Feature Story
In the sci-fi genre, the possibilities are seemingly endless. Even so, some scifi series push the boundaries of the human imagination further than others. One such series is back with a new episode this week as it continues its bittersweet final season.
Eliza Taylor (“Neighbours”) stars as Clarke Griffin, a young woman struggling to ensure the survival of the human race after a nuclear apocalypse, in a new episode of “The 100,” airing Wednesday, Aug. 12, on CW. For the past seven seasons, she’s rallied her people against ruthless humans, powerful AI, nuclear threats and more in the science-fiction drama geared towards young adults.
Based on the book series of the same name by Kass Morgan, “The 100” premiered midseason in March 2014 on CW. In the beginning, the post-apocalyptic drama told the story of the last remaining humans who had fled Earth following a massive planet-wide nuclear disaster. After being exiled on an orbiting space habitat called the Ark for 97 years, leaders realized that life support was failing and they needed to act quickly or everyone would die. Desperate, they sent 100 juvenile delinquents to the planet’s surface to determine whether it could support life.
Clarke was one of those delinquents. Unfortunately, not all of the 100 would-be colonizers saw eye to eye, and they quickly divided into factions. While Clarke and her friend Wells (Eli Goree, “Riverdale”) were determined to find a way to survive and save the others still in space, a group led by rebel Bellamy (Bob Morley, “Home and Away”) conspired to make the Ark residents think they were dead. His allies included his sister, Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos, “Hunt to Kill,” 2010), and other radicals. However, the threat of Grounders — survivors of the nuclear apocalypse who had been living on Earth all along — soon forced the warring delinquents together against common enemies while the other humans in space made the difficult decision to return to the habitat on the Ark.
To say that the plotlines have changed over the years would be an understatement. Clarke, Bellamy and the others have since faced imprisonment by people who experimented on them, an uprising within their ranks, powerful artificial intelligence bent on “solving” the problem of human overpopulation, a new nuclear apocalypse, a 125-year space journey in cryosleep, life on another planet and mysterious new cult-like groups.
As for what’s next, only time will tell. Luckily for fans, at least they’ll have a full final season to enjoy. While in March 2020, Warner Bros. shut down production due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cast and crew had managed to finish filming Season 7, according to writer Kim Shumway (“Wisdom of the Crowd”), who tweeted about the show’s wrap in March.
News of the show’s final scenes is surely disappointing for fans, but the saga may live on in a prequel series. In October 2019, it was announced that “The 100” showrunner Jason Rothenberg was developing a prequel, which would be introduced in a so-called “backdoor pilot,” an episode of a current series that introduces the premise and characters of a new series. The episode, entitled “Anaconda,” aired on CW on Wednesday, July 8, and attracted plenty of buzz from loyal fans for its flashback to how everything began. Set 97 years before the events of the first season of “The 100,” “Anaconda” picked up hours before the disaster that decimated Earth. Iola Evans (“Carnival Row”) stars as Callie Cadogan, the estranged daughter of “The 100” villain Bill Cadogan (John Pyper-Ferguson, “The Last Ship”). Erica Cerra (“Eureka”) reprised her role as Becca, the scientist who created the AI known as A.L.I.E. Becca had previously appeared in Seasons 3 - 5 of “The 100.” The backdoor pilot also featured Adain Bradley (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) as Callie’s brother, Reese, and Leo Howard (“Kickin’ It”) as rebel activist August. As of press time, the prequel series had not been ordered, despite a positive fan and critical reaction.