Now Apocalypse
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | Now Apocalypse |
| Original title | Now Apocalypse |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| year | 2019 |
| Production company |
Starz Distribution |
| length | 30 minutes |
| Episodes | 10 in 1 season |
| genre |
Comedy , science fiction |
| idea |
Gregg Araki , Karley Sciortino |
| production | Beau J. Genot, JB Popplewell, Karley Sciortino |
| music | James Clements, Robin Guthrie |
| First broadcast | March 10, 2019 (USA) on Starz |
First publication in German |
March 11, 2019 on StarzPlay |
| occupation | |
Now Apocalypse is an American television series that premiered on March 10, 2019 on pay-TV channel Starz . It was conceived by the filmmaker Gregg Araki and the writer Karley Sciortino , who also wrote the scripts together, Araki also directed all the episodes. Araki's colleague Steven Soderbergh was one of the series' executive producers .
It is about the three young people Ulysses, Carly and Ford from Los Angeles . While Ulysses constantly nightmares of homeless and lizards - aliens , has Carly gets no roles as an actress, but earns good money as a cam model , Ford, meanwhile at odds with the desire of his girlfriend, an open relationship guide.
In Germany, the series can be seen on StarzPlay . On July 26, 2019, Starz announced that production would not be renewed for a second season.
action
Ulysses Zane, who works as a security guard at a junkyard and often has casual affairs with other men, lives in Los Angeles like his best friends Carly Carlson and Ford Halstead, who is also his roommate, and his crush Severine Bordeaux . Carly makes her living with cybersex , Ford wants to start a career as a screenwriter , and Severine works as a theoretical astrobiologist . While Carly, Ford and Severine have some difficulties in their relationships or professions, Ulysses is plagued by dark, precognitive nightmares . He wonders if the end of the world is imminent and reptilians have something to do with it, or if the dreams are simply due to his love of marijuana .
production
Gregg Araki drew inspiration from Twin Peaks in his work on Now Apocalpyse , which he believes is "groundbreaking, artful, unusual, and quite simply just its own thing." Although Araki had experience as an episode director, he was still skeptical about creating his own television series until he came up with the idea of combining his inspiration with a plot about everyday life in Los Angeles. He presented his idea to the author Karley Sciortino , who together with him finally expanded the concept. Filmmaker Gregory Jacobs , with whom Araki had previously worked on the Red Oaks series , joined the project and also convinced director Steven Soderbergh to join the production team. In addition, the production designer, the costume designer and the cameraman had also worked with Araki in the past.
On March 26, 2018, Starz ordered a first season of the series. Araki acted as the director of all episodes and with Sciortino also as a screenwriter. He was also executive producer of the series alongside Soderbergh and Jacobs. In June 2018, Avan Jogia , Kelli Berglund , Beau Mirchoff and Roxane Mesquida were cast in the leading roles, Tyler Posey , Jacob Artist and RJ Mitte as well as other actors as recurring supporting characters. On July 2, Kevin Daniels and Avra Friedman were also announced as supporting characters. The shooting lasted a total of 40 days.
On December 10th, March 10th, 2019 was announced as the start date, the second episode was first published a week later. The remaining eight episodes were made available as video-on-demand from March 22nd and were also shown weekly on Starz from March 24th.
On July 26, 2019, the cancellation of Now Apocalypse was announced. However, Araki announced that he would try to have the series continue on another station.
occupation
The German synchronization was in the DMT for a dialogue book by Christos Topulos and the dialogue director of Clemens Gerhard created.
