First Born (TV serial)

Lore & Background

The serial was written by Ted Whitehead and adapted from the novel Gor Saga by Maureen Duffy. It was produced by Sally Head and directed by Philip Saville, with the theme tune composed by Hans Zimmer. A portion of filming took place in and around the North Wiltshire area, with the Forester family home scenes filmed on location in Calne. Woodland scenes from Episode 2 were primarily filmed at Savernake Forest near Marlborough, mixed with footage from Switzerland. Longleat Safari Park was used as the setting for kidnap scenes at the end of Episode 2.

The story follows Edward Forester, a genetic researcher at a government-run institute, who secretly uses his own sperm to inseminate a female gorilla named Mary, creating a hybrid child nicknamed Gor. The child is raised by various caretakers, eventually adopted by Forester, and later discovers his true origins. The serial ends with Gor being killed by his gorilla mother, and Forester realizing that Gor fathered a child with his half-sister Nell.

Reader's Guide

First Born is a three-part serial that aired on the BBC in 1988. Science fiction historian Brian Stableford gave it a negative review, describing it as a 'knee-jerk hymn of hate against scientists in general' and 'a kind of dumbed-down Doomwatch episode expanded to three times its natural length'. The serial was released on Region 2 DVD in the UK by 2entertain Ltd on 17 July 2006. Its significance lies in its adaptation of Maureen Duffy's novel and its treatment of genetic engineering themes, though it received mixed critical reception. The serial is also noted for its early score by Hans Zimmer.

Did You Know?

• The theme tune was composed by Hans Zimmer.
• Filming took place in Calne, Savernake Forest, and Longleat Safari Park.
• The hybrid child Gor is killed by his gorilla mother Mary.

Narrative Architecture – The Dual Timeline

The series splits its storytelling across two eras separated by fourteen years. In 2022, fourteen-year-old fraternal twins Billie and Jade Wesker—conceived through a genetic engineering project and raised by their father Al—relocate to New Raccoon City in South Africa after Al secures an executive role at the struggling Umbrella Corporation. There, the sisters uncover disturbing truths about their own origins and the corporation's buried legacy. Their discovery coincides with a T-virus outbreak that spirals into global societal collapse, an event the show calls 'The Fall.' Fourteen years later, in 2036, human civilization has been reduced to roughly three hundred million refugees huddled inside walled city-states, while six billion infected humans known as Zeroes roam the ruins. The Umbrella Corporation, now the most powerful entity on Earth thanks to its military arsenal, is conducting a global manhunt for Jade, who is trying to survive the post-apocalyptic world. This structure allows the show to examine both the birth of catastrophe and its long aftermath.

An Ensemble Built on Fractured Family

The cast is anchored by Lance Reddick, who portrays four distinct Wesker figures: the rogue original Albert Wesker, his clone Al (the twins' father), Al's brother Bert, and their deceased sibling Alby. The twin sisters are played by two pairs of actresses—Tamara Smart and Adeline Rudolph as the younger Jade and Billie, and Ella Balinska and Siena Agudong as their older counterparts. Paola Núñez brings gravitas as Evelyn Marcus, daughter of the late co-founder James Marcus and CEO steering Umbrella through bankruptcy and public scandal. Ahad Raza Mir appears as Arjun Batra, Jade's partner in the future timeline. Supporting roles include Turlough Convery as Umbrella soldier Richard Baxter, Connor Gosatti as Evelyn's son Simon Marcus, and Ella Zieglmeier as Bea, Jade's daughter. The casting process spanned the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa, reflecting the show's international production footprint.

A Production Shaped by Pandemic and Rebuilding

Netflix initiated development in January 2019 alongside Constantin Film, the rightsholders behind the earlier film adaptations. The project sat largely quiet until August 2020, when it was formally greenlit as eight one-hour episodes with Andrew Dabb serving as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Bronwen Hughes directed the first two episodes and also carried an executive producer credit. Originally slated to shoot between June and October 2020 under Moonlighting Films—the company behind Resident Evil: The Final Chapter—plans were derailed by the pandemic. Throughout 2020 the series underwent significant retooling, including the promotion of Jeffrey Howard to co-executive producer while Dabb focused on his Netflix project Grendel. Principal photography finally commenced on February 19, 2021, was divided into four production blocks, and wrapped on July 9. The series ultimately premiered on July 14, 2022, receiving generally mixed critical reception.

Cancellation and the Road Not Taken

Despite Dabb's confirmation that a second season would have introduced beloved game characters—including Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, and Lady Dimitrescu, with Eva Green floated as a potential candidate for the latter—the series never got that chance. On August 26, 2022, just six weeks after its July 14 premiere, Netflix pulled the plug after a single season. The cancellation effectively shelved the teased appearance of Ada Wong, who had been hinted at in the final episode, along with the broader roster of game icons Dabb had promised. As the second live-action television adaptation of the Capcom franchise (following the 2021 animated miniseries Infinite Darkness) and the third live-action adaptation after the original film series and the 2021 reboot Welcome to Raccoon City, the show occupied a unique niche in the franchise's adaptation history. Its brief run left the dual-timeline narrative, the Wesker family saga, and the post-Fall world of 2036 unresolved, cementing its status as a what-could-have-been within the broader Resident Evil media landscape.

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