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Netflix is well-known for gathering talented people together, giving them loads of money, and letting them create whatever the hell they want. And as if we need any more proof that this is an entertainment model that works, I give you: Love, Death and Robots. From the directors of Gone Girl and Deadpool, David Fincher and Tim Miller (along with House of Cards producer Josh Donen and newcomer Jennifer Miller), comes an adult animated anthology series telling 18 different short stories about tech, politics, relationships, the future, AI, and so much more - all beautifully animated, all distinctly adult, and all landing on the streaming service on March 15, 2019.
From the very first promotional material, the streaming service has made it clear that Love, Death and Robots is not for kids (the poster even has ‘Netflix’ crossed out in the tagline “A Netflix animated anthology” and replaced with ‘NSFW’) perhaps afraid that the animated nature of the Netflix Original would put off some potential watchers. After seeing six of the 18 15-minute episodes during an early screening, I can say that it is most definitely adult. It’s also scary, intense, hilarious, rude, fucked up, beautiful, sexy, and about a billion other things. Thanks to the fact that each episode is its own distinctive story with its own specific style, tone, and animation, Love, Death and Robots is able to tell 18 very different stories that all have one thing in common; they’re all brilliant.
While I haven’t seen even half of the episodes yet, I can confidently say this is a must-watch series as every episode I saw had me hooked from start to finish, but for different reasons. I was desperate to discover the truth of Beyond the Aquila Rift, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the intoxicating visuals of The Witness, I found the story at the centre Sonnie’s Edge painfully real, while Alternate Histories surprised me in a way I didn’t expect, and then When the Yogurt Took Over had me in stitches, before Three Robots left me feeling thoughtful. There wasn’t a single story I wasn’t obsessed with during the hour-long screening and you can bet the first thing I’ll be doing this Friday when it’s new on Netflix is bingeing the whole thing.
Given the futuristic nature of most of - if not all - the stories in Love, Death and Robots, there are obvious comparisons to Black Mirror and they’re not unjustified. Just like Charlie Brooker’s terrifying realisation of the future, there are some lessons to be learnt from the tales of Love, Death and Robots. But whereas I sometimes find that the overbearing terror at the heart of a Black Mirror episode stops me from feeling anything else, Love, Death and Robots almost has the opposite effect. There’s so much built into these spectacular little worlds that diving into them is almost like going into sensory overload. There’s so much to absorb and some of it is terrifying and poignant, but there’s also beauty and joy in every story too.
If you’re a fan of hard sci-fi then you’ll love Beyond the Aquila Rift and Sonnie’s Edge, but I think everyone will be talking about When the Yogurt Took Over, which tells the tale of a sentient, genius Yogurt accidentally created in a lab that goes on to rule the world. Unsurprisingly, it’s hilarious throughout as the Yogurt manipulates world leaders and comes up with a plan to solve world debt, but there’s also something very Black Mirror in the sense that you could see this happening. Ok, well, maybe not with an actual dairy product, but with an equal charisma and a clever would-be dictator. And in fact, the ‘perfect world’ the Yogurt’s subjects live in after it takes over very much reminds me of the picture-perfect towns of Nosedive from Black Mirror season 4.
With captivating stories at the centre of each episode, backed up by some first-class performances and spectacular visuals, Love, Death and Robots really is something special – which is saying a lot for a streaming service, which produces an uncountable number of new shows, movies, documentaries, and more a year – but you get the impression that it wouldn’t have been made, or would have been quickly forgotten, anywhere else. With Netflix, the creators have been able to produce a unique series of stories that people will be talking about long after they binge. Long may it continue!
For more amazing must-watches from the streaming service check out the best shows on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix.