main characters
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Ulysses Zane | Avan Jogia | Alexander Merbeth |
| Carly Carlson | Kelli Berglund | Franciska Friede |
| Ford Halstead | Beau Mirchoff | Jonas Minthe |
| Severine Bordeaux | Roxane Mesquida | Denise M'Baye |
Minor characters
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Lars | Evan Hart | Markus Hanse |
| Klaus | Taylor Hart | |
| Gabriel | Tyler Posey | David Berton |
| Jethro | Desmond Chiam | Jacob Weigert |
| Barnabas | Kevin Daniels | Jan-David Rönfeldt |
| Amber | Grace Victoria Cox | Anni Perka |
| Frank | Mary Lynn Rajskub | Neda Rahmanian |
| Quay | Chris Aquilino | Nils Rieke |
| magenta | Avra Friedman | Nicola Schäffler |
| Mitchell Kent | Henry Rollins | Achim book |
| Leif | RJ middle | |
| Isaac | Jacob Artist | |
| Homeless man | James Duval | Frank Jordan |
Episode list
| No. | German title | Original title | First broadcast in the USA | German language first publication (D) | Director | script |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | This is the beginning of the end | This is the beginning of the end | 10 Mar 2019 | 11th Mar 2019 | Gregg Araki | Gregg Araki & Karley Sciortino Idea: Gregg Araki |
| Ulysses Zane meets for the first time in real life with the attractive Gabriel, with whom he for a while by long text messages has entertained. The two have sex in an alley and then realize that something seems to connect them, but cannot explain exactly what. Meanwhile, Gabriel's friend Carly Carlson makes her money as a cam girl while waiting for her breakthrough as an actress and is bored with her relationship with Jethro, who also works as a performer. Ford Halstead, another friend of Ulysses and aspiring screenwriter , starts talking to film producer Barnabas. Things are not going as well in his love life, as he is striving for a permanent relationship with the astrobiologist Severine Bordeaux, who however prefers open relationships and is always looking for new sexual partners. Meanwhile Ulysses goes to the place of his recurring nightmare in which a homeless man from a Reptilian - Alien is raped. | ||||||
| 2 | Where is my mind? | Where is my mind? | 17th Mar 2019 | 18 Mar 2019 | Gregg Araki | Gregg Araki & Karley Sciortino Idea: Gregg Araki |
| Since his nightmares are increasingly bothering him, Ulysses researches to find out what they mean. He reads about a conspiracy theory according to which the earth is infiltrated by lizard people. Barnabas takes Ford to a film premiere, where he is enthusiastic about the atmosphere and meets the star director Otto West. Severine later gets him to have a threesome with his wife Daphne , but Severine only watches as Ford and Daphne have sex, which is why he reconsiders his attitude towards the open relationship. Meanwhile, Jethro finds Carly's sex toys when she comes home from her acting class and agrees to be her bottom . | ||||||
| 3 | The rules of the game | The Rules of Attraction | 24 Mar 2020 | 25th Mar 2020 | Gregg Araki | Gregg Araki & Karley Sciortino Idea: Gregg Araki |
| Ulysses is dismayed that Gabriel has not contacted him for days and is nowhere to be found. Ulysses also remembers that Gabriel is tattooed with a symbol that appears in his nightmares . Otto invites Ford to his home and persuades him to do a revealing photo shoot. When Ford notices shortly after that Severine has slept with her ex-boyfriend Mustafa, he reacts angrily, but initially hides this from her. Carly receives private lessons from her acting teacher Frank, when she falls into a misandristic tirade and wants to seduce Carly if she does not want to get involved, which is why Frank becomes aggressive and throws her out of her course. In the middle of the night Ulysses receives a text message from Gabriel that they should meet as soon as possible, which Ulysses is rather hesitant to agree to. | ||||||
| 4th | The Downward Spiral | The Downward Spiral | 31 Mar 2019 | April 1, 2019 | Gregg Araki | Gregg Araki & Karley Sciortino Idea: Gregg Araki |
| When Ulysses receives a package, he has sex with the delivery man, even though he is heterosexual and married. A little later he has to go to a meeting of a self-help group for men with Ford, because Ford feels that Severine's sex with Mustafa has hurt his manhood. In the meantime, she doesn't get rid of the feeling of being followed and observed by someone. Ford later confesses his feelings to her, and she suggests that he only have sex with other people. Carly is looking for a new roommate to replace Amber, which is not really to her satisfaction. At the end of the episode, Ulysses meets a homeless person who is acting very strangely. | ||||||
| 5 | Stranger Than Paradise | Stranger Than Paradise | April 7, 2019 | 8 Apr 2019 | Gregg Araki | Gregg Araki & Karley Sciortino Idea: Gregg Araki |
