The OA: Season 1

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 389 Ratings

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7.4

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7.4	Your Score
7.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 389 Ratings

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The Oa

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Season Details & Credits

Netflix | Season Premiere Date: December 16, 2016

Summary: Seven years ago blind Prairie Johnson (Brit Marling) went missing. She returns mysteriously with her sight restored in this drama from Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij.

Genre(s): Drama, Suspense

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Season 1 Episodes

9.8
S1:E8. Invisible Self
Air Date: December 16, 2016
9.6
S1:E7. Empire of Light
Air Date: December 16, 2016
9.6
S1:E6. Forking Paths
Air Date: December 16, 2016

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Metascore

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Mixed:

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Critic Reviews

100

David Wiegand

Dec 16, 2016

"The OA" is one of the most significant shows of the year simply because Marling and Batmanglij barrel through so many boundaries, stretch their combined imaginations so far and challenge the shopworn precepts of what is supposed to make an acceptable television series. Read full review

Clark Collis

Dec 16, 2016

If Stranger Things is an immediately yummy, nostalgia-inducing bowl of Count Chocula then The OA is a meal both fresher and more exotic, while still succeeding as a televisual page-turner. Read full review

Sophie Gilbert

Dec 16, 2016

Anchored by a spectacular central performance and a series of increasingly wacky ideas, The OA is frequently mind-boggling, but worth the effort. Read full review

Brian Lowry

Dec 16, 2016

Committing time to such programs requires a leap of faith. The OA mostly justifies that investment, even if the filmmakers couldn't quite stick the landing. Read full review

Ken Tucker

Dec 16, 2016

I have to give Marling and Batmanglij credit: I don’t usually have much patience for humorless, convoluted hooey like this, but their narrative pacing, and some of the performances ... are enthusiastically committed and effective. Read full review

Daniel D'Addario

Dec 16, 2016

It’s a winter binge suited for die-hards, but the viewer who needs a boost (character development, clear storytelling) to enter an imagined world will find the series a tough sit. Read full review

UPROXX Alan Sepinwall

Dec 16, 2016

It’s weird, and slow, teasing and teasing its way to a payoff that is meant to seem profound and instead plays as utterly ludicrous and at times borders on offensive. Read full review

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User Score

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7.4

User Reviews

Tigeronfire

Feb 14, 2017

I have never written a television show review before. I enjoyed this show more than any I have seen in a long time. It was creative and not formulaic like so many shows and movies, and made a dignified attempt of science fiction that could exist within our world. It took people that I feelI have never written a television show review before. I enjoyed this show more than any I have seen in a long time. It was creative and not formulaic like so many shows and movies, and made a dignified attempt of science fiction that could exist within our world. It took people that I feel like I could have known in my high school life - some severely troubled - and made them real to the audience. No one was overly beautiful, but everyone had substance. Great acting, great music, and entirely relatable. Life is full of hopeless moments. This series shows that, but it also shows how we are ravenous for hope. I am a better person because of this show..… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

pjoan1913

Dec 19, 2016

Great surprise. I loved the entire journey. I wanted more. Yes, it was dark and at times I wished I had more back story on the other characters, but the show delivered.
I appreciate the chance to be entertained while planting a seed of thought. None of us, really know....all we have isGreat surprise. I loved the entire journey. I wanted more. Yes, it was dark and at times I wished I had more back story on the other characters, but the show delivered.
I appreciate the chance to be entertained while planting a seed of thought. None of us, really know....all we have is faith and hope.
Thank you for a new twist of thought. I binged watched and I will watch a second time with my son.… Expand

1 of 6 users found this helpful15

kouvpan

Dec 18, 2016

Ok,this might not be for everyone but personally i enjoyed it more than Stranger Things.It's more dark,atmospheric and deep.Also you should watch it fi you want to watch something with meaning rather a usual tv binge.It's an original show that i haven't seen something like this inOk,this might not be for everyone but personally i enjoyed it more than Stranger Things.It's more dark,atmospheric and deep.Also you should watch it fi you want to watch something with meaning rather a usual tv binge.It's an original show that i haven't seen something like this in TV..Because of its weirdness i would say that this is a love or hate thing..If you are hooked up from the first minutes you'd like it.Finally its mystery-drama-sci/fi show that you don't have to know much about it..Just binge it !!… Expand

9 of 12 users found this helpful93

Tss5078

Sep 17, 2018

Netflix gives TV shows an unprecedented opportunity never before seen, and it has led to many unique and innovative shows making it on the air. The network governs itself, without any FCC oversight, it also isn't reliant on immediate ratings, and can give unique shows the time to evolve,Netflix gives TV shows an unprecedented opportunity never before seen, and it has led to many unique and innovative shows making it on the air. The network governs itself, without any FCC oversight, it also isn't reliant on immediate ratings, and can give unique shows the time to evolve, grow, and gain a following. This is especially important for a show like The OA, which is perhaps the most unique show I've ever seen.

