By Dave B.

In The Fare (2019) a cab driver on a desolate desert road picks up a lone woman. After a few minutes of conversation, she inexplicably vanishes. Then time seemingly resets and the cab driver repeats the same sequence of events, with no memory of what has previously occurred. Eventually the cabbie, Harris, begins to remember earlier versions of the time loop. As he works with his passenger, Penny, on finding a way out of the loop, they begin to form a close bond. But all is not as it seems. Penny has a secret that lies at the root of Harris’ predicament.

By Dave B.

In Dispatches From Elsewhere, four strangers are thrown together in a game that sprawls throughout Philadelphia. What starts out as innocent fun turns into something more sinister, as the team uncovers a conspiracy perpetrated by a multinational corporation. 

By Dave B.

Amazon Prime’s Upload takes place in the near future in a world where the virtual and “real” worlds coexist in surprising ways. When he’s grievously injured in a self-driving car accident, Nathan’s consciousness is uploaded into his girlfriend’s family’s digital afterlife, Lake View. As Nathan adjusts to his new, noncorporeal existence, he bonds with his customer service representative, Nora. Together, they attempt to solve the mysteries surrounding Nathan’s accident and why some of his memories appear to have been intentionally erased. 

By Dave B.

​In the Shadow of the Moon (Netflix) is a sci-fi detective mystery that takes place over the span of decades in Philadelphia. Every nine years, a female serial killer is murdering people seemingly at random and a lone police officer is determined to find out how and why she is committing these grisly crimes. 

By Dave B.

​The plot of Russian Doll (Netflix) is fairly straightforward: On the night of her 36th birthday party, Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) is struck by a car and killed while looking for her cat. She “resets” hours earlier, at the party, in her friend’s restroom. Nadia proceeds to die over and over again, sometimes making it through the night (but often not) and always resetting in the same place at the same time. Nadia despairs of ever finding a way out of this time loop until she meets Alan (Charlie Barnett). Together, they race against time to try solve the mystery of what is happening and of how to make it stop.

By Dave B.

In The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016, currently on Netflix), a father and son coroner duo (played by Brian Cox and Mile Hirsch) are brought a strange case: the body of a young woman is delivered to them by the local police after being found partially buried in a house where a multiple homicide took place. Her body bears no apparent cause of death and as the autopsy unfolds, the pair discover some curious irregularities. Will they be able to solve the mystery of Jane Doe’s death in time to prevent further murders?

By Dave B.

If you’re not familiar with the world of Blade Runner, here are the basics: Replicants (artificial humans with augmented strength and endurance) are subservient to the human population. Those who don’t abide by protocols on behavior and length of life are hunted by Blade Runners. In Blade Runner 2049 (2017, currently on HBO), Officer K (Ryan Gosling) is a Blade Runner who is also a replicant. He hunts and kills his own kind. While “retiring” a rogue replicant, K discovers a miracle: decades ago, an old-model replicant gave birth, despite all replicants being supposedly sterile. This sets K on an epic journey to solve the mystery of who and where the born replicant is before knowledge of its existence sets off a cataclysmic war between humans and their replicant slaves. In the process, K must cope with startling revelations about his own origins.

By Dave B.

Have you ever heard of Killing Eve (BBC America)? It’s about Eve (Sandra Oh), a low-level, but highly intelligent MI5 agent who gets recruited to hunt the ruthless assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer). I had heard of the show, and I knew that it was well-regarded, but besides being vaguely on my radar, my knowledge of Killing Eve was extremely limited and my interest in it was even more so. However, the little voice in my head that tells me when chocolate chip cookies are nearby firmly insisted that I give this show a chance. I’m glad that I listened to it.

By Dave B.

In The Endless (2018, currently on Netflix) a decade after two brothers, Aaron and Justin, escape from a UFO death cult they receive a mysterious video cassette with a goodbye message to them from one of the members. Their lives since leaving Camp Arcadia have been difficult and Aaron, the younger brother who barely remembers the cult, wants to visit its members one last time before they “ascend”. Older brother Justin is extremely reluctant to do so, as he is simply grateful to have escaped what he presumes to be the cult’s grisly fate. Eventually, Aaron convinces Justin that visiting for one night will do no harm and the siblings set off on a mind-bending journey that will test their brotherly bonds as well as their grip on reality.

By Dave B.

In The Hollow (Netflix), three teens wake up in a sealed room that contains only a typewriter. They have complete amnesia and as the room fills with toxic gas, they must work together using their wits and recently discovered superpowers to escape the room and find out who they are, what has happened to them, and why. As the 10 episode show progresses, the trio traverse diverse worlds in an epic quest to find their way back to unremembered homes.