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By Kayla Cobb@kaylcobb
Published Nov. 28, 2017, 12:35 p.m. ET
Photo: Netflix
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It’s hard to find a drama that’s both worth your time and easy to binge. There are some truly excellent dramas on TV right now, but many of them have been around for seasons. On the flip side, there are many one-season wonders that could fill a long afternoon, but they were probably cancelled for a reason. But I’ll let you in on a secret. A deeply interesting, surprisingly sweet, and easily bingeable drama is hiding on your Netflix right now. It’s called Glitch, and it’s a whole lot of fun.
The award-winning Australian series follows a town that has to cope when random people return from the dead. Why have they returned? Can they die again? Are these people really people? No one knows, and the entire slow-burn series seeks to answer those questions. Standing at the center of all this chaos is a surprisingly genuine love triangle. If you’re looking for something great to binge, here’s why you need to give Glitch‘s two six-episode seasons a shot.
1
It's a show that embraces the slow-burn mystery.
Each episode, the central question at the center of Glitch remains in tact— how and why did these people return from the dead? It’s a premise that’s been explored before in the spectacular French series Les Revenants and less spectacularly in its American adaptation, The Returned. However, whereas those series were quick to jump from major plot point to major plot point, discovering Glitch‘s central mystery takes time. Season 1 ended with the citizens ofYoorana no closer to discovering the cause of this undead mystery than they were during the first episode. The Risen are an ever-present, rarely-explained question that can and should feel vaguely frustrating at times, but because of this build up, you feel as though you’ve earned the revelations the show does decide to dish out. Glitch watches as a slower, soapier version ofLes Revenants, and it’s great.
2
'Glitch' has possibly the saddest love triangle on TV.
It’s hard to create a victimless love triangle. no matter how you cut things, there’s always going to be someone in the wrong. However, with James (Patrick Brammall), Sarah (Emily Barclay), and Kate (Emma Booth) Glitch has managed to do just that. After Sgt. James Hayes’ wife died from breast cancer, her mourned his loss but eventually moved on. The series starts several years after that tragic death with James remarried to a very pregnant Sarah. When his ex-wife comes back from the dead, all of that stability and sweetness is thrown out the window. How do you let someone back into your life when you’ve already been forced to move on from them? Anchored to genuinely good people and a force of nature no one understands, Glitch‘s central love triangle is a sad and addicting-to-watch mess.
3
It's really fun to watch olden times people adapt to modern day.
I know this is a trope that can frustrate people, but give me a Roman warrior struggling with an iPhone any day and I’ll be happy. Glitch can be secretive about revealing when each of its Risen characters died, especially since no undead person, save for Kate, can remember who they are. But over the course of the show each character periodically gets to see a glimpse into their past, and that’s where the fun comes in.
In addition to unraveling the mysteries of their pasts, it’s also a delight to see the Risen interact with each other in Season 2. Paddy (Ned Dennehy) is a 19th century wild man obsessed with his estate and wealth. Kristie (Hannah Monson) is a party girl straight from the ’80s. Charlie (Sean Keenan) is a noble and innocent WWI hero. John Doe (Rodger Corser) starts as a giant question mark of a man. All of these people end up living in a house together. If historical Big Brother doesn’t pique your interest, I don’t know what will.
4
There are twists and turns galore.
You can’t watch an episode of Glitch without someone hooking up with someone they shouldn’t or someone crossing someone else’s back. Becasue of this, in its own weird way, Glitch becomes a smart study about people. The Risen and everyone who knows about them and want to help are bound to stay confined to an area surrounded by some sort of invisible barrier. If any of the Risen cross that line, they die again. The series quickly transforms from a thoughtful examination on death and loss into a Lord of the Flies-esque survival game where no one knows the rules.
5
It's sweet.
Few things make greater television than a crazy murder mystery. But with most shows, it becomes so easy to get caught up in the crime of the week or the latest twist that you stop watching humans and start watching characters. Glitch rarely falls into this trap. From James’ charged conversations with Kate to the Risen’s sudden flashbacks, Glitch always feels painfully human. It’s an odd little streaming gem that’s absolutely worth devoting a weekend binge to.
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