SERIES PREMIERE: Emma Stone and Jonah Hill star in this new Netflix series, which is based – very, very loosely – on a Norwegian comedy series about an institutionalized man with difficulties separating reality from fantasy. This new version is such a new approach that it’s largely a drama, about two people (played by Stone and Hill) who volunteer for a futuristic pharma study that probes their memories and dreams. Sally Field is wildly entertaining in a supporting role, and this 10-part series allows all the actors to play several roles in their respective fantasy worlds. This new Maniac, in terms of dramas about disturbed patients with little grasp on reality, isn’t as mind-blowing or innovative as FX’s Legion – or, long before that, Dennis Potter’s classic British miniseries, The Singing Detective. But it’s captivating, and and commendably unpredictable. For a full review on TVWW, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes. For my full review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, visit the Fresh Air website.

Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)

Name (required)

Email (required) (will not be published)


Type in the verification word shown on the image.

New From TVWW

Netflix, 3:00 a.m. ET

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up

The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation

Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'

Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver

'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy

1957: Julie Andrews Stars in 'Cinderella'

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action

How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth

In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self

Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption