The Madness – Series Review | Netflix

THE MADNESS on Netflix is an eight-episode limited series starring Colman Domingo. It’s a crime conspiracy thriller with a fast pace that instantly had me hooked. Very scary in practical and realistic ways. Read our full The Madness series review here!

THE MADNESS is a new Netflix limited series starring Colman Domingo in the all-important lead role. As anyone who has watched Fear the Walking Dead will know, he’s perfect for this. Of course, he wasn’t alone in the zombie series and he isn’t alone here.

However, the character he plays in The Madness will soon wish he was far away from other people.

This is a thriller series with a crime conspiracy plot that feels eerily realistic and downright scary. Anyone who is a minority of any kind will surely recognize the feeling of being the proverbial “odd man out” in situations. The series has eight episodes and I can’t wait to finish it.

Continue reading our The Madness series review below. Find it on Netflix from November 28, 2024.

A very quick escalation

When The Madness opens, it’s with the immediate aftermath of a very bad situation for Muncie. Then we go back to see how he ended up in this terrible predicament. I tend to love this approach, as it throws us head-first into something mad and then we get the back story.

Muncie Daniels (Colman Domingo) is a political consultant-turned-TV pundit, who seems quite happy with his professional success. However, he also seems to have lost his way in life outside of this. Seeing him interact with his son makes this abundantly clear.

Now, Muncie has set out to write his own “great American novel” while taking a work sabbatical. He goes to the Poconos to write his book but doesn’t get far. He never really gets to start before he finds himself wrapped up in a very nasty situation.

In the house next door, a well-known white supremacist is brutally murdered and Muncie is the only witness to the murder. Rather, he witnesses the aftermath of the murder (a Dexter–like scene) and the killers are still there, so he’s chased through the woods.

This is what leads to the opening scene of The Madness.

But wait, there’s more (as the infomercials go) because we’re only just getting started. Instead of being treated as the witness he is, Muncie becomes the main suspect. Before too long, he has to recognize that he is clearly being framed for the crime.

The only solution – as I’m sure you’ll recognize with certainty by episode 2 – is for Muncie to go on the run before he gets locked up with no way to prove his innocence.

Colman Domingo is wonderful – as always!

I’ve always liked Colman Domingo in whatever I watch him do. He does tend to play some characters that can be unlikable, while (often) leaving room for improvement. As seen in episode 1 of The Madness, he may have a family but is very self-centered.

Well, that will have to change if he’s to make it out of this mess.

A global conspiracy is hitting him hard and he needs to reconnect with his family while also finding some unlikely allies. He needs all the help he can get if he is to be successful in the fight against disinformation in this post-truth age.

And yes, this is a political story in many ways. Then again, what isn’t political? When it comes to conspiracy theories, nothing seems too far-fetched anymore. We see and hear about the strangest things every day.

To me, this makes a Netflix series like The Madness come across as a cautionary horror story.

Alongside Colman Doming in the lead role, we have Marsha Stephanie Blake (When They See Us, Wilderness), Gabrielle Graham (Possessor, In the Shadow of the Moon), John Ortiz (Messiah), Tamsin Topolski (Penny Dreadful, The Diplomat), and Thaddeus J. Mixson.

Watch The Madness on Netflix now!

The creator of The Madness is Stephen Belber (HBO’s O.G., The Laramie Project). Stephen Belber also serves as co-showrunner alongside executive producer VJ Boyd (Justified, S.W.A.T.). This eight-episode limited series from Chernin Entertainment’s first-look deal at Netflix.

Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, and Kaitlin Dahill serve as executive producers along with director Clement Virgo (Greenleaf, Monsters), who directs four episodes. The remaining episodes are directed by Jessica Lowrey (Halo, Fear the Walking Dead) and Quyen Tran (Roar), who each directs two episodes.

With a conspiracy thriller series debuting on Thanksgiving, it offers plenty of issues to talk about over dinner – and leftovers. Though maybe you’ll be better off not getting into those discussions over Thanksgiving. Depending on what kind of family or friends, you’re spending it with, obviously.

The Madness premieres on Netflix on November 28, 2024.

Details

Creator: Stephen Belber
Director: Clement Virgo
Cast: Colman Domingo, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Gabrielle Graham, John Ortiz, Tamsin Topolski, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Deon Cole, Alison Wright, Bradley Whitford, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Ennis Esmer, Hamish Allan-Headley