Sci-Fi Sense8 (Netflix) by The Wachowskis & J. Michael Straczynski

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Title: Sense8

Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama

First aired: 2015-06-05

Creator: Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, J. Michael Straczynski

Cast: Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Max Riemelt, Jamie Clayton, Bae Doo-na, Brian J. Smith, Tuppence Middleton, Freema Agyeman, Naveen Andrews, Tina Desai, Toby Onwumere, Terrence Mann, Daryl Hannah

Overview: One gunshot, one death, one moment out of time that irrevocably links eight minds in disparate parts of the world, putting them in each other's lives, each other's secrets, and in terrible danger. Ordinary people suddenly reborn as "Sensates."
Sense8 (Netflix) by The Wachowskis & J. Michael Straczynski

 
With the growing popularity of streaming providers offering new original content we'll be seeing offerings that likely would not have been given the go-ahead before by traditional media outlets. One example of this is Sense8 announced today by Netflix. Sense8 brings together The Wachowskis (The Matrix) and J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5).

Netflix has ordered 10 episodes of Sense8.

Only On Netflix: Sci-Fi Giants The Wachowskis And J. Michael Straczynski Team-Up To Create "Sense8"

Coming in 2014 from Georgeville Television, a new science-fiction thriller from the acclaimed directors of Cloud Atlas and The Matrix Trilogy and the creator of Babylon 5

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Netflix will bring Georgeville Television's Sense8, a gripping global tale of minds linked and souls hunted, exclusively to its members to watch instantly in late 2014.

The 10 episode season one of Sense8 marks the first foray into television by the Wachowskis, the creative geniuses behind Bound, The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, V for Vendetta, Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas, and is the latest project from veteran show runner J. Michael Straczynski, creator of the Hugo Award-winning Babylon 5 TV series and whose film credits include Changeling, Thor and Underworld Awakening,

"Andy and Lana Wachowski and Joe Straczynski are among the most imaginative writers and gifted visual storytellers of our time," said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. "Their incredible creations are favorites of Netflix members globally and we can't wait to bring Sense8 to life."

"We're excited to work with Netflix and Georgeville Television on this project, and we've wanted to work with Joe Straczynski for years, chiefly due to the fact his name is harder to pronounce than ours, but also because we share a love of genre and all things nerdy," said Andy and Lana Wachowski. "Several years ago, we had a late night conversation about the ways technology simultaneously unites and divides us, and out of that paradox Sense8 was born."

"We are proud to be working with Netflix on this new series," said Straczynski. "Lana, Andy, and I are fans of each other's creations, and have been looking for something to do together for nearly a decade."

Sense8 is being produced by Georgeville Television, in association with Studio JMS. Georgeville Television is a Reliance Entertainment company and independent television studio, formed by veteran film and television producer Marc Rosen, in partnership by Motion Picture Capital's Leon Clarance and Producer Deepak Nayar. Formed in 2012, Georgeville Television currently has two series in pre-production, including NBC's Crossbones starring John Malkovich. Rosen, Clarance, and Nayar will serve as executive producers on Sense8.

Studio JMS, launched last year by Straczynski and CEO Patricia Tallman, was founded to produce a wide range of film, television, comics and other media properties. In addition to The Flickering Light, Straczynski's feature directorial debut, and Sense8, Studio JMS has created a new comics imprint, Joe's Comics, published in partnership with Image Comics. Its first series, "Ten Grand," will debut in May. In addition to Sense8, Motion Picture Capital is producing The Flickering Light, which begins filming in Berlin later this year.

"Sense8 is a dream-come-true creatively, and we look forward to working closely with our new partners at Netflix, with whom we could not be more excited to bring the Wachowski's first TV series ever to life," said Rosen.

The Wachowskis are starting production next month on their new sci-fi adventure Jupiter Ascending for Warner Brothers, starring Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis.

"We're delighted to once again partner with Joe, and have the opportunity to work with Lana and Andy, two of our movie-making heroes, on their television debut," said Clarance. "They have created a brilliant concept, which will be a wonderful story to produce, and a rich conceptual world for viewers to experience."

