Director Cary Fukunaga’s Maniac limited series is due to arrive on September 21, which is when Netflix will drop all ten episodes. In the meantime, the show has kept its promotional ways close to its brain-bending sleeve. This has resulted in a rather cryptic trailer featuring a pharmaceutical drug trial run by a scientist played by Justin Theroux. Jonah Hill’s character was presumed to be suffering from schizophrenia, and Emma Stone’s character lacked affect. In the brief(er) above teaser, we learn more about these two lost souls.
Well, we at least gain more understanding of how Stone’s Annie and Hill’s Owen will interact. She’s afflicted by depression, and they’re both suffering from a lack of meaningful human connection. They empathize with each other during heavy conversations, and Annie wonders whether they were destined to meet while the teaser flashes through their many encounters in various other imagined-or-real settings, which shall take the series into multi-genre land.
At one point, Sally Field’s doctor character tosses out the “cosmic connection” hypothesis, which further fuels the intrigue and secrecy before this highly anticipated series’ arrival. Of course, this show starring two actors beloved by The Academy will arrive shortly after HBO tossed fighting words at Netflix as the streaming wars continue to escalate, and viewers are reaping the benefits.
