Another Life (2019 TV series)

This article is about American TV series. For Westlife song, see Spectrum (Westlife album).

Another Life
Genre	Science fiction Drama
Created by	Aaron Martin
Starring	Katee Sackhoff Justin Chatwin Samuel Anderson Blu Hunt A.J. Rivera Jake Abel Alex Ozerov Alexander Eling JayR Tinaco Lina Renna Selma Blair Elizabeth Ludlow
Composer	Trevor Morris
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Aaron Martin Noreen Halpern Chris Regina
Producers	Justis Greene Katee Sackhoff Omar Madha
Production locations	British Columbia, Canada
Cinematography	Ryan McMaster
Editor	Stein Myhrstad
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	37–61 minutes
Production companies	Navy Productions Halfire Entertainment
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25) – present (present)

Another Life is an American science fiction drama streaming television series created by Aaron Martin, which premiered on Netflix on July 25, 2019. The series stars Katee Sackhoff, Selma Blair, Justin Chatwin, Samuel Anderson, Elizabeth Ludlow, Blu Hunt, A.J. Rivera, Alexander Eling, Alex Ozerov, Jake Abel, JayR Tinaco, Lina Renna, Jessica Camacho, Barbara Williams, Parveen Dosanjh, Greg Hovanessian, and Chanelle Peloso. In October 2019, the series was renewed for a second season.

Synopsis

A unidentified flying object, shaped like a Möbius strip (i.e. an annulus in a hyperbolic plane), lands on Earth and grows a crystalline tower above it. Erik Wallace (Justin Chatwin), a scientist employed by the United States Interstellar Command, attempts to communicate with the alien structure. Wallace's wife, Captain Niko Breckinridge (Katee Sackhoff), takes the spaceship Salvare and its crew to determine the origin of the artifact and establish first contact with the species who sent it. The Salvare is capable of faster-than-light (FTL) travel, and carries most of its crew asleep in hibernation pods, to be awakened as and when needed.

Cast and characters

Main

• Katee Sackhoff as Niko Breckinridge, astronaut and commanding officer of the Salvare, on a mission to determine the origin of the alien artifact. Niko's previous ship, the Pilgrim, suffered a disaster which killed ten people, including August's brother and Niko's commander and romantic partner Hudson.
• Justin Chatwin as Erik Wallace, a scientist employed by United States Interstellar Command, dedicated to finding extraterrestrial intelligent life; he is Niko's husband and Jana's father. On Earth, he investigates the crystal structure created by the UFO.
• Samuel Anderson as William, the holographic interface of the sentient artificial intelligence aboard the Salvare. He serves as an advisor and friend to Niko throughout season one, and even stands up for her during times of need. He is seen as a real person by Niko, but nobody else.
• Blu Hunt as August Catawnee, the lead engineer and youngest crewmember of the Salvare.
• A.J. Rivera as Bernie Martinez, Salvare's microbiologist and part-time chef.
• Jake Abel as Sasha Harrison (season 1), the son of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, serving as the government's representative and diplomatic liaison aboard Salvare. He is seen as weak and is often not trusted by his fellow crewmates.
• Alex Ozerov as Oliver Sokolov, a Salvare engineer.
• Alexander Eling as Javier Almanzar, a former hacker who is aboard Salvare as an expert in computer engineering.
• JayR Tinaco as Zayn Petrossian, Salvare's medic.
• Lina Renna as Jana Breckinridge-Wallace, the daughter of Niko and Erik.
• Selma Blair as Harper Glass, a media influencer who attempts to break one of the biggest stories in human history.
• Elizabeth Ludlow as Cas Isakovic, Niko's second-in-command and pilot of Salvare. She is awakened in episode 2.
• Tongayi Chirisa as Richard Ncube (season 2)

