Everyone Should Be Talking More About the Number One Show on Apple TV+
Apple TV+ continues to provide audiences with some of the best programming out there. The issue is that no one seems to know it’s streaming. If you’re looking for a good show to watch, seriously, watch anything on Apple TV+, but right now, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters dominates.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters covers the creation of Monarch, a scientific organization that explores monsters like King Kong and Godzilla in the latter’s fictional universe. The series spans decades of time with a unique twist: Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell are playing the same character. Initially what drew my interest to the series, outside of my own love of Godzilla, is the father and son duo playing Lee Shaw.
In the ’50s during the start of Monarch, Wyatt Russell plays Lee Shaw, the military man overseeing Keiko Miura’s (Mari Yamamoto) journey alongside William Randa (Anders Holm), as they investigate the monsters they discover. In the first two episodes of the series, we see how in the ’50s, Lee’s involvement is more of a liaison between the science side and the military hold on the project.
The modern aspect of the show is equally fascinating, with Randa’s granddaughter, Cate (Anna Sawai), discovering she has a brother named Kentaro (Ren Watabe). While searching for answers about their father and what Monarch has him doing, they’re forced to come in contract with Lee Shaw at an older age (played then by Kurt Russell). Pairing the show in this way makes for a fascinating look at the hope of what Monarch would be and what it does eventually become in the modern age, with Cate and Kentaro’s quest for answers.
A perfect look into a franchise from a new perspective
The MonsterVerse is a real “been there, done that” of stories, but what has worked about movies like Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla vs. Kong is that the stories have flipped from focusing on the destruction caused by these monsters to the people who fall in love with them. We as the audience love Godzilla not because we love to watch cities burn, but because we know that Godzilla is not an actual monster in the end, and the new franchise recognizes that.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has the benefit of being part of a larger franchise that already recognizes that fact, and this show, which is so grounded in its human story, really shines in that regard. Two episodes in, we can see where the priorities for the show lie and while we had a glimpse of the monsters we love, it is more about the humans we’re on this journey with.
If you’re not watching Monarch, you’re missing out on not only a great tag-team performance from Wyatt and Kurt Russell but also amazing standouts from Sawai, Watabe, and Kiersey Clemons as well. So what’s stopping you from becoming obsessed?
(featured image: Apple TV+)
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