“Social Distance” was actually filmed at a social distance and through disparate fictional stories, dramatizing what we’re all going through now. Just that would be enough to make “Social Distance” interesting, but this new Netflix series is better than that.
The show, which begins streaming Thursday, Oct. 15, succeeds in lots ofways. First of all, it’s reassuring. For seven months, we’ve been watching movies and TV shows that were shot before things changed. “Social Distance” lets us know that life and creativity are still going forward even while we’re still dealing with the pandemic.
A feeling of history comes through, too. “Social Distance” is so hot-off-the-presses that we can’t help but think how someday this will all be in the past. So we watch with a kind of dual consciousness, where we’re in the moment but also standing outside of it, wondering what people will think of this in six months, or a year, or 10 years.
Theeight-episode series deals with different aspects of the coronavirus crisis. Some episodes may remind you of your own situation and make you feel that at least you’re not alone. Other episodes may alert you to the pain or fear or dislocation that others are experiencing. Thus, in the best way, “Social Distance” instills a sense of community, which is particularly warming in a time of isolation.
I’ll tell you about three of my favorite episodes.
“Delete All Future Events” captures the loneliness of this time, with Mike Colter (Marvel’s “Luke Cage”) as abarber whoseshop has been closed during lockdown. His girlfriend has left him, and one gets the impression that the virus just happened to coincide with a crisis in his personal life. He’s also an alcoholic who has just realized that he needs to stop drinking — right at the time when everybody else is drinking more than ever.
What makes this episode especially moving is the sense of time standing still. This man is by himself, with no employment to engage him, no romantic life to soothe him, and no social life to distract him. All he’s doing is sitting aroundnotdrinking. And the question he keeps asking himself —When will this end?— is one that even we can’t answer.
Another good episode is “You Gotta Ding-Dong Fling-Flong the Whole Narrative.” Peter Scanavino (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”)plays a father trying to control his toddler son (Leo Bai-Scanavino), while in the next bedroom his wife (Ali Ahn) is suffering from the coronavirus.
The kid keeps wanting to run in and see his mother. Meanwhile, the father doesn’t know what to do. His wife seems to be getting worse, but she doesn’t want to go to the hospital. Should he listen to her or bring her there against her will? Or should he wait some more to see if she gets better?
I’ve rarely worried this much about the health of a fictional character. But then, it’s impossible to watch this fiction without remembering that it’s close or identical to the reality being lived this very second by people all over the world.
The episode “Humane Animal Trap” features a real-life couple, actors Becky Ann Baker (“Freaks and Geeks,” “Girls”) andDylan Baker(“The Good Wife”), as married doctors in the early stages of their retirement. He’s a former radiologist and wants nothing but to luxuriate in a well-earned vacation from life, but she’s an ICU doctor who knows she’s needed and wants to get back on the front lines.
Becky Ann Baker’s performance is one of the standouts of the series, in the way she shows how this doctor is internally assessing and balancing the conflicting needs of her husband and her potential patients.
其他五集是不错的。有一个amusing one about a gay couple (Max Jenkins and Brian Jordan Alvarez) who keep getting on each other’s nerves, and a heartfelt episode that deals with teenage courtship in isolation. There’s also an episode that doesn’t address the virus directly, but depicts a middle-aged Black businessman (Ayize Ma’at) and his young Black employee (Asante Blackk) arguing about the effectiveness of the protests following thekilling of George Floyd.
“Social Distance” was created by Hilary Weisman Graham (“Orange Is the New Black”) and deserves the accolades it’s bound to get. Making people feel like they’re not alone when theyarealone is a worthy achievement.
M“Social Distance”:Drama series. Created by Hilary Weisman Graham. All eight episodes begin streaming onNetflixon Thursday, Oct. 15.