User Reviews

I'm blown away by how much I enjoyed Sense8! It's fantastic! You can tell it was an expensive show to make by the production. It was so expensive that they had to end it a season earlier than they wanted to but the fans were so loud about wanted an appropriate ending that they made a movie to close the story out. It's about a group of people from around the world that are all of a sudden linked mentally and have to come together to get away from people that are hunting them because they think they're too powerful and a threat to the world. If you're a fan of sci-fi then give this a try, you will not be disappointed! I do have to warm you that once you start watching it you won't want to stop so give yourself some time to binge it.

Sense8 is one of those shows where you truly start to care about all the characters and what happens to them. That's because they actually take the time to develop all of these characters and build this world very carefully. They had to end the series because it started to become ridiculously expensive and I get it. At least there were enough fans that they didn't leave it with a cliffhanger and gave us a movie to end the story! It really is a good sci-fi series!

I very rarely write reviews here on IMDb, but after reading some of the other reviews of this amazingly diverse, colourful and new show I actually feel the need to do so.

There have been a few reviewers complaining about "all the gay and/or transsexual people in this series", going as far as claiming this to be "gay propaganda"(!). ... Well, okay. I admit that I am shocked because really?? Yes, there are gay and even one transsexual character in Sense8.. Oh, and they even get to be main characters! Wow. That really must be gay propaganda - because surely no Scifi TV show intended for the mainstream could possibly have normal, every-day gay characters in it -- that aren't even there for the usual comic relief. I mean, of course there are TV shows and films that have plenty of gay characters and plot, and that's apparently OK, because they're mostly intended for a gay audience. And most importantly, they advertise beforehand that the show "is gay". And Sense8? It had the bloody gall to not follow this fine established etiquette. (Boo hoo.)

Seriously. There's plenty of straight sex to be found in your average film/TV show and no one would ever call that "heterosexual and/or anti-gay propaganda". It's simply two (or more) people, in the nude, having, ya know, sex. Nothing new in the world of TV. Considering the fact that there are plenty of gay, bi, trans etc. people out there one might possibly find it strange how most shows or blockbusters have so little glbt lead characters... But no, instead we're confronted with a scandalised outcry because gay sex. And gay people's problems. (Okay, the slippery strap-on dildo wasn't really necessary, I'll give you that. But on the other hand, there're plenty of other TV shows showing similar or even more explicit sex scenes/stuff - and with those being of the straight variety there aren't half as many people complaining about it as here.)

In my (very humble) opinion, Sense8 is a very engaging, well-made and super interesting science fiction drama with a very interesting and varied bunch of characters. And I really mean interesting - there isn't even one character that I can't bond with, don't want to know more about or find interesting here, which on it's own is quite an accomplishment considering that there are 8 main characters who couldn't be more diverse.. Made even more intriguing by all these developing connections between culturally very different people.

The show is not fast-paced, and far from your average sci-fi action show. I get that this show might not for everyone and understand how one might be disappointed and call the series (too) slow - especially if one started watching this show expecting it to be a fast-paced, action-packed SF mystery.

This is, imo, more a drama about very different people who start connecting in the strangest of ways despite all their differences - may it be culture, gender, sexual preference, job (policeman vs. criminal) or social background. And in the first few episodes the show mainly concentrates on exactly that development - introducing each character, their history and the world they live in. (Yes, that includes a bit of "gay plot line" or "cliché"-characters as well - i.e. a parent not accepting their transsexual daughter or a guy being afraid of facing the possible consequences a coming out might entail.)

The so-called "clichés" are unfortunately still a harsh reality for lot's of people - may that be the poor African guy with an HIV-diseased mother, a women working in a business in which there's seemingly no place for a woman or a policeman confronted with a world in which saving a kid might possibly mean saving the very gangbanger who might kill your partner/friend at some point in the future.

Who the hell would wanna watch a show with characters that live totally happy, trouble and drama free lives anyway? Right, no one.

The mystery SF element unravels slowly, yes, but the show picks up and draws you right in with intriguing & very vivid characterisations. I recommend sticking with it, because the show and the 8 MCs really grow on you. :)

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Short update after having watched season 2:

Chapeaux. Season 2 was every bit as good as I hoped, even better. The show picked up some speed & the plot was gripping af. In short: I bloody loved it! Can't wait for season 3.

Netflix does it again. After House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Daredevil, they now release one of the best series ever. Well directed and written, gorgeously shot and edited… From the opening sequence, you know you are watching something very special. Sense8 has the human element that Matrix lacked. It reminds me of The X-Files, but better. It is fantasy and science fiction, but not far-fetched. Not even for a single moment. It feels alive, real and very, very exciting and suspenseful.

