Isaac Asimov's Caves Of Steel Is The Next Great Prestige Sci-Fi Series Waiting To Happen

The main thing that "The Caves of Steel" has over other classic sci-fi novels when it comes to adaptation is that the model has already been set. Apple TV+ opened the door for more Asimov shows with its high-budget "Foundation" series, which received strong reviews overall. Season 1 is far from perfect, but it does a lot of things impressively well, and "Foundation" Season 2 is set to hit the streamer on July 14, 2023.

The main criticism against "Foundation" is that it suffers from the sheer size of its source material. Asimov's original trilogy covers thousands of years of galactic civilization and dozens of major characters. Inevitably, you're going to have some problems when trying to turn that saga into an hour-long TV drama. "The Caves of Steel," on the other hand, is tightly focused. There are no sprawling timelines or galactic empires — just a tense mystery with a lot of rich sci-fi flavor.

At the same time, a "Caves of Steel" show could benefit greatly from the preexisting mythos of the "Foundation" series. If Apple wanted to expand its Asimov offerings, the studio could easily create a cinematic universe of sorts, as the two novels take place in the same continuity. In fact, the character of R. Daneel Olivaw has a huge impact on the events of the "Foundation" stories. Saying more would get into spoiler territory, but suffice it to say that "Foundation" viewers already know more about the robot than they might think.