''Lost in Space'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

streaming television series following the adventures of a family of space colonists whose ship veers off course. The series is a

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

of the 1965 series of the same name, inspired by the 1812 novel ''

The Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwr ...

''. Produced by

Legendary Television Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC (doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborated ...

, Synthesis Entertainment, Clickety-Clack Productions, and Applebox Entertainment, the show is written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, with

Zack Estrin Zack Estrin (1970/1971 – September 23, 2022) was an American television producer and screenwriter. Estrin began his career as a writer and producer on ''Charmed'', ''Dawson's Creek'', and ''Tru Calling'', before serving as a co-executive prod ...

serving as

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

released the series on April 13, 2018, renewing it the following month for a second season. The second season premiered on December 24, 2019. The third and final season was released on December 1, 2021.

Premise

In 2046, two years after an

impact event An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have physical consequences and have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or ...

that threatens the survival of humanity, the Robinson family is selected for the 24th mission of the ''Resolute'' (24th Colonist Group), an

interstellar spacecraft A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1882 in '' Oahspe: A N ...

carrying selected families and civilians to

colonize Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

the

Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri ( Latinized from α Centauri and often abbreviated Alpha Cen or α Cen) is a triple star system in the constellation of Centaurus. It consists of 3 stars: Alpha Centauri A (officially Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centa ...

planetary system A planetary system is a set of gravitationally bound non- stellar objects in or out of orbit around a star or star system. Generally speaking, systems with one or more planets constitute a planetary system, although such systems may also consi ...

. Before they reach their destination, an alien robot breaches the ''Resolute''s hull. Forced to evacuate the

mothership A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bombers converted to carry experimental airc ...

in numerous short-range ''Jupiter'' spacecraft, scores of colonists, among them the Robinsons, crash on a nearby habitable planet. There they must contend with a strange environment and battle their own personal demons as they search for a way back to the ''Resolute''. A large part of the show revolves around Will Robinson's connection to an alien robot and an alien engine capable of interstellar travel that a small group of humans had previously and secretly stolen from the robots. An army of other robots, much like Will's robot, try to take the engine back, stranding everyone in deep space. The army is led by a robot dubbed "SAR" (Second Alien Robot). The robots' creators are largely unknown, except for the fact that they are extinct.

Cast

Main

Molly Parker Molly Parker (born 30 June 1972) is a Canadian actress, writer, and director. She has had roles in independent films as well as television. Her accolades include two Genie Awards, one Canadian Screen Award, one Independent Spirit Awards nomina ...

as Maureen Robinson, an

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

who serves as the mission commander for the ''Jupiter 2'', taking her family on the mission to colonize Alpha Centauri in hopes of building a new life on a better world. Married to John Robinson, she is Judy, Penny, and Will Robinson's mother. *

Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for the ...

as John Robinson, former

U.S. Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting s ...

and husband to Maureen. He is father to Penny and Will and

stepfather A stepfather or stepdad is a non-biological male parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepfather-in-law is a stepfather of one's spouse. Children from his spouse's previous unions are known as his stepchildren. Culture Though less comm ...

to Judy. *

Maxwell Jenkins Maxwell Jenkins (born May 3, 2005) is an American film and television actor, who is known for his roles in ''Lost in Space'', '' A Family Man'', and ''Sense8''. In 2020, he played the role of Joseph Bell in the true story of ''Joe Bell'', starrin ...

as Will Robinson, Maureen and John's youngest child who forms a tight bond with the Robot, which he saves from destruction during a forest fire. Will is the youngest child prodigy of the family. *

Taylor Russell Taylor Russell McKenzie (born July 18, 1994) is a Canadian actress. She has starred in the Netflix science fiction series ''Lost in Space'' (2018–2021). In film, she has starred in the critically acclaimed drama ''Waves'' (2019), for which she ...

as Judy Robinson, Maureen's eldest child and John's stepdaughter who serves as mission doctor, having received accelerated medical training and earns her medical license by age 18. *

Mina Sundwall Mina Sundwall (born October 23, 2001) is an American actress best known for portraying Penny Robinson in the 2018 Netflix television series ''Lost in Space''. Biography Sundwall was born on October 24, 2001, in New York City. In 2012, she made ...

