August just started, and Netflix already has another hit series that’s now among the top 10 shows on the streamer.
The Lazarus Project — which shouldn’t be confused with the 2015 Olivia Wilde film with the same name — is a British sci-fi series that was broadcast in America on TNT.
This show revolves around a secret team that can reverse time to prevent apocalyptic events or other international disasters. Once time has been reset, the team has a limited time to change history for the better.
Think of it as a more proactive Quantum Leap on a much larger scale. And these are the reasons why you should watch The Lazarus Project on Netflix.
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Paapa Essiedu Is Very Compelling in the Lead Role
If you’ve never heard of Paapa Essiedu, that’s going to change in a big way when the Harry Potter TV series debuts on HBO in 2027. He will be playing Professor Snape on that show, a role that was previously portrayed by the late Alan Rickman. Essiedu got that part by consistently turning in great performances, including his stint on The Lazarus Project as George.
George is an ordinary guy whose only remarkable feature is his ability to perceive time loops happening around him. That’s why George is recruited into The Lazarus Project. Essiedu keeps George grounded in reality, but he also takes big swings when George breaks ranks to force a time reset. Even when George is at his most desperate, the audience still feels empathy for him, and the series wouldn’t work without him.
‘The Lazarus Project’ Has a Great Ensemble Cast
George may be the heart of this series, but The Lazarus Project thrives because of its supporting cast and episodic storytelling. Almost everyone on the Lazarus team gets their turn in the spotlight, including Wes (Caroline Quentin), Archie (Anjli Mohindra) and Shiv (Rudi Dharmalingam). This show also makes a point of developing George’s lover, Sarah (Charly Clive), while also establishing why he’s willing to risk the end of the world to save her. Clive subsequently takes a much larger role in the series.
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Even the show’s villains are interesting, including former Lazarus agent Rebrov (Tom Burke). In the present, Rebrov has grown to believe that the Lazarus team’s time resets are more dangerous than the apocalyptic events they’re preventing. He feels that the end of humanity is inevitable, and it’s a mistake to interfere with our own destruction. He’s not the only one who believes that, and that gives The Lazarus Project some fascinating ideas to explore.
The Series Has Some Mind-Bending Stories
When The Lazarus Project was broadcast on TNT, the promos heavily played up the action and misrepresented what the series was actually about. There is some action, but this is a show that’s more focused on ideas and the repercussions of the team’s actions across time. Lives are saved, but there are also unintended consequences that have to be dealt with.
In season 1, George suffers a loss so profound that he turns his back on everything the Lazarus team has been fighting for just to save a single life. The second season amps things up even further as the series explores the consequences of a rival group attempting to utilize its own time machine. It turns out there isn’t enough room on planet Earth for two organizations that are trying to change the course of history. While there are only two seasons of this series, the story is satisfactorily resolved by the final episode.
The Lazarus Project is streaming on Netflix.
