Plot: After the world-shattering revelation that monsters are real, two siblings follow in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch.
Genre: Action; Adventure; Science fiction; Monster
Based on Godzilla by Toho Co., Ltd.
Developed by Chris Black, Matt Fraction
Starring: Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, Wyatt Russell & Kurt Russell.
Music by Leopold Ross
Executive producers: Chris Black, Joby Harold, Tory Tunnell, Matt Shakman, Matt Fraction, Andrew Colville, Andy Goddard, Brad Van Arragon, Max Borenstein, Takemasa Arita, Hiro Matsuoka, Thomas Tull
Production companies: Legendary Television; Safehouse Pictures; Toho Co., Ltd
Network: Apple TV+
Season 1 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters are full of hit and misses.
Pros: This series was a slow burn experience to let the main narrative play out. I enjoyed most of the human characters in this series except for one and how all of this show sort of connect to the same universe of Godzilla.
Cons: The pacing of this series was boring to sit through. Not that much of monster action. I didn’t like a lot of the dialogue scenes felt like expedition dump and the opening credits take a while to get going.
Casts & Characters:
Main:
- Anna Sawai as Cate Randa: A San Francisco schoolteacher coping with PTSD whose search for her missing father leads her to uncover his involvement with Monarch.
- Kiersey Clemons as May: A former employee of Applied Experimental Technologies (later Apex Cybernetics) who later escaped to Japan under the alias ‘May’ after discovering that her company was using her code for nefarious means.
- Ren Watabe as Kentaro: An artist and Cate’s half-brother who joins her on a journey to find their mysterious father.
- Mari Yamamoto as Keiko: A scientist who investigates monsters with Lee Shaw and Bill Randa in the 1950s.
- Anders Holm as Bill Randa: A cryptozoologist who becomes a leading researcher for Monarch.
- John Goodman as an older Bill Randa, reprising his role from Kong: Skull Island (2017)
- Joe Tippett as Tim: An overzealous Monarch office worker who goes into the field to track down the organization’s lost documents.
- Wyatt and Kurt Russell as Lee Shaw: a former U.S. Army colonel who joins Keiko and Bill in their investigations of monsters and subsequently becomes involved with Monarch. Kurt portrays the older version of Shaw, encountered by Cate and Kentaro, while Wyatt plays the younger version, responsible for founding Monarch.
- Elisa Lasowski as Duvall: Sandra Brody’s sister and a skilled Monarch operative partnered with Tim.
Recurring:
- Takehiro Hira as Hiroshi Randa, Keiko’s son, Bill’s stepson, and Cate and Kentaro’s father.
- Qyoko Kudo as Emiko Randa, Kentaro’s mother
- Christopher Heyerdahl as General Puckett, Shaw’s superior officer
- Mirelly Taylor as Natalia Verdugo, the deputy director of Monarch
Guest:
- Tamlyn Tomita as Caroline Randa, Cate’s mother
- Bruce Baek as Du-Ho, Shaw’s old friend and an ally
- Jess Salgueiro as Dr. Barnes, a Monarch researcher
- Dominique Tipper as Brenda Holland, an executive at Applied Experimental Technologies
- Morgan Dudley as Lyra Mateo, May’s sister
I still recommend watching this season on Apple TV+.
Rating: 7 out of 10 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident TV reviewer,
Level Best Art Cafe