Is ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ just another Godzilla show?
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Godzilla is taking over TV — again.
“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” premiered on Friday on Apple TV+. “Set after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans, revealing that monsters are real, follows one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to Monarch,” the show’s summary reads, per IMDb.
“We didn’t want to make a Godzilla spinoff show,” the show’s executive producer Matt Fraction told The Verge. “We wanted to make a series that lived in that world. People go to Godzilla movies to see Godzilla, but we knew we couldn’t compete with the spectacle, and we weren’t even going to try.”
Here’s a closer look at the show.
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‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ parents guide
“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” is rated TV-14.
According to Plugged In, the first episode contained uses of expletives, a man shooting insects that attack people (with the implication that one of them is eaten alive), a helicopter crash, Godzilla destroying cars and giant animals fighting each other.
“Expect destruction on a massive scale: Giant swathes of land and cities full of people are wiped out by monsters who stomp through civilization heedlessly,” according to Common Sense Media. Reportedly, there isn’t gory violence or any references to sex outside of monsters reproducing, and there are uses of expletives.
How many episodes will ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ have?
The series is expected to run for 10 seasons, according to an Apple TV+ press release.
‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ reviews
Here’s a look at what reviews of “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” are saying:
Mike Hale for The New York Times: “You can put the gnawing questions aside, however, when Yamamoto, Holm and Wyatt Russell are making classic movie-matinee moves in the flashbacks, and whenever the truly impressive monsters rear their scaly heads in any time frame.”
James Grebey for Vulture: “After two episodes, Godzilla has not really been in this, uh, Godzilla series. ... Our human protagonists are just going through the sophomore-episode motions, which is a bigger issue than missing monsters. Still, let’s just hope that there aren’t any viewers who are ready to check out of ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ due to the lack of monsters because, in theory, we’re ready to get cooking with atomic fire breath now.”
Brian Tallerico for Roger Ebert reviews: “Ultimately, that’s what’s so shocking about my shrugging response to this show — it seems built for me, a guy who has seen every Toho Godzilla movie, liked most of the recent MonsterVerse movies, and can’t get enough of the Russell clan. If I’m only barely interested enough to finish out the first season, how will this be powerful enough to hook anyone else?”
Lucy Mangan for The Guardian: “If you can’t banish the sense that the story isn’t adding up to much, or that things shouldn’t feel this slow in a show that dashes in and out of eras and countries, sports kaiju and has a bountiful stock of myth, legend and IP to draw on, it won’t be for the lack of trying on the part of Russell Sr.”
Rotten Tomatoes’ critic consensus: “With performances by father-son duo Kurt and Wyatt Russell that work a charm, ‘Monarch’ adds a welcome wrinkle to the Godzilla legacy by honing its monstrous scope to a very human level.”
‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ trailer
‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ cast
Here are some members of the top cast, per IMDb:
Christopher Heyerdahl as General Puckett.
Qyoko Kudo as Emiko Randa.
Maria Yamamoto as Dr. Keiko Miura.
Kurt Russell as Lee Shaw.
Jess Salgueiro as Barnes.
Anna Sawai as Cate Randa.
Kiersey Clemons as May Olowe-Hewitt.
Where to watch ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’
“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” is available to stream on Apple TV+.