| Ford receives an invitation from Barnabas to a luxurious celebrity party in Palm Springs and takes Ulysses, Carly and Severine with him. There Ulysses meets Mitchell Kent, the author of the lizard conspiracy theory, and wants to talk to him, but he verbally attacks him very harshly. Afterwards, to his amazement, he is drawn to a waitress he has sex with. Severine leaves the party after a short time because she is called to a professional emergency. Carly meets the sculptor Leif, who suffers from infantile cerebral palsy . Although they get along very well, Carly Jethro can't bring herself to fling for the sake of Jethro . When Ford drinks too much alcohol and passes out, Ulysses is shocked to see how he is abused by Barnabas. | ||||||
| 6th | She's Lost Control | She's Lost Control | Apr. 14, 2019 | April 15, 2019 | Gregg Araki | Gregg Araki & Karley Sciortino Idea: Gregg Araki |
| Since his nightmares just don't stop, Ulysses asks for advice in an alien forum and wants an interpretation, but his post is deleted because of an alleged rule violation. He later agrees to help Carly shoot her web series Luder , but is annoyed by the dedicated amateur actors who refuse to follow his instructions. After filming, Carly is frustrated because her agent no longer wants to replace her, and for consolation she plays an RPG with Jethro, which is observed by her disturbed roommate. Ulysses sees the homeless man from his dreams at work and runs after him, but cannot catch up with him. Since Severine has to work more and more often, Ford is disappointed and shows Ulysses the photos Otto took of him. When Ulysses mentions the incident at the party, Ford gets angry, claiming that Ulysses is just jealous of his career. | ||||||
| 7th | Anywhere Out of the World | Anywhere Out of the World | Apr 21, 2019 | Apr 22, 2019 | Gregg Araki | Gregg Araki & Karley Sciortino Idea: Gregg Araki |
| Ulysses meets the handsome social worker Isaac, to whom he is immediately drawn. When they want to have sex for the first time, Ulysses keeps thinking of Gabriel, but he manages to sleep with Isaac. Later he dreams of Gabriel as the archangel who warns him of the extinction of humanity. Meanwhile, Carly's acting career is getting worse and worse, but she finds a new source of income when a customer gives her $ 200 for a bottle of her urine . Severine takes Ford to an Eyes Wide Shut -style sex party , where they become part of an orgy , the next day Ford is horrified when his revealing photos are on billboards all over town, but calms down when Severine tells him says that she finds this erotic. | ||||||
| 8th | Unknown pleasures | Unknown pleasures | April 28, 2019 | 29 Apr 2019 | Gregg Araki | Gregg Araki & Karley Sciortino Idea: Gregg Araki |
| Severine wants to surprise Ford again with a threesome and tells him and her sex partner Tyce that she wants to practice the 369 position ( sixty-nine and anal intercourse ) with them. However, Ford feels intimidated by the muscular Tyce, who is also uncomfortable because Severine regards him as a pure sex object, which is why, in addition to her anger, she does not have sex with the men. Meanwhile, Carly goes into a dungeon with Jethro, which is not pleasant for him, because she ignores his safeword and does not stop with BDSM sex despite his protests. Things are going better for Ulysses, since he and Isaac are happier and happier together, they spend another night together and decide to meet again afterwards. | ||||||
| 9 | Disappear Here | Disappear Here | 5th May 2019 | May 6, 2019 | Gregg Araki | Gregg Araki & Karley Sciortino Idea: Gregg Araki |
| Ulysses is unsettled when Isaac tells him about an epidemic among the local homeless people who are delusional about being raped by aliens. The two later declare that they are the official couple. Ulysses is overjoyed when Isaac receives a key to his apartment. Meanwhile, Carly meets Leif again, while Jethro discovers her work as a cam girl when he stumbles upon her website. When Severine is transferred to Roswell for an indefinite period of time , Ford is inconsolable and tears up the telephone number he received from a strange woman. At Severine's job she has a nice threesome with her colleagues, the twins Lars and Klaus. | ||||||
| 10 | Everything is gone forever | Everything Is Gone Forever | May 12, 2019 | May 13, 2019 | Gregg Araki | Gregg Araki & Karley Sciortino Idea: Gregg Araki |
