Dark Matter (2024 Apple TV+)
By: Rachel Brodeur
Acclaimed science-fiction author Blake Crouch, turns show creator as he brings his book Dark Matter to the screen for Apple TV. Despite the entertainment world being saturated with stories of a multiverse, this series manages to be conceptually clever.
Dark Matter plays on the known science of Schrodinger's cat, in that an object can both exist and not exist based on whether a human mind is there to perceive it. The science is interesting and believable. Fans of the novel will notice some deviations from the text, like added characters and new subplots outside of Jason’s world, but the core story and key scenes are there.
The show and the book open very similarly: a seemingly happy man, played by Joel Edgerton (The Gift, The Great Gatsby) shares easy moments with his loving wife, played by Jennifer Connely (A Beautiful Mind, Top Gun: Maverick) in their Chicago townhome. Their peace does not last as action in the first episode throws that man into a situation where he is in another world fighting to get back to the life he loves.
The crux of a multiverse story, however, hinges on the fact that there are multiple timelines and multiple versions of the people within those timelines. The protagonist, Jason, falls short on the charisma necessary to make the different sides of him interesting and palatable to the audience. People can love rooting for an antihero, or even be mesmerized watching a villain, but in Dark Matter, half the time viewers follow a main character that just seems aloof, arrogant and dull. His lines are delivered with low gruff tones in poorly-lit rooms and come across with depressing severity.
Dark Matter is a show with unrealized potential. For instance, when timelines start to change, there's a subtle whooshing click sound effect that plays in the background; it’s a signal that the audience is seeing something outside of the original protagonist’s world. It’s a cool element, but over time, the sound doesn’t seem to signal anything, so what the viewer feels clever for noticing initially, becomes an overused audio decoration with diluted meaning.
Dark Matter delivers on shocking moments and episode ending cliffhangers, but ultimately proves itself to be a less successful version of the novel from which it is adapted, which is a disappointing realization considering Blake Crouch’s direct influence on the show’s creation.
Rachel’s Rating: 4/10
Dark Matter is Apple TV+’s clever science-fiction series from the novel by Blake Crouch. While this adaptation lacks cast chemistry, it does deliver on an interesting plot that pushes the multiverse concept to new levels.