Tales From the Loop Trivia | 25 facts about the series

Tales from the Loop is an American science fiction drama television series developed and written by Nathaniel Halpern.

Let’s find out more about the series!

1. Tales from the Loop is an American science fiction drama television series.
2. It was developed and written by Nathaniel Halpern.
3. It is based on the art book of the same name by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag.
4. The eight-episode first season was released in its entirety on Amazon Prime Video on April 3, 2020.
5. Tales from the Loop is based on drawings.
6. It is also drawing inspiration from the fact Stålenhag never fully explains what the science fiction objects he depicts do or where they come from.
7. The team, headed by visual effects producer Andrea Knoll, attempted to preserve the “painterly feeling” of Stålenhag’s artwork.
8. They earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role.
9. In his attempts to “crack the code” of Stålenhag, cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth chose to shoot night scenes during dusk instead.
10. Most of the fictional technology and architecture seen in the series is based directly on the artwork from Simon Stalenhag’s book.
11. However the scripts called for a few new devices that were not seen in the book.
12. Writer and producer Nathaniel Halpern wanted all of the new technology to match the visual aesthetic of the book, so he asked Stalenhag to consult on all of the production design. Stalenhag even designed some of the props, like George’s prosthetic arm, himself.
13. The theatre marquee in town (Ep1) advertises an actual move titled SUMMER WITH MONIKA. Released in 1953 and directed by Ingmar Bergman.
14. There is also a popular roleplaying game based on Stålenhag’s art, which predates the series, and which is followed by Things from the Flood, also based on an artbook by Stålenhag.
15. The series based on works by Simon Stälenhag, a Swedish artist, vehicles in his art tend to be Swedish. Thus the TV series prominently display Swedish cars like Volvo and Saab, mostly early 80s models or older (several of the yellow service vehicles with robotic arms are Volvo 200 Series, father of Danny Jannson drives one) as well as as other European branches, some are German Volkswagen (Russ’ VW Type 3, Danny’s mother VW Type 17 [Golf Mk1], police van is VW Type 2 [T3 version] ), French Peugeot 505 (George Willard) or the yellow 6 wheel truck, a British Alvis Salamander airport crash tender. You can also see Saab and Mercedes in the main street traffic.
16. The theatre marquee in town (Ep3) advertises the actual movie ‘Missing’ (1982) directed by Costa-Gavras.
17. Although the series is set in a rural town in Ohio, it was actually filmed in Canada.
18. In episode 4 when Cole calls out into the sphere and we see glimpses of him at different ages as he grows older; the penultimate shot shows him as an adult with children outside his old house, foreshadowing the final scene in episode 8.
19. Sarah the teacher is in the first scene giving young Loretta her test back and she can be seen comforting Klara after Russ’s funeral.
20. On July 17, 2018, it was announced that Amazon had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of eight episodes.
21. Executive producers include Matt Reeves, Adam Kassan, Rafi Crohn, Nathaniel Halpern, Mark Romanek, Mattias Montero, Adam Berg, and Samantha Taylor Pickett.
22. Halpern serves as showrunner and Romanek directed the pilot episode. Production companies involved with the series include 6th & Idaho, Indio, Amazon Studios, and Fox 21 Television Studios.
23. The first season was released in its entirety on April 3, 2020. A first trailer was released on February that year.
24. Writer and showrunner Nathaniel Halpern drew inspiration from the short story cycle Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson; its themes of loneliness and isolation, and its focus on small town characters.
25. Executive producer and director Mark Romanek drew inspiration from the Dekalog, the 10-part series of television films by Krzysztof Kieślowski. Other directors cited to influence the production include Ingmar Bergman, Yasujirō Ozu, and Andrei Tarkovsky