Apple TV+’s Latest Sci-Fi Thriller Skyrockets to the Top of Streaming Charts

Summary

• Dark Matter
  quickly became a top hit on Apple TV+, praised for its complex storyline and Joel Edgerton’s compelling performance.
• Apple TV+ focuses on high-quality sci-fi series, with
  Dark Matter
  drawing in viewers with its exploration of alternate realities.
• Jennifer Connelly and Joel Edgerton’s chemistry is at the heart of
  Dark Matter’s
  success, enhancing the series’ appeal to audiences.

Apple TV+‘s latest offering, the sci-fi thriller series Dark Matter, has rapidly climbed to the top of Reelgood’s streaming popularity charts, overtaking competitors like Fallout, Bodkin, and Baby Reindeer. The series features Joel Edgerton as Jason, a physicist who finds himself whisked away to a parallel universe where his life has taken a drastically different path.

Dark Matter is adapted from the 2016 novel by Blake Crouch, who also serves as the series creator. This adaptation has garnered considerable acclaim, with critics and audiences lauding Edgerton’s compelling performance and the series’ intricate plot that skillfully mixes suspense with speculative science. The narrative’s complexity and the ethical dilemmas it presents have struck a chord, making it appealing in the crowded field of streaming options.

Dark Matter (2024)

4/5

Based on his novel of the same name, Dark Matter is a sci-fi drama-thriller television series created for Apple TV+ by Blake Crouch. The series follows a physicist who is kidnapped and thrown into an alternate reality where he witnesses one potential path his life could have taken. However, he learns that the lives of his family are in jeopardy by an alternate version of himself.

Release Date May 8, 2024

Seasons 1

Writers Blake Crouch

Streaming Service(s) Apple TV+

Directors Jakob Verbruggen

In its debut week, Dark Matter captured the viewers’ imaginations and established itself as a formidable series within Apple TV+’s portfolio. The streaming service may not boast the largest subscriber base when compared to streaming giants like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, yet it has carved out a place for itself as a hub for high-quality sci-fi series. The platform’s portfolio, which includes hits like Foundation, For All Mankind, and the newly introduced Dark Matter, highlights its commitment to the genre, many times overshadowing its more populous rivals.

Dark Matter, based on Blake Crouch’s novel, has quickly become a viewer favorite, drawing in audiences with its complex storyline and the stellar performance of Joel Edgerton. The series, which explores the fascinating theme of alternate realities through the eyes of a kidnapped physicist, has opened to solid reviews, securing a 78% critical score and a 72% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. This reception places Dark Matter comfortably among Apple TV+’s other successful offerings.

Related Dark Matter Review: Existential Sci-Fi Drama Succeeds with Romance and Thrills Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, and Alice Braga lead Dark Matter, a romantic sci-fi thriller based on Blake Crouch’s book.

Dark Matter Thrives with the Stellar Chemistry of Connelly and Edgerton

In Dark Matter, the convincing dynamic between co-stars Jennifer Connelly and Joel Edgerton is the heart of the series. The Apple TV+ series benefits immensely from their authentic on-screen chemistry. Connelly praises Edgerton for both his undeniable talent and also for his approachability and openness as an actor.

“It was great working with him. He’s so good. And he’s really open and generous as an actor and available and easy to be with. We really worked easily and happily together.”

Their preparation for the roles involved intensive discussions and rehearsals, focusing on how to portray their marriage as a tangible, lived-in relationship rather than a generic one.

We talked a lot. We had a lot of rehearsals that were sort of like conversations about the marriage and about choices we could make to make it feel specific and not sort of like a generalized marriage.

This groundwork was crucial, especially considering the limited screen time they had to establish their characters’ pre-crisis relationship before the storyline introduced its more fantastical elements.

“Like, how do we make this feel lived in? Because we didn’t have too much time together when things were good, where they were good as a couple before this alien version [of Jason] comes in so quickly. So yeah, [we had] conversations and brainstorming together about things that we could do to make them feel believable as a couple.”

Unlike some competitors plagued by abrupt cancellations that can alienate viewers, Apple TV+ has a track record of renewing its key series. For instance, Foundation is set for a third season, Silo will return for a second outing, and For All Mankind has been renewed through its fifth season.

Apple TV+ continues to invest significantly in its sci-fi slate, demonstrating a commitment to the genre’s fans. Shows like Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Invasion have also been confirmed for more seasons.

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