AI gets a retro makeover in this German science fiction limited series.
How to watch Cassandra in New Zealand
Cassandra is streaming in New Zealand exclusively on Netflix from February 6, 2025.
Cassandra: Limited Series
What is Cassandra about?
Boy, is there not a lot of info about this one on the ol’ interwebz! A six-part limited series, Cassandra sees Samira and her family move into a house that has stood empty for some 50 years. As it turns out, it’s the world’s oldest smart home, and the TV-headed robot/AI thingy (that would be the titular Cassandra) is still up and running, and ready to serve the fam in kitsch ’70s style. But the last family the domestic droid served died under “mysterious circumstances”, which doesn’t bode well, and it seems Cassandra is rather keen on never being left alone ever again…
The cast of Cassandra
Lavinia Wilson is Cassandra; Mina Tander is Samira; and Michael Klammer, Franz Hartwig, Mary Tölle, Joshua Kantara, Elias Grünthal, and Filip Schnack round out the cast. German filmmaker Benjamin Gutsche is on writing and directing duties, and this seems to be his most high profile project yet.
Cassandra trailer
Why we’re excited about Cassandra
Hey, it looks interesting! Damed if we could tell you much more about it, though. Netflix have helpfully provided about half a page of info, and that’s your lot. Being a German sci-fi film about malevolent artificial life, the obvious antecedent is Fritz Lang’s silent banger Metropolis, but you could also tap Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey as an influence, and we’re getting Demon Seed vibes as well.
Will it be as good as any of those? Hell no (well, maybe Demon Seed. That’s based on a Dean Koontz novel, which puts a hard ceiling on your general level of quality). But the general concept and ’70s aesthetic are interesting, and a self-contained miniseries makes a welcome change from Netflix’s usially brutally truncated offerings.
