I Am We.

Jun 4, 2017 | Goggle-eyes, Sense8

Sense8 Season 2

Last Friday, Netflix issued a statement quoting Cindy Holland, VP of original conent, that read:

After 23 episodes, 16 cities and 13 countries, the story of the Sense8 cluster is coming to an end. It is everything we and the fans dreamed it would be: bold, emotional, stunning, kick ass, and outright unforgettable. Never has there been a more truly global show with an equally diverse and international cast and crew, which is only mirrored by the connected community of deeply passionate fans all around the world. We thank Lana, Lilly, Joe and Grant for their vision, and the entire cast and crew for their craftsmanship and commitment.

I don’t know about you, but none of the things Ms Holland said seem to me to be obvious justifications for cancelling the show–rather the opposite (of course it may be that Ms Holland was simply handed the task of polishing the turd.)

J Michael Straczynski, co-creator of Sense8 with the Wachowski sisters, has been pretty terse on Twitter, but did make the following remarkable statement (screenshot):

Freema Agyeman summed up what seem to be the feelings of the whole of the cast (another screenshot)

This is a sad state of affairs from which Netflix emerges with neither credit nor credibility.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly, and there might be some of you, knows that I have gushed about Sense8 with embarassing frequency. It is the best TV show I have seen for a long, long time–since The Wire I think. [For the avoidance of doubt, yes I have been watching American Gods, which didn’t grab me until episode 4 when it suddenly got a whole lot better, and the reanimated Twin Peaks, which bemuses, entertains and infuriates.] Sense8 is the only thing I watch on Netflix.

What has been inspiring to me (and, if their social media comments are anything to go by, the cast) has been the response of the fans of Sense8 on social media and elsewhere, up to and including flooding Netflix phone and chat lines with complaints. I rather doubt this will provoke any change, although I’ll be happy to be proved wrong, but I do like that no one can be in any doubt about what Sense8 means to so many people worldwide.

I’ll probably write more about this when I’ve processed it a bit more.

And should anyone wonder why I am writing about ephemera such as a TV programme when so much else is happening in the world, it’s because art is a freedom to be cherished, the stuff of life, and life must go madly, defiantly on.