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- Netflix
- Sep 4, 2020
- Netflix
- Sep 4, 2020
Summary Astronaut Emma Green (Hilary Swank) leaves behind her husband (Josh Charles) and daughter (Talitha Bateman) to lead a dangerous mission to Mars in this drama written by Jason Katims and Jessica Goldberg.
Created By: Andrew Hinderaker
- Netflix
- Sep 4, 2020
- Netflix
- Sep 4, 2020
Summary Astronaut Emma Green (Hilary Swank) leaves behind her husband (Josh Charles) and daughter (Talitha Bateman) to lead a dangerous mission to Mars in this drama written by Jason Katims and Jessica Goldberg.
Created By: Andrew Hinderaker
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Season Episodes
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Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 27 Critic Reviews
59
37% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
59% Mixed
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 27 Critic Reviews
59
37% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
59% Mixed
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
In some ways this series, with its own Academy Award winner in Hilary Swank, feels like “Gravity: The Series.” However, due to its episodic nature, it goes much deeper than a film can when it comes to chronicling the sacrifice, complexities and thrill the people on this kind of mission would experience. A riveting TV series, “Away” is well worth your time.
One of the producers here is Jason Katims ("Friday Night Lights,” “Parenthod”) and the warm familial intimacy of his previous shows flows through “Away.” The cast is uniformly strong and there’s a reason Swank has two Oscars. “Away” isn’t great but it is unique, and that’s good enough.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 40 User Ratings
5.2
43% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
15% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
43% Negative
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 40 User Ratings
5.2
43% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
15% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
43% Negative
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
Although “Away” is ostensibly about humanity’s first expedition to Mars, that’s merely the spectacular setting for a drama that’s really about more intimate and universal themes: family, ambition, faith, hope, and our shared humanity. The production values are eye popping, but it’s the complexity of the script that makes the series stand out. Again and again the show turns away from clichés and easy answers, choosing instead a more challenging but ultimately more satisfying alternative. The filmmakers believe in the material enough to let it breathe, without filling every frame with noise and urgency. Instead, every scene feels intimate, and by the end of the first ten episodes, you genuinely care about every character.
On many occasions I was reminded of the movie “Arrival,” with its complex themes, stunning visuals, and subtle musical score. Both ask more of their audience than most dramas, but also deliver more in return. I can’t wait for season 2.
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SEASON 1
I appreciated the way each episode gives us a different astronaut’s backstory, “Lost”-like, to add context to their behavior in space. And I liked thinking big thoughts about what it might be like to spend three years away from the planet, which the astronauts are facing, fighting off despair and loneliness.
The new series is incredibly watchable, but flails when it comes to knowing what to focus on.
Eventually somebody's going to make a really good TV series about a manned space mission, but Away isn't it. Like Hulu's "The First" and National Geographic's "Mars," this handsome Netflix drama about a crew traveling to Mars -- and those left behind -- wants to be stirring and mostly settles for dull, mostly proving that in space, no one can hear you snore.
The series has all the markers of a prestige consideration of what it means for humanity to take flight, but leans so heavily on inspirational tropes of the genre that it never, itself, soars. ... Which is not to say that the actors aren’t pushing back, inasmuch as they can.
Swank commits admirably to her role, frankly beyond what she ought to be able to do with the script, but even her shoulders, and the rest of the Atlas’s crew, aren’t broad enough to carry us away.
If you're looking for hard sci-fi, this is not the series for you. There is a much stronger focus on interpersonal relationships and how they fare both in close quarters, and at great distances. Be prepared to suffer through the flashbacks into each character's history, which are honestly not that compelling. But there are some truly heartwarming moments.
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SEASON 1
It's not without it's flaws just like every show but I find it entertaining. This is not your typical sci-fi so look elsewhere if that's what you are looking for. This is about astronauts and their back stories and sacrifices they've made to journey to Mars. Each episode has it's obstacle to overcome by the crew but that's what keeps me watching.
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SEASON 1
Where to start, the acting was terrible, it’s a low budget sci-fi show, and to make it even worse they threw in all that SJW nonsense again. I couldn’t make it past the third episode, it got that bad.
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SEASON 1
It’s hard to believe after watching two shows that any NASA executive or psychological professional would allow this group to be together on a three year mission. Let’s hope it gets better
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SEASON 1