The brains behind The Matrix could be about to give science fiction a good, hard boot up the backside all over again.

15 years after their dystopian kung-fu-and-bullets flick became a cultural phenomenon - earning a total box office of $463m and blowing students' minds across the globe - The Wachowskis are turning their attention to Netflix.

Their latest project promises to do for the sci-fi saga what House of Cards did for the political thriller and what Orange Is the New Black did for the prison drama - but what exactly is Sense8 ?

First announced way back in October 2012, Sense8 is a ten-part serialised drama that will see the Wachowskis teaming with J Michael Straczynski - the US TV geek hero who has worked on everything from Babylon 5 to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

Six months later - in March 2013 - the project was sold to Netflix, but remained shrouded in mystery - described only as a "gripping tale of minds linked and souls hunted", Sense 8 was pitched as a drama about "the ways technology simultaneously unites and divides us".

Another 15 months passed before more concrete details emerged - Straczynski revealed to Deadline last week that the series "follows eight characters around the world who, in the aftermath of a tragic death, find themselves linked to each other mentally and emotionally.

"Not only must they figure out what happened and why and what it means for the future of humanity, they must do so while being hunted by an organization out to capture, kill or vivisect them."

Yui Mok/PA Wire



Along with the plot outline came the unveiling of Sense 8's 14-member international cast - and if the thought of a collaboration between Straczynski and the Wachowskis didn't already have you fired up, this roster of star names and cult favourites would surely leave any geek salivating.

Brian J Smith - best known for his role as Lt. Matthew Scott in the much-missed Stargate Universe - will lead the regular cast, which also includes British stars Tuppence Middleton and Aml Ameen, the latter soon to be seen in sci-fi thriller The Maze Runner.

The supporting cast also includes Naveen Andrews - forever Lost's tragic hero Sayid Jarrah - and Freema Agyeman - Doctor Who's perennially underrated companion Martha Jones.



On producing duties are Georgeville Television - the independent TV studio that was, for the longest time, developing a remake of Brit cult classic Blake's 7 for US television.

But if you're concerned that Sense8's geek credibility might also render it a niche project, worry not - this is a hugely ambitious project and Netflix is backing it all the way, with 10 episodes shot in nine locations on four continents - Chicago, San Francisco, London, Iceland, Seoul, Mumbai, Berlin, Mexico City and Nairobi.

This isn't a one-and-out deal either - Netflix is reportedly negotiating long-term deals with the cast. "Our actor deals are being made for five seasons - five or six depending on the breaks," Straczynski confirmed to Zap2it last year. "So we imagined this over the long, long haul. The first season is the origin story for our characters and then we kind of go from there."

Netflix



Sense8 - originally expected to debut in late 2014 - launches on Netflix across multiple territories today (June 5), and just as the freedom afforded by Netflix has drawn big names such as Kevin Spacey, David Fincher and Jodie Foster to the service, so Straczynski's frustrations with US broadcast networks likely drove him and his new partners to the online outlet.

"I keep waiting for a paradigm shift to happen that will let network and studio execs see that sci-fi is the same as any other genre in terms of how you approach it - logically, character-based, with challenging ideas and forward thinking - but I worry that it might never happen in my lifetime," the writer/producer said in April of last year.

The Wachowskis have already reinvented science fiction once - and now Straczynski, a genre stalwart, sounds hungry to do it again. Ambitious in scope and freed from the restrictions of broadcast television, Sense8 has the potential to be a ground-breaking piece of small-screen science fiction - now it just has to deliver on its considerable promise.

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