Andy and Lana Wachowski go around the world to bring you this beauty... From the streets of Nairobi to the alleys of San Francisco through the smoggy Mexico City and the snowy mountains of Iceland, this show brings it all… and it is DEEP! The series brings elements of drama, suspense, comedy and action and differently from other Wackowski's movies; it brings characters we can relate. Every single one of them is incredibly well constructed and the cast performance is superb. It is impossible to watch this show without deeply connecting with those people. I cheered, I cried, I laughed, I bit all my nails and I feel in love with Kala, Riley, Lito, Nomi, Capheus, Wolfgang, Will and Sun. I adore those characters and at the end of the season, they were like my own family. This, my friends, is great cinema. Nothing else! …and it deserves much more! I can't wait for season two.

It isn't 9 but I will give it one just in spite of all the haters. I just watched four episodes of the show and it isn't bad at all. Just the contrary. It is one of the best SF shows in the last few years. I will try to explain why.

Straczynski is an old-school storyteller. His stories are methodical and often revealed in the later stages of the show (remember B5 where the whole S1 was an expose only). "Sense8" isn't any different. It's a show where the story begins after the first few episodes so if you don't have patience to wait and see into what will the story develop just don't watch it. However, if you acknowledge that and give the show a chance you'll see that it's a testament of tolerance. In the beginning of the show 8 people are interconnected. They can literally "feel" each other. That's freaky. But they are all as different as they could be. They also come from different continents and different surroundings. "Sense8" asks us to have faith in each other and perhaps even to coexist because and not in spite of our differences. However, story is slow, and in the beginning there is just to many characters to feel any real connection to any of them. It doesn't matter really. We can see the sketches of the things to come.

"Sense8" tackles some serious subjects. Homosexuality, transgender relations, racial differences, feminism and deficiency of capitalism.

Of course, all that criticism probably won't appeal to everyone and it will probably offend the feelings of the conservative viewers but neither Wachovskis nor Straczynski are worried about that.

"Sense8" does what it describes. It introduces us to the bigger picture. The story will fully develop in the later stages, the universe of the S8 is just fleshed out here. This passed with B5 in the nineties but today when people are watching their cellphones while watching the movie and when everything must happen now or it doesn't matter anymore - S8 is a bit anachronistic. It's not made for everyone and it won't be liked by everyone. But it isn't bad. On the contrary, it's one of the best SF series in a while.

I had very, very high expectations for this show. I've never been so anxious for a new show to come out. From start to finish and at every point along the way this show more than met those expectations, it blew them away. The transitions from one person to the next, one scene to the next were exquisitely done every time. The way each sensate connected with the others, what they were able to help each other with emotionally and physically was masterfully done. Nothing felt inevitable, at each point there felt like there was genuine risk to each of them. I love this show. I literally stayed up from midnight until noon watching each episode one after the other. And tonight, when I get home from shopping, I'm gonna do it again but with friends. This satisfied me on so many levels. Genre, plot, gender, race, sexuality. I care so much for each of the eight and I love how they all complement each other. They are amazing. This show is amazing. The editing, the directing, the writing, the acting, the chemistry between the eight....just perfect. I can't wait to watch it again and again and again.

I started this show back in 2016 and honestly, just could not get into it. The part of the dildo on the floor was not very appealing to me. I wasn't offended by the love of two women, but what could have been a nice love scene was tainted by that action and that is where it stopped for me - the first time around. Then the pandemic hit and I was locked in my home wondering what wall I haven't banged my head against yet, when I came across this show again. This time with nothing else pulling me out of my house, this show played on, pulling me in and keeping me there. It is slow, yes, but only in the beginning. It is a slow burn, but a good burn and it hooks your heart, very gently and ever so deeply. Some reviews are speaking about pushing an agenda for gay rights, and maybe it is, but that is not what stood out to me. I'm not a homosexual, nor am I homophobia, so that is not where my attention went. For me, it was the friendship. The overwhelming theme of having someone, 7 someones, who are connected so inseparably to each other, that they protect you at all cost. They are the type of friends that most people would give anything to have. This shows embodies love, family, and connection. It is, sadly, without a doubt, well before its time. I was so very touched by the beauty in this story that it moved my heart and my mind, and oh how very dangerous that can be! I'm just one person, and I know that there is not anything so special about how I feel to think I am the only one who feels this way, which means, there are a lot of others out there that feel exactly the same. And if we all are moved, like I have been, then that is when one person becomes one more and one more until we are all connected and moved to make the our lives, our hearts, our thoughts, a better place. What a wave that brings. One where the impact of such may take time to become evident, but make no mistake, it will come. Well done! If the creators of this show ever feel like their work, their art, their creation did not have the effect hoped for, I hope you "hear" my voice. It did! In time, I think this show will soar. Thank you for making it. You have moved me beyond what words can ever convey. And the song at the end - Experience- is married in my soul and every time I hear it, I will think of the power of love - of any kind. and the enduring, everlasting beauty of friendship. I am truly grateful for such an experience! Thank you.

