Watch Halo

As someone who's never played the Halo video game franchise, starting the TV adaptation cold felt a bit like diving into the deep end. The beauty of this show is that, while it rewards franchise veterans with deep-cut references and Easter Eggs, it's designed to help newcomers keep pace.

The series begins in shambles. We get our first glimpse of the alien Covenant, longtime antagonists of the Halo games. They've massacred a human outpost on the planet of Harvest, leaving a lone Spartan soldier (Master Chief) to try and protect the remaining survivors. As the last genetically-enhanced human combatant remaining, Master Chief is a pivotal figure in humanity's war to survive, but also somewhat of a loner. He's the "silent protagonist" of the franchise, so it's wonderful that the show manages to get audiences into his head by way of his encyclopedic knowledge of the galaxy, his fond memories of a childhood friend, and his innate heroism.

Joining him (eventually) on this adventure are Dr. Catherine Halsey (Natascha McElhone), the brilliant mind that created the Spartan program; her prot

Halo is a series that ran for 2 seasons (26 episodes) between March 24, 2022 and on Paramount+