A lot of the outlandishness is left open to interpretation, but mostly, everyone’s trying to figure out how to navigate life before we’re all maybe gonna die. And then there’s some cosmic shenanigans and reptile aliens and a great Henry Rollins appearance. There are some sterile overtones involved, but the show also wields sensuality aplenty. It’s trashy and unfiltered and unapologetically graphic (mostly enjoyably so) while it also eviscerates nearly every mannerism that older generations find obnoxious about millennials (that part’s not as fun) in LA, who I guess are Araki’s newly doomed generation. Yet the show almost functions as a satire of prestige TV. Obviously, Now Apocalypse‘s title is an obnoxious play on Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. That is to say, the show is enjoyable once it gets rolling, but it takes some effort to embrace the affectations. There’s so much strangeness in this series (that Araki co-wrote with Viceland’s Slutever host, Karley Sciortino) that’s oddly charming, despite the at-first unlikable characters at hand. He’s an acquired taste, and at its core, Now Apocalypse is his Starz-provided and Soderbergh-facilitated playground, given his existing relationship with the cable network. So whether you’ll enjoy this series really depends on your feelings for Araki’s brand. Anyone who caps off a robbery scene by lingering upon a decapitated head that’s still yammering and spewing mustard (not to mention that threesome that ends violently and tragically) can’t and won’t shake off a certain reputation. He grooves with stoner comedies like Smiley Face, took atypical coming-of-age turns with Mysterious Skin and White Bird in a Blizzard, and helmed 1995’s ennui-filled Doom Generation. Yes, he’s directed episodes of Riverdale and 13 Reasons Why lately, but his indie film credits are more telling. Then there’s Araki, the creator of this series, who’s more consistently subversive and flat-out weird. I know it’s strange to start off a review like this, but listen, Soderbergh can bounce effortlessly from blockbusters like Oceans and Erin Brockovich and Contagion to more salacious or niche material like The Girlfriend Experience and Magic Mike. And since we’re thinking about our collective demise, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect upon how we’re living in a world where these two are executive producing together. It’s the end of the world, and Gregg Araki and Steven Soderberg’s new Now Apocalypse series greets the apocalypse with cosmic sex.
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