Glitch
By Joyce Slaton,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Mesmerizing drama ponders the mysteries of life and death.

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Glitch
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Heavy stuff
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What's the Story?
In the tiny town of Yoorana, Australia, some kind of cosmic GLITCH has caused multiple people to dig themselves out of their graves and return to life -- at least for a while. In this remake of French series Les Revenants (also remade in the U.S. as The Returned), the formerly dead include 19th-century prominent local Patrick "Paddy" Fitzgerald (Ned Dennehy), 21-year-old posh boy Charlie (Sean Keenan), grieving mother Maria (Daniela Farinacci), foulmouthed wrong-side-of-the-tracks girl Kirstie (Hannah Monson), and cancer victim Kate Willis (Emma Booth). That last one was the biggest surprise to Sgt. James Hayes (Patrick Brammall), the police officer who stumbled across the returning dead, because before she died two years ago, Kate Willis was Sgt. Hayes' wife. No one knows why these people have come back. But as the mysteries deepen, the returned ones find that death isn't the only thing they need to fear.
Is It Any Good?
Mysterious and intriguing, this (kinda) zombie drama brings a freshness to what is now a somewhat well-traveled premise, resulting in an ideal binge-watch. For American viewers, just relaxing into the show's slow, simmering pace could be a bit of a challenge -- Glitch doesn't dole out a cliffhanger every seven minutes to keep viewers watching; its revelations are less predictable and thus a lot more of a gut punch when they arrive.
Just hours after realizing his adored late wife has returned from the dead, James takes the time to lie back on a playground merry-go-round with Kate, the camera pulling up to focus on their faces, blissful in this one moment. But not for long -- seconds later she asks, "Why am I here? Why am I back?" "I don't know," answers James. "But I'm going to take care of you. No matter what." And James is trying, desperately, to take care of Kate, to take care of this whole crazy situation. But bit by bit, it's spinning out of control. Start watching this series late at night and you might still be pushing that "Yes, I'm still watching Glitch" button when the sun comes up.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the premise of Glitch. Does it scare you? What would it be like if a dead loved one suddenly returned? Would you be glad? Scared? Both?
Most of the characters who come back to life are young. Why? What is different or more dramatic about the death of a young person versus an older person? Why would this show choose to focus on young returned people?
TV Details
- Premiere date: October 15, 2016
- Cast: Patrick Brammall, Genevieve O'Reilly, Emma Booth
- Network: Netflix
- Genre: Drama
- TV rating: NR
- Last updated: February 17, 2023
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