There are few people who can make good and bad films quite as polar opposite as the Wachowski's. They made the Matrix but almost destroyed their genius reputation with the follow-up films. Now they produce a series Sens8 which I must admit crept up on me. I don't like watching or reading previews because the wait kills me when I see something I really like. Such a film is Sens8.

It is an incredibly well written story. It's familiar to those of us who watched The Matrix, because of the philosophical and dramatic moments that pepper the storyline. When it came out on Netflix, I literally binged the entire first season. It's so well written that the director's even add ultra-realism, such as the feedback echo when two callers use their phones to call each other, along with many others. There is also some wonderful humor in this show - including a scene where a machismo-infused actor empathizes with another "sens8" who is on her period.

The story is that multiple people suddenly discover that they are beginning to share mindsets. They begin to appear to each other, especially when one is in trouble. Such a simple premise but it opens up so many possibilities for story lines.

I love this show and really urge you to watch it. You'll be glad you did.

It's a great sci-fi story and the writing unfolds it really well, with each episode creating a build up. There's well written action, romance and intrigue within the sci-fi. The story develops mystery, but with questions still being answered answered along the way, and it created a great build up for the finale - which in itself was a great way to wrap up the first season, giving the audience a moment most would've been expecting from the beginning, while creating an 'omg what's going to happen next' impact.

There's a slow start in the first couple of episodes for everything to start intertwining, but it's worthwhile as episodes 4/5 had me hooked. The writing gave some foreshadowing lines and scenes that made me interested enough me to guess and theorize what would come next. All of the individual character story lines are well developed throughout, with great acting. Sun's an absolute favorite for me, personally.

I really hope there's another season to see how the characters will continue to cross paths and work together, especially with the quality of the story. While it's not breaking bad, it is a really recommendable sci-fi. I'm looking forward to see what unfolds.

When I first saw the preview for this it looked amazing. An original take with directors at the helm, whom when they're good, they're great. The main issue I took in the show walking away from the pilot, it that it's disjointed and ham fisted.

Secondary characters seem only to be there to heavily set up the preconceptions of the movies world (maybe our own? but this doesn't really represent our own.) The hospital that has a policy on not helping dying kids if it's a gunshot? The cop basically saying "just leave him there to die, because your dad was killed by on of 'them'" and the heavy handed "what if he lives and kills someone else, a cop perhaps?" Just all feel like being hit over the head with the story.

The South Korean woman who rises to the rank of essentially co- running a major company who's treated in the typical "go make me a sammich" fashion.

The Lesbian couple that faces every gay stereotype known to man in the first 10 mins they're on screen. With a heavy helping of The L Word thrown in for whatever measure.

The writing was blocky, the script felt unpolished, and just left me feeling disappointed. I know this has been a hit with some people, and especially the LGBT community, and that's good. Honestly. But personally, I only have issues with the script, the filming, and the horrible acting on the part of secondary characters.

This series is riveting. watched the first six episodes back to back.

The concept of linked minds is interesting in it's simplicity. Modern technology has brought us closer together, this series looks at how things might be if we were even closer connected.

The characters are well defined and are believable. There is a strong focus on the individual stories of the main cast reminding me of Orange is the new black.

like Orange is the new black some people might object or take offense to some of the content, thinking it is to progressive or liberal. I hope these are few because these topic are important and help build the story and perhaps also teach us a bit more about the stereotypes we build about people we might be afraid of. We are all human and that is an important part of what I think the series try to tell us.

Let me start out by saying exactly what people have said already... Sense8 is a bait and switch. I'll get to the shortcomings (as well as the less numerous strong points), but first and foremost, this show is not what it was advertised to be. The trailers paint a picture of a gripping sci-fi thriller and what we're actually presented with is a political activist's wet dream that actually comes out to about 15% sci-fi and 85% slow-burning coal.

