The Halo TV series finally has a release date after going through various development struggles since 2013, and based on everything we know about the show so far (and have seen in trailers), it looks like it's going to be excellent. The TV series represents Master Chief's first appearance in a show since 2012's Forward Unto Dawn, and it's also the first time Halo as a franchise has been attached to a big-budget TV production.
Details on the show's content itself has remained relatively scarce for the most part, but there's plenty of information that we do know about when the show is coming out, the show's cast, what we can expect the overall story and setting to be like, and more. Here's a detailed overview of everything we know about the upcoming TV adaptation of one of the best Xbox games available.
Development of the Halo TV series
The Halo TV series was originally announced in 2013, with plans for a 2015 Showtime release with Steven Spielberg at the helm as the show's executive producer. The show was confirmed to still be in active development in 2015, though the show's release was pushed back to 2019. Kyle Killen became the series' showrunner, and Rupert Wyatt was brought on as director and producer for the show. As production continued, Wyatt was eventually replaced by Otto Bathurst due to scheduling conflicts, while Steven Kane joined Killen as a co-showrunner. The show was then pushed back to 2020, then again to 2022 as the series was moved to Paramount+.
In June 2021, it was announced that Kane and Killen would both exit the show following its first season. In January 2022, executive producer Justin Falvey stated that the show has the potential to last multiple seasons, and that David Wiener is currently being considered for the showrunner role for a potential Season 2. Kane would be kept onboard as a consultant in this scenario.
When is the release date for the Halo TV series?
During the CBS broadcast of the AFC Championship football game, a trailer for the Halo TV series debuted at halftime that revealed that the show is currently expected to premiere on March 24, 2022.
Halo TV series trailers
Currently, there are two trailers for the Halo TV series — a first-look trailer that premiered live at The Game Awards 2021, and the official Halo TV series trailer that showed Spartans, Covenant, and more. You can view both trailers below:
Halo TV series cast
The main cast of the Halo TV series is as follows:
- Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief Petty Officer John-117
- Jen Taylor as Cortana
- Natascha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey
- Shabana Azmi as Admiral Margaret Parangosky
- Danny Sapani as Captain Jacob Keyes
- Olive Gray as Miranda Keyes
- Yerin Ha as Kwan Ha Boo
- Charlie Murphy as Makee
- Bokeem Woodbine as Soren-066
- Kate Kennedy as Kai-125
- Natasha Culzac as Riz-028
- Bentley Kalu as Vannak-134
Story and setting of the Halo TV series
We don't know much about the story of the Halo TV show, although what we do know allows us to get a rough idea of what the plot will likely be. Based on the trailers and pieces of information that have released thus far, we know that the show will largely focus on Master Chief and Cortana, as well as their Spartan and UNSC allies, as they fight the alien Covenant Empire that seeks to wipe out humanity during the Human-Covenant War. The high-ranking leaders of the UNSC appear to be suspicious of Master Chief and aren't sure whether they can trust him, suggesting that there will be a rift between the Spartan and his commanders at some point during the show.
Conceptually, one of the show's more interesting characters is Makee, a human woman that was raised by the Covenant and appears to be working with them. In the official trailer for the series, she is heard arguing that humanity should surrender to the Covenant while she's shown unleashing Lekgolo worms, one of the Covenant's alien species, on UNSC soldiers.
The official trailer also suggests that at some point, the story will pivot to a Halo ring, one of the installations that an ancient alien species called the Forerunners used thousands of years ago to wipe out most life in the galaxy and stop a ruthless parasite called the Flood. In the Halo games, Master Chief destroys the first ring he comes across to stop the Covenant from controlling it; in the show, it sounds like Chief wants to try to use a Halo ring to win the war against the Covenant. For now, it's unclear whether the ring in the show will work the same way that the rings in the games and novels do.
Notably, the Halo TV series is taking place in a "Silver Timeline," an alternate canon that's similar to the core timeline of the games and novels, but different enough that the showrunners can tell the story they want to tell without being hindered by the events of the main timeline.
How many episodes are in the Halo TV series?
Officially, it's not known for sure how many episodes will be in Season 1 of the Halo TV series. We know that the show was originally going to have 10 episodes, but this count was reduced to nine when Otto Bathurst took over for Rupert Wyatt in 2019. The number of episodes hasn't officially changed since, though nobody involved with the project has shared information about how many episodes there are more recently.
Where can you watch the Halo TV series?
For now, it looks like you'll only be able to watch the Halo TV series on Paramount+ when it comes out. It's possible that this will eventually change, but it's extremely unlikely, especially if the show ends up being greenlit for future seasons. Plans for Paramount+ subscriptions start at $4.99/month.