| Isaac separates from Ulysses when he suddenly receives a new message from Gabriel and Isaac learns about their common past. Carly and Jethro also quarrel about their work as cam girls. When she meets a producer at a television station a little later, it turns out that he is one of her customers who promises her a career. Ford is devastated when Severine separates from him for professional reasons and moves out of town for good. When Mrs. Cleopatra approaches him and flirts with him, he is initially not interested because of the grief, but wakes up in her bed the next morning. Ulysses finally meets the homeless man from his dreams and asks him questions. This confirms to have been raped several times by alien. After six months, "the birth would begin", so he begs Ulysses to kill him. When he refuses, the homeless man dies shortly afterwards from being electrocuted by a wire. Ulysses meets Gabriel again when Carly breaks up with a drunken Jethro who is raped by an alien immediately afterwards. | ||||||
reception
“In terms of content, Now Apocalypse is less the beginning of a new chapter for Araki than a continuation of topics and ideas that moved him back in the 90s when he rose to be a pioneer of the New Queer Cinema (...) All the ingredients that are Araki's trademarks are still popular in series production: young, attractive protagonists, lots of sex in all categories, cool music, hallucinatory bright colors, shrill humor and a hint of the end of the world (...) Classic Araki is on Now Apocalypse but also the considerable trash appeal, partly fueled by the performance of the actors (...) Because Araki, at the age of 59, never rises above his young, naive, spoiled protagonists and, one after the other, goes one step further when it comes to absurdity Now Apocalypse is something astonishing: even for viewers who are very familiar with Araki's work, the brisk series seems to be unnecessary theit and refreshing queer matter-of-factness incredibly modern and contemporary. "
Haleigh Foutch rated Now Apocalypse four out of five stars on Collider . Araki brings the "playful, garish gayness and decadent whimsicality" of his films with the series on television. The result was a "cheerful and boisterous B-Movie -Verdrehung of sexual Sex and the City -Humor", crossed by Araki known " paranoid em hedonism ". A sharp-tongued high point of the production is Kelli Berglund as extremely cheeky and clever Carly, who would put the typical “lick my ass remarks” in Araki's mouth. Although fun, lively, and sexy, the series is not as deep, consistent, or provocative as Araki's best films. Perhaps the director no longer suffers the “agony of youthful fear”, but he has not lost his empathy for it either. This endless fascination with the craziness of youth and the search for self-discovery drives the best moments of the series, which is about sex and relationships. However, the series would likely leave most viewers indifferent with its "bewildering weirdness" and portrayal of explicit sexuality. Even for big Araki fans it could not be denied that the quality fluctuates, and in the first five episodes the series often loses the thread for the bigger plot and sometimes forgets to be a sci-fi production at all. But this is typical of Araki, in whose films the plot has never played a very important role, and the good sides surpass the bad. For all old fans of Araki, be it queer young people, punks , stoners or outsiders who have found a place in his films, Now Apocalypse is a welcome return and an “update” of his familiar motifs, rounded off with a “fuck it verve” “, Which fits perfectly into 2019.
The series received a C- (corresponds to a German satisfactory) from Ben Travers of the industry website IndieWire . He claimed that it would take quite a while for the action and apocalypse promised in the title to occur. In the first three episodes, an exciting moment is completely absent. Thus, the series would have the same problem as many that are directed by film writers in that it is so focused on delaying the "hidden, whimsical, apocalyptic punchline" that the plot of the first episodes is never enticing, insightful, or entertaining. At the end of the first episode there would be a first vague reference to an event that the series was heading towards a sci-fi disaster. However, it is a problem that Araki withholds this revelation, which in turn keeps expectations low and only presents the viewers with half-hearted affairs and Hollywood dreams. This is insufficient for a series, which is why the enthusiastic, sympathetic ensemble does not manage to raise the production above "silly stoner humor". Araki create a homage to dude, where's my car? , but drag the plot out, even the " porno- like sex scenes" are not very funny and predictable. Perhaps the actual apocalypse is also uninspired, marijuana-smoking slackers from the millennial generation or the fact that the younger generation has already given up due to issues such as global warming or Donald Trump's presidency . However, due to the lack of pointed elements, this remains unclear, the end of the series is as “dull as familiar”. Ultimately, Apocalypse Now is "another lazy re-creation of millennial discomfort".