Of all the reviews I've read, there are many people who have both good and bad things to say about The Wachowski's new venture. Some hail it as groundbreaking while others consider it par for the course in the string of arguably awful storytelling succeeding The Matrix and Bound (I should mention I love V for Vendetta, but alas, it wasn't written by them and many comic fans hated it). Now for the reviews, the problem with a lot of the good ones I've seen is that they are very vague. The critical analyses generally go into a lot of depth about where the show failed... while on the other hand, we have people very glibly saying they loved it. Two articles I recommend reading however both present very good points and are on polar opposites of the spectrum. I personally fall somewhere in the middle.

Those two articles are on Collider and Den of Geek. Google should be able to help you find them.

The show wasn't the worst thing I have ever seen. It started out painfully slow and I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt considering the story's scope, but Game of Thrones did fine while this attempt feels forced. I found myself not caring about characters and even disliking some just for how stereotypical they are. By episode 9, the dragging pace turned to spinning wheels where story advancement seemed like a mirage and I found myself getting depressed watching to the point that I had to take a break and do something fun. The actual sensate aspects of the show fall to the wayside in favor of ALL 8 people (all misfits who society has been cruel to) whining about their problems and complaining about how messed up the world is.

Now for the gay/lesbian aspect. Things got preachy very quickly. Not only did many of the graphic scenes alienate many viewers (especially straight ones) but nobody wants to be slapped on the wrist so repeatedly to drive home a point. It's insulting to the viewer's intelligence and not the way to get a society to look at something differently. If you want people to change, don't cause them to look away.

Finally, plot holes galore make things hard to watch. You have to question most of the characters' decision making, and by the end, you wonder why the hell they didn't do (x thing) differently and save themselves the hassle. Forget the point of making drama for a story, these are the kind of holes where a characters says something must be done in the way he or she says, when there's very clearly another MUCH better option. It should have been a conclusion that left people excited for more or thinking about the impact of what they just watched, but I guess that was a pipe-dream. We're left pretty much back where we started.

To say the show is awful is horribly unfair as well though. It's thoughtful, beautifully shot, and does touch on some important issues, but unfortunately it's still a very rough block of marble... you can see what the statue could have been, but David turned out faceless here.

Sense8 is maddening. So many times it shows glimmers of greatness, hints that the pace might speed up a little bit, then it continues with same bland soppy mediocrity. The Wachowskis are the best at glitzy action scenes and mind-blowing sci-fi concepts. Looking at this mess, it's clear that's what they should have stuck to, because characters and dialogue are blatantly not their strong point.

The tedious character moments far outnumber the great action sequences, which is a shame, because the action is truly something else. The idea of multiple people sharing bodies leads to fantastic fast-paced fight scenes that rival the best moments from the Matrix. They do end up getting repetitive towards the end of the first season but they're entertaining as hell.

Instead of diving deep into the science fiction elements of its story and its mysterious villain Whispers, Sense8 chooses to use its unique mechanics to have characters from all over the world talk to each other in meaningless philosophical discussions. The dialogue tries so hard to be poetic that it ends up meaning nothing. It's slow, pretentious nonsense for its own sake. To take one example, we witness graphic flashbacks to each character's birth while they share an experience at a classical concert. Why? Who knows. Did the music somehow cause all of them to remember their births? Why is any of this relevant? What is it trying to say? Is it trying to say anything at all? If anyone actually knows the meaning of this scene or the questions it's trying to ask or the point it's trying to make, please tell me. Because for me, this scene is a nice way of summing up the whole show: pointless.

It doesn't help that the most tedious, meaningless scenes are so drawn out, as if that will give them the meaning they're grappling for. Each character's storylines move along at a sluggish pace. Consider this: one main character's question of whether she should marry her fiancé is one of the biggest plotlines of the first season, and it's STILL NOT RESOLVED by the end. The wedding STILL hasn't happened yet.

I'm done. No way am I watching the second season. Sense8 isn't an awful show, sometimes it's genuinely enjoyable. But a lot of the time, it's just boring.

First of all, I am truly impressed by how this show was able to air in 2015 despite all the LGBTQ+ content within in show. It truly shows how producers were trying to positively represent queer relationships despite the stigmas that existed. The storyline was so so creative, and I LOVED the ending. I will always miss all of these characters as there were so many wholesome moments in the story. It was also amazing how different cultures and genres were able to mix into one and flow so smoothly. The editing was wonderful as well since the shift between the scenes were so smooth and not clumpy at all. This show also did an amazing job of portraying sex as something loving, and intimate, rather than just a sexual act.

So if you are one of those people that cannot keep along in Game of thrones, then this will be particularly hard to follow through. The notch is a little bit cranked up and with a lot of characters to follow.

