Dark Matter is an American science fiction television series created by Blake Crouch, based on his 2016 novel of the same name. It premiered on Apple TV+ on May 8, 2024, with two episodes.[1]
| Dark Matter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Blake Crouch |
| Based on | Dark Matter by Blake Crouch |
| Showrunner | Blake Crouch |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Jason Hill |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Cinematography | John Lindley Jeffrey Greeley |
| Running time | 46–59 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Apple TV+ |
| Release | May 8 – June 26, 2024 |
Premise
editA physicist in Chicago is warped into an alternate version of his life, leaving him to fight to return to his life to prevent the alternate version of himself from taking over his family.
Cast
editMain
edit- Joel Edgerton as Jason Dessen, a physicist who unwillingly travels between alternate realities after being abducted by his counterpart (Jason #02).
- Jennifer Connelly as Daniela Dessen, Jason's wife.
- Alice Braga as Amanda Lucas, Jason #02's girlfriend and partner who tries to help Jason #01 find his way back home.
- Oakes Fegley as Charlie Dessen, Jason and Daniela's son.
- Jimmi Simpson as Ryan Holder
- Dayo Okeniyi as Leighton Vance
Recurring
edit- Amanda Brugel as Blair Caplan
- Aina Brei-Yon as Dawn Lawrence
- William Smillie as Matt
Episodes
edit| No. | Title [2] | Directed by | Teleplay by [2] | Original release date [3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Are You Happy in Your Life?" | Jakob Verbruggen | Blake Crouch | May 8, 2024 | |
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Jason Dessen, a college physics professor, lives with his wife Daniela and son Charlie in Chicago. When his friend Ryan wins the prestigious Pavia prize, Jason attends his celebration at a local bar (the Village Tap). As he's walking back home, he is held at gunpoint and abducted by a masked man who takes him to a building site, forces him to remove his clothes and surrender his phone, and injects him with an unknown substance which gradually renders him unconscious. When he awakes, Jason finds himself in a laboratory facility (Velocity Labs) where he meets lab psychiatrist Amanda Lucas and Velocity CEO Leighton Vance — who he recognizes — both of whom are delighted that he has "returned". Uncertain and disoriented, Jason escapes the lab and returns to his house, where he again meets Amanda, who says she lives there with him; the interior décor of the house is completely different, and there is no sign of Daniela or Charlie. Meanwhile, Jason's abductor is revealed to be another version of himself (Jason #02), who enters Jason #01's house and seduces Daniela. | |||||
| 2 | "Trip of a Lifetime" | Jakob Verbruggen | Blake Crouch | May 8, 2024 | |
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The Velocity team scrambles to find Jason #01 while he checks himself into a hospital, where he learns he's a world-renowned physicist who hasn't been seen in public for over a year and there is a mysterious psychoactive compound in his system. Escaping impending psychiatric confinement, he manages to track down Daniela — now a successful artist — at her latest art exhibition. She tells Jason #01 that he (in fact, Jason #02) approached her before his disappearance and confided his regrets regarding ending their relationship long ago and the possibility that she would never see him again. Despite being puzzled and concerned, Daniela agrees to help Jason #01 resolve the discrepancies he's identified in his life and environment. He realizes the paths between the Jasons diverged when Daniela became pregnant, when Jason #01 decided to stay and Jason #02 decided to leave. Meanwhile, despite initially struggling, Jason #02 settles into his blissful life with Daniela and Charlie. | |||||
| 3 | "The Box" | Jakob Verbruggen | Blake Crouch | May 15, 2024 | |
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Dawn (Velocity security) breaks into Daniela's condo, kills her, and captures Jason #01. He agrees to work with Velocity, claiming he wants to regain his memories. Jason #01 studies Jason #02's research and realizes Jason #02 had discovered a method to travel between alternate dimensions by sealing the traveler inside a metal box and injecting the traveler with a chemical compound to inhibit certain areas of the prefrontal cortex to induce a state of superposition inside the box to facilitate the travel. Meanwhile, Jason #02 becomes uneasy about Ryan's presence at his house in Jason #01's world. Jason #01 tries to procure more information about Jason #02's research from Ryan in Jason #02's world. Soon Jason #01 is discovered as an imposter by Leighton, who tries to force the truth out of him, and Ryan from Jason #02's world is implied to be killed. A sympathetic Amanda breaks Jason #01 out of confinement hoping to return him to his own world, but when they're discovered, they both enter Jason #02's metal box, intending to flee. Inside the box, they inject the chemical compound and find themselves suddenly transported to a long corridor with doors on either side. Leighton soon follows them into the box. Meanwhile, in Jason #01's world, Daniela notices Jason #02's sudden change in personality, but he claims it's due to clarity achieved as a result of a near-death experience. | |||||
| 4 | "The Corridor" | Celine Held & Logan George | Blake Crouch | May 22, 2024 | |