Recurring

• Tyler Hoechlin as Ian Yerxa (season 1), Niko's initial second-in-command, and the previous commander of the Salvare.
• Jessica Camacho as Michelle Vargas (season 1), Salvare's communications expert, who dies after exposure to exotic matter.
• Barbara Williams as General Blair Dubois, United States Interstellar Command, in charge of the U.S.' efforts determine the intent to the artifact.
• Greg Hovanessian as Beauchamp McCarry, Niko's third-in-command and pilot of Salvare, awakened in episode 7.
• Parveen Dosanjh as Dr. Nani Singh, a scientist; Erik's friend and co-worker.
• Chanelle Peloso as Petra Smith (season 1), a Salvare crewmember. Petra dies from an extraterrestrial virus in the third episode.
• Dillon Casey as Seth Gage (season 2)
• Shannon Chan-Kent as Iara (season 2)
• Kurt Yaeger as Dillon Conner (season 2)
• Carlena Britch as Paula Carbone (season 2)

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally released
1	10		July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25)
2	10		TBA (TBA)

Season 1 (2019)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"Across the Universe"	Omar Madha	Aaron Martin	July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25)
An unidentified spacecraft appears in the sky above Earth. It lands in a field and grows a crystalline tower above it. Scientist Erik Wallace identifies a signal from the structure, sent to the star Pi Canis Majoris. Erik's wife, astronaut Niko Breckinridge, is assigned command of the spaceship Salvare, replacing Ian Yerxa who becomes her first officer; the ship is sent to follow the signal. One month into the trip Niko is awakened from hibernation early due to a navigational error; the ship's sentient AI, William, advises her that the route to Pi Canis Majoris is blocked by a previously unknown cloud of dark matter. Passing through the cloud at faster-than-light speeds would be unacceptably dangerous; at sublight speeds it will add seven months to the journey. The prime crew is awakened and they attempt to use the star Sirius A to slingshot around the cloud, but the plan fails, and Niko decides they will make the long trip through the cloud. Ian mutinies, with the aid of Oliver and Michelle, and takes command, forcing Niko back into hibernation. Ian uses August's plan to shield the ship and complete the slingshot maneuver, but this too fails, putting the ship in danger. August awakens Niko, who retakes command and manages to save the ship, which is severely damaged in the process. While making repairs, Ian threatens Niko and she kills him in self-defence. On Earth, Erik makes a discovery regarding the crystalline structure, and establishes limited communication with it using Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
2	2	"Through the Valley of Shadows"	Omar Madha	Naledi Jackson	July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25)
Damaged and out of communication with Earth, the Salvare loses most of the onboard oxygen supply; the crew has to vent hydrogen to avoid an explosion. On Earth, Erik is informed of the loss of contact, and goes home to spend time with Jana; he is confronted by media personality Harper Glass, who infers that the Salvare may have been destroyed. Jana later sees Harper's broadcast and is heartbroken. William locates a rogue planet within range of the their limited oxygen supply; the planet is rich in a mineral which contains both hydrogen and oxygen. The ship lands on the planet, and Niko awakens pilot Cas Ivakovic, Ian's romantic partner. Cas takes August and Oliver on a mining expedition to obtain oxygen and hydrogen, while Javier and Bernie examine the Salvare for damage; Bernie completes his half of the inspection and stops to gather samples of soil and other matter on the surface. On the ship, Sasha and Michelle grow close; August and Oliver share personal experiences while mining. Pressured by Zayn to talk about Ian's death, Niko finds William running a simulation to determine what Ian was thinking when he died. A low-orbiting moon causes seismic instability, endangering both the ship and the crew on the surface. Javier and Bernie hurry back on board, and Niko orders the Salvare to lift off and pilots a shuttle to rescue Oliver and August. On Earth, Erik discovers a puzzle hidden in the music echoed by the alien artifact. As the crew hold an informal ceremony to mourn Ian, Petra has a violent seizure and collapses.
3	3	"Nervous Breakdown"	Metin Hüseyin	Alex Levine	July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25)
