Absentia: Amazing.

A Three Season Amazon Exclusive Series.

I highly recommend this series!

I had a theory that I developed while attending film school that movies and shows that employ more than one genre will be more interesting to a viewer, and Absentia is one of those productions that would support that theory.

That said, Absentia is part character drama, police procedural, mystery, as well as a social comentary on our society. The tone of Absentia is very dark and Amazon describes the show as being “eerie” which is a very apt description. That said I am not a horror fan and I would not lump this into the horror genre. But there's going to be some nightmare fuel for younger viewers.

Amazon cites that it’s an 18+ age recommendation, and they’re not wrong there either. So I’m going to recommend that you teenagers leave this show off your watch list until your brain sufficiently matures. Trust, me it’s worth the wait. For the rest of you, I’m recommending this very dark very gritty show. If you enjoyed the Firefly/Serenity series/Movie, then the themes and topics are similar enough.

Above all Absentia is a Stana Katic vehicle. Stana Katic has an Executive Producer credit and is the star.

I realize most people may not be familiar with Stana Katic, and I was introduced to her in the TV Series “Castle” which stared Nathon Fillion (the star of the series Firefly & the movie Serenity). While Nathan Fillion was the star and drawing power to the Castle TV series, Stana Katic was the charismatic actor that sold that show.

It is my opinion that Stana Katic is the best actress in all of Hollywood (as of the year 2023). Katic can say more with no dialogue than most actors can with any dialogue they are given. And Absentia is written to capitalize on Katic’s brilliant acting talents. But Katic isn’t the only actor on this series to employ the non-verbal dramatic response to a damning question. While Katic is (in my opinion) clearly the best at this, the other actors definitely step up to the plate! So the writing is terse, the cinematography is brilliant, and the acting is compelling.

And what little special effects are employed are amazing as well. Katic’s character, FBI agent Emily Byrne is suffering from post tramautic stress disorder (PSTD) after having been abducted & rescued from six years of kidnapping and torture. This series employs flashbacks, in part to advance the story (which is a typical device that Hollywood employes) but in Absentia, there are flashes of PSTD that Emily wrestles with as elements of normal life trigger her unpleasant memories. The special effects and cuts are well employed so that you understand what Emily is suffering but also advances the story, laying out essential exposition. I was never confused as to what was happening with the various flashbacks and PSTD episodes.

As of this writing, I’m wrapping up my second viewing of this series (I’m about to finish season one) so I’m familiar with what to expect (mostly). And knowing what’s coming, I’m enjoying this story more than 99% of anything else I’ve seen in this last decade.

Overall, if I were to rate this series (as a whole) I’d give it 6 out of 5 stars. I know I broke the scale! Either this series is just that good, or I’m that big of a Katic fan. I hope you enjoy this series as much as I did! The first episode lets you know everything you will need to know and gives you a good look at what to expect. By the end of the first episode, you can know whether or not you'll enjoy this series.

Again, this is an Amazon production but you can also buy the Blue Rays/DVD’s on Amazon at the Absentia shopping page.

SPOILER!!!!!

Because I’ve seen the whole series already and I’m enjoying it a second time through, I know some of what’s coming.

I was amazed at the scene where we are introduced to Cara Theobold’s character Alice Durand (the current wife of FBI agent Nick Durand who was formerly married to Emily Byrne until she was declared dead by absentia (hence the name).

My latest response to her first scene was an “Oh my goodness, SHE KNOWS!!!!!”

Enough spoilers. Go enjoy this show!