Netflix waited till Thanksgiving to drop its finest unique sequence since “Ripley” earlier this yr, a really totally different type of thriller that includes one other magnetic efficiency from the unbelievable Colman Domingo. A cleverly fashionable riff on “The Fugitive,” “The Insanity” is a present a few TV journalist who has been part of our more and more insane discourse earlier than discovering himself in an more and more harmful nightmare. Domingo is joined by an exceptional ensemble that features top-of-the-line turns from the timeless John Ortiz, a terrific Deon Cole, a charming Alison Wright, a pointy Bradley Whitford, and wonderful character actors abound like Stephen McKinley Henderson (additionally within the different wonderful late ’24 Netflix unique “A Man on the Inside“). The solid was drawn to a propulsive thriller that matches the binge mannequin completely in that each episode ends with one other twist/cliffhanger. It may be laborious to show off, in all the appropriate methods.
The premiere of “The Insanity,” directed by the good Clement Virgo (“Brother“), who additionally helms the second and final pair of episodes, introduces us to Domingo’s Muncie Daniels, a CNN anchor with an ex-wife (Marsha Stephanie Blake) and comparatively estranged kids named Kallie (Gabrielle Graham) and Demetrius (Thaddeus J. Mixson). To get away from all of it, he rents a cabin within the Poconos, the place he’ll work on his ebook and unwind. He notices a neighbor not far by the woods, who says that he ought to come by if he wants something.
At some point, his energy goes out, so he takes the neighbor up on that provide, and finds his mutilated corpse. Attacked by whoever hacked up the man subsequent door, Daniels is compelled to combat for his life, however issues get a lot worse when he will get dwelling and discovers that he is being framed for the crime. You see, the sufferer was a pacesetter of a Proud Boys-esque White Energy motion, and the police imagine that Daniels snapped on his racist ass. Can Muncie clear his identify and unravel who truly dedicated the crime?
Muncie begins by making an attempt to determine extra concerning the sufferer, bringing his ex-wife Lucie (a wonderful Tamsin Topolski) into the combination. The investigation leads him to uncover connections between the racist group and the seats of energy in Philly and D.C. It turns into fairly clear that Muncie is up towards one thing a lot greater than a single crime, and that the individuals making an attempt to border him have the overwhelming energy to do something, even manipulating the media establishments which have made him well-known. When Whitford seems as a slimy energy participant, the waters during which Muncie is making an attempt to swim get even choppier, nevertheless it’s the arrival of Alison Wright of “The Individuals” fame that actually takes “The Insanity” to a different degree. She’s one of the chilling villains in a present in years.
Everybody in “The Insanity” is stable, particularly nice character actors like Ortiz and Henderson, however the present actually belongs to Domingo, who’s so remarkably good at being within the second. We imagine his rising concern and countering dedication to maintain himself and his household secure. The plotting by creator Stephen Belber, a playwright who famously wrote the unique stage model of Richard Linklater‘s wonderful “Tape,” is razor sharp for nearly eight full hours. (The final hour will get a little bit within the weeds about “What This All Means” relating to our present state of media and political manipulation, nevertheless it’s a minor grievance.) Considered one of many laudable issues about this wonderful thriller is its ruthlessness, mirrored in its willingness to unexpectedly kill off characters sooner than audiences could anticipate. It is a present about harmful individuals who will go to nice lengths to maintain their skeletons of their closets, and the writers do not sugarcoat the hazard like a variety of streaming thrillers.
Courtesy of Virgo and the opposite administrators, it is also a sharply made present, even when it does typically succumb to the under-lighting that has turn into a Netflix epidemic. It is forgivable as a result of the plotting is so breakneck and the modifying so exact that one does not discover as a lot because the sometimes bloated Netflix manufacturing.
Most of all, “The Insanity” is one other reminder of the vary and energy of Colman Domingo, Oscar-nominated final yr for “Rustin” and hopefully once more this yr for “Sing Sing.” A thriller like “The Insanity” solely works if we imagine the journey of its protagonist, and Domingo utterly closes the sale. We do not simply root for him to succeed, we’re on this trip with him, strapped into the rollercoaster, as startled as he’s by every subsequent twist and switch.
The vacations could be a irritating time, sufficient to make anybody insane. Examine into a distinct type of “Insanity” this yr and perhaps Netflix will make extra reveals like this one, a thriller that truly thrills and a program that treats its viewers like clever adults as an alternative of simply escapism seekers on the lookout for one thing to placed on within the background whereas they doomscroll. It is a unhappy factor to must say, however this one will make you set your telephone down and listen. Insanity, certainly.
Complete season screened for evaluate. Now on Netflix.
