**Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. **Collier, or “CJ” to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he’s been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.
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Netflix has plenty of television shows in its catalog, including originals like ***Stranger Things ***or even old favorites like Suits. But every so often, it’ll release a television series that flies under the radar like Sense8. The baffling part is that *Sense8 *boasts a creative pedigree unlike any other; it was created by **Lana **and **Lily Wachowski **alongside J. Michael Straczynski. The Wachowskis are no strangers to creating sci-fi epics that shape pop culture; after all, they brought the world The Matrix.
Straczynski himself is a popular creator as well, whether it’s his television work (Babylon 5) or his writing for comics (The Amazing Spider-Man, Superman: Earth One). While *Sense8 *was a critical darling, it was canceled after two seasons, which is a shame because its themes of connection and its globetrotting story make for a compelling watch.
*Sense8 *begins when eight different people — taxi driver Capheus (Aml Ameen/Toby Onwumere), kickboxer Sun (Doona Bae), hacktivist Nomi (Jamie Clayton), pharmacist Kala (Tina Desai), DJ Riley (Tuppence Middleton), safecracker Wolfgang (Max Riemelt), actor Lito (Miguel Ángel Silvestre), and policeman Will (Brian J. Smith) — become “sensates.”
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
They share a psychic link, allowing them to draw upon each other’s skills and memories, which comes in handy since they’re being stalked by the Biological Preservation Organization. The sensates learn that they aren’t alone in the world; Angela (Daryl Hannah), the woman who triggered their psychic bond, and the BPO’s enforcer “Whispers” (Terrence Mann) were also sensates.
The Wachowskis and Straczynski each brought their unique talents to the table** **when crafting Sense8. Straczynski is best known for his strong character work, slowly revealing hidden depths to the protagonists of his work over time while also sowing the seeds for future stories. The Wachowskis write in the service of theme; the *Matrix *films are about the choices one makes or doesn’t have the chance to make. **Sense8 marries these sensibilities by exploring how its protagonists are connected to each other, as well as the connections within their everyday lives.
One of the best early examples of the sensates’ new dynamic comes in the Season 1 episode “What’s Going On?,” where the entire group sings along to 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up?” It’s a touching, tender moment that gets to the heart of Sense8’s overarching message: people are stronger when they work together. “We wanted to do a story that said that we are better together than we are apart. That we, as a species — if we’re going to get to the future — have to start working together,” Straczynski said in the lead-up to Sense8’s premiere.
*Sense8 *had a unique production process that lent itself quite well to the sprawling narrative. **Most of the filmmaking was done on location **— scenes in Chicago were actually shot in the Windy City, while scenes in Berlin and Mexico were filmed in Berlin and Mexico. While most films often use one city as a double for another location or shoot on elaborately constructed sets, the fact that Sense8 was actually filmed in the locations it depicts helps immerse viewers in the narrative.
That feeling also extends to its cast, who embody a wide range of diverse perspectives from around the globe. Arguably the most prominent member is Nomi (Clayton); both her relationship with her girlfriend Amanita (Freema Agyeman) and her life as a trans woman are front and center in the series. This was a major draw for Clayton, who is a trans woman herself and looked up to the Wachowskis. “To be able to be on a set with someone who is trans, who is directing me, who had written this part of a trans character was a dream come true. I thought to myself, “I want this experience. I want to be able to do this.” It’s so rare in Hollywood,” Clayton told Collider prior to Sense8’s premiere.
The cancellation of Sense8 in 2017 came as a shock to many fans — and comments from Netflix CEO **Ted Sarandos **didn’t exactly help matters at the time. “We couldn’t support those economics,” Sarandos said of the decision to pull the plug on *Sense8. *“If you put all your money into something that a very few people are watching, eventually you’ll have nothing for people to watch.”
Despite Sarandos’ remarks, fans flooded social media with petitions and posts under the #RenewSense8 hashtag. Those efforts eventually paid off when** Netflix announced a Sense8 special shortly after the series’ cancellation. A year later, the special, titled “Amor Vincit Omnia,” premiered and wrapped up the battle between the sensates and the BPO. Even through its cancellation, *Sense8 *managed to have an impact; it scored a number of awards and was even referenced by Nobel Peace Prize winner **Juan Manuel Sotos **in a speech.
In the years following its cancellation, one of the minds behind Sense8 revealed more about what a potential third season would have entailed. Strazczynski was careful to note that he and the Wachowskis hadn’t officially written any scripts for Season 3, but he did divulge some details about where he wanted to take some characters. **Even though it was cut down in its prime, Sense8 is well worth the watch, both for its premise and how it wears its heart on its sleeve.
*Sense8 *is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
