"Calls" Is The Trippiest, Most Exciting Show You're Not Watching Yet

In the words of Einstein, time is but a "stubbornly persistent illusion".

What if I told you you could watch a TV show that is absolutely jammed-packed full of amazing actors like Aubrey Plaza, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Joey King, Nick Jonas, Karen Gillan, and many more?* You'd be interested, right?!

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*Many more meaning – Judy Greer (13 Going on 30), Lily Collins (Emily in Paris), Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation), Danny Pudi (Community), Laura Harrier (Hollywood), Danny Huston (The Constant Gardener), Mark Duplass (Creep), Riley Keough (Mad Max: Fury Road), Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones), and Rosario Dawson (Rent).

The catch is, it's not live-action – it's an audio-based series that seamlessly cuts together phone calls between different characters to shape a gripping new story in every episode.

Apple TV+/CANAL+ / Via youtube.com

Each story chronicles the spooky events that occur over one year leading up to a huge apocalyptic incident. The entire conceit takes a bit of time to get used to, especially since the audio is combined with an immersive show of sonogram-like visuals, but after episode two – honey, I was HOOKED. I binged the whole thing in one night, which only tops out at 2.5 hours!

The Apple TV+ series is based on the French TV show of the same name by writer-director Timothée Hochet. This English-speaking iteration was created by Fede Alvarez, and features a brand new cast in every episode.

Apple TV+/CANAL+ / Via youtube.com

For instance, in "Pedro Across the Street", Mark Duplass and Judy Greer star as Patrick and Alexis, a couple who live opposite their sketchy neighbour Pedro, played by Pedro Pascal. In "It's All In Your Head", Rosario Dawson and Gilbert Owuor are Katherine and Craig, a divorcing couple who won't be left alone by Katherine's persistent hypochondriac sister Layla, played by Laura Harrier.

Timothée Hochet was moved to create the sci-fi mystery series after reading about Albert Einstein’s conception of time as a "stubbornly persistent illusion", which is referenced in one of the episodes. He was also inspired by listening to real 9/11 calls on YouTube.

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Calls was originally released as series of ten audio recordings by French network Canal+ back in 2017. As in the 9/11 calls, Timothée thought it was more effective and frankly terrifying for a viewer to ~imagine~ every scenario, rather than being shown it on screen.

A year later, Timothée was approached by Apple to remake the acclaimed series with an all-star cast and filmmaker Fede Alvarez at the helm. This new series is a co-production between Apple TV+ and Canal+, and is Apple's first ever green-lit international series.

Here is the trailer if you want to experience a snippet of the action. Honestly, I can't recommend this show enough – it's intelligent, well-performed, and totally addictive! And who doesn't want to hear Aubrey Plaza as a witty physicist attempting to prevent the end of the world?

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All nine episodes of Calls are now available to stream on Apple TV+.