as Penny Robinson, Maureen and John's younger daughter who becomes inspired to write about her experiences. She's also the rebellious one of the family, sneaking out of their space ship frequently. *

Ignacio Serricchio Ignacio Ariel Serricchio (born April 19, 1982) is an Argentine actor. He is known for his role as Diego Alcazar on '' General Hospital'' and as Alejandro "Alex" Chavez on ''The Young and the Restless''. Other roles include Lifetime's ''Witches ...

as Don West, a ship mechanic and smuggler of luxury goods. He is accompanied by his lucky chicken, Debbie. *

Parker Posey Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress and musician. Posey is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Satellite Award nomination and two Independent Spirit Award nominations. Posey made her film debu ...

as June Harris / Zoe Smith, a petty criminal who assumes the identity of her sister, Jessica, to take her place on the ''Resolute''. She subsequently steals and alters the credentials of Dr. Zachary Smith during the first attack to become "Dr. Zoe Smith" and take his seat on an evacuating ''Jupiter'' ship. The theft of the doctor's identity is a reference to the corresponding character of Dr. Smith in the original television series (also, her character, June Harris, is named for

June Lockhart June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American actress, beginning a film career in 1930s & 1940s in such films at ''A Christmas Carol'' and '' Meet Me in St. Louis''. She primarily acted in 1950s and 1960s television, and with performances on ...

, who played Maureen Robinson, and

Jonathan Harris Jonathan Harris (born Jonathan Daniel Charasuchin, November 6, 1914 – November 3, 2002) was an American character actor whose career included more than 500 television and film appearances, as well as voiceovers. Two of his best-known roles w ...

, who played Smith on the original series). *

Brian Steele Brian Steele is an American actor who has had many roles as monsters and creatures on television and in films. In 2018, he appeared as The Robot in ''Lost in Space''. Steele stands at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m). Career On television, Steele was t ...

as the

Robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

(seasons 2–3; recurring season 1), an alien robot being that Will encounters after the crash. The robot has a different form from

the ones The Ones are an American electronic dance music group. Their 2001 hit single " Flawless" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Belgium and the United Kingdom. The trio consisted of three male vocalists Paul Alexander, JoJo Americo, and ...

that appeared in the previous series and film. * Ajay Friese as Vijay Dhar (season 2; recurring seasons 1, 3), Victor's son and Penny's love interest. *

Sibongile Mlambo Sibongile Mlambo is a Zimbabwean actress based in the United States. She is known for starring in Netflix’s ''Lost in Space'', the Starz historical adventure television series '' Black Sails'' and in films ''Honey 3'' and ''The Last Face''. She ...

as Angela Goddard (season 2; recurring season 1), an engineer and fellow survivor struggling with

post traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

in the wake of her husband's death during the attack on the ''Resolute''. Her character is named for

Angela Cartwright Angela Margaret Cartwright (born September 9, 1952) is a British actress primarily known for her roles in movies and television. On television, she played Linda Williams, the stepdaughter of Danny Williams (played by Danny Thomas) in the long- ...

, who played Penny Robinson in the original television series, and

Mark Goddard Mark Goddard (born Charles Harvey Goddard; July 24, 1936) is an American actor who has starred in a number of television programs. He is probably best known for portraying Major Don West in the CBS series ''Lost in Space'' (1965–1968). He ...

, who played Don West in the original series.

Recurring

Introduced in season 1

Raza Jaffrey Raza Jaffrey (born 28 May 1973) is a British actor and singer, who starred as Neal Hudson on the CBS TV medical drama '' Code Black''. He is best known for playing Zafar Younis on the BBC One spy drama series '' Spooks''. In 2014, he played P ...

as Victor Dhar, the representative of the 24th Colony group and father to Vijay. *

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Japanese: 田川洋行, ''Tagawa Hiroyuki''; born September 27, 1950) is a Japanese-born American actor, film producer, and martial artist. Often cast as villains, he is known for his film roles in ''The Last Emperor'' ...

