If you've finished all of those Black Mirror: Bandersnatch paths and are still hungry for some sci-fi insanity, have no fear. Jordan Peele is taking a little bit of comedy, a little bit of creepy science fiction, and a really stacked cast to make something that should be bizarre enough to keep your attention.
The trailer for Weird City dropped, and it has Peele teaming back up with Key & Peele writer Charlie Sanders to create the sci-fi comedy world that is Weird: a dystopian city where the middle class has disappeared and people are split into Above the Line and Below the Line. Check it out:
The anthology series tackles different topics that aren't a far stretch from modern-day American obsessions: online dating, fitness, and social media being a few. It feels a bit like Black Mirror in its approach, but even with its sci-fi twists, the real focus of the horror is a Jordan Peele specialty: humanity.
The cast looks absolutely stacked, too. With names like Awkwafina, Mark Hamill, Michael Cera, Laverne Cox, and Rosario Dawson, there's no shortage of talent in Weird. Outside of the trailer and description, though, the premise looks fully bonkers. The series, which launches on 13 February, is a YouTube Original and will be available through YouTube Premium. While YouTube hasn't managed to lock down a breakaway hit yet, putting money on Jordan Peele and the impressive cast list he boasts seems like a good bet to make.
Justin Kirkland is a Brooklyn-based writer who covers culture, food, and the South. Along with Esquire, his work has appeared in NYLON, Vulture, and USA Today.
