2026/04/11
By sheer coincidence I stumbled on this show from 2020. I hadn’t heard from it, didn’t know it existed but I was intrigued when I checked it out on IMDb. Tales from the Loop is not a run of the mill SCI-FI show, it is a contemplative series that explores the human emotions and relationships set in a small town where there is an technically advanced facility which is built around the Loop. The TV series is based on a book with the same name written by Simon Stålenhag, a Swedish writer.
The Loop is a massive, underground particle accelerator and research facility built in the 1960s–80s to unlock the secrets of the universe. At the heart of the Loop lies a mysterious, large, black spherical artifact known as "the Eclipse," which powers the strange, reality-altering events in the surrounding area.
As said, it is set in a small town, one family is the center of the series but not all 8 episodes are centered on the family. Set in the early 80’s, each episode shows us a unique story. Yes, it definitely is SCI-FI, but in an almost magical way, but the upper hand is the human drama. The series often feels elusive to me, also a bit melancholy. The pacing is slow, and sometimes it is a bit weird, but in a good way. Personally I don’t have a problem with the slow pacing, the episode is done before you know it, so it definitely does something to me.
I am not one for big words, but Tales feels cerebral, thought provoking, a bit intellectual, not always but it has many of these moments. It does not do action, it is not that kind of a show. It is a nice experience watching Tales from the Loop, the slow pacing feels perfect here. It is kinda nice to watch something that has no action, just tells a story, it makes me want to go and read the book to be honest.
Lead characters:
Rebecca Hall is Loretta, mother of Jakob and Cole. She and her husband both work as a physicist at the Loop. Abby Ryder Fortson is young Loretta. Paul Schneider is George, the father of Jakob and Cole. Emjay Anthony is young George. Duncan Joiner is Cole, the youngest son of Loretta and George. Shane Carruth is adult Cole. Daniel Zolghadri is Jakob, the oldest son of Loretta and George. Jonathan Pryce is Russ, the founder of the Loop. He is also the father of George and the husband of Klara. This is basically the family the series centers around.
Cancelled / Ended:
I am not sure if this was intended as a miniseries or a regular series, but Amazon Prime never officially cancelled it. Apparently the viewing numbers weren’t that good, but the fact that there hasn’t been any news about it and it has been six years now, it is safe to say there won’t be another season. When I watched the last episode, to me it felt done. Sure, I would like to watch another season but with the ending it does feel like a limited series, as if this was the intention from the start.
The Episodes:
There is not one episode that is bad, one or two episodes that I found a bit less interesting than the other episodes, but the rest of the episodes are strong. It is different from what I normally watch, but I really enjoyed it and it proves that if the writing is good, if the actors are good, it doesn’t need any action, even a slow going piece like this can grab you by the throat, can enlighten you, can make you cry. And this show can definitely do this! The final episode is probably my favorite, this episode has been directed by Jodie Foster!
Final Word:
Well, a short blog, still, I found it a difficult one to write. I think I managed to convey to you what this series is about, how much I enjoyed it and I wouldn’t have minded a second season. As I said, it has a nice ending to it, don’t worry, just check it out, only 8 episodes, but make sure you are not too tired because it’s easy to miss things. Highly recommended.
Screencaps taken from: IMDb
I've added the word document with the episode ratings with descriptions and comments for the ones who are interested in this. Just be aware, it is a draft document, sometimes also can be confusing because of grammar errors and some sloppiness.
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