Yahoo Finance Watch the enigmatic trailer for Calls , a show where you never see the stars
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Christopher Polk/Getty Images Pedro Pascal, Rosario Dawson, and Nick Jonas
Fede Álvarez's new Apple TV+ series Calls doesn't technically have any famous faces in it — but that doesn't mean the cast is lacking in star power.
The nine-episode auditory thriller features Pedro Pascal, Rosario Dawson, Nick Jonas, Aubrey Plaza, Karen Gillan, Judy Greer, Lily Collins, Paola Nuñez, and more, though audiences will only hear their voices. As you can see in the newly released trailer (below), the series is made up entirely of dialogue between callers, supplemented by colorful geometric patterns, lighting, and music.
"In Hollywood, you often hear people say they're doing something that's never been done before, but it feels great when it's 100 percent true," Álvarez, who wrote and directed the episodes, tells EW exclusively. "There's no hyperbole here of any kind. As a filmmaker, I thought it was cool to see how I could evoke a similar feel that I usually do in a movie with a closeup, a massive shot of a city, or going through a dark hallway without actually shooting them."
Premiering March 19, Calls features bite-size episodes that run about 15 minutes each. But it's not the type of show you can commit to halfway, because there are details that unravel at various points and connect the callers to one another.
Álvarez recommends watching the episodes in order because, though it may not be noticeable at first, this is one story that's being told. Character names from earlier episodes will pop up again so subtly that they may fly under the radar of many viewers. "I don't want the audience being passive," Álvarez says. "The series is meant to evoke conversations, and for those 'I think I know what happens' moments. We want to keep them guessing at every turn."
Apple TV+
He adds, "This was such thrill because unlike films, where you have one idea and you have to stick to it, this was a chance to come up with many ideas and stories for each episode that's still telling one single story. By the time you get to the end, you'll want to go back to the beginning. It was very exciting to have the actors come play with us in this sandbox. They felt it too and couldn't wait to do something they've never done before. I picked so many people I've always wanted to work with like Mark Duplass, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and so many others."
Álvarez had so much fun with the experience that he already has plans for a second season. "We will probably continue exploring things around this concept," he says. "What triggered the events? A second season would probably be an exploration of that. It would more than likely be from different perspectives and characters with things we didn't already do in season 1."
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