Osmosis (TV series)

Osmosis is a French science fiction web television series created by Audrey Fouché. The first season, consisting of eight episodes, was released on March 29, 2019, on Netflix. The series stars Hugo Becker, Agathe Bonitzer, Stéphane Pitti, Gaël Kamilindi, Suzanne Rault-Balet, Luna Silva, Manoel Dupont and Yuming Hey.

Osmosis
Genre
Created byAudrey Fouché
Starring
Composer(s)HiTnRuN
Country of originFrance
Original language(s)French
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Audrey Fouché
Producer(s)
  • Sarah Aknine
  • Aude Albano
  • Claude Chelli
Cinematography
  • Jean-François Hensgens
  • Julien Bureau
Editor(s)Sarah Anderson
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time32-48 minutes
Production company(s)CAPA Drama
Release
Original networkNetflix
Picture format4K (16:9 UHDTV)
Audio formatDolby Digital
Original releaseMarch 29, 2019 (2019-03-29)
External links
Website

On January 17, 2020, Netflix cancelled the series after one season.[1]

Synopsis

Set in near-future Paris, the science-fiction drama sees a new dating app called “Osmosis” developed that can decode true love, digging deep into its users’ brain data to find a perfect match with 100% accuracy. But is there a price to pay when letting an algorithm decide whom you will love, using technology that can access the innermost recesses of your mind and your best-kept secrets?[2]

Cast and characters

Main
  • Hugo Becker as Paul Vanhove, CEO of Osmosis and first tester of the implant.[3][4]
  • Agathe Bonitzer as Esther Vanhove, Paul's sister and technical genius creator of Osmosis [3][4]
  • Stéphane Pitti as Lucas Apert
  • Gaël Kamilindi as Gabriel
  • Suzanne Rault-Balet as Swann
  • Luna Silva as Ana Stern
  • Manoel Dupont as Niels Larsen
  • Yuming Hey as Billie Tual

Recurring
  • Vincent Renaudet as Martin, the AI of Osmosis
  • Lena Laprès as Claire Salomon
  • Philypa Phoenix as Joséphine Vanhove,[5] Paul's wife.
  • Lionel Lingelser as Léopold Goulard
  • Fabien Ducommun as Antoine Fouché
  • Waly Dia as Simon
  • Aurélia Petit as Louise Vanhove
  • Christiane Conil as Cécile Larsen
  • Laure-Lucile Simon as Eloan Spivack
  • Dimitri Storoge as Mathieu Christo
  • Pierre Hancisse as Samuel Kahn
  • Sarah-Jane Sauvegrain as Romy
  • Camille-François Nicol as Tom
  • Jeremy Lewin as Romeo
  • Jimmy Labeeu as Ilyes

Production

Development

On May 11, 2017, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of eight episodes.[2] The series is created by Audrey Fouché, who is credited as an executive producer. Osmosis is based on an idea from a former project of the same title created by Louis Chiche, William Chiche and Gabriel Chiche and produced by Telfrance and Arte in 2015.[6][7] In February 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on March 29, 2019.[8][9] The production company reportedly spent a budget of 8 million euros for the first season, with each episode costing 1 million euros.[3] On April 1, 2019, it was confirmed that Audrey Fouché departed the series as a showrunner after the first season.[10] On January 17, 2020, Netflix cancelled the series after one season.[1]

Casting

In August 2018, it was announced that Hugo Becker, Agathe Bonitzer, Stephane Pitti, Gael Kamilindi and Suzanne Rault-Balet had been cast in the series.[11] In February 2019, it was announced that Luna Silva, Manoel Dupont and Yuming Hey were added to the cast.[12]

Filming

Principal photography for the first season took place on location in Paris, France in 2018.[13]

