A New Drama Series Streaming About Climate Change Is Worth Watching

A New Drama Series Streaming About Climate Change Is Worth Watching

I have been a student of climate change resilience for 20 years and, during that time, a few movies and documentaries have focused on the effects and dangers of climate change. But except for the two seasons of the Showtime series Years of Living Dangerously nearly a decade ago – which introduced a variety of climate challenges – no other drama series has dealt with the current global crisis. Until now.

On March 17, Apple TV+ premiered Extrapolations, an eight-episode anthology series depicting the effects of climate change on our planet through various points of view through interconnected stories. It is by American filmmaker, screenwriter and playwright Scott Z. Burns of The Bourne Ultimatum and Contagion screenwriting claim and the Got Milk ad campaign.

I have watched the first four episodes, and while Rotten Tomatoes has only recorded a 44% approval rating for the series based on 27 critic reviews, I believe it hits some very important notes. Here is my roster of top climate elements in the first four episodes that captured my attention and imagination:

1.    Episode 1: 2037: A Raven Story: It illuminates how the personal impacts of climate change get in the way of professional decision-making or create a tension with them, via the climate negotiator and his pre-term baby. It also demonstrates the ultimate infallibility of traditional wisdom, as well as depicting climate change as a force for corrupt decision-making by raising the stakes and making them stark. And it shows climate change-triggered civil unrest led by the young (beyond Greta Thunberg) and indicates the movement will escalate.  

2.    Episode 2: 2046: Whale Fall: It informs how climate change disproportionately impacts the elderly, the young. And the pregnant. It underscores how wildfires impact air quality in communities that think they’re safe, making playing and working outside extremely dangerous, especially when mixed with a heat wave. It also makes clear the difficult career decisions of keeping morally sound via the whale scientist trying to outfox nature.

3.    Episode 3: 2047: The Fifth Question: It underlines how past words can return to haunt us, and how the more power one possesses, the harder it may be to prove you’re a good actor. It also shows via the bat mitzvah girl how children hold elders accountable and how children have a more solid grasp of the climate risks we face than many people think. And it showcases that new diseases and the growth in where current ones strike will imperil even the wealthy.

4.    Episode 4: 2059: Face of God: For me, it emphasizes that geoengineering isn’t to be ignored, although I hope the series narrates and visualizes these potential beneficial/harmful impacts rather than just list them or, occasionally, shows drones releasing chemicals into the air.

I am sure the last episodes will offer other noteworthy statements about how climate warming and its impacts affect our planet and all of us. I hope we learn from them – and that Hollywood grasps that this is the issue of our time and worth more attention. Please let me know what you take away from the series (and Rotten Tomatoes will get in the grove as each new production establishes more context and builds familiarity with the topic).