Saturday 9 June 2018

Series Review: "Sense8" (2015-2018).


"8 ordinary people. 1 extraordinary story." This is Sense8. This science fiction drama series created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski. From the creators of The Matrix and Babylon 5 comes this tense series in which eight people can telepathically experience each other's lives.

The origins of Sense8 date back several years before the announcement of the show in early October 2012. When deciding to create a television series, Lana brainstormed ideas with Straczynski. After several days of discussion, they decided on creating a show that would explore the relationship between empathy and evolution in the human race, necessitating filming on location in several countries over the world. The title of the show was thought up by Lana on their second day of brainstorming, as a play on the word sensate and the notion of eight main characters. The Wachowskis and Straczynski had written three hour-long spec scripts, and shopped them around. In late March 2013, Netflix announced that they had ordered a ten-episode first season for the series, which during filming was extended to twelve. Straczynski and the Wachowskis mapped out five seasons worth of stories for the series from the beginning. The show was transformed when they decided to limit the storytelling. Unlike the first season, where the Wachowskis and Straczynski split the number of scripts in half and worked remotely from each other, writing for the second season was performed by Lana and Straczynski by collaborating inside a shared writers' room, which included David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon. Later, once filming began, Lana did a lot of rewrites on a daily basis as she got inspired by the locations, actors, and so on, even on the set. By late June 2014, Aml Ameen, Doona Bae, Jamie Clayton, Tina Desai, Tuppence Middleton, Max Riemelt, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Brian J. Smith, Freema Agyeman, Terrence Mann, Anupam Kher, Naveen Andrews, and Daryl Hannah were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in early November 2017. Filming took place in Berlin, Chicago, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Nairobi, Reykjavík, San Francisco, and Seoul, with a budget of $9 million per episode. In early June 2017, Netflix announced they had cancelled the series after two seasons. Later that month, during his talk on Produced By Conference, Netflix CCO, Ted Sarandos, commented that the show was cancelled because its small audience and high production costs. As a response to the cancellation, fans created online petitions, called Netflix, and tweeted #RenewSense8 and other hashtags, in an attempt to bring back the show. In late June, the official social media accounts of the show posted a letter by Lana which announced the release of a two-hour special with a June 8, 2018 release date. Lana, Mitchell, and Hemon returned as writers.

Its sprawling, ambitious blend of thought-provoking narrative, impressive cast, and eye-catching visuals will prove too unwieldy for some, but the sheer size and scope of Sense8 are all but impossible to ignore.

Simon says Sense8 receives:



Also, see my review for Jupiter Ascending.

No comments:

Post a Comment