
One part The Americans, one part Lost (we’ll get to that), and two parts generic period drama, The Man in the High Castle is most fascinating when its building out its world, displaying an America crushed and split into two, living under the thumbs of two powerful, yet distinct regimes.Īt that, The Man in the High Castle is one of the most intriguing pilots in recent memory, an unsettling dystopia that is so fascinating and well-constructed, it overshadows any attempt at the pilot to deepen its characters. Taking place in 1962, it examines the growing tension in the extended Reich on the East Coast and the Japanese Pacific States out west more importantly, it takes place right as Adolf Hitler is succumbing to illness, putting the world on edge of war once again. lost World War II, and the Germans and Japanese split the United States into two (with a small buffer “peace zone” set across the Rocky Mountains). Dick’s novel of the same name, The Man in the High Castle is set in an alternate world, where the U.S. (and for a bonus: Nazi drama? Big check).Īnd yet depsite all that,  The Man in the High Castle is actually pretty good.Īdapted from Phillip K. All sorts of intrigue, mystery, and a slight tinge of the supernatural? Check.

CGI backdrops that scream “prestige show”? Check. The Man in the High Castle marks a new direction for Amazon’s original offerings in 2015, one of the show’s first genuine attempts at high-stakes, hour-long drama (following the ignored Hysteria and the recently-cancelled The After), and a show that neatly falls into line with modern trends of American television.
