In Maniac, a paranoid schizophrenic and a depressed woman join a very weird experimental program designed to cure mental illness for good using drugs and computers. This cure involves living through various fantasy scenarios, which reminded me a little of Dollhouse, although it's actually based - incredibly loosely (Vulture has an article on how loosely if you're curious) - on a mediocre Norwegian comedy.
The story is intriguing. The acting is excellent, particularly Emma Stone, who is as brilliant as always, and Sally Field, who seems to be really enjoying her turn as, among others, a celebrity shrink.
Besides the crazy drugs and the multiple lives, Maniac is notable for its strange alternate reality. The series takes place in a world with incredible technology but also computers that seem to be from the 90s. It's as though the filmmakers wanted to make a futuristic series as it would have been made in 1992. The world of Maniac is similar to ours yet different, with oddities like rental friends.
Strange, funny, imaginative, and affecting, this is brilliant, must-watch television.
The story is intriguing. The acting is excellent, particularly Emma Stone, who is as brilliant as always, and Sally Field, who seems to be really enjoying her turn as, among others, a celebrity shrink.
Besides the crazy drugs and the multiple lives, Maniac is notable for its strange alternate reality. The series takes place in a world with incredible technology but also computers that seem to be from the 90s. It's as though the filmmakers wanted to make a futuristic series as it would have been made in 1992. The world of Maniac is similar to ours yet different, with oddities like rental friends.
Strange, funny, imaginative, and affecting, this is brilliant, must-watch television.