G33K Out: ‘Sense8’ Finale Red Carpet

Note: This is somewhat an audio version of the write up I did for Fandomopolis on June 8, 2018.

Episode 33: Sense8 Finale Red Carpet

I admit: I got into Sense8 fairly late. Like many shows, it wasn’t that I wasn’t interested. Having been a fan of J. Michael Straczynski’s Babylon 5 and the Matrix movies (yes, all of them), I was pretty excited when the show was first announced in 2012. But hearing the concept made me want to make sure I concentrated on what sounded like a glorious exploration of self. But I kept wanting to see it, and gifs from the show on my Tumblr over its two seasons showed that it looked as good as it sounded.

When Netflix announced the show’s cancellation in 2017, I regretted not getting into the show yet, and set aside a couple of weekends to binge watch the two seasons. And I loved it.

If you’re not familiar with the show, Sense8 is an hour-long drama created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski. The show followed a multinational and diverse cast of eight strangers around the world who suddenly become ‘sensates’: people who are mentally and emotionally linked with each other. Filmed almost entirely on location in the various cities, the show garnered much critical praise for its exploration of politics, identity, religion, sexuality, and gender.

Fan reaction to the cancellation let to an announcement from Netflix that there would be a two-hour series finale to wrap up the plotlines in the show.

On June 7, I was lucky enough to attend the red carpet for said series finale. Much of the cast was there, and there was a sense of sadness and hope as I interviewed them.

Basic show notes:

• Running time is 25 minutes, 36 seconds.
• The interviews were recorded on June 7, 2018.
• Head’s up that there is some explicit language in the interviews.
• I interviewed:
  • Toby Onwumere, who played Capheus Onyango in the second season (here’s his Twitter)
  • Freema Agyeman, who played Amanita Caplan (here’s her Twitter)
  • Jamie Clayton, who played Nomi Marks (here’s her Twitter)
  • You also hear part of the co-interview with Freema and Jamie done by C. Taylor Henderson for Pride Media.
  • Brian J. Smith, who played Will Gorski (here’s his Twitter)
  • Tina Desai, who played Kala Dandekar (here’s her Twitter)
  • Miguel Ángel Silvestre, who played Lito Rodriguez (here’s his Instagram)
• The series (including the finale) still streams on Netflix.
• The mid-show plug is from scream queen Brooke Lewis, who I interviewed in episode 29 at the red carpet for the movie Living Among Us.
• In this episode, “Angie Geeks Out” about the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
  • you can listen to Morgan Neville’s interview on KCRW’s The Businesshere;
  • you can listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour segment on the movie here;
  • to see the trailer and to find out more about the movie, you can visit the official website.
• Theme music is “Schoolyard Haze”, by Jari Pitkanen, available via the Free Music Archive.
• This podcast is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike License.
• Interested in hearing other episodes of G33K Out? Check them out here.

And now, it’s time to geek out.