About Netflix, Inc.

Netflix is the world's leading Internet television network with more than 33 million members in 40 countries enjoying more than one billion hours of TV shows and movies per month, including original series. For one low monthly price, Netflix members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments. Learn more about how Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is pioneering Internet television at www.netflix.com or follow Netflix on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Netflix, Inc.

CONTACT: Jonathan Friedland, Netflix, +1-310-734-2958, jofriedland@netflix.com; Beth McClinton, Georgeville, +1-424-288-2000, McClinton@caa.com

Web Site: Netflix - Watch TV Shows Online, Watch Movies Online
 
J. Michael Straczynski has given some info for the overall premise of Sense8.
J. Michael Straczynski[/quote said:
The series follows eight characters around the world who, in the aftermath of a tragic death, find themselves linked to each other mentally and emotionally.

They can not only see and talk to each other as though they were in the same place, they have access to each other’s deepest secrets. Not only must they figure out what happened and why and what it means for the future of humanity, they must do so while being hunted by an organization out to capture, kill or vivisect them.
Episodes are being filmed the UK, Seoul, Mumbai, Nairobi, Berlin, Mexico City, San Francisco and Chicago. Each episode will concentrate on the characters’ individual stories

The characters to be featured include....
  • Secretly gay Mexican telenovela "hunk"
  • Icelandic party girl
  • German safe-cracker
  • Korean businesswoman
  • African bus driver
  • Transgender American blogger
  • Jonas, an African-American with magical abilities who appears to all of the characters
  • Mr. Whispers, the evil counterpart to Jonas.
The show is planned to be available for streaming in 2015 with 10 episodes planned. Among the casting is Freema Agyeman from Doctor Who & Torchwood.
 
Anybody watch this yet? I have it in my queue but haven't started watching it and just saw today that a second season has been ordered.
 
Anybody watch this yet? I have it in my queue but haven't started watching it and just saw today that a second season has been ordered.

Yup. watched it about a month ago.

Well worth it. Starts slow, give it time though.

And don't go thinking 'Wachowski brothers'. Nowadays I am convinced Hollywood types attach names to projects they create to try to sell their work, but being completely honest, it doesn't feel like them one bit.

Which in this case, turns out to be a good thing.

Enjoyable knowing people like this exist out there!

Makes me feel more normal, that's for sure!
 
7 episodes in and this has got to be one of the most boring things I've watched in a long time. :cautious:

I'm 46, Kevin, so the entertainment is much more cerebral and engaging for someone like me than something like - say the geared for the average 13 year old superhero tv shows such as Flash and Agents of Shield - which personally I find horribly boring and quit watching both.
 
7 episodes in and this has got to be one of the most boring things I've watched in a long time. :cautious:
Finished watching the series tonight... the story line starts moving along finally around episode 8 but the pace does not. The odd thing is that at it's heart Sense 8 is just a derivation of Jumper. The ability of the people is different of course but the general premise of the story is the same. With 12 episodes, each around 50 minutes, you'll get to know each of the characters in depth, graphically, whether you wanted to or not.

After viewing all of the episodes, yep, still boring, as there a lot of scenes that seem to serve no purpose as they don't tell you anything additional about the characters nor related to the story line. It could easily be edited down to six episodes or less with not much lost. It's one thing to try & explore topics not usually associated with mainstream sci-fi works but it gets to a point where it's obvious that the directors are more interested in using the medium as a soap box versus telling a cohesive story.

Visually there are some stunning scenes and I'd be curious to see how it looks on a 4K monitor. Going along with the visual feel is the music selections. There are some blink-and-you-might-miss-it music in the background and one of my favorites was a piano version of Mad World playing in the background of one of the scenes. Teenage Wasteland (Baba O'Riley) on a ukulele was surprisingly not bad either.

I haven't heard about a second season being commissioned yet even though Netflix has been publicly saying that they're happy with the response to the first season.
 
Finished watching the series tonight... the story line starts moving along finally around episode 8 but the pace does not. The odd thing is that at it's heart Sense 8 is just a derivation of Jumper. The ability of the people is different of course but the general premise of the story is the same. With 12 episodes, each around 50 minutes, you'll get to know each of the characters in depth, graphically, whether you wanted to or not.