Daniel D'Addario wrote in Variety that the production was a kind of "fusion of the two sides of Araki's career". His cult films dealt with the "understanding of young people's modern life, which is characterized by a desire for intimacy and the premonition of an impending disaster". After that, Araki would have reinvented himself as a "journeyman" in the television business. In all of the individual episodes that he staged, it was about the fact that the youth of the 2010s were not dominated by promises, but by "endless threats" and that those affected could see this clearly, but could not do much to improve the situation . The amiable actors would have to endure a story that seems like an “infusion of a sharper-tongued original”. Carly's storyline as a cam girl, who works on her acting skills while working, portrays the look that many cast on entertainment objects in a "pervertedly clever" way. The character Ford is less shrewd, as he is a "tabular fool" who sees himself as an aspiring screenwriter, what people who exploit his insecurities for sex would see differently. Araki's version of a "candy-colored city" inhabited by "deluded narcissists and their admirers" is consistent but overshadowed by Ulysses' search for the aliens who are "stupid and unimaginative" and too far removed from the angry tone of the series be. Araki would have a lot to say about the state of the world, but these views are exaggeratedly clichéd, especially when compared to Barry and The Kominsky Method , which are also about acting teachers in Los Angeles. Since television has already dealt with Araki's grim view of the world many times, all he can do is stand out with sheer absurdity. All character types are energetic, all suggestive moments "stupidly oversized", every selfish act "happy sociopathic". However, Arakis characters did not require this type of decoration.
Web links
- Now Apocalypse in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Now Apocalypse at Fernsehserien.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael Malone: Starz Orders Comedy 'Now Apocalypse'. In: Broadcasting & Cable. March 26, 2018, accessed March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Bjarne Bock: Now Apocalypse: New Starz series starts worldwide in March. In: Serienjunkies.de . December 11, 2018, accessed March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Rick Porter: 'Now Apocalypse' Canceled After One Season on Starz. In: The Hollywood Reporter . July 26, 2019, accessed on March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Liz Shannon Miller: Gregg Araki on How David Lynch Inspired His Sexy Starz Show 'Now Apocalypse'. In: IndieWire. March 12, 2019, accessed on March 23, 2020 .
- ^ Lesley Goldberg: Starz Orders Steven Soderbergh Comedy 'Now Apocalypse'. In: The Hollywood Reporter. March 26, 2018, accessed March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Patrick Hipes: 'Now Apocalypse': Kelli Berglund, Beau Mirchoff, Roxane Mesquida Join Starz's Coming-Of-Age Comedy. In: Deadline.com . June 7, 2018, accessed March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Denise Petski: 'Now Apocalypse': Tyler Posey Joins Starz's Coming-Of-Age Comedy In Recurring Role. In: Deadline.com. June 14, 2018, accessed on March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Denise Petski: 'Now Apocalypse': Jacob Artist & Chris Aquilino Set To Recur On Starz Comedy Series. In: Deadline.com. June 18, 2018, accessed March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Denise Petski: 'Now Apocalypse': RJ Mitte & Grace Victoria Cox Set To Recur On Starz Comedy Series. In: Deadline.com. June 28, 2018, accessed March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Denise Petski: 'Now Apocalypse': Kevin Daniels & Avra Friedman Set To Recur On Starz Comedy Series. In: Deadline.com. July 2, 2018, accessed March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Peter White: Gregg Araki Calls 'Now Apocalypse' A “Crazy, Wild Ride” As Cast Opens Up About Sex On Screen - TCA. In: Deadline.com. February 12, 2019, accessed March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Denise Petski: 'Now Apocalypse' Comedy Series Sets Premiere Date On Starz; Unveils Teaser Art. In: Deadline.com. December 10, 2018, accessed March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Jack O'Keeffe: Will 'Now Apocalypse' Return For Season 2? The Entire First Season Got A Surprise Release On Streaming. In: Bustle. March 24, 2019, accessed on March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Joe Otterson: 'Now Apocalypse' Canceled After One Season at Starz. In: Variety . July 26, 2019, accessed on March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Ryan Lattanzio: Gregg Araki Hopes Canceled Starz Series 'Now Apocalypse' May Live Again at 'a New Home'. In: IndieWire. July 28, 2019, accessed March 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Now Apocalypse. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 20, 2020 .
- ↑ Patrick Heidmann: Streaming tip: "Now Apocalypse" . In: epd-film.de . April 2, 2019. Accessed March 20, 2020.
- ↑ Haleigh Foutch: 'Now Apocalypse' Review: Gregg Araki's Apocalyptic Millennial Sex Comedy Is Extra AF. In: Collider. March 8, 2019, accessed March 21, 2020 .
- ↑ Ben Travers: 'Now Apocalypse' Review: Gregg Araki's Insane Stoner Comedy Is for Generation Nobody - Sundance. In: IndieWire. January 29, 2019, accessed on March 21, 2020 .
- ^ Daniel D'Addario: TV Review: 'Now Apocalypse'. In: Variety. January 30, 2019, accessed on March 21, 2020 .