Mysteries abound in new sci-fi drama ‘The I-Land’

So full disclosure, I clicked on “The I-Land” by accident, I typically plan out in advance what shows to review and when, but it happened to autoplay after I finished watching a movie ... and I couldn’t stop watching it. At first glance the premise feels bland and a little overdone. The series begins with 10 strangers waking up to find that they’ve washed up on a deserted island with no memory of who they are or how they got there. It’s not exactly a new premise, so it wasn’t until later in the episode when the camera pans over a shell stamped with “property of I-Land,” that the series had my full attention. The inhabitants of the island all wake up wearing matching outfits, with name tags inside their shirts, which is the only clue they have to who they are. What’s also strange is that the inhabitants of the island find random items buried in the sand where they woke up and strange items keep appearing out of nowhere. Chase, an outsider with the group, who keeps discovering new items on the island that shouldn’t be there, finds herself trying to figure out how they all landed on this island. This sci-fi drama is packed with questions; it asks questions about the infinite nature vs. nurture debate, but it also poses the question of whether or not people are truly capable of change. This is layered with the who, what, how and why pertaining to how these 10 strangers woke up on the puzzling island. Without giving too much away, audiences should know that this series does depict attempted suicide and self-harm. Natalie Martinez is the tough and oddly talented Chase; with her variety of skills and tendency to play it close to the vest, she keeps audiences guessing about who her character really is. Kate Bosworth’s cold and distant K.C. adds an interesting bit of texture and friction to the series as her character constantly butts heads with Chase. “The I-Land” has one season available on Netflix. Audiences might also enjoy watching the “The Society,” which has one season on Netflix. The series follows a group of teens who disembark a school bus in their hometown after a field trip only to discover that suddenly everyone else is gone and that they can’t get out of town.

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