These mini series (10 episodes) are frequently recommended when someone is looking for something strange. The first episodes are indeed amusingly set in some surreal retro future, but following episodes are rather only strange because the concept allowed the creators to make weird episodes (dreams).
We follow the boring (and autistic) Owen who unsuccessfully tries to keep distance to his decadent family. Then we have Annie who lost her lust for life when her sister died. For different reasons, the two end up at some experimental psychological institute where in a combination of drugs and brain stimulation, they are exposed to their darkest dreams.
I never really noticed Emma Stone before “Poor Things“, but she is great. Especially what she can do with facial expressions is amazing. For some reason Annie and Owen encounter each other in their dreams. This and other encounters result in an unlikely relationship.
Then we have that odd institute led by James Mantleray (a great Justin Theroux) and Azumi Fujita (Sonoya Mizuno) which is based on an AI computer with psychological problems.
Indeed, not your average series, but “Maniac” is not that strange. Quite an amusing watch though.
