Smarter, more inventive – and with added Harriet Walter. The second outing of this riveting sci-fi drama gives its talented supporting cast room to breathe

Look, things are pretty dire. As the nights draw in, there are few reasons to feel particularly optimistic that 2025 will be filled with glorious testimonies to the innate goodness of humankind. But, the return of Silo reminds us that things could be a lot worse.

Season one of the sci-fi – based on Hugh Howey’s dystopian novels – introduced us to the last 10,000 people on Earth, living in an underground silo centuries after an apocalyptic event had left the surface uninhabitable. Anyone who left the silo – or was exiled – died within a few minutes, with their demise broadcast to the entire population.