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Jason #01 and Amanda find themselves in an infinite corridor with doors leading to infinite alternate realities. They use the ampoules and go through numerous doors hoping to find Jason #01's reality, but all the worlds they visit are desolate and ruined. They find themselves in a frozen Chicago, where after rescuing Amanda from a blizzard and while recuperating, the pair realizes that the doors somehow respond to their overall mental state when opening them. Meanwhile, Jason #02 abruptly quits his job and approaches Leighton in Jason #01's world in the hope of procuring funding. After Jason #02 previews the box's capabilities and explains its function, Leighton agrees to pay Jason #02 a large amount of money in return for providing him with ampoules. Daniela and Charlie discuss Jason's (in fact, Jason #02's) sudden change in demeanor after he missed their deceased son Max's remembrance, while Jason #01 and Amanda bond inside the box, and an injured Leighton from Jason #02's world emerges from the box to a devastated world. | |||||
| 5 | "Worldless" | Celine Held & Logan George | Megan McDonnell | May 29, 2024 | |
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Jason #01 and Amanda enter a world where Blair from Jason #02/Amanda's world, a lab employee who went missing after volunteering to enter the box months ago, resides. Blair reveals that despite living in a world riddled with constant danger, she does not want to risk going back into the box until she's ready, as she believes it's nearly impossible to navigate the reality corridor. She also cautions Amanda to figure out her own path forward while aiding Jason #01 in his search for his reality. Despite trying to keep their intentions clear and emotions checked when opening the doors, Jason #01 and Amanda continue to find themselves in uninhabitable and hostile worlds. They visit a world engulfed by a deadly plague where Charlie is dead and Daniela is dying. Next, they visit a world in which Jason is an incarcerated criminal; when Jason #01 visits his home, Daniela calls the police and he is assaulted by Charlie. Meanwhile, in Jason #01's world, Jason #02 reveals to Daniela that he quit his job and encourages her to do the same. She begins to feel left out of their marriage. To secure Leighton's funding, Jason #02 briefly visits his own world to procure more ampoules, and learns that Jason #01 and Amanda had escaped via the box. | |||||
| 6 | "Superposition" | Roxann Dawson | Megan McDonnell | June 5, 2024 | |
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At Jason #02's behest, Daniela starts painting again. Unaware of Charlie's nut allergy, Jason #02 accidentally feeds him nuts. At the emergency room, Daniela notices needle marks on Jason #02's arm and later confides in Blair, who suggests Daniela should follow him. After Jason #02 embarrasses her by displaying an unfinished painting at a charity auction, she overcomes her initial reluctance and follows him to his storage unit, finds the ampoules, and enlists Ryan's help in discovering the compound within. Meanwhile, Jason #01 tries to describe his world in writing to focus his mind in order to better his and Amanda's chances of finding his reality, but they still end up visiting an array of worlds very similar but not identical to his own. Exhausted from the constant search, they take some time to rest and explore their surroundings separately. At the same time, Jason #02 meets Jason #01's world's Amanda for a therapy session. Ryan confronts Jason #02 in the belief that he has stolen his research, as he has synthesized the same compound Daniela provided from Jason #02's storage unit. After discussing their compounds' separate applications, Jason #02 takes Ryan via the box to an alternate, more progressive Chicago, where Jason #02 strands Ryan. Jason #02 then returns to Jason #01's world and encloses the box with concrete. | |||||
| 7 | "In the Fires of Dead Stars" | Roxann Dawson | Blake Crouch & Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry | June 12, 2024 | |
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Daniela becomes increasingly suspicious of Jason #02. A detective visits the Dessen household twice to inquire about Ryan, who has been reported missing by his girlfriend, as Ryan was last seen with Jason #02 before his disappearance. Daniela confronts Jason #02 about the drug, and to appease her, he admits the truth about the basic purpose of the drug, though he does not mention Ryan, Jason #01, or the box and his travel to alternate realities. He then reopens the box and uses it to replace Ryan with another from a different world. Meanwhile, on Amanda's professional recommendation, she and Jason #01 visit a kinder and more progressive Chicago for a break from their month-long fight-or-flight state of being. Amanda claims that in order to choose the world, she didn't think about people, but of ideas and concepts that would make a world worth experiencing. They explore the world, briefly separate, and meet at an upscale restaurant, where Amanda informs Jason #01 she has decided to stay behind. She invites him to do the same, but he turns her down. After they share a tender goodbye, Jason #01 starts using his remaining few ampoules in a final attempt to return to his world, which he manages to do using his last ampoule. Before confronting Jason #02, Jason #01 visits a store to buy self-protection gear. Seconds after he leaves, a Jason who appears almost identical to Jason #01 enters the store. | |||||
| 8 | "Jupiter" | Alik Sakharov | Ihuoma Ofordire and Megan McDonnell | June 19, 2024 | |
