caspian that people will still exploit UIs and urges him to choose one UI he trusts to rules over the rest. Caspian wants David to be the ruling, flaw-free UI but learns of his demise from Maddie. However, Pope reveals Logorhythms possesses a copy of David. As Caspian begins to work on solving the flaw, Maddie and Ellen mourn David as their neighbors approach them since their house is the only one with power.

Close

Season 2 (2023)

Development

On August 3, 2018, it was reported that AMC opened a writers room for the animated drama Pantheon.^[9] On March 10, 2020, AMC had given the production a 2-season series order consisting eight episodes each.^[10] Pantheon is AMC's first hour-long animated drama original series.^[11] The series is created by Craig Silverstein who also executive produced the series. AMC Studios and Titmouse, Inc. are involved with producing the series.^[1] The series is based on Ken Liu's short stories "The Gods Will Not Be Chained", "The Gods Will Not Be Slain", "The Gods Have Not Died in Vain", "Staying Behind", "Altogether Elsewhere, Vast Herds of Reindeer" and "Seven Birthdays" from the short fictions collection The Hidden Girl and Other Stories.^[2]

A second season was in production by August 2022.^[3] On January 8, 2023, AMC canceled the series after one season, despite a two-season order. It was also removed from the AMC's streaming service and HIDIVE.^[4] In September 2023, Amazon Prime Video announced that it picked up the series for release.^[5]

Casting

On July 23, 2020, Taylor Schilling, Rosemarie DeWitt, Aaron Eckhart, and Paul Dano were cast in starring roles.^[12] On August 7, 2020, Daniel Dae Kim, Katie Chang, Ron Livingston, Chris Diamantopoulos, Raza Jaffrey, Scoot McNairy, Anika Noni Rose, Grey Griffin, SungWon Cho, Kevin Durand, Samuel Roukin, and Krystina Alabado joined the cast in starring roles.^[13] On February 18, 2021, William Hurt, Maude Apatow, Corey Stoll, and Lara Pulver were cast in starring roles.^[14]

Release

The series premiered on September 1, 2022, on AMC+ and HIDIVE.^[3][15] The first episode was available for all viewers on HIDIVE and on AMC+ official YouTube.^[16] After its removal from AMC and HIDIVE platforms, Amazon Prime Video set a release date for the second season in Australia and New Zealand for October 15, 2023.^[5]