Every streaming service eventually finds its niche. Netflix pioneered the binge-watch model, not to mention the streaming format and original content. Prime Video, Disney+ and Paramount+ thrive on genre and franchise fare. For Apple TV, science fiction is where it shines, as most of its best shows fall into that genre. Severance and Silo have become major hits, while For All Mankind recently expanded its reach with the spin-off series Star City. However, one of Apple TV’s best shows is currently hiding in plain sight for sci-fi fans.
That series is Dark Matter. Based on Blake Crouch‘s novel of the same name, Dark Matter follows Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton), a physics professor with a picture-perfect life. His best friend, Ryan (Jimmi Simpson), is an award-winning physicist, and he’s happily married to Daniela (Jennifer Connelly). Jason’s life is upended when a mysterious figure kidnaps him. Worse, the kidnapper is his duplicate from an alternate universe,determined to take over his life. Stranded in another world, Jason races to get back home with the help of his duplicate’s girlfriend, Amanda (Alice Braga).
‘Dark Matter’ Grounds Its Multiverse Approach In Emotional Stakes
Jennifer Connelly and Joel Edgerton in Dark Matter Season 2Image via Apple TV
The idea of alternate universes has fueled sci-fi stories for decades, from cult classics like Sliders to upcoming blockbusters like Avengers: Doomsday. Dark Matter ups the stakes by putting character over spectacle, exploring how both Jasons operate in different worlds. Jason 1 fights against impossible odds, including a series of increasingly uninhabitable realities, to get back home. Jason 2, on the other hand, makes decisions that benefit him, not the family he stole. It doesn’t hurt that Edgerton makes both Jasons feel like distinct characters, from Jason 2’s secretive movements to the sheer determination fueling Jason 1. Blake Crouch told Space.com that he wanted a character-driven approach for Dark Matter, as it helped audiences accept the crazier concepts baked into the narrative.
“But when the book came out, it was the first story that went all in and committed to the idea of the world in a grounded, emotional, character-driven way. And we always try to stay true to that identity. Sometimes the multiverse can be fun shock and awe when it comes to showing how wild and crazy different worlds can become. But for our characters, everyone is just shades of the same core character. And I think that approach hopefully keeps it from falling into some of those trope traps.”
Season 2 of Dark Matter flips the script by focusing on Daniela and how she deals with the twin traumas of uprooting her family to live in another world and accidentally murdering an alternate Jason who comes to visit them. Jennifer Connelly pours a wealth of emotion into her performance, particularly in the Season 2 episode “What The Universe Is Made Of”. There, she shares a touching reunion with an alternate version of her stepfather, Gabriel (Gil Birmingham). From the scenes they share, it’s clear Daniela wasn’t close to her world’s Gabriel, and she’s using this chance to try to rectify that mistake. This simple, yet powerful moment is what makes Dark Matter worth watching.
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Movies/Science Fiction/Survival Assessment
Collider Survival Assessment Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? 8 questions · 5 worlds · one honest verdict
Five of the great screen futures, and not one of them is built for comfort. Answer eight questions about instinct, loyalty and the line you would cross, and the scan will tell you which one you would still be standing in. Worlds in range
▦︎The Matrix
◈︎Mad Max
◑︎Blade Runner
▲︎Dune
✦︎Star Wars
Question 01 of 08INSTINCT
The world as you know it ends overnight. What is your first move? No wrong answer. There is a wrong hesitation.
Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance
Question 02 of 08RESOURCE
You can stockpile exactly one thing. What is it? Choose carefully. You are not getting a second run.
Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance
Question 03 of 08THREAT
Which kind of enemy scares you the most? Be honest about what keeps you up.
Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance
Question 04 of 08AUTHORITY
How do you handle the people in charge? Every world has them. Even the ones that pretend otherwise.
Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance
Question 05 of 08ENVIRONMENT
Pick the place you would rather wake up in: You will be there a while.
Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance
Question 06 of 08ALLIANCE
Who do you want standing next to you? Pick one. You only get one.
Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance
Question 07 of 08MORALITY
Which line would you cross to survive? Everybody crosses one.
Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance
Question 08 of 08PURPOSE
What are you really fighting for? Last question. Make it count.
Keys 1 to 5 or A to E · Enter to advance
Scan completeYou would survive
▦︎ The Matrix The Resistance, Zion You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.
