Why You Should Watch 'Social Distance' on Netflix
During social distancing, Netflix has become a big part of many of our lives. And now, "Social Distance" is going to become part of Netflix.
During social distancing, Netflix has become a big part of many of our lives. And now, "Social Distance" is going to become part of Netflix.
The company announced on its "See What's Next" Twitter account that Netflix is working on a "quarantine anthology series" called "Social Distance," to be overseen by Jenji Kohan, who created the early Netflix hit series "Orange in the New Black." Hilary Weisman Graham, who also worked on 'Orange," will serve as showrunner.
It's not clear what actors will be participating in the show, or when it might debut. The actors will film themselves in their homes, and each episode will tell a standalone story. Crews editing and otherwise working on the show will work remotely.
"We’ve been inspired to create an anthology series that tells stories about the current moment we are living through — the unique, personal, deeply human stories that illustrate how we are living apart, together," the creators said in a statement on the Twitter account.
“The experience of social distancing is currently universal, but no individual story is the same. Through a broad spectrum of tales and moments, some seismic and some mundane, we hope to capture a moment in time. And we hope that “Social Distance” will help people feel closer to one another."
When it released quarterly earnings last week, Netflix announced a gain in subscribers so massive that the company had to warn that such gains would likely not be sustainable once social-distancing orders are lifted. Netflix has also seen such huge viral hits as “Tiger King” and “Love is Blind” during the lockdowns.
The company has also said that it's not in any danger of running out of content, at least not for a while.
"We work pretty far ahead, and we deliver all of our shows with all episodes at once, so we're pretty far ahead," Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos said in a CNN interview last month.
While Hollywood production has been shut down, some shows have gotten creative when it comes to new content.
“Parks and Recreation,” the NBC series that went off the air more than five years ago, will air a special new social distancing-themed episode, set in the present, this Thursday. “One Day At a Time,” the Pop TV series that had to shut down production halfway through its season, has announced plans to produce an animated episode.
Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons.
Image: Reuters.