I've seen 9 episodes so far and I can now feel the build up of the series is done, and the actual story is beginning. I can sense a lot of dynamic going on here between several different characters and you really start to care for each and everyone of them. That depends also on your own view of life, because love of every kind is represented. Horrors in all of its forms is presented and you probably need to be one of those empathic people to appreciate the story-telling. But when they start to join forces it creates this fantastic empowering feeling that you want to be a part of. The fight for some good, because you sense what they can become in the end.

This is not a show for your bigotry, this is a show for the time we live in.

The characters lives and issues is connected to our real world problems and you can sense that each of them is represented in a real person in our world.

What will happen when they all meet in physical form?

Thats what I want to know.

This show impacted me so much I had to scrap my novel in-the-making because the concept inspired me so much. This show changed my perspective view in the world, as to how every living beings are connected to each other. Sense8 got to be, if not the best, one of the best sci-fi films ever. Very disappointed Netflix cancelled the show.

I am just going to cut it short! Brilliant idea converted to a great script. Strong characters and amazing pictures. I think there is just one single reason why this show was not a success and does not have a higher rating here like GOT or Breakig Bad etc. That is the still on going homophobia in the high majority of the sociaty all over the world. That is a fact!!! I totally recommend the show if you don't have unsolved issues with lgbt community! I do not have to say this; but it is truely sad that I feel like I have to mention it in order to break your prejudiced thoughts when you read this review; I am straight by the way...

This is one of the best original sci-fi set up idea I have seen in so many years! I was really excited about the ability, and the idea of sharing life with 8 so different others. However, despite the fact the most of the cast members were doing great jobs in the series, the script of the show was awful. Build up really really slow, took about 3-4 episodes to finally let them started to connect between each other, abrupt senses pop up everywhere without pattern and some of the build up was just hardly make any sense. Maybe it is because of the challenge of multi casting the life of 8 separate individual was hard, Especially when u try to make them all equally weighted. And one thing really bothers me it's the hard emphasis on the LGBT pride. I dun want to make myself sounds like someone against it. Cause I m totally not! But maybe just in this series, where I expected so much from the sci-fi part, it might seems a little bit too heavy on that? And the part which I assume suppose to express the idea of feminism, but ends up to be just a weird triangle story. Overall I give credit on the attempt of showing more thought and endowing meaning to the series, but in the end I felt it went too far and lost focus point. Lastly, I hope there's could be more seasons to come, a great show after all.

Frankly, I have to say that since the Matrix, the Wachowskis have been struggling. This latest attempt, Sense8, consists of a rambling story line, somewhat deliberately spaced action sequences and an extreme amount of gratuitous sex. The series sometimes has the viewer tapping his or her toes as they patiently wait upon the next, not so revealing clue to what might be going on.

The cast is more than adequate for a less than challenging script which requires little more than cliché type-acting. Things pick up, a bit, after the first few episodes but one has to wonder if the first season might not have been edited down to five or six far more engaging episodes. I cannot imagine much ended up on the editing floor. By season's end, the gut response is "That's it?".

On the bright side, the photography and action sequences are first rate, to some extent brilliant. As for the next season, I personally feel the Wachowskis are capable of reaching far greater heights. So, be patient a tad longer before passing final judgment.

This series is bad. Weak idea, with thousands of plot holes, poor and predictable script, so bad acting! And sex, so much unneeded sex. Once you see 2 or 3 episodes there's nothing surprising left, except of the high rankings. The Matrix seems so far away.

On an interview for Indiewire, J. Michael Straczynski mentions that while Startrek and BattleStar Galactica were to SciFi what Dragnet was to police shows, SciFi never had its Hill Street Blues, and that he hoped Sense8 would be it.

Now we have the answer: it is.

That is what we expect to get when we mix the creator of Babylon 5 (et al) with the creators of The Matrix. It is a SciFi show where there "heroes" are not only human being with human relationships, but also with all human flaws and beauties. Drugs, love, violence, greed, cowardice, weakness. It is one story, but it is also 8 stories. It is the story of all of them, and it is the story of each of them. It is their successes and their failures. It is life in all its beauty and all its ugliness in a scifi that is something as close to our world that you at times have trouble remembering it isn't. It is a magnificent piece of work, shot in all parts of the world using, and those places are not just a background, their are part of the story.

The premise for this show is quite simple: 8 different people will start entering each others minds, living each other lives, visiting and sharing. We learn the story as the characters do, while also visiting and sharing their lives. It is not an epic story, although it spans the world. It is a story told by its basic elements, with superb writing and production quality.

The bad part? Now we have to wait for season 2.