Today, Netflix will release its newest original series, Between, a Canadian co-production starring iCarly alum Jennette McCurdy. Unlike the typical Netflix model that releases shows in batches for optimal binge-watching, Between episodes will be available weekly, in step with its linear Canadian broadcast every Thursday night.
In Between, the residents of a small town, simply named Pretty Lake, face quarantine after a catastrophic virus wipes out every resident over the age of 21. An unlikely heroine, pregnant high-schooler Wiley Day (McCurdy) must work with the other survivors to figure out where the virus came from and how to cure it — assuming they don’t kill each other first. The six-parter has echoes of Under the Dome and The 100, but for longtime Lost fan McCurdy, Between reminds her of her favorite show.
“To me it resembles a younger version of Lost,” McCurdy told reporters at a Netflix-hosted press day earlier this month in Los Angeles. (Incidentally, Naveen Andrews who played Lost‘s Sayid Jarrah was also in attendance to promote Sense8 and McCurdy admitted that she was “freaking out.”) “[Lost is my favorite dramatic show ever. That was very exciting for me. Also the fact that it has sci-fi elements. It’s a survivalist thriller. It has romantic elements. It’s the kind of show that I enjoy watching, so that was very alluring.”
McCurdy also said that the experience of shooting Between has given her a new appreciation for the Lost cast, who had to keep so much about their show a secret. “I have tremendous respect for all of them. I don’t know how they endured it,” the actress sympathized. “Then, with the judgment that they faced for their final season, I’m sure they dealt with a lot of people giving them flack when they’re just trying to get tomatoes at Ralph’s or something. That’s got to be hard!”
Over the next six weeks, Between will address the overarching mystery of the virus, and McCurdy assured press that many of the questions posed in episode one will be answered by the end of the season — even if others remain unsolved for a possible season two.
“My favorite scene is in the sixth episode and it’s all the main cast together at once, which is another thing that I really loved in Lost — when everybody was together and you got to see that conflict up close and personal,” McCurdy revealed. “There’s a big secret unveiled in the sixth episode.”
Between‘s first episode, “School’s Out,” is streaming now on Netflix. New episodes will be available Thursdays at 11:30 p.m.
