Hi Mark, first of all you wanted to talk about the Netflix series Russian Doll†
‘That’s right, after a very strong, surprising first season, a second season has now been released. The first series had a clear concept and revolved around the main character Nadia Vulvokov, played by Natasha Lyonne. In a crueler version of Groundhog Day, Nadia finds herself in a time loop on her 36th birthday: each time she dies and wakes up in the same place, the toilet. At one point she meets a man who has the same experience. Why do they experience this, what connects them? The series is considered a comedy, but at the same time it is a philosophical game and a well-rounded story about the meaning of life.
“You can therefore wonder what story there is still to be told in a second season, but well, those streaming services do not miss any success. Again we follow Nadia, who is a few years older. She gets on the New York subway line 6, which turns out to be a time machine. Not only does she jump back in time to New York in 1982, but she also realizes that she has returned to her mother’s body. To complicate matters even more, her mother is pregnant with her at the time. This is typically one of the mindfuck-like twists and turns that the season is full of, because it doesn’t stop with this one time jump.
‘The main question is: to what extent is Nadia the product of her family history, and can you change that? At the same time, the man Nadia encountered in the first season also ends up in a time travel situation. That is why you can say: a lot is happening. Still, thanks to Nadia’s strong storyline, good actors and great music, I think this second season is very worthwhile.’
What else are you excited about?
‘I saw the first two episodes of the police series on HBO Max We Own This Cityfrom the makers of The Wire, one of the best series ever made. In this new series we return to the American city of Baltimore, also the setting of The Wireand police violence and corruption in the force are central.
‘Although I’ve only seen two episodes, you immediately feel the ambition that The Wire also featured to tell a story from all sides. There are a lot of characters and specific language and procedures – unlike most police series – are not simplified. You have to do your best to follow the mutual relationships. But it’s that realism that makes rawness We Own This City very well. I was immediately sold.’
And then you saw The Dropoutabout con artist Elizabeth Holmes.
†The Dropout, available on Disney+, is based on the ABC podcast of the same name and centers on the case of a young entrepreneur, Elizabeth Holmes. Her hero is Apple founder Steve Jobs and her ambition is not so much to make the world a better place, but to become the next Steve Jobs. She wants to do everything for that. Holmes presents the idea of a device that can provide a complete health diagnosis with a drop of blood. She founds a company, Theranos, and thanks to her conviction she knows how to attract influential investors. Only: that device does not yet exist at all. At its peak, her company is worth billions, and so is she, until everything collapses. It makes you feel Spanish.
“After Holmes’ company collapsed like a house of cards, many wondered how she managed to deceive all those investors. The series responds well to that. We see how Holmes modeled herself completely after her example Jobs, a role that is played very strongly by Amanda Seyfried. The Dropout holds up a huge mirror to American business, especially the tech industry: how could a company that has nothing to offer suddenly be worth $9 billion? Very fascinating.’