Sense8

Sense8
Genre
Created by
Written by
Directed by
Starring
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes24
Production
Executive producers
  • Grant Hill
  • Lana Wachowski
  • Lilly Wachowski
  • J. Michael Straczynski
  • Cindy Holland
  • Peter Friedlander
  • Tara Duncan
  • Deepak Nayar
  • Leon Clarance
  • Marc Rosen
  • John Toll
  • Laura Delahaye
Producers
  • Marcus Loges
  • L. Dean Jones Jr.
  • Alex Boden
  • Terry Needham
  • Roberto Malerba
Production locations
Cinematography
Editors
  • Joe Hobeck
  • Joseph Jett Sally
  • Fiona Colbeck
Camera setupSingle-camera[1]
Running time46–151 minutes
Production companies
  • Anarchos Productions (s. 1)
  • Javelin Productions (s. 1)
  • Studio JMS
  • Georgeville Television
  • Venus Castina LLC (s. 2)
  • Elizabeth Bay Productions (s. 2)
  • Unpronounceable Productions
Original release
NetworkNetflix
ReleaseJune 5, 2015 (2015-06-05) –
June 8, 2018 (2018-06-08)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Sense8 (a play on the word sensate /ˈsɛnseɪt/) is an American science fiction drama television series created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski for Netflix. The production companies behind Sense8 included the Wachowskis' Anarchos Productions (replaced by Lana and her wife's Venus Castina Productions in the second season), Straczynski's Studio JMS, and Georgeville Television, with Unpronounceable Productions having been set up specifically for the show.[2]

The show's first season introduced a multinational ensemble cast, with Aml Ameen, Bae Doona, Jamie Clayton, Tina Desai, Tuppence Middleton, Max Riemelt, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, and Brian J. Smith portraying eight strangers from different parts of the world who suddenly discover that they are "sensates": human beings who are mentally and emotionally linked. Freema Agyeman, Terrence Mann, Anupam Kher, Naveen Andrews, and Daryl Hannah also star. In the second season, Toby Onwumere replaces Ameen. The show explores issues related to identity, sexuality, gender, and politics that its creators felt had been rarely addressed on television.[3][4][5] Its central theme is an embrace of empathy across difference.[6]

All episodes of the first season of Sense8 were written by the Wachowskis and Straczynski; in the second season, Lilly Wachowski took a break from the show, and the episodes were written by just Lana Wachowski and Straczynski, with the exception of the series finale which was written by Lana, David Mitchell, and Aleksandar Hemon. Most episodes were directed by the Wachowskis (or just Lana in the second season), with the remainder being divided between their frequent collaborators James McTeigue, Tom Tykwer, and Dan Glass. Sense8 was filmed almost entirely on location in a multitude of cities around the world.

The first season, consisting of 12 episodes, became available for streaming on Netflix on June 5, 2015, and was met with generally favorable critical reception. It was praised for its representation of LGBTQ characters and themes, winning the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series. It was also recognized with a Location Managers Guild award for its use of locations as an integral part of the story, and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.

The second season began with a two-hour Christmas special in December 2016, with the remaining 10 episodes released in May 2017. However, the following month Netflix announced that they had cancelled the series, which had ended with a cliffhanger in expectation of a third season, then under negotiation. In response to criticism of the cancellation, especially with an unresolved story, Netflix produced a two-and-a-half-hour series finale that was released on June 8, 2018. The season was overall met with positive critical reception and received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour), and two nominations by the GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series for the season proper and series finale, respectively.

  1. ^ Arlene Washington; Kirsten Chuba; Courtney Idasetima; Lexy Perez; Kimberly Nordyke (September 9, 2017). "Creative Arts Emmys 2017: Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  2. ^ Adeshina Emmanuel (July 31, 2014). "Netflix Series 'Sense8' Filming Car Chase and Crash in Buena Park". DNAinfo.com. New Media News. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  3. ^ J. Michael Straczynski (October 12, 2014). "I have been online, talking about the work, the various TV series, and the behind-the-scenes stuff, since November 20, 1991". Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2015 – via Facebook. We are going to treat subjects that most TV series, and pretty much all SF series have avoided.
  4. ^ "Watch the Trailer for the Wachowskis' New Netflix Series 'Sense8'". Creative Planet Network. Future plc. May 7, 2015. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  5. ^ Emily Orley (May 7, 2015). "Everything You Need To Know About Netflix's New Show "Sense8"". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  6. ^ Grey Ellis, Emma (June 8, 2018). "What Brought 'Sense8' Back—and What Killed It in the First Place". Wired. Retrieved September 12, 2020.