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date [14]
1"The Test"Julius BergAnne Rambach and Marine RambachMarch 29, 2019 (2019-03-29)
Siblings Esther and Paul have begun the clinical trials for their new drug – Osmosis. The drug finds your soulmate. Esther goes to visit her sick mother in hospital, she is shown to be the more empathetic sibling. When coming back from the hospital, Esther is met by a woman and her teenage son, Neils. Neils' mother begs Esther to include Niels in the trials since he is 'sick'. The 12 people in the trials sign a form and it begins. Paul has a meeting with his investors, who want to fire him. He then lies to his colleague, saying that the investors wanted to drop the whole project and so they must go ahead without their money. Esther watches Niels' interview, since she feels sorry for him and wants to include him in the trials. He confesses to be a sex addict and that he is hoping Osmosis will help him. Paul then tells Esther about the investors dropping out and tells her they must sell their house for money. Esther is angry since it was their mothers house. Paul makes an ad to attract new investors and Esther goes to the hospital again. Someone drops out of the trials, and so Neils is given a place. The workplace system is hacked into by humanists who oppose the drug. Paul finds a note from his wife (whom he met through using Osmosis) saying that she has run away. Paul believes she has been kidnapped. The episode ends with the clients seeing their soulmates' faces in their heads.
2"Soulmate"Julius BergAnne Rambach and Marine RambachMarch 29, 2019 (2019-03-29)
The episode starts with a flashback showing Esther putting the Osmosis implant in Paul's brain. In the present Paul reports his wife missing to the police. The clients head out to find their soulmate and hopefully secure a connection with them. Neils' soulmate is a pretty girl who runs a painting class which he joins and later they hang out and become close. Ana meets her soulmate who is a sports teacher, which is ironic since she hates sport. Lucas goes home to his boyfriend who doesn't seem to know that he's in the trial. He later heads out to spy on his soulmate who also has a boyfriend. Esther tells Paul about the hacks into the system. Ana joins her soulmates fitness class. Later she goes to Osmosis' headquarters to ask about the implant. It is revealed she is spying on Osmosis to the humanists. Paul and Gabriel pitch to new investors. Esther tracks down Paul's wife using her Osmosis implant to a nightclub where she sees her being dragged away by a few men in masks.
3"Troubles"Pierre AknineAnne Rambach and Marine RambachMarch 29, 2019 (2019-03-29)
After Esther discovers that Paul's wife really was kidnapped, she suspects a mole in the company and tells Paul who dismisses her. Paul gets a flashback to a romantic evening with his wife. Neils has been suggested to take it slow and take a break from his soulmate since it gets a bit much for him.
4"Crisis"Pierre AknineAnne Rambach and Marine RambachMarch 29, 2019 (2019-03-29)
5"Betrayal"Mona AchacheOlivier FoxMarch 29, 2019 (2019-03-29)
6"Separation"Mona AchacheÉric ForestierMarch 29, 2019 (2019-03-29)
7"Redemption"Pierre AknineAnne Badel and Aurélie BelkoMarch 29, 2019 (2019-03-29)
8"Rebirth"Pierre AknineAnne Badel, Éric Forestier and Olivier FoxMarch 29, 2019 (2019-03-29)

Release

On February 28, 2019, the official trailer for the series was released.[15]

Premiere

On March 24, 2019, the series held its official premiere with the screening of the first two episodes at the Series Mania International Festival in Lille, France.[16][17]

Reception

The first season received positive reviews upon its release. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 6/10 based on 5 reviews.[18]

Noah Berlatsky from The Verge mentioned in a positive review of the first two episodes of the series, that "Technology in Osmosis doesn’t create a dystopia or a utopia in itself. It’s just a tool, and different people project different dreams and fears onto it, for better and worse" and that this "level of nuance and awareness makes Osmosis start out thoughtful and refreshing."[19] Greg Wheeler from The Review Geek recommended the first season in their review of the series by stating that "Osmosis is a really thrilling sci-fi trip, one asking some big questions around love and relationships while delivering a well written story full of twists and turns along the way."[20]

