Entertainment

Netflix’s 8-Part Sci-Fi Thriller Is One of the Best Shows on Any Streaming Platform

Published

3 hours ago

18 March 2026

NewsAdmin

In the 2025 groundbreaking one-shot series Adolescence, Netflix subscribers understood just how talented Stepen Graham is. Playing a dad whose teenage son is accused of murder, Graham gave one of the most powerful and raw performances the streaming giant has ever seen. For the role, Graham went on to win his first Golden Globe, Critics Choice and three Emmy Awards. But while his acting in the series is one for the books, there’s another series of his on Netflix worth watching too.

On October 19, 2023, Netflix released Bodies, a sci-fi murder-mystery thriller packed with time-travel that is as riveting as it is rich and complex. In each timeline the series explores, Graham emerges as a mysterious and all-knowing character, one that soon becomes the prime suspect in multiple timeframes. Graham’s wicked performance, coupled with incredible writing and a talented cast, make the series not only a must-watch, but one of Netflix’s best shows to date.

What Is ‘Bodies’ About?

Based on the DC Vertigo graphic novel, Bodies follows four detectives in separate eras as they investigate the same man’s body after they’re all found in the same spot in London. Alfred Hillinghead (Andor’s Kyle Soller) investigates in the late Victorian era of 1890, Charles Whiteman (The Queen’s Gambit’s Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) works to solve the mystery during World War II in 1941, Shahara Hasan (Amaka Okafor) works the case in the 2023 present, and Iris Maplewood (Shira Haas) is assigned to the case in a dystopian future in 2053. Shahara is the first detective to find the otherworldly connection between the cases, and quickly realizes that the secret to getting the mystery solved is to find ways to communicate across time.

The series then jumps across four time periods and sees each of the detectives attempting to solve the same murder to varying degrees of success. So, in addition to exploring the sci-fi element of time-travel and defying the laws of space and time, the series is also a heavy and addictive whodunit, with hundreds of rabbit holes and shady suspects. Speaking of, Graham plays the formidable villain Elias Mannix in each of the timelines. In the Victorian era, Elias goes by Jullian Harker, a wealthy man whose mother holds seances. In the dystopian future, he leads the group ruling Britain. In 2023, he’s a troubled teen played by Gabriel Howell. With all that said, Bodies reaches a rare feat by perfectly balancing multiple genres as a murder mystery, period piece, and family drama all rolled into one.

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‘Bodies’ Uses Separate Timeframes to Explore Prejudice and Oppression

While the synopsis alone might have viewers eager to press play, Bodies‘ relevance only increases when looking at the detective’s personal lives too. Like any good detective show, the series is about much more than the case at hand, and explores the detective behind it too. And, this time around, there are four detectives to dive into.

With each of the characters, Bodies highlights an oppressed minority of the time. Hillinghead is a closeted gay man fearful of the prejudice around him, Whiteman is a Jewish man hiding his true background during World War II, Hasan is a Muslim woman dealing with the xenophobia of current-day England, and Maplewood lives in a tyrannical future. Despite having such different backgrounds, the show uses a sci-fi premise to portray oppression in multiple ways, showing not only how harmful hate can be in its many forms, but how different people can respond and retaliate at the center of it.

With a sci-fi time-travel element, and a mysterious and mind-bending whodunit driving the story, Bodies is one of Netflix’s most interesting and experimental shows. By blending so many genres into one, while still exploring the heartfelt and emotional personal lives of the four detectives, the eight-episode miniseries sets itself apart and becomes one of Netflix’s most underappreciated titles. At its heart, the series is all about using empathy and connection to get to the bottom of the truth, and viewers are at the edge of their seats throughout the journey to find it.