With a retro-futuristic perspective, Hello Tomorrow presents a picturesque view of the future on Apple TV Plus. A world driven by technology is complete with hover cars that resemble Cadillacs, robots that deliver beer and mail, and jetpacks for business travel. Despite the charm of a cartoon bird delivering smiles in a delivery truck, the show quickly emphasizes the disparity between the utopian future and the harsh reality of the present.
In Hello Tomorrow's first episode, Jack (Billy Crudup) leads a team that sells residential units on Brightside, a lunar colony. They promise potential customers an idyllic life in space and move from town to town selling their vision. Jack is especially adept at his job, using emotional manipulation to convince even a lonely, drunk stranger to buy a plot in a bar. The rest of the team also benefits from the lifestyle.
Shirley (Haneefah Wood) tries to balance everyone's needs while climbing the corporate ladder while Eddie (Hank Azaria) uses sales to pay off his gambling debts.
The team's wandering lifestyle suddenly comes to a halt when Jack's secrets are revealed. His 20-year-old son, Joey (Nicholas Podany), doesn't know his dad exists and doesn't want to associate with him. In the end, the Brightside sales team stays in Joey's hometown for a while, where Jack attempts to reconnect with his son without revealing their relationship.
In Hello Tomorrow's world, everything is a sham. Brightside customers are generally unhappy even though they have access to advanced technology. Some have lost their jobs because of technology, while others have been isolated from family and friends who pursue a sci-fi dream. As his professional life unravels, Jack risks losing everything he's built trying to connect with Joey. Jack is an excellent example of this illusion, using work to escape his real-life problems, including his son. Through sheer willpower, Jack maintains his facade despite mounting pressure.
As the show progresses, Jack's house of cards crumbles. It conveys an impending sense of doom as customers demand refunds and his coworkers are annoyed by his distractions. The dialogue is well-written and smart, delivered on time and with expert precision. Jack refuses to leave Joey's hometown and continues to invest time, energy, and money there.
With its flawless production design featuring seamless integration of floating robots and cars, as well as clever gadgets like self-popping popcorn containers and typewriter-dictation machines, the retro futuristic aesthetic of the show is a major part of its appeal. Though these tactile and functional technologies never existed, they create a vision of the 1950s that seems more prosperous than ours, without addressing real-world issues like race.
The show's plot remains uncertain, but the viewer gets the feeling that disaster is looming for Jack and his associates, making for an intense slow-motion train wreck. It's only a question of how severe things will get, and who will survive.
In conclusion, Hello Tomorrow is a well-balanced show that maintains a coherent universe and an intriguing story that I have never seen before. The emotional manipulation used by Jack, along withflawless production design and smart dialogue, makes it well worth watching.