REVIEW: ‘Pantheon’ is Fantastic Adult Animation for AMC+

Pantheon manages to tell an intimate story while also unfolding an elaborate global conspiracy at the same time. The series is created and written by showrunner and executive producer Craig Silverstein, with animation by Titmouse, and is based on Ken Liu’s collection of short stories in The Hidden Girl and Other Short Stories. Pantheon also boasts a truly all-star voice cast of Daniel Dae Kim, Katie Chang, Paul Dano, Rosemarie DeWitt, Aaron Eckhart, Taylor Schilling, Ron Livingston, Chris Diamantopoulos, Raza Jaffrey, and William Hurt. Each and every voice performance brings this series to life with the same emotion as if they were acting in real life, primarily when familial interactions are taking place.

AMC Networks’ first traditionally animated series, Pantheon is a sci-fi drama based on a collection of short stories by Ken Liu, the series is centered on a bullied teen named Maddie (Katie Chang) who receives mysterious help from someone online: a stranger soon revealed to be her recently deceased father, David (Daniel Dae Kim). Through the last thing he gave her, his computer, Maddie begins receiving messages and reconnecting with her dead father whose consciousness has been uploaded to the Cloud following an experimental destructive brain scan by the nefarious Logorhythms. For his part, David was the leading computer scientist in his field, solving and building to the point that his company chose to keep even in death. The first of a new kind of being known as “Uploaded Intelligence” or “UI” David is just the tip of the capitalistic dystopian iceberg.

Pantheon explores the limits of our connection with technology while also looking at how we define someone as human. If you’re kept alive by downloading your consciousness and then consciousness begins speaking with your family, are you still the same you to them?

It’s a weird question that could easily devolve into extended philosophical moments that detach the audience, but instead, it’s focused on the emotional connection to humanity. Instead of drawing hard lines, we see how those whose loved ones have come back as UI connect to them, or how they feel disconnected. This is where the series really manages to push its story past the capitalist dystopia we are increasingly hurling ourselves towards, and instead look at its characters, their grief, and their ability to cope.

But Maddie and her family aren’t the only characters in this story. With Caspian, a loner and math genius, and Chanda, a successful computer engineer, the series rounds itself out by focusing on more emotional stories that are effortlessly worked into one common narrative. With this extended cast of characters, Pantheon is able to showcase the reach of Logorhythms and how complicated questions of humanity also deal with autonomy and choice.

Pantheon is a home run for AMC+ and yet another example of how fruitful adult animation can be as a creative endeavor for networks to embrace. Propelled by multiple manifestations of grief, this is a series of individual stories perfectly pulled into one cohesive narrative. While some moments feel slightly rushed, and sometimes the scenes seem to have fewer animation frames than others, Pantheon is ultimately a striking sci-fi series that never forgets its purpose, regardless of how large or deep the conspiracy runs.

For fans of Black Mirror and Invincible, Pantheon offers up thrilling and unnerving sci-fi mystery in a familiar animated style that absolutely demands you watch it. With nearly hour-long episodes, this one is well worth the time.

Pantheon is streaming exclusively on AMC+ and HIDIVE starting September 1, 2022.