as Hiroki Watanabe (season 1), a biologist and friend of Maureen's. * Yukari Komatsu as Naoko Watanabe, Hiroki's daughter who's considered the best pilot among the colonists. * Kiki Sukezane as Aiko Watanabe, Hiroki's granddaughter. * Veenu Sandhu as Prisha Dhar, Victor's wife. * Adam Greydon Reid as Peter Beckert, a survivor of the ''Resolute'' and Victor's associate. * Amelia Burstyn as Diane, the communications officer on the ''Resolute.'' * Iain Belcher as Evan, an electrician and survivor on the unknown planet. *

Shaun Parkes Shaun Parkes (born 9 February 1973) is an English actor. Biography At 16, Parkes enrolled at Seltec College to study drama. Two years later, he was accepted into RADA. Having acted in both theatre and television support roles, Parkes made his ...

as Captain I. Radic, commander of the ''Resolute'' in charge of security operations. * Rowan Schlosberg as Connor, a survivor of the ''Resolute'' on the unknown planet. * Viv Leacock as Reese, a survivor of the ''Resolute''. He has several children, including Noah.

Introduced in season 2

Douglas Hodge Douglas Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who has had an extensive career in theatre, as well as television and film where he has appeared in '' Robin Hood'' (2010), '' Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return'' and '' Diana'' (2013), '' ...

as Officer Hastings, an intelligence officer on the ''Resolute'' who wants to get the ship to Alpha Centauri at all costs, including stranding hundreds of colonists on an alien planet. *

JJ Feild John Joseph Feild (born 1978) is a British-American film, television and theatre actor. He started his television career in 1999. Feild played Fred Garland in Philip Pullman's ''The Ruby in the Smoke'' and ''The Shadow in the North'' television ...

as Ben Adler, head of the Advanced Technology unit on the ''Resolute''. He seeks to understand the robots and their technology. He was married to Amanda and had two sons. *

Sakina Jaffrey Sakina Jaffrey (born February 14, 1962) is an American actress. Early life Jaffrey was born in New York City, the youngest daughter of Indian-born parents, actress and food and travel writer Madhur Jaffrey, and actor Saeed Jaffrey. Her parent ...

as Captain Kamal (season 2), who becomes commander of the ''Resolute'' following the incapacitation of Captain Radic. *

Tattiawna Jones Tattiawna Jones is a Canadian television and theatre actress. She comes from Manitouwadge Manitouwadge is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the Thunder Bay District, at the north end of Highway 614, east of Th ...

as Ava, the head mechanic on the ''Resolute'' and Don's superior. * Aria DeMaris as Isabel Azevedo, a physicist and passenger on the ''Resolute''. She is married to Aubrey and is one of Elise's mothers. * Alison Araya as Aubrey Azevedo, a physicist and passenger on the ''Resolute''. She is married to Isabel and is one of Elise's mothers. * Nevis Unipan as Samantha, a little girl who was left on the ''Resolute'' following the evacuation. She befriends the Robinsons.

Introduced in season 3

Russell Hornsby Russell Hornsby (born May 15, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Edward "Eddie" Sutton on ABC Family's '' Lincoln Heights'', as Luke on the HBO drama ''In Treatment'', as Detective Hank Griffin on the NBC series '' Grimm'', ...

as Grant Kelly, Judy's biological father and the commander of the ill-fated ''Fortuna'' mission. * Charles Vandervaart as Liam Tufeld, Penny's new love interest. * Elias Leacock as Noah, a child who was stranded in the Jupiter transporter.

Guest

* AnnaMaria Demara as Tam Roughneck, a mechanic and friend to Don West. *

Selma Blair Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...

as Jessica Harris, June's wealthy younger sister. *

Bill Mumy Charles William Mumy Jr. (; born February 1, 1954) is an American actor, writer, and musician and a figure in the science-fiction community/comic book fandom. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a child actor, which included television appeara ...

as Zachary Smith, the real Dr. Smith whose identity June steals. As a child, Mumy portrayed Will Robinson in the original ''Lost in Space'' series from 1965 to 1968. *

as June (denoted by subtitles), a radio communications officer on Alpha Centauri (credited as "the Voice of Alpha Control"). June Lockhart portrayed Maureen Robinson in the original television series, and the principal of Will Robinson's school in the 1998 film. *

as Sheila Harris, June's mother. As a child, Cartwright portrayed Penny Robinson in the original ''Lost in Space'' series from 1965 to 1968. She also made a cameo, as a reporter, in the 1998 film. * Rob LaBelle as Mr. Jackson, the school teacher aboard the ''Resolute.'' *

Karen LeBlanc Karen LeBlanc is a Canadian film, television and musical theatre actress. Early life LeBlanc grew up in Tottenham, Ontario to family from Nova Scotia. She attended the musical theatre program at Sheridan College. Career Starting with a minor ro ...

as the chancellor of the Alpha Centauri base.

