''Command Z'' is a

science fiction comedy Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science fiction genre's conventions for comedic effect. The genre often mocks or satirizes standard science fic ...

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

directed by

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...

. The series consists of eight episodes of varying lengths that ultimately comprise a 90-minute runtime.

Cast

Michael Cera Michael Austin Cera ( ; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor. Over his career he has received nominations for a British Academy Film Award, three Critics' Choice Movie Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. Cera beca ...

as Kerning Fealty *

Roy Wood Jr. Roy Norris Wood Jr.Stated on ''Finding Your Roots'', May 4, 2021 (born December 11, 1978) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor who first became well known for his correspondent appearances on ''The Daily Show''. Wood has b ...

as Sam *

Chloe Radcliffe Chloe Radcliffe (born November 16, 1990) is a NYC-based stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Early life Chloe grew up in Prior Lake, Minnesota and went to college at Gustavus Adolphus College. She helped build the Gustavus forensics team into ...

as Emma * JJ Maley as Jamie *

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber ( ; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award as well as nominations for nine Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. Schreiber's early film roles incl ...

as Kohlberg Pryce *

Kevin Pollak Kevin Elliot Pollak (born October 30, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 90 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's ''A Few Good Men'', Jacob Goldman in ''Grumpy Old Men ...

as Old Kerning Fealty * Zoë Winters as Congresswoman Christina Martin * Laura Seay as Astrid Jensen *

Catherine Curtin Catherine Curtin is an American actress. She is best known for her role as correctional officer Wanda Bell in the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019). Other notable recurring roles include '' Insecure'', ''Str ...

as Carol *

Stavros Halkias Stavros Halkias ( - ; born February 11, 1989) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and podcaster. Active since the early 2010s, he is a nationally touring comic who came to prominence as a founding co-host of the podcast '' Cum To ...

as Baz Diamandis * Mike Houston as Bob Shiner *

Will Brill Will Brill (born July 11, 1986) is an American actor best known for his role as Scott Brown in '' The OA''. Brill grew up in Menlo Park, California, and graduated from Gunn High School and the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. In 2020, Brill sta ...

as Henry Humphrey *

Mike Birbiglia Mike Birbiglia (; born June 20, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, director, producer and Emmy-nominated writer. He has written and performed a series of award-winning solo shows worldwide. His six solo shows, ''Sleepwalk With Me'', ''My Gi ...

as the Time Traveler *

Sabrina Brier Sabrina Plon Brier (born August 4, 1994) is an American tiktoker, comedian and influencer. She became famous on TikTok in 2023, becoming known for her skits in which she plays privileged, self-involved characters. Life and career Brier was born o ...

as Pura Shujaa * Alexandra Socha as Pastor Caddy Winbrush *

James Naughton James Naughton (born December 6, 1945) is an American actor and director. On television he is best known as astronaut Pete Burke in the 1974 single-season television series ''Planet of the Apes''. He won Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical ...

as Justice Frank Richardson

Synopsis

A scientist tasks his employees with a "historic" mission to travel back in time to revise history and save the world.

Production

In January 2023,

announced that he had filmed a science fiction satire series he was calling ''The Pendulum Project''. It was shot in July and August 2022 between shooting ''

Magic Mike's Last Dance ''Magic Mike's Last Dance'' is a 2023 American comedy drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Reid Carolin, and produced by Channing Tatum. It is the third and final installment in the ''Magic Mike'' trilogy, following ''Magic Mike ...

'' and '' Full Circle'' in New York. The show was independently financed by Soderbergh, and it was inspired by

Kurt Andersen Kurt B. Andersen (born August 22, 1954) is an American writer, the author of novels and nonfiction as well as a writer for television and the theater. He was also a co-founder of '' Spy'' magazine, as well as co-creator and for its 20-year run ...

's book '' Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History''. Andersen co-created the series with former Simpsons writer Larry Doyle. It stars

, Chloe Radcliffe, JJ Maley, and

. Writers include Andersen, Doyle, Wood Jr, Radcliffe,

Nell Scovell Helen Vivian "Nell" Scovell is an American television and magazine writer, and producer. She is the creator of the television series ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'', which aired on ABC and The WB from 1996 until 2003 and co-author of the book '' ...

Akilah Hughes Akilah Saidah Kamaria Hughes (born August 31, 1989) is an American writer, comedian, YouTuber, podcaster, and actress. She has been a digital correspondent for MTV, HBO, Fusion TV, and Comedy Central. She began her career on a YouTube channel, "I ...

, Jiehae Park, and Emily Flake.

Release

A secret screening of ''Command Z'' was held on June 16, 2023, at the

Metrograph Metrograph is an independent two-screen movie theater located at 7 Ludlow Street (Manhattan), Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. As a theater, it focuses primarily on repertory cinema screenings as well as occasionally hosting ne ...

in New York City before the series' release. It was officially released on July 17, 2023—the same date that the characters must travel back in time to in the show's universe. The series was made available for purchase on the website of Soderbergh's production company, Extension 765, and proceeds from the series are donated to

Children's Aid Children's Aid, formerly the Children's Aid Society, is a private child welfare nonprofit in New York City founded in 1853 by Charles Loring Brace. With an annual budget of over $100 million, 45 citywide sites, and over 1,200 full-time employees ...

and the

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

Center for Antiracist Research.

Reception

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

'' critic Nick Schager wrote that "Soderbergh’s direction is snappy, playful, and efficient, and so too are the series’ scripts," writing that "nicely marries socio-political sharpness and jaded absurdity" to "deliver goofy laughs," yet "without ever resorting to sermonizing." Shannon Connellan at ''

Mashable Mashable is a Online newspaper, news website, digital media platform and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005. History Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2004. Early iterations o ...

'' found the series to be a "superbly acted" thought-provoking series about how small changes can improve the future. "If you're looking for top-tier political, social, and economic commentary on how fucked up the world is, this is the bunch." Chase Hutchinson at ''

Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator that brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, collid ...

'' gave the series a B−, feeling that the series was sometimes charming but also feeling like Soderbergh used it more as an exercise that he wasn't taking seriously.

Episodes

References

External links

* * {{Steven Soderbergh Television shows filmed in New York City 2020s American science fiction television series 2020s American comedy television series