A few years ago Netflix launched a psychological dark comedy limited series that has to be one of its most ambitious projects. Traversing through an array of genres this mind bending series keeps the viewers on the edge throughout.
We are talking about Academy Award winner Emma Stone (‘La La Land’, ‘Cruella’) and Academy Award nominee Jonah Hill (‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, ‘Moneyball’) starrer ‘Maniac’ that premiered on Netflix in 2018.
Set in a slightly dystopian version of New York where anything can be turned into a money-making opportunity, Netflix’s ’Maniac’ follows Annie and Owen, two strangers who meet when they sign up for a mysterious pharmaceutical trial.
The trial, which happens over the course of just three days, puts them through the ringer as they embark on a series of subconscious journeys through various worlds, genres and identities. In one episode, they’re thrown into an espionage thriller; another takes place within a fantasy epic.
This is all in the name of the study, which claims to be able to help them through the traumas they’ve experienced in their lives. The series gets the audience wondering what’s real and what’s not just as often as the characters do, and while it’s tempting to try and figure out every one of Maniac’s mysteries right away, it’s a show best enjoyed by letting the story reveal itself in due time.
Created by Patrick Somerville and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, ‘Maniac’ is a ten part series streaming on Netflix. In addition to Stone and Hill, the series also stars Justin Theroux, Sonoya Mizuno, Gabriel Byrne and Sally Field.
If you haven’t watched ‘Maniac’ yet, weekend is just the perfect time to catch up on it.