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‘Severance’ Meets ‘Man in the High Castle’ in Apple TV’s 9-Episode Sci-Fi Series

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The best science fiction television shows have storylines that would be challenging for the average person to dream up. Apple TV’s Severance allows us to visualize a world where memory is manipulated, and a person’s work life is completely separate from their personal life. Prime Video’s The Man in the High Castle, which aired from 2015 to 2019, offers an even more intriguing parallel universe story. In this four-season sci-fi series, an alternate history is depicted where the US didn’t win World War II after all. In fact, the Nazis and the Empire of Japan rule the entire world after their victory. Both of these series transport viewers into another reality in a powerful way, but there’s one more Apple TV sci-fi series that is currently combining the best of both of these shows in a fast-paced, addictive way.

What Is ‘Dark Matter’ About?

Dark Matter, which premiered back in 2024, is based on the fascinating 2016 book of the same name by novelist Blake Crouch. Crouch created this sci-fi series for the screen, with incredible results. After a nine-episode first season, the series will be returning this week for another exciting 10 episodes. The story follows Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton), a seemingly normal physics professor with a loving wife, Daniela (Jennifer Connelly), and teenage son, Charlie (Oakes Fegley). But Jason’s mundane existence gets torn apart one night when he’s kidnapped by a mysterious masked man. When Jason wakes up, he finds himself in an alternate world where he never actually married Daniela or had a child, and it turns out he’s actually been kidnapped by a version of himself.

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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz
Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive?
The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars

Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

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🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

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01

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do?
The first instinct is often the truest one.





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02

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely?
What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.





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03

What kind of threat keeps you up at night?
Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.





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04

How do you deal with authority you don’t trust?
Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.





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05

Which environment could you actually endure long-term?
Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.





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06

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart?
The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.





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07

Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all?
Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.





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08

What would actually make survival worth it?
Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.





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Your Fate Has Been Calculated
You’d Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

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The Resistance, Zion

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.

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  • You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
  • You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
  • You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
  • The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.


The Wasteland

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.

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  • You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
  • You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
  • You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
  • In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.


Los Angeles, 2049

Blade Runner

You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

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  • You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
  • In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
  • You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
  • In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.


Arrakis

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

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  • Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
  • You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
  • Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
  • In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.


A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

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  • You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
  • You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
  • You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
  • In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

In this world, Jason 2 (we’ll call him) has invented a giant box that allows people to jump between parallel universes. Jason 2 has decided to bring the original Jason to his world, so that he can masquerade as the family man. It seems Jason 2 felt he was missing out on having a family, but he’s solved this problem by transporting himself to this world. Our Jason must go through a daunting quest to find his way back to his world (and to his beloved family), but things get super complicated when he realizes that the journey will not be a simple one.

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‘Dark Matter’ Comes Together With a Twisty Premise and Exceptional Cast

Dark Matter is so much more complex than your average sci-fi series. Each episode offers plenty of twists and turns as we root for Jason to find his way back home. But when he discovers that some potential worlds have terrifying backdrops, the show becomes increasingly scary. Aside from the addictive nature of each episode, Dark Matter is a must-watch for many other reasons. The visual effects are both realistic and entirely effective in drawing us even further into each unique parallel universe. Despite its wild premise, the series still manages to stay grounded in a fight of good vs. evil, as Jason must battle to get back home. Jason 2 is a clever, insidious villain, but the thriller also manages to create other obstacles that feel just as threatening to the characters. The stakes are always incredibly high, which makes each episode feel even more thrilling to watch.

Because Dark Matter can sometimes feel a bit complicated in its storytelling, the series had to cast excellent actors to keep the story feeling accessible and compelling. Edgerton is the perfect protagonist because he is both authentic and relatable. No matter what steps Jason has to take to get back home, it’s impossible not to root for him. Connelly is captivating as Jason’s wife, who is the perfect soulmate to our hero. Alice Braga is also fantastic as Jason’s partner, Amanda Lucas, who ends up accompanying him on his journey. Her quiet intensity matches Edgerton’s in a meaningful and effective way, which makes them exceptional scene partners. Jimmi Simpson also deserves a shout-out as Ryan Holder, Jason’s best friend, who provides an interesting throughline in all of the worlds. Each actor has to play multiple versions of their characters that exist in all of these different universes, and each performer somehow manages to successfully portray a genuinely wild range of storylines.

Season 1 closes with some jaw-dropping twists and an intriguing set-up for future episodes, ensuring that Season 2 will be even more of a wild ride. If you’ve already binged The Man in the High Castle and are eagerly awaiting Season 3 of Severance, Dark Matter is the perfect show to add to your binge-watch list. Just be prepared to get fully sucked into this completely inventive and action-packed series.

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Dark Matter

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Release Date

May 7, 2024

Network

Apple TV+

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Directors

Jakob Verbruggen, Alik Sakharov, Roxann Dawson, Logan George

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Writers

Blake Crouch

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