Twisted Metal is an adaptation of a 1995 PlayStation video games series that you probably remember, provided you were between the ages of 10 and 16 at the time. Within the universe of the game, Twisted Metal is the name of an annual vehicular combat tournament hosted by a man named Calypso, in which combatants in custom vehicles decked out with weaponry tear across multiple stages attempting to crush their fellow contestants. Calypso grants the winner of the tournament a wish—but getting your heart’s desire isn’t always what you expect. The Twisted Metal franchise was wildly popular, eventually encompassing eight series installments and multiple spinoffs.
And now, it’s a streaming TV show.
What is the Twisted Metal series about?
Starring Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, Samoa Joe, and Will Arnett, the Twisted Metal adaptation is set a in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. John Doe (Anthony Mackie) is a delivery man tasked with dropping off a mysterious package, but delivering it means facing off against raiders, including popular characters from across the Twisted Metal world (yes, you will see Sweet Tooth, that deranged ice cream truck-driving clown).
Twisted Metal [Explicit] | Official Trailer | Peacock Original
How faithful is the Twisted Metal adaptation?
HBO’s The Last of Us raised the bar for how faithfully a TV series can follow the video game that inspired it, and while Twisted Metal doesn’t quite clear it, it shouldn’t feel at too much of a remove to fans of the franchise. Working in the producers’ favor is the fact that the games always emphasized combat over story, which means they are free to lean in to the action and vehicular carnage, without striving for the depth and pathos of a “prestige TV” production you’d expect from a flagship HBO series.
Even as it tweaks the premise to emphasize the post-apocalyptic themes over the fantasy elements of the games, the show manages to flesh out an compelling cast of characters and throw them wheels-first into a dangerous world.
Where to stream Twisted Metal
Twisted Metal is developed by Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions. The Peacock Original debuted July 27, and the the whole 10-episode series dropped at once, so you can binge them the same way you did the games as a kid.