Zayn stabilizes Petra but is unable to find the cause of her seizure. The crew continue repairs on the ship, and the Salvare backtracks to Sirius A to reestablish their position and course. On Earth, Harper ambushes Erik again but he brushes her off. While navigating the ship through Sirius A's Oort Cloud, Niko loses her sight; microbiologist Julian is awakened and determines the crew has been infected by a boron-based viral life form which attacks the nervous system. Though Bernie is not experiencing symptoms, he is revealed to be the source of the virus. Michelle becomes symptomatic and attacks Niko, who fights her off and subdues her. Petra appears to recover naturally, but later dies as her nervous system is forcefully ejected from her body. To prevent further spread of the virus, the air and crew will be ejected into space before a fresh crew is awakened; Niko gives the crew an hour to prepare. Bernie and Julian attempt to develop a cure for the virus, but their one attempt accelerates the symptoms in Julian and Bernie is forced to eject him from the ship. Bernie discovers an actual cure, using gamma rays to kill the virus, and prevents the crew's planned suicide. They use the gamma ray emissions from Sirius B to kill the virus; this has the side effect of sterilizing the crew. On Earth, Erik is unable to solve the puzzle of the artifact transmissions and decide's to use Harper's 250 million viewers to crowdsource a solution. The crew returns to hibernation sleep for the extended journey, having repaired the Salvare. Niko wakes up alone, in the dark; she finds August covered in blood nearby, gasping that something on the ship is hunting them.
4	4	"Guilt Trip"	Metin Hüseyin	Amanda Fahey	July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25)
Niko and an awakened and armed Cas carry August to the medical bay; August is grabbed by an unseen creature and disappears. Niko watches as the rest of the crew are taken one by one; defeated and alone, she returns to her hibernation pod and falls asleep. It is revealed that Niko is still asleep; the hibernation system is failing and the rest of the crew are awake, with her stuck in her failing hibernation pod. Niko dreams alternate versions of her past and future; a debriefing with DuBois after the Pilgrim incident, a funeral for the Pilgrim crew, and Jana's next birthday. The crew attempt to awaken her unsuccessfully; William inserts himself into her dreams but is rejected. The crew discovers a moon in the Goldilocks zone of a nearby star, with a possible life-bearing environment, and concern for their food and water supplies provokes some argument over diverting to it; Cas initially refuses but then drops the Salvare out of FTL and changes course for the moon. Sasha and Michelle have a romantic encounter. Niko, still dreaming, finds herself on the Salvare but with the Pilgrim crew, and realizes she is reliving the Pilgrim incident over and over. William re-inserts himself into Niko's dream against Cas' orders, and leads her to the realization that she must accept her decision on the Pilgrim which killed 10 people, including her commanding officer and romantic partner Hudson, and August's brother, as the only possible one. She does so, and Zayn manages to wake her. William discovers that the moon they are now approaching is emitting a signal like the one from the structure on Earth; long-range sensors show a similar crystal structure on the moon.
5	5	"A Mind of its Own"	Mairzee Almas	Romeo Candido	July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25)
The Salvare shuttle lands on the moon, carrying Niko, Cas, Sasha, Zayn, and Bernie. They tank up with fresh water and then hike to the crystal artifact; as they leave something follows them underground. Zayn and Bernie try to find food, but everything they try tastes horrible. Sasha attempts first contact with the crystalline structure, unsuccessfully. Cas informs Niko of her involvement with Ian; in turn, Niko reveals her involvement with her commanding officer on Pilgrim. Bernie is injured by a stick after encountering an insect, and his leg becomes infected, apparently by the native plant life. Cas and Niko recover a broken-off piece of the crystal tower, and become inebriated from plant pollen. Alone, Sasha is unexpectedly sucked inside the crystal structure. On the Salvare, August, Oliver and Javier are stuck with maintenance duties; both Oliver and Javier are attracted to August, and both eventually kiss her. On Earth, Erik and Harper are threatened by DuBois, who has discovered the leaked material; their crowdsourcing effort pays dividends when a young man named Marcus identifies a pattern in the sound waves which resembles the crystal tower. On the moon, Cas and Niko search for Sasha, finding him dazed outside the tower; Zayn arrives with the injured Bernie and they return to the shuttle. On the way, they are attacked by gigantic insects from underground; the shuttle lifts off and they return to the Salvare, accidentally bringing a small insect on board. Michelle and Sasha have a sexual encounter but are interrupted when Sasha sees a duplicate of himself. A malfunction occurs on the Salvare; William disappears and becomes unresponsive while talking to Niko, followed by loss of gravity and a fire in the shuttle bay.