After missing for eight years, Prairie Johnson (Brit Martling) is finally found, only something is dramatically different. The once blind girl can now see, but that's not all, she has weird scars on her back, and seems completely out of touch with reality. Her family try to help her cope and re-integrate, but with only limited success, as Prairie seems to be obsessed with a mission that she must complete. Before she's able to do this, Prairie must recruit the help of five people and tell them her story, where she's been, how she got there, and what happened to her. As we get to know Prairie and discover why she's so weird, we also get to know the five people who will supposedly help her on her journey. All of them are unique in their own way and all of them have their own stories, which while not the main focus of the show, offer a nice interlude from the Prairie Johnson saga.

The OA is a strange show which features multiple dimensions, near death experiences and experimentation, even interpretive dance. If you are not a fan of Science Fiction or desire your Sci-fi with a lot of action and strange beings, you probably aren't going to like this show too much. I found the OA to be very dark, sometimes intolerably slow, and it very frequently repeats itself. That being said it is also a incredible mystery that asks a lot of questions that some people may find hard to deal with. I found the show somewhat difficult to get into but once I did, it became very addicting. I needed to know the whole story and see what happened once the story ended.

The show has been renewed for season two, but much is the case with many Netflix shows, that was a year an half ago. I really don't understand why it takes them so long to get addition seasons of their shows produced. It is very anti-climatic when you think about it, because people who got into it when it first debuted have probably forgotten all about it by now. Not to mention, how do you just start watching a show again that you haven't seen in two years? Many people are going to forget everything except the major plot lines and not wanting to re-watch the first season, aren't going to bother with season 2. With that in mind, a second season is supposedly on it's way, and hopefully it answers the biggest question of them all.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

Moo-vies

Dec 26, 2016

I enjoyed the five or so first episodes before the excellent storytelling gave way to far too much ludicrous new age renewal stuff shoved down the spectator's throat with an avalanche effect. Even despite the interrogations about the revealed story.

Too bad it all kinda fell apart. TheI enjoyed the five or so first episodes before the excellent storytelling gave way to far too much ludicrous new age renewal stuff shoved down the spectator's throat with an avalanche effect. Even despite the interrogations about the revealed story.

Too bad it all kinda fell apart. The cinematography of the first episodes was really, really good and made you accept the story itself along with impeccable storytelling.

But everything is so rushed up in the last three that this aspect disappears, the characters arcs are then totally underdeveloped or magically resolved and the conclusion is rushed and just ... "meh, seen this before and it's lazy".
It left me disappointed and bored in the end.

Citing the inspirations of the show probably gives too much information on what to expect, so try to avoid the reviews that go too much in the details. The opinions on the OA are extreme so you will probably know very quick if you want to see more or not.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

dredgman

Mar 22, 2019

Horribly pretentious. The best I can say is I kept watching to see if it would proved fruitful (it doesn't). There are enough puzzles to pique initial interest, but they are resolved in trite and sometimes laughable ways (The final reveal about the meaning of "The OA" made me audibly groan).Horribly pretentious. The best I can say is I kept watching to see if it would proved fruitful (it doesn't). There are enough puzzles to pique initial interest, but they are resolved in trite and sometimes laughable ways (The final reveal about the meaning of "The OA" made me audibly groan).

I really enjoyed another Brit Marling project, Sound of My Voice, but this just retreads some similar themes in a manner that is too drawn out and kitschy to have any real impact.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

smfusr

Aug 9, 2019

This show gives Netflix's "Another Life" a run for the money in the Worst Show Ever category. Seriously - if these are the productions being funded by Netflix today, sell your shares and run for the hills. Better yet, go short.

As usual with turds, the series starts out with promise, andThis show gives Netflix's "Another Life" a run for the money in the Worst Show Ever category. Seriously - if these are the productions being funded by Netflix today, sell your shares and run for the hills. Better yet, go short.

As usual with turds, the series starts out with promise, and you can't help but feel there is something substantial in the plot. An episode or two in and sheer nonsensical lunacy of the writing becomes apparent. This series starts with intrigue but then shortly thereafter, the brakes come off and it begins to go downhill... slowly at first and then whoosh! The earth drops out and we're off the cliff and hurtling into the abyss. Stereotypical, boring, slow and getting more and more moronic by the episode. AVOID!!!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SEE ALL 104 REVIEWS

Seasons & Episodes

63

Series Overview
Season 2

67
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: March 22, 2019
Season 1

61
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: December 16, 2016
- 9.8
  S1:E8. Invisible Self
  Air Date: December 16, 2016
- 9.6
  S1:E7. Empire of Light
  Air Date: December 16, 2016
- 9.6
  S1:E6. Forking Paths
  Air Date: December 16, 2016
- 9.6
  S1:E5. Paradise
  Air Date: December 16, 2016
- 9.6
  S1:E4. Away
  Air Date: December 16, 2016
- 9.5
  S1:E3. Champion
  Air Date: December 16, 2016
- 9.6
  S1:E2. New Colossus
  Air Date: December 16, 2016
- 9.8
  S1:E1. Homecoming
  Air Date: December 16, 2016