The end of the world is kind of a big deal. There are numerous threats to humanity which can be named, but the biggest one seems to be the human race, itself. Sure, there might be dramatic climate change, disagreements with mother nature and worldwide plagues, but mankind seemingly can’t get out of its own way when it comes to overcoming disagreements. And that could lead to a disaster.
But what if there was a “top-secret multi-national organization dedicated to preventing the undoing of mass-extinction events by diplomatic, scientific or militaristic means” that only used time travel to save the world? Sounds like a worthwhile program, to me. That is the theme for The Lazarus Project, which debuts stateside tonight on TNT.
George (played by Paapa Essiedu) is experiencing something strange. For some reason, he’s one of the very, very few people on the entire planet who can recall time loops, time jumps and different timelines within his lifetime. Misunderstood as having a personality disorder, he’s actually considered a mutant, which means he’s naturally recruited by this super-secret government group, for the greater good of mankind — but this isn’t The X-Men.
Now, they can’t hit reset every time something bad happens, only whenever the world ends — namely, from nuclear wars. After watching the series premiere, it seems that George must make a very difficult decision: What’s he willing to personally sacrifice in order to totally rewrite history?
If constant time-jumping scenarios are replayed until a positive outcome is reached might sound familiar, then you’ve definitely already seen Groundhog Day a few hundred times, like me. I still enjoy watching it, though. But this isn’t an Apocalypse and Chill moment, this is feels like an environmental what-if scenario with a sci-fi spin. And its release date helps, being sandwiched between the multiverse battles of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this week’s debut of The Flash and the recent Oscar-winning darling, Everything, Everywhere All at Once.
The multiverse is definitely trending within pop-culture circles, but in a way, these characters are actually doomsday preppers. They hope for the best, while preparing for the worst. And if that should happen? They simply press reset to a planetary checkpoint that returns to certain date, much like a video game would.
With plenty of slow-motion action sequences, there’s absolutely a War of the Worlds vibe here, featuring a cataclysmic story with a largely international cast. And the storyline’s slow burn promises plenty of ex-agents as terrorists, raising the question, “Why?”
Why would they turn rogue, fighting against the group that trained them? It might have something to do with the decision making of Wes (Caroline Quentin), the head of The Lazarus Project. What exactly determines an end-of-the-world scenario and why does she get to decide what deserves a do-over and what doesn’t? There are no small decisions, it seems, and there might just be some ethical tiptoeing going on, which only begs for dark personal vendettas.
After watching Episode 1, I’m definitely intrigued. And the show, which originally aired its first season on the U.K.’s Sky Max in June of 2022, received strong enough ratings to get renewed for Season 2. That’s a promising start, for sure. Check it out, and if you happen to miss it tonight, you won’t have to restart the planet. The show will definitely be available to stream at your convenience.