6	6	"I Think We're Alone Now"	Mairzee Almas	Lauren Gosnell & Alejandro Alcoba	July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25)
The crew are unable to bring William back on-line. Sasha continues to see his duplicate, and believes he is hallucinating as no one else can see it. August finds the remains of the small alien insect from from the moon; it caused the fire in the shuttle bay. Sasha goes to Zayn for medical help; she assigns him meditation exercises and does a CT scan. Bernie offers Sasha a recreational drug distilled from the plants on the alien moon, which he has secretly cultivated on board. William reappears but malfunctions, identifying multiple non-existent fires, and initiates the "Go Home Protocol" before going off-line again. This splits the ship, sending the lower decks with the hibernation pods on a return course for Earth. Niko attempts to recouple the ship; Cas lashes out at her for things said while on the alien moon. One of the coupling clamps fails, and Niko is forced to EVA to repair it; while outside the ship, she observes damage near the exotic matter compartment before the Salvare unexpectedly jumps to FTL, leaving her behind. In flashbacks, we learn that Niko and Cas met when Cas was involved in Niko's kidnapping for ransom while working in post-flood Boston. Cas returns the Salvare to search for Niko, who is rescued when she punctures her EVA suit and ignites the escaping oxygen as a flare. Sasha keeps seeing his duplicate, who convinces him to "let me in." The damage to the exotic matter compartment causes a catastrophic overload, and Michelle is forced to manually shut down the exotic matter reactor before the ship is destroyed; exposure to exotic matter causes her body to disintegrate and Cas, in temporary command, feels guilt for her death. Niko and William awaken a replacement for Michelle. Sasha returns to the med bay, telling Zayn that he is fine; out of sight, he deletes the results of his CT scan, showing something attached to the surface of his brain.
7	7	"Living the Dream"	Allan Arkush	Lucie Pagé	July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25)
On Earth, Sasha's father, Secretary of Defense Egan Harrison takes over the artifact program. Using Marcus' data, Erik finds a way to communicate with the structure using light; a door opens at the base of the structure. A drone sent inside captures an image of what appears to be Sasha. On the Salvare, new crewmember Beauchamp prepares to navigate through the dark matter cloud. Sasha tries to determine the plans for the aliens should his diplomatic efforts fail; Niko rebuffs him. On Earth, Nani intends to enter the structure but has a panic attack and Erik goes in her place, despite Jana's fears. Inside, Erik finds himself in a simulation of his own memories of Niko; he is offered the solution to a complex mathematical problem but follows a simulated Jana instead and leaves the structure. On the Salvare, Sasha learns from Javier that the ship's protective lightspeed bubble can be focused into a weapon, referred to as Operation Brimstone. He tries to force Javier to tell him how to deactivate William, who controls the weapon; Javier refuses and Sasha, revealed to be under alien control, extrudes metallic probes from his eyes into Javier's. On Earth, this is visible through the door as Egan, Harper and an armed escort approach, with Egan intent on entering the structure. Sasha, seeing their approach, triggers a blast of sound from the structure, which kills Egan and injures Jana, who has escaped from her babysitter. Harper is dragged through the door into the structure before it closes.
8	8	"How the Light Gets Lost"	Sheree Folkson	Sean Reycraft	July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25)
The Salvare enters the dark matter cloud; Beauchamp takes the first shift as pilot while the rest of the crew have a meal. Sasha provides a salad spiked with Bernie's stash of pollen from the plants on the alien moon, enhancing the emotions of the entire crew. Javier becomes violent, Cas morose, Oliver and August aroused, Zayn ecstatic, and Niko hallucinates Eric outside the ship. As he is the only crewmember unaffected, Niko puts Beauchamp in charge and has William simulate a party to burn off the 'high'. William and Nico dance; Sasha and Javier observe that William is becoming attracted to Niko and Sasha encourages this. Bernie kisses Zayn; and Javier, Oliver and August initiate a threesome. William simulates