This week, Dominique binge-watched a Brazilian TV Show available on Netflix called 3%. 3% is mildly like The Hunger Games, in that the show’s conceit consists of a test that allows citizens to become part of the 3% (or the elites). But what makes this show so fascinating is that it is much more complex than “good” and “bad” or “elites” and “the 97%.” The budding resistance movement fighting for more equality is not clearly all good, and the founding principles of the 3% are not all evil. It’s a deeply intriguing show.

TV ShowDominique LearMay 4, 2019Brazil, On Netflix, Dystopian

Osmosis

French Netflix production Osmosis is the latest in a line of gripping and brainy Western European sci-fi shows. Siblings Esther and Paul are the founders and leaders of a tech startup promising to revolutionize the way we fall in love. Using a system of “implants” and mind mapping, they promise patients total emotional consummation with their “soul mate.” (We know: what could possibly go wrong?) On the eve of the company’s public launch, beset by treacherous test subjects, mutinous staff, and sinister backers, Paul and Esther begin to unravel the consequences of their own emotional needs. A deeply felt and deliciously tense story about what we feel and how we try—and usually fail—to control it.

TV ShowDominique LearMay 3, 2019France, On Netflix, Dystopian, Quirky