The Netflix Sci-Fi Mystery Series You Can Binge In One Sitting
It’s always a bummer when a cult series gets negative reviews from critics, which in turn seals its fate as a canceled production. Such was the case for Netflix’s sci-fi project, The I-Land which, despite drawing in viewers with its plot and characters, was axed by the network after just one season. The good news is, audiences can still catch the show on the streamer and, because it only consists of seven episodes – it’s the perfect title for your next binge-worthy obsession.
Filled with twists and turns, Netflix’s The I-Land follows the story of ten people who wake up on the sands of a deserted island with no clue how they got there. Minus the name tags on their clothing, no member of the party remembers the slightest fact about themselves or their pasts.
With only seven episodes, the binge-worthy Netflix series The I-Land is short enough to watch the entire story in a day.
As they try to get along to ensure their survival, strong personalities pull them apart with deadly consequences and sinister secrets lurking around every turn.
Premiering on Netflix back in 2019, The I-Land starred the likes of Kate Bosworth (Blue Crush), Natalie Martinez (Ordinary Joe), Kyle Schmid (The Covenant), Michelle Veintimilla (Gotham), Alex Pettyfer (Stormbreaker), Sibylla Deen (Tyrant), Ronald Peet, Gilles Geary, Anthony Lee Medina, and Kota Eberhardt.
Created by Anthony Salter, the series blended the styles of sci-fi, mystery, and crime, and — although it for the most part answered all the questions by the end of the first season — could have dived deeper into the background of the strange deserted island and its inhabitants.
If you were thinking that the Netflix series sounded familiar, you wouldn’t be alone as one of the major gripes the critics had with the short-lived project was that it was too similar to other bigger and better productions of the time.
Two of the main titles brought up that were often compared to The I-Land were both Westworld and Lost, with many themes and twists from both playing out in the miniseries. Many critics said that the show quickly went off the rails and was hard to focus on with those on Rotten Tomatoes giving it an abysmal 8 percent critics rating.
Still, for those who love sci-fi with a heavy dose of intrigue, Netflix may have a show worth binging. With its strange and unsettling occurrences and overarching eeriness, The I-Land may be worth a shot for fans of the genre.
In the beginning, the Netflix project was promising enough, having secured The Horse Whisperer and Remember the Titans star Kate Bosworth in a leading role. Although she first broke onto the scene with these two titles, it was in her 2002 feature, Blue Crush that the actress really made waves, catapulting herself to a household name and beginning to pick up steam.
Two of the main titles brought up that were often compared to The I-Land were both Westworld and Lost, with many themes and twists from both playing out in the miniseries.
From here, she would appear in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, Superman Returns, 21, Heist, And While We Were Here, and The Domestics before taking on her role in The I-Land.
Kate Bosworth
Unfortunately, it would seem that Bosworth had her share of small-screen roles as, after appearing in Netflix’s miniseries, she would go back to film, having no other television credits under her belt since The I-Land came and went four years ago.
Of course, that isn’t to say that the star hasn’t continued to pursue her passion for and career in acting as she would go on to be featured in big-screen titles including Along for the Ride, Barbarian, House of Darkness, and, most recently, Confidential Informant and The Locksmith opposite Mel Gibson and Ryan Phillippe, respectively.
While we’ve seen Kate Bosworth in seemingly every genre – from thrillers to dramas, comedies to horrors, and even rom-coms – her role in Netflix’s The I-Land is an elusive performance that sees the actress venturing off into the sci-fi realm.
Even though the critics slammed the series for being too close to other fan-favorite titles in a similar vein, as we mentioned above, it may be worth passing along to the sci-fi lover in your life or saving the seven-episode series for a rainy day when you’re in the mood for a quick, thrilling, binge. Netflix subscribers can catch the title alongside a long list of other pieces from the genre including They Cloned Tyrone, 65, The Adam Project, and more.