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Jason #02 is attacked at dusk by a Jason who has returned to the world, but Jason #02 manages to subdue and kill him. Daniela visits Ryan, who claims to be a mechanic and Daniela one of his clients. When asked where his memory ends, he mentions having drinks with a man Daniela confirms is Jason via a photo. From his hotel, Jason #01 is spotted and then followed by another Jason. When he bolts inside the Village Tap to lose him, he meets yet another Jason (Jason #03) there having a drink. Jason #01 concludes that every decision he made while inside the box created another Jason, and those who made the right choices have all ended up back in his world. After briefly discussing whether and how to kill Jason #02, Jason #03 leaves the bar, warning Jason #01 not to interfere with his reunion with his family. Jason #02 takes Charlie for a tour of the University of Chicago, where he spots another Jason following them. He sends Charlie away, lures the other Jason into an empty washroom, and strangles him. Jason #01 lets himself be arrested for smoking inside a restaurant in order to get Daniela alone with him. Though at first she is skeptical of his account, she comes to believe him, and promises to meet him with Charlie by the Cloud Gate; they agree on the safe word Jupiter. After Daniela incapacitates Jason #02, she and Charlie flee the house and two other Jasons along the way, and reunite with Jason #01. | |||||
| 9 | "Entanglement" | Alik Sakharov | Blake Crouch & Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry | June 26, 2024 | |
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The Dessens take refuge at the rural holiday residence of one of Charlie's friends. They bond and catch up, and Jason #01 and Daniela retune their relationship. Jason #01 finds an online message forum where various Jasons who have arrived in his world try to decide who will get to stay with Daniela and Charlie. Jason #01 tells Daniela about the message forum, and she later sends a message informing the Jasons that she has chosen Jason #01. Jason #03 arrives at the Dessen residence, attacks and restrains Jason #02, and lures Blair into the house in the hope of having her track her car (which she had lent to Jason #01) to find the Dessens. She arrives at the house and finds the bruised Jason #02 inside a closet. When Jason #03 tries to force her to comply, she quickly overpowers him and elicits the truth. Several Jasons invade the Dessens' hideout, and a few are killed by each other. Jason #02 arrives, saves Jason #01, and helps the Dessens escape. In the car, Jason #02 has left the family a box of ampoules and an audio recording in which he apologizes for his actions. Realizing they're no longer safe in this world, the Dessens decide to find a better world for themselves and arrive at the box's location to find the area crowded with Jasons. Some of them convince the others to let the Dessens go. They arrive at the reality corridor and walk through a doorway. Meanwhile, Blair from from Jason #02/Amanda's world prepares to reenter the box, Leighton from Jason #01's world enters the box and injects another ampoule, and in the progressive Chicago, Amanda is approached by Ryan, who appears to have been preparing and/or testing a chemical, possibly that used in the ampoules. | |||||
Production
editIt was first announced in December 2020 that Apple TV+ had entered into development of a series adaptation of Blake Crouch's novel, with Crouch set to act as showrunner and head writer.[4] The series was officially greenlit in March 2022, with Apple ordering 9 episodes and Joel Edgerton cast to star. Louis Leterrier was set to direct the first four episodes.[5] By September 2022, Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, Oakes Fegley and Dayo Okeniyi joined the cast.[6][7][8] In December, Amanda Brugel would join the cast in a recurring role.[9]
Production began in Chicago on October 4, 2022, and Apple TV announced that the series would premiere on May 8, 2024.[10]
Reception
editThe review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 81% approval rating with an average rating of 6.9/10, based on 53 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Dark Matter's intriguing ideas are spread a tad thin over its season-long runtime, but fans of foreboding sci-fi will find its residue addictively sticky."[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 63 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]
References
edit- ^ McPherson, Chris (February 5, 2024). "Joel Edgerton & Jennifer Connelly Bend Reality in First 'Dark Matter' Images". Collider. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ a b "Dark Matter (2023)". Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
- ^ "Shows A-Z - dark matter on apple tv plus". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (December 8, 2020). "Apple Developing Dark Matter Novel As Series With Matt Tolmach Producing". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ Petski, Denise (March 29, 2022). "Joel Edgerton To Star In Dark Matter Sci-Fi Series Adaptation At Apple TV+; Blake Crouch To Showrun". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ White, Peter (August 29, 2022). "Jennifer Connelly To Star Alongside Joel Edgerton In Apple Sci-Fi Series Dark Matter". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (September 29, 2022). "Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson Join Sci-Fi Series Dark Matter at Apple". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- ^ Petski, Denise (September 30, 2022). "Dark Matter: Oakes Fegley & Dayo Okeniyi Join Joel Edgerton & Jennifer Connelly In Apple TV+ Series". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- ^ Cordero, Rosy (December 15, 2022). "Dark Matter Adds The Handmaid's Tale Actress Amanda Brugel". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
- ^ "Dark Matter". Apple TV+ Press. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- ^ "Dark Matter: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ "Dark Matter: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