Eric for Niko and creates a romantic/sexual encounter for her, after which Niko is embarrassed and asks him to forget it. Javier, rejected by August, leaves and discovers Sasha has stolen his shipboard identity and is trying to shut down William; Sasha attacks him again, leaving him unconscious and apparently brain-dead. Trying to aid Javier, Bernie, Niko and Zayn learn that Sasha did not eat any of the salad and was unaffected, and discover his deleted CT scan. Sasha tricks a saddened and confused William into shutting himself down and begins to take control of the ship, isolating the crew and attacking Beauchamp as Niko watches, locked out of the flight deck. On Earth, DuBois is reinstated to the artifact program, and Erik learns that the blast gave Jana an advanced form of leukemia. Harper is released from the structure and collapses.
9	9	"Heart and Soul"	Sheree Folkson	Jackie May	July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25)
On the flight deck, Cas attacks Sasha and unlocks the door for Niko; they rescue Beauchamp and lock Sasha in. Sasha takes control of the ship, stranding the crew in various compartments, jumping to FTL, and setting the reactor to overheat and explode. Nico sends Bernie to re-enable the cooling system; he does so, but is electrocuted, and Zayn revives him. Niko reboots William, but he has no memory and has reverted to a normal AI system. On Earth, Erik interrogates Harper at DuBois' request; Harper's brain has the same construct as Sasha, and she reveals the aliens are called the Achaia. She claims they can help Jana, but DuBois has Erik removed, believing the aliens are manipulating him. Niko attempts to awaken another crewmember, Azami, but Sasha interrupts the process and kills Azami. Beauchamp recovers and realizes that Sasha has set the ship on a course for a black hole in the dark matter cloud. The jump to FTL has brought them significantly closer to Pi Canis Majoris, so Niko orders the crew to abandon ship in the shuttle and head for the destination to complete the mission; she confides in Cas the reason William shut himself down, and Cas agrees to pilot the shuttle. Niko remains behind and uses a hibernation pod to contact William and apologize to him; William recovers his memories but his relationship with Niko remains strained. Sasha interrupts, waking her, and the two stage a running fight through the ship; Sasha is choking Niko when William reactivates and electrifies the floor, knocking both unconscious. Niko recovers; she and William use the power source for Sasha's brain implant to boost the Salvare away from the black hole. Nico recovers the shuttle and crew, and the Salvare approaches the Achaia's planet; William detects a strong artifact signal from the surface.
10	10	"Hello"	Allan Arkush	Aaron Martin	July 25, 2019 (2019-07-25)
Nico, Cas and Oliver land on the planet at Pi Canis Majoris, which has another cystalline tower. Niko and Cas hike towards the tower, detouring to examine some caves and the ruins of a city. In a primitive shelter in the cave they encounter a bat-winged humanoid and an artificial intelligence; the AI informs them that the planet is not Achaia, but Zakir. The Achaia landed on Zakir five years previously and are not friendly; they control more than 300 star systems and their home planet is more than 400 light years away. Cas and Nico discover the ruins of the city are filled with the skeletal remains of dead Zakir, implanted in the same way Sasha was. Sasha, feverish and imprisoned in the med bay isolation lab, asks to be killed; he attacks Zayn, forcing Bernie to kill him. Zayn removes the implant from Sasha, and William reprograms it; they implant it in Javier, who regains consciousness. August discovers she is pregnant. On Earth, DuBois intends to have Harpers's implant surgically removed; Harper kills her guards and surgical team while under sedation. Erik provides her a pass to escape, in return for her ensuring Jana's recovery. Eric takes Jana into the alien structure, and Harper broadcasts to the world that the Achaia are on Earth and are peaceful. On the Salvare, William simulates Niko and gives the program emotions equivalent to his, to help resolve his tense relationship with the real Niko. Cas and Niko decide the help the Zakir and use the Salvare's Brimstone energy weapon to destroy the tower. Niko, Cas and Oliver return to the ship; August informs Javier and Oliver of her pregnancy and that one of them is the father. Bernie and Zayn have a sexual encounter. William attempts to delete his Niko simulation, but is unable to do so, and the simulation changes form, calling him "Mother". Five Achaian ships approach Zakir and obliterate the planet. Niko sets the Salvare on a return course for Earth and jumps to FTL.

