Apple TV’s Dark Matter Is the Gripping Thriller to See You Into Autumn
If you’re looking for a new thriller to carry you from the final days of summer into autumn, Apple TV’s Dark Matter is back with another dose of mind-bending science fiction. The series returns this August with a second season that once again asks a disturbing question: what if another version of you made completely different choices?
Based on Blake Crouch’s novel, Dark Matter takes the idea of the many-world theory of quantum mechanics and turns it into a tense, personal thriller. The theory suggests that every possible action can create a parallel reality in which that alternative choice becomes real.
The series follows physicist Jason Dessen, played by Joel Edgerton. One night, while walking home, Jason is drugged and kidnapped. When he wakes, he finds himself in a reality where he never married his wife, Daniela, played by Jennifer Connelly.
The situation becomes even more unsettling when Jason discovers the person responsible for his abduction is another version of himself. This alternate Jason has created a mysterious metal box capable of transporting people between parallel realities.
Determined to get back to the life he knows, Jason must navigate a succession of dangerous and increasingly strange worlds, each shaped by choices that could have sent his life in an entirely different direction.
What happens in Dark Matter season 2?
The second season picks up as Jason becomes increasingly obsessed with the box. His fascination begins to threaten the fragile stability he and Daniela have managed to rebuild.
Daniela, meanwhile, is struggling with growing paranoia as hostile forces and alternate versions of Jason create turmoil across the multiverse.
Amanda, played by Alice Braga, and Ryan, played by Jimmy Simpson, also find themselves working together as they desperately search for a way home.
Elsewhere, Blair, played by Amanda Brugel, is determined to stop Leighton, while Leighton, played by Dayo Okeniyi, continues pursuing his ambitious vision of creating a perfect world.
With multiple versions of familiar characters colliding and competing realities constantly shifting, the second season promises to continue the series’ unsettling exploration of identity, choice and the lives we might have lived.
Who stars in season 2?
Leading the cast is two-time Golden Globe nominee Joel Edgerton, whose previous credits include The Great Gatsby, King Arthur and three Star Wars films. He stars opposite Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly, whose extensive film career includes Top Gun: Maverick, He’s Just Not That Into You and Requiem for a Dream.
The returning cast also includes Alice Braga, Jimmy Simpson, Amanda Brugel and Dayo Okeniyi. Okeniyi is perhaps best known for his emotional performance as Thresh in The Hunger Games.
The series remains closely connected to its literary source. It has been a decade since Blake Crouch first published the Dark Matter novel, but he continues to play a central role in bringing the story to the screen.
Crouch serves as the series creator, executive producer, showrunner and writer. Edgerton and Connelly are also executive producers, alongside Matt Tolmach, Richard Lederer and Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry. Crouch and Ben-Zekry co-wrote the season two episodes.
When does Dark Matter season 2 arrive?
The second season will consist of 10 episodes, with a new episode released every Friday through Halloween.
Season two of Dark Matter arrives on Apple TV on 28 August. If you need to refresh your memory before the new episodes begin, the first season is already available to stream.