'Between': Is the New Netflix Series Worth Your Time?

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The new Netflix series Between is different. Unlike previous Netflix originals, this one doles out its episodes one per week, just like network TV. It’s also different in that… well, I’ve already run out of what makes Between something special.

Like a lot of shows, it relies on some starpower — in this case, Jennette McCurdy, a graduate of iCarly and Sam & Cat. And like not a few current TV dramas, Between works a variation on a dystopian sci-fi/YA theme. In this case, a mysterious virus is killing everyone over the age of 22. So I guess for everyone on screen and watching the show who’s 21 and younger, it’s actually a utopian theme: What bliss, the show says — all the olds are dying!

Related: ‘Touring Toronto’: On Location with ‘Between’ Star Jennette McCurdy

Between is set in the small town of Pretty Lake — and as of episode 1, that’s the locus of the virus, so the town is quickly quarantined by the government. Trapped inside are a bunch of subplots: A pregnant high-school girl (McCurdy) who’s ambivalent about keeping the baby when it arrives; a guy who’s just enlisted in the Army; a kid who’s just been accepted to MIT and who delivers all his lines via an irritating mumble; a small-time drug dealer; a prisoner who’s got a beef with another prisoner in a jail. No one is particularly interesting.

Indeed, it’s difficult to see how it’s going to become interesting. It’s odd that the one Netflix series that might benefit from being able to watch more than a single episode at a time — a chance to build up some storytelling momentum, perhaps — is the series the streaming service chose to dole out every seven days. If I remember to do so, I guess I’ll look at the new one next week.

A new episode of Between airs every Thursday on Netflix.