Episodes

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2019)

Season 3 (2021)

Production

Development

In October 2014, it was announced that

and Synthesis Entertainment were developing a new reboot of ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'' and had hired screenwriting duo Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless to pen the pilot episodes. In November 2015,

landed the project. On June 29, 2016, Netflix ordered a full 10-episode season of ''Lost in Space'', with

as executive producer and

. Sazama, Sharpless,

Kevin Burns Kevin Burns (June 18, 1955September 27, 2020), was an American television and film producer, director, and screenwriter. His work can be seen on A&E, National Geographic Channel, E!, Animal Planet, AMC, Bravo, WE tv, Travel Channel, Lifetime ...

Jon Jashni Jon Jashni is an American media investor and advisor. Work In 1999, Jashni and Kevin Burns formed Synthesis Entertainment, which develops and produces content based on properties of the Irwin Allen estate such as ''Poseidon'', ''Voyage to the ...

Neil Marshall Neil Marshall (born 25 May 1970) is an English film and television director, editor, producer, and screenwriter. He directed the horror films ''Dog Soldiers'' (2002) and '' The Descent'' (2005), the science fiction action film '' Doomsday'' (2 ...

, and Marc Helwig also serve as executive producers.

Filming

Production on the first season began in February 2017 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

, British Columbia, and concluded in July 2017. The second season began production in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

in September 2018, and concluded in January 2019. Filming for the third and final season began in British Columbia on September 9, 2020, and concluded on January 14, 2021.

Release

On March 31, 2018, the series pilot was screened at Awesome Con in Washington, D.C. The first season, consisting of 10 episodes, was released on April 13, 2018, on

. On June 4, 2019,

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

released DVDs and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

s of the first season titled "Lost In Space: The Complete First Season". The second season, also consisting of 10 episodes, was released on December 24, 2019, on Netflix. The third and final season, consisting of eight episodes, was released on December 1, 2021.

Reception

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reported a 68% approval rating based on 75 reviews, for the first season, with an average rating of 6.43/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "''Lost in Space''s production values are ambitious enough to attract sci-fi adventure fans, while the story's large heart adds an emotional anchor to all the deep space derring-do."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a normalized score of 58 out of 100 based on 27 critics for the first season, indicating "mixed or average reviews". David Griffin of IGN gave the first season a rating of 8.5/10, calling it "an excellent sci-fi adventure with a slight villain problem", giving particular praise to the Robinson family, while criticizing Parker Posey's Dr. Smith as an unsophisticated and one-dimensional character who lacks redeeming qualities. In contrast, Jen Chaney of ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' characterized Posey's performance as providing "understated, sly comedic touches", and Beth Elderkin of ''

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite '' io9'', ...

'' agreed: "Her performance definitely includes the character’s trademark levity and humor." On

the second season has an approval rating of 85% based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critics consensus states: "Gorgeous effects and a simple, solid, story help ''Lost in Space''s second season find itself on stronger ground." Dylan Roth of ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two ...

'' gave the third season a mostly positive review, calling it an "exciting, delightful, and self-contained space adventure that stands in contrast against the ever more complex universes of its contemporaries." Roth criticized the character of Dr. Smith however, and the overall writing of the show's antagonists. Renaldo Matadeen of '' CBR'' criticized the show's handling of Dr. Smith's narrative arc.

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{Netflix original ended series (2012–2018), state=collapsed 2010s American drama television series 2010s American science fiction television series 2020s American drama television series 2020s American science fiction television series 2018 American television series debuts 2021 American television series endings English-language television shows Lost in Space English-language Netflix original programming Television series by Legendary Television Post-apocalyptic television series Post-apocalyptic web series Space adventure television series Television series about families Television shows filmed in Vancouver Television series reboots Television series set in the 2040s Television series set on fictional planets