You would survive The Matrix because you were never fully sold on the version of reality you were handed. You notice the seams. You ask the second question. In a world built to keep people comfortable and incurious, that instinct is the whole fight, and it is why Morpheus would have found you long before you found him. From the Collider file
The Wachowskis’ 1999 film won four Academy Awards, including Visual Effects and Film
Editing.
Bullet time was shot with a rig of roughly 120 still cameras firing in sequence around the
actors.
Keanu Reeves trained in martial arts for about four months before a frame was shot,
recovering from neck surgery the whole time.
It opened the same year as Fight Club and eXistenZ, in a run of films about not trusting the
world in front of you.
Red pill energy Pattern spotter Built to question
◈︎ Mad Max The Wasteland Oh, what a day. What a lovely day.
You would survive the Wasteland because you do not waste energy mourning the world that ended. You move, you improvise, and you are very good with whatever is bolted to the thing in front of you. Furiosa would let you drive. That is not a compliment anybody earns easily. From the Collider file
Mad Max: Fury Road won six Academy Awards in 2016, more than any other film that year.
George Miller storyboarded the entire film as roughly 3,500 panels before there was a
script.
The chase was shot almost entirely practical in the Namib Desert, with real vehicles and
real stunt performers.
Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth carried the prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, in 2024.
Keeps moving Improviser Good with engines
◑︎ Blade Runner Los Angeles, 2049 All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
You would survive 2049 because you know how to be small in a very loud city. You keep your head down, you do the job, and you hold onto one private thing that belongs only to you. That quiet stubbornness is exactly what both Deckard and K run on, and it is what keeps either of them going when the case stops making sense. From the Collider file
Blade Runner 2049 won Roger Deakins his first Oscar for cinematography, on his fourteenth
nomination.
The film also took Best Visual Effects, 35 years after Ridley Scott’s 1982 original.
Villeneuve shot it on large-format film and kept the fog and rain practical on set wherever
he could.
Three short films by Luke Scott and Shinichiro Watanabe bridge the 30-year gap between the
two movies.
Keeps her head down Private Noir soul
▲︎ Dune Arrakis Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
You would survive Arrakis because you think in decades while everyone around you thinks in weeks. You read the room, you learn the customs, you wait. The desert does not reward speed. It rewards people who understand that patience is a weapon, which is the one lesson the Fremen never had to be taught. From the Collider file
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune won six Academy Awards in 2022, including Cinematography and
Original Score.
Hans Zimmer turned down Christopher Nolan’s Tenet so he could score Dune instead.
Dune: Part Two arrived in 2024 and brought in Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Christopher
Walken.
David Lynch’s 1984 version and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unmade one are both their
own legends by now.
Plays the long game Reads the room Patient
✦︎ Star Wars A Galaxy Far, Far Away Rebellions are built on hope.
You would survive the galaxy because you never try to survive it alone. You collect people. You end up in the middle of other folks’ problems and you stay anyway. Every version of this story, from the Falcon’s crew to the Ghost’s, runs on somebody exactly like that holding the group together. From the Collider file
The 1977 original won six Academy Awards plus a special achievement award for sound effects.
John Williams’ score was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and became the
best-selling symphonic film soundtrack ever.
Andor took the galaxy somewhere colder and earned Emmy nominations for drama series in both
seasons.
The saga now runs across eleven feature films and a growing shelf of series on Disney+.
Collects people Shows up Hope merchant
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Will ‘Dark Matter’ Return For Season 3?
While Dark Matter hasn’t received the same accolades as its fellow Apple TV sci-fi series, it has fans — including Silo author Hugh Howey, who called it “the best show airing right now.” With such high praise, you would think Apple TV is racing to greenlight another season, but there’s no word on a potential Season 3. Season 2 even ends with the potential for future stories, as Daniela travels to alternate worlds to find her and Jason’s son Charlie; she succeeds, right as Jason deploys a code that disables the universe-hopping “boxes” his alternate self created.
It would be a shame if Dark Matter doesn’t get more seasons, as it showcases Apple TV at its best. A stacked cast, a compelling concept, and incredible performances make this worth watching, whether you’re a sci-fi fan or not.
Release Date
May 7, 2024
Network
Apple TV+
Showrunner
Blake Crouch
Directors
Jakob Verbruggen, Alik Sakharov, Roxann Dawson, Logan George