Devin Townsend from The Breeze complimented the first season in his review by adding that the series is "thought-provoking and edges on the air of irony. It relies on the audience's knowledge of the challenging world of dating and how cynical the human race is becoming with their choice of an “other half”."[21] In a positive review of the series, Jon O'Brien from i-D wrote that, "Osmosis delivers a more optimistic proclamation. Humankind and machines can in fact live in relative harmony, and without the fear of murderous robot dogs, head-exploding video games or hashtag-powered genocides. And should disaster strike, it's more likely to be us pesky humans to blame."[22]

Emma Stefansky from Thrillist praised the series, stating that "Osmosis joins the ranks of shows like the German time-travel thriller Dark, the Danish zombie eco-pocalypse The Rain, and the South Korean medieval drama Kingdom, creating a subgenre within Netflix of remarkably good foreign-language genre television" and further adding that it "is the kind of show you can just sit and absorb."[23] Laurie Clarke of Techworld gave the series a positive recommendation saying that its "handling of a technologically entwined future is much more subtle than the at-times hamfisted approach of Black Mirror and it breathes some much-needed humanity back into tech-centric fictions."[24]

References
  1. "Netflix confie une série sur le milieu du stand up à Fanny Herrero, la créatrice de " Dix pour cent "". 20 Minutes (in French). January 17, 2020.
  2. Tartaglione, Nancy (May 11, 2017). "Netflix Falls For 'Osmosis'; Sci-Fi Series Is Service's 2nd French Original". Deadline. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  3. Grumiaux, Grumiaux (March 28, 2019). "Osmosis: the new French series on Netflix mixes love and technology". Clubic (in French). Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  4. Berlatsky, Noah (26 March 2019). "Netflix's Osmosis is like a Black Mirror episode that doesn't hate technology". The Verge. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  5. "Osmosis - World Premiere". Series Mania. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  6. Mitchell, Robert (May 11, 2017). "Netflix Commissions Sci-Fi 'Osmosis' as Second French Original Series". Variety. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  7. Tartaglione, Nancy (April 18, 2018). "Netflix Sets Julian Fellowes-Penned Soccer Drama, German Event Series 'The Wave' & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  8. "Osmosis". Netflix Media Center. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  9. "Netflix Originals Coming to Netflix in March 2019". What's On Netflix. February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  10. Keslassy, Elsa (April 1, 2019). "Netflix Lays Out French Originals Strategy, Including Hookups With Local Industry". Variety. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  11. Beaudonnet, Laure (August 6, 2018). "Osmosis (Netflix): intrigues, casting, release date ... All the information about season 1" (in French). Télé Loisirs. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  12. Tonnage, Ronan (February 5, 2018). "Discover the first images of "Osmosis", the next French series of Netflix" (in French). Le Parisien. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  13. "Netflix continues to bring new and diverse stories from Europe, Middle East and Africa to the world". Netflix Media Center. April 18, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  14. "Osmosis – Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  15. Shah, Saqib (February 28, 2019). "Netflix original 'Osmosis' is a dark take on AI date matching". Engadget. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  16. Hopewell, John (March 25, 2019). "Netflix Feeds Fantasy-Hungry YAs in France". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  17. Keslassy, Elsa (March 26, 2019). "Netflix Unveils Four More French Originals, 'Gims,' 'Anelka,' 'Move,' 'Of Earth And Blood'". Variety. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  18. "Osmosis: Season 1 (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  19. Berlatsky, Noah (March 26, 2019). "Netflix's Osmosis is like a Black Mirror episode that doesn't hate technology". The Verge. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  20. Wheeler, Greg (March 29, 2019). "Osmosis – Netflix Season 1 Review". The Review Geek. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  21. Townsend, Devin (April 2, 2019). "'Osmosis' explores future of mixing romance and technology". The Breeze. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  22. O'Brien, Jon (April 9, 2019). "'Osmosis' is the dystopian dating drama that's more than just a French 'Black Mirror'". i-D. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  23. Stefansky, Emma (April 17, 2019). "Netflix's 'Osmosis' Is the Sexy, Twisty French Sci-Fi Show You've Always Wanted". Thrillist. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  24. Clarke, Laurie (May 24, 2019). "Culture Crossover: Osmosis review - technology through a human lens". Techworld. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
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