The Rain

Once you get over the ludicrousness of a killer virus whose host is the weather, The Rain is a taut, tense thriller. The first Danish original series to come from Netflix, it’s gratifyingly fast-paced and unfailingly dark.

Though Netflix’s latest binge-a-thon doesn’t always handle the logistics of that situation in a completely convincing way, its premise provides a sturdy backdrop for the suspenseful story of a girl striving to protect her younger brother at all costs.

Despite some shaky attempts to build a convincing world, The Rain has much in common with “The Walking Dead.”

Within the first ten minutes, it becomes obvious that it will be another post-apocalyptic drama about a virus that devastates humanity, leaving precious few people behind to figure out how to scrap their way toward continued survival. If you’re into that sort of thing, it will grab your attention right away and, based on the initial three episodes made available to critics--most likely hold on to it. But if you’re at all fatigued of dramas about the demise of humanity, you may find it hard to soldier through, especially if you try to swallow all eight episodes in a sitting or two.

Despite his best efforts, for a show where humanity is under attack, you ultimately need a reason to root for at least most of the humans. The Rain never gets to the point where you’re pulling for the water droplets, but this is one barren wasteland that makes it difficult to care about anything other than surviving it.