This was supposedly based on the Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov. Those novels were a retelling of "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon - with an SF setting.
However, this adaption has little or nothing in common with those novels.
You can basically split the series into two main threads. It's almost as if these two threads are written by different people - they differ so much in quality.
The Empire story actually works. The creators of the show added an new section about a genetic dynasty of clones ... it actually works. The segments about the empire and its decline are quite watchable. Machinations of power etc. The Emperors are well-acted, compelling even.
The Foundation story is awful. I mean really badly written and shockingly badly acted. It's also laced with woke drivel. I don't know how better to express how bad these parts are written and acted than to say... I actually ended up laughing at some of the lines and how they were delivered. It ditches the idea of psychohistory (or rather it pays it lip service) and in its place is a kind of silly story about uploaded consciousness and coin tosses.
But the main takeaway is this: the series has virtually nothing in common with the books. It's completely and utterly missing the grandeur and shocks of the original Foundation novels. This is mega-budgeted nonsense.
The entire industry of film and TV seems to have plumbed the dregs to fill up the acres of space needed for content these days. It's embarrassing.