BETTER THAN US

  • 31 Aug - 06 Sep, 2019
  • Mag The Weekly
  • TV TIME

A Russian series set in the near future where robots have been integrated into our day to day lives. It’s cool, though, because they’ve been programmed to follow the First Law, which says they can’t just outright murder all the humans. But what happens when one robot skips that bit of code.

In the year 2029, robots – well, they haven’t taken over, but they definitely have a prominent place in society in the service industry. The show is centered around Georgy Safronov (Kirill Kyaro), a medical examiner who’s holed up in his morgue with robot Vasily. His life is not so hot when compared to his ex-wife Alla (Olga Lomonosova), who’s remarried and has custody of their two kids. There’s moody teen Egor (Eldar Kalimulin) and the adorable Sonya (Vita Kornienko). Georgy’s world is turned upside-down, though, when he learns that his ex’s one-month trip to Australia with her new man and the kids is actually a permanent move!

The show’s other lead is a state-of-the-art, last-of-its-kind robot named Arisa (Paulina Andreeva) that’s purchased by the head of CRONOS (think Apple but exactly as nefarious as the name “CRONOS” implies). Viktor Toropov (Aleksandr Ustyugov) is a pro-bot public figure whose company makes fairy-bots to watch over kids. But when a lowly CRONOS warehouse worker tries to harrass Arisa behind the boss’ back, Arisa fights back and efficiently snaps the skeevy guy’s neck. Remember that First Law? Arisa’s been programmed to not care about that.

The biggest thing this show has going for it is, without a doubt, the production design. The world feels lived in and, most importantly for what’s ultimately a grounded family drama, plausible.

Better than most sci-fiction show. Stream!

– Compilation

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