After viewing all of the episodes, yep, still boring, as there a lot of scenes that seem to serve no purpose as they don't tell you anything additional about the characters nor related to the story line. It could easily be edited down to six episodes or less with not much lost. It's one thing to try & explore topics not usually associated with mainstream sci-fi works but it gets to a point where it's obvious that the directors are more interested in using the medium as a soap box versus telling a cohesive story.

Visually there are some stunning scenes and I'd be curious to see how it looks on a 4K monitor. Going along with the visual feel is the music selections. There are some blink-and-you-might-miss-it music in the background and one of my favorites was a piano version of Mad World playing in the background of one of the scenes. Teenage Wasteland (Baba O'Riley) on a ukulele was surprisingly not bad either.

I haven't heard about a second season being commissioned yet even though Netflix has been publicly saying that they're happy with the response to the first season.

Derivation of Jumper? A man who can teleport anywhere he wants to around the world being pursued by people who don't want him to versus 8 people who share the minds and thoughts of eachother and pick up their abilities through eachother as they are being pursued by people who don't want them to do this?

Using that logic, you could also say Heroes, Flash, Supergirl and pretty much every show on television is like this, with the protagonist and antagonist.

Frankly I don't see the relation between it and Jumper. Do you mind elaborating?

I suppose you have a wholly different take on the show than I do. It's conceptual, sure, but it's much more cerebral than your typical show like Flash so I suspect you're missing the point of it.

Hopefully Netflix, who doesn't have to have the budget of big studios, doesn't listen to windbags like you and keeps up with the promising and intellectually engaging what if's that shows like this present.
 
Frankly I don't see the relation between it and Jumper. Do you mind elaborating?
Both shows deal with a group of humans who have special powers but don't know it when growing up. At some point they discover the power and, after starting to utilize it, they are thrust into a world where they find out others have the same power and, just like in Jumper, there are groups of people who are both 'good' and 'bad' and the bad group is hunting the good group. By working together they can fight back against the bad group. Jumper is physical presence, Sense 8 is astral projection. Oh, and of course, some family members (or those close to the people) may be involved more than they are letting on. Same premise, different ability, one was cut down to be feature length, the other was padded with often repeated passages.

In the hands of a studio like Asylum Sense 8 would've been chopped down into a SyFy clone-of-another-movie movie of the week, in the hands of the Wachowskis it has been stretched out way thin to appeal to people who seem to think that anything that makes them think must be good. Apparently the Wachowskis achieved their goal it would seem. In the hands of a different group of producers & directors it may have led to a interesting mini-series.
 
Both shows deal with a group of humans who have special powers but don't know it when growing up. At some point they discover the power and, after starting to utilize it, they are thrust into a world where they find out others have the same power and, just like in Jumper, there are groups of people who are both 'good' and 'bad' and the bad group is hunting the good group. By working together they can fight back against the bad group. Jumper is physical presence, Sense 8 is astral projection. Oh, and of course, some family members (or those close to the people) may be involved more than they are letting on. Same premise, different ability, one was cut down to be feature length, the other was padded with often repeated passages.

In the hands of a studio like Asylum Sense 8 would've been chopped down into a SyFy clone-of-another-movie movie of the week, in the hands of the Wachowskis it has been stretched out way thin to appeal to people who seem to think that anything that makes them think must be good. Apparently the Wachowskis achieved their goal it would seem. In the hands of a different group of producers & directors it may have led to a interesting mini-series.

I suppose in the right hands anything can be made similar to something else if that's one chooses to see.

I however, find them remarkably different and find Sense8 wholly unlike anything that's I have seen.

IT is what it is.
 
... and Sense8 has been cancelled. :coffee: S2 was released a few months ago and did not get anywhere near the attention that S1 did.
 
... and Sense8 has been cancelled. :coffee: S2 was released a few months ago and did not get anywhere near the attention that S1 did.
I never got around to watching this, would it still be worth watching....or did S2 end on a cliffhanger?
 
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