More big names are on board to help tell the stories of Philip K. Dick.
Sony Television announced Wednesday that Janelle Monae and Juno Temple have joined the cast of “Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams,” a 10-episode sci-fi anthology series that will adapt a number of the renowned author’s short stories.
Both actresses will star in the “Autofac” episode, which features a world where human civilization is in shambles. Despite society and the world as we know it having collapsed, a massive, automatic product-manufacturing factory continues to operate according to the principles of consumerism — humans consume products to be happy, and in order to consume continuously, they must be denied freedom of choice and free will. When a small band of rebels decide to shut down the factory, they discover they may actually be the perfect consumers after all.
Monae, who recently starred in “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight,” will play Alexis, an Autofac representative. Temple, who recently appeared on “Vinyl,” will play Emily, one of the rebels.
Sony also announced that Jay Paulson (“Mad Men”) and David Lyons (“Revolution”) will appear in the episode, but didn’t disclose their parts.
Travis Beacham, co-writer of “Pacific Rim,” will write the episode and Peter Horton (“Grey’s Anatomy”) will direct.
The series has cast a number of big-name actors for its other installments, including Steve Buscemi, Greg Kinnear, Anna Paquin, Terrence Howard, Richard Madde and Vera Farmiga. Bryan Cranston, who is an executive producer on the series, also stars.
Other writers signed on include Ronald D. Moore (“Battlestar Galactica”), Michael Dinner (“Justified”), Tony Grisoni (“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”), Jack Thorne (“National Treasure”), Matthew Graham (“Life on Mars”), David Farr (“The Night Manager”) and Dee Rees (“Mudbound”).
“Electric Dreams” will air later this year in the U.K. on Channel 4 before being available on Amazon Prime.
This is the second Dick property to land with a premiere on Amazon Prime. The first, “Man in the High Castle,” was renewed for a third season.