Season 2

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
11	1	"Live to Fight Another Day"	TBA	Aaron Martin	TBA
12	2	"Smoke and Mirrors"	TBA	Lauren Gosnell	TBA
13	3	"My Own Worst Enemy"	TBA	Alexander Levine	TBA
14	4	"The Great Wheel"	TBA	Lucie Page	TBA
15	5	"A Better Earth"	TBA	Alejandro Alcoba	TBA
16	6	"Gift From the Gods"	TBA	Romeo Candido	TBA
17	7	"Never Gonna Give You Up"	TBA	Aaron Martin	TBA
18	8	"Just a Rat in a Cage"	TBA	JP Larocque and Maggie Gilmour	TBA
19	9	"What's Brought/What's Left Behind"	TBA	Sean Reycraft	TBA
20	10	"D-Day"	TBA	Aaron Martin	TBA

Production

Development

On April 26, 2018, Netflix announced that it had given the production a series order for a ten-episode first season. The series is created by Aaron Martin who is also credited as an executive producer alongside Noreen Halpern and Chris Regina. On June 19, 2019, it was confirmed that the series would premiere on July 25, 2019. On October 29, 2019, Netflix renewed the series for a second season.

Casting

On April 26, 2018, it was announced that Katee Sackhoff had been cast as a series regular. On August 21, 2018, it was reported that Selma Blair had joined the cast in a recurring role. On August 28, 2018, it was announced that Tyler Hoechlin, Justin Chatwin, Samuel Anderson, and Elizabeth Ludlow had joined the cast. The following day, Blu Hunt joined the cast. In September 2018, the rest of the main cast was revealed. On June 23, 2020, Tongayi Chirisa was cast as a series regular while Dillon Casey, Shannon Chan-Kent, and Kurt Yaeger joined the cast in recurring roles for the second season. In December 2020, it was announced that Carlena Britch had been cast in the recurring role of Paula Carbone for the second season.

Filming

Filming for the first season took place on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, from August 20, 2018, to November 20, 2018. Filming for the second season was expected to begin on March 2, 2020, and conclude on June 9, 2020, but was put on hold due to COVID-19 pandemic. Filming for the second season resumed on August 28, 2020, and was scheduled to conclude on November 24, 2020. Filming was delayed once again and instead concluded in December of that year.

Reception

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 6% of 18 critic ratings are positive for the series, with an average rating of 4.54/10. The website's consensus reads, "A hodgepodge of science fiction homage, Another Life lacks the distinctive spark necessary to set it apart from the array of stories it aspires to be". Metacritic calculated an average score of 33 out of 100, based on 8 reviews, citing "generally unfavorable reviews".

External links

• Another Life at IMDb 
• Another Life on Netflix