TV Show review
January 14, 2016 · 43 min · TV-14
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Colony is a 2016-2018 sci-fi drama about a family in Los Angeles trying to survive after a mysterious alien invasion divides the city with giant walls and strict rules. The father joins human enforcers working for the occupiers to protect his family and find his missing son, while the mother secretly helps the resistance, forcing hard choices about loyalty and staying together. The story draws clear parallels to historical occupations like Nazi-controlled France during World War II and stays focused on universal themes of family, survival, and resistance to tyranny without any visible modern identity politics, gender messaging, or social-justice lectures. Viewers see no forced diversity emphasis, activist dialogue, or cultural critiques aimed at current Western norms.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Colony.
Woke representation / casting
Main family fits the everyday Los Angeles setting naturally; supporting diverse actors in resistance and enforcer roles match story needs without visible signaling or mismatches.
Woke political dialogue
Heavy focus on collaboration versus resistance and family survival under occupation, with occasional timely plot points like information control, but these stay rooted in classic tyranny themes rather than modern activist language.
Identity-driven story themes
Narrative stays locked on family bonds, moral gray areas, and human resilience; no arcs, dialogue, or subplots center on race, gender identity, or social justice issues.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Explores the personal costs of living under authoritarian control and the ethics of working with occupiers, presented as a straightforward anti-tyranny story with historical parallels rather than critiques of capitalism, patriarchy, or current Western institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant; this is an original story with no source material or historical figure reinterpretations.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No meaningful backlash, social media campaigns, or news coverage accusing the show of wokeness, identity politics, or agenda-driven content.
Creator track record context
Ryan Condal later discussed intentional diversity casting in other work to reflect audiences, but this pattern does not show up in Colony's content, casting, or marketing; remaining key figures have no relevant activist histories.
Production
