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Netflix dropped a mysterious new series today, The OA, and you can binge it all now. If this is the first you’re hearing of it, you’re not alone. The trailer seeped onto the internet just a few days ago to pique interest, but what’s even more interesting, is that this could be the streaming platform’s end of year breakout show.
Perhaps you remember this time last year – you were glued to your screen, piecing together the details, and wondering if Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey were really innocent or guilty. Making a Murderer took over your holiday time off and the internet as a whole, as viewers clamored to share their theories and discuss details of the case with friends and strangers. Like the Serial podcast before it, no one saw the phenomenon coming, but it was all-consuming for sure.
With The OA’s arrival today, we couldn’t help but wonder if this series just might be 2016’s Making a Murder — a surprise binge-watch that viewers can’t stop talking about. Now, the two are certainly very different. Making a Murderer is a true crime documentary series following very real events. The OA is a fiction drama series starring Brit Marling as a blind woman who was missing for 7 years, only to return to her town with full vision. But here are three theories about why this show in particular could follow in very similar footsteps as last year’s must-watch binge-watch.
The Mystery
The fact that we didn’t have a countdown for The OA, or really any information at all until earlier this week, made a lot of us scratch our heads. What IS this new series? It seemingly came out of nowhere. One of the most appealing parts about Making a Murderer was that viewers felt they stumbled upon something they were never expecting to see. We all love discovering new things! There was no build-up, no expectations, and therefore, no pressure on the series. Viewers got to feel delightfully surprised by how invested they became on something they only recently knew existed. The lack of roll-out could help The OA find an audience willing to take a risk on something new and intriguing.
The Timing
‘Tis the season to get your binge on. As we drag ourselves through the last days of 2016, many people have taken time off “to be with family,” or in other words, watch something by themselves on their computer. Hey, maybe you actually do your binge-watching as a family gathered on the couch – that’s great too! The OA seems to have something for everyone, so this might be the perfect show for a group to partake in. But there’s no doubt that releasing your show, a full series at once around the holidays, ensures that people will have time to actually get their eyeballs on it and stay on it. If you don’t have to get up for work in the morning, who will possibly stop you from pressing pause after the clock passes midnight? Stay up as late as you need to, in order to get the answers.
The Questions, Theories, and Thoughts
Ah yes, the answers. Even with what little information we have about The OA, it’s certainly a show, not unlike Netflix’s other breakout hit this year, Stranger Things, that will raise questions, theories, and thoughts throughout its storytelling. Even if you don’t watch all 8 episodes at one time, you’ll want to discuss what you’ve seen with other people — either those next to you on the couch, or those easily available in your social media timelines. Sometimes the best thing about a show is how much we want to talk about it. While Vulture is loving The OA and Uproxx is not, viewers will decide for themselves how deep they want to dive to figure out this show’s secrets.
The OA is poised to be yet another hit for Netflix in 2016, as well as the talk of your holiday gathering. Get on it now to see what the lack of fuss is all about.
