Netflix viewers have been waxing lyrical of a sci-fi show that fell largely under the radar despite its starry cast and rave reviews.
Some people have had time to catch up on Apple TV+'s Severance before season 2, with the show earning new fans alongside those who first watched in 2022, though Netflix's miniseries Maniac didn't quite have the same luck.
The limited series created by The Leftovers writer and producer Patrick Somerville premiered in 2018. A very loose adaptation of a 2015 Norwegian miniseries of the same name, Maniac stars Emma Stone and Jonah Hill as Annie and Owen, two strangers who connect during a dangerous pharmaceutical trial also involving other ten patients.
The mind-boggling series borrowed the aesthetics of different movie genres to build the worlds that Annie and Owen visit courtesy of some hallucinatory side effects.
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Back when a miniseries wouldn't then turn into a multiple-season series, Maniac never received a season 2 order as that was never the plan.
The ten-episode psychological dramedy received positive reviews and accolades, but never ranked among the most watched series on Netflix.
Now, some viewers are taking the opportunity to shout about the show on Twitter/X, branding it as one of the best the platform has to offer and comparing it to Severance.
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"So, did anyone else watch that show maniac on Netflix back in the day or was it literally just me", a longtime fan asked earlier this year, drawing a connection with AppleTV+'s sci-fi darling.
"The last scene in new severance ep reminded me of maniac so much," they added.
"So i’d like to honorably mention the beautiful mini series maniac (available on netflix!) because it’s literally markhellyna," another Severance fan noted last week, seeing a similarity in the complex dynamic between Innies and Outies of Severance and the different versions of Annie and Owen in Maniac.
"Maniac on Netflix is a great dark comedy and so is Russian Doll. Two of my all time favorite tv shows," another user wrote to someone looking for recommendations.
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However, not everyone was completely on board with the show, as one user noted Maniac is part of a sci-fi canon 'expanding Black Mirror episodes into series'.
"I'm watching Maniac on Netflix and while it's really good, it's part of a new sub-genre I've started calling, 'Episodes of Black Mirror that have been expanded into a whole series," was their comment.
While some are only now realising that one of the most obscure shows of recent years has been on Netflix all along, other fans tried to warn their fellow streamers they were missing out back when Maniac was released.
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"The Netflix show Maniac has to be one of my favorite limited run series of all time," one person wrote in 2918. "The dialogue, humor, conflict, psychosis, just the overall feel of each episode resonated so deeply with me. I’m blown away in every aspect cause it’s humanly dark but also so beautiful."
"Maniac on Netflix was sooo good, binge watched it real quick. The acting was next level. Very unique, very great," someone else enthused at the time.
The series also stars Justin Theroux, Sonoya Mizuno, Gabriel Byrne, and Sally Field and is directed by No Time To Die's Cary Joji Fukunaga.
Maniac is streaming on Netflix.
Topics: Netflix, Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, Entertainment, Film and TV
Stefania Sarrubba