Caemeron Crain
The following recommendation might be considered to contain some light spoilers for Dark Matter Season 1, but arguably fewer than are in the trailer Apple TV released prior to the series premiering in 2024.
Dark Matter hit my radar when the series was announced, as I was looking for news items to discuss on The TV Obsessive Podcast. I watched the trailer and thought it looked cool, but, then… I didn’t make time to watch the series, perhaps because I was feeling worn out on a certain aspect of its premise.
It seems like there have been a lot of multiverse stories on our screens over the past decade or so, to mixed effect. At its best, this kind of premise can lead to the meaningful contemplation of personal identity and intriguing metaphysical mystery. At its worst, it can start to feel like nothing matters if every result of every possible choice plays out in some version of reality.
The greatest strength of Dark Matter Season 1 (which is all I’ve seen at the time of writing) is in how it avoids the latter. It’s not just that we root for the version of Jason (Joel Edgerton) we start with, but how each version of each character feels like a unique and irreplaceable source of value in the multiverse. Indeed, if that gets sanded down anywhere, it might be with regard to the Jasons.
The set up here is that one version of Jason, regretting the life choices he’s made—and one, in particular—steals the life of another version of Jason. So, our protagonist is also our antagonist. But, more importantly, the story over the course of Season 1 is about personal relationships and their emotional stakes more than anything else. Dark Matter is a love story.
That said, the series is packed with action and suspense, as Jason and others encounter perils, grapple with levels of deception, and so on. I’m curious to see where it goes in Season 2 given what the Season 1 finale resolves, and what it doesn’t.
Besides Joel Edgerton, Dark Matter features Jennifer Connelly, Jimmi Simpson, Alice Braga, Oakes Fegley, and Dayo Okeniyi, amongst others. It’s a really strong cast.
The series is based on a 2016 book by Blake Crouch, which I have not read, but it seems noteworthy that Crouch is also credited as the showrunner for the TV series.
Season 2 of Dark Matter premieres on Apple TV on August 28, so maybe take some time this week to binge the nine-episode first season.
