We all experienced the mass binging obsession that was The OA last year. The metaphysical Netflix drama has taken over our collective consciousness so much, Blake Lively is still talking about practicing The OA’s movements, months later. Despite all of this OA love, an air of mystery remains hanging around when the Brit Marling-led show’s already-confirmed season 2 will actually premiere. But, worry not, because Netflix has something else to serve up to anyone waiting to learn if Prairie Johnson makes it to another dimension.
That new offering is Sense8 season 2, which arrives on Friday, May 5.
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All diehard fans of the Wachowski siblings’ latest work likely remember every single moment of the Netflix show’s freshman season, but we can’t fault anyone who doesn’t. Sense8 premiered almost exactly two full years ago in May 2015, with just a holiday special airing between then and now. Think of all the Netflix obsessions you’ve had since then.
As a refresher course on Sense8, it follows eight complete strangers around the world who happen to be “sensates.” That means these individuals — who live everywhere from Chicago to Seoul, and the cities in between — are mentally and emotionally connected as a "cluster." They can feel what another sensate feels, see what another sensate sees, and they’re even able to have cross-continental, polysexual orgies. This is what makes Sense8 the perfect thing to watch while you’re waiting for The OA to rise again.
Both series take the traditional television show and completely turn it on its head. The OA deals with multicultural mysticism, Russian folklore, and multiple layers of storytelling between the present day, Prairie's time in captivity with Hap (Jason Isaacs), her otherworldly memories of Near Death Experiences, and her childhood trauma. Sense8 manages to walk the same difficult spider’s web by seamlessly intertwining the experiences of eight people, through 16 cities and 11 countries. They’re not talking to each other over text message — they’re experiencing something "actually" happening thousands of miles away.
These kinds of obsession-worthy plotlines aren’t going to stop in season 2. “There’s more sex, more violence, more of everything! We’re pushing the boundaries,” star Max Riemelt tells Buzzfeed. Max’s cast member agrees, saying, “The show is so much more interconnected this year. There’s very rarely a scene that someone will have in their home city where someone else doesn’t get folded in from the cluster.”
I guess we know what we're watching this weekend.