Netflix releases trailer for mysterious new series ‘The OA,’ which debuts Friday

By Rick Marshall December 13, 2016

Writer and actress Brit Marling first caught the attention of Hollywood with her fantastic, under-the-radar 2011 drama Another Earth and her 2012 faux documentary Sound Of My Voice, and her next project appears to channel some of the same understated sci-fi themes — but in a very different sort of format.

Netflix released the first trailer for Marling’s upcoming original series The OA this week, and the eight-part project promises to explore some heavy philosophical concepts while following the story of a blind girl who returns with her sight restored years after her mysterious disappearance.

Scheduled to premiere this month on the streaming video service, The OA is directed by Marling’s frequent collaborator, director Zal Batmanglij, who directed her in Sound of my Voice and the 2013 drama The East.

Described by Netflix as “a powerful, mind-bending tale about identity, human connection, and the borders between life and death,” The OA was co-produced by Netflix and Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, as well as Marling, Batmanglij, and True Detective producer Anonymous Content.

Promising to “upend notions about what long-format stories can be,” the series remains a relatively secretive production, with little known about the plot beyond what we see see in the trailer. It’s unknown whether the series is envisioned as a multiseason project or a stand-alone, single-season arc.

Along with Marling in the lead role, the series’ cast also includes Emory Cohen, Scott Wilson, Phyllis Smith, Jason Isaacs, Alice Krige, Patrick Gibson, Brendan Meyer, Ian Alexander, and Brandon Perea.

The first season of The OA will premiere in full December 16 on Netflix.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…

Entertainment

Enter the world of The Sandman in Netflix’s new trailer

Tom Sturridge as Morpheus stands with his back to the camera in an image from the adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.

In the late '80s and early '90s, writer Neil Gaiman and an assortment of artists collaborated on The Sandman comic book series, which helped redefine the medium for mature readers. It has taken the better part of three decades to bring this fantasy story to live-action, but the wait is almost over. Netflix has announced that the series will finally premiere this summer.

To go along with the news, Netflix dropped a new teaser trailer for the series which reveals how Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) was captured over a century ago. This was no small feat, since Morpheus is the King of Dreams and one of the Endless. Once Morpheus is freed, he finds himself somewhat unprepared for the mortal realm. And his own realm, the Dreaming, has been dying without his presence.

Entertainment

Netflix’s new ‘mystery box’ aims to help kids find new shows

Children watching TV.

Netflix has launched a new “mystery box” feature aimed at helping kids to find new shows to watch on its streaming service.

Much like the “play something” button that Netflix added to its service last year to help adults quickly find fresh content instead of wasting time endlessly scrolling, the new kids-focused feature diverts the little ones to new content that Netflix’s algorithms thinks they’ll enjoy.

Entertainment

Netflix debuts the trailer for Mike Myers’ The Pentaverate

Mike Meyers in The Pentaverate.

Mike Myers' 1993 dark romantic comedy So I Married An Axe Murderer is perhaps one of the most unlikely films to ever get a cinematic universe. But anything goes in 2022, especially in the age of streaming. Nearly three decades after the film's release, Myers has created a spinoff series for Netflix called The Pentaverate, which is based upon the conspiracy theories mentioned in the movie. In this show, the Pentaverate are the secret rulers of the world, and almost all of them are played by Myers himself!

That's not an exaggeration either. Myers will portray eight different characters on the show. That includes Pentaverate members Lord Lordington, Bruce Baldwin, Mishu Ivanov, and Shep Gordon. He is also playing a tech genius named Jason Eccleston, a far-right radio host named Rex Smith, and a conspiracy theorist named Anthony Lansdowne. But Myers' biggest role appears to be Ken Scarborough, a washed-up Canadian journalist who gets the chance of a lifetime to expose the Pentaverate.