Maniac

Annie Landsberg and Owen Milgrim sign up for a promising pharmaceutical trial that claims to fix their problems without complications. The procedure, overseen by two oddly clinical researchers, combines experimental drugs with immersive simulations that probe memory, fantasy, and pain. Sessions unfold as elaborate, often surreal sequences where inner histories and invented worlds spill into one another, and the line between treatment and experience gets fuzzier. The series follows how unresolved grief, family expectations, and identity shape choices, while letting the two leads form a fragile connection amid the strange, careworn machinery of the program. It favors mood over neat answers.

The series premiered on Netflix in 2018, created by Patrick Somerville, Cary Joji Fukunaga, and Danielle Henderson, with Fukunaga directing multiple episodes and a visual style drawn from retro-futurist and clinical aesthetics, the soundtrack and design drew attention.

The series earned attention from awards voters and critics, receiving nominations in television guilds and appearing on several year-end lists, with many outlets highlighting Stone and Hill for their performances and the show's distinctive technical craft. Critics singled out the sound design and production design.

Maniac's visual palette and period-meets-future tone stuck with viewers, prompting memes, essays, and discussions about how TV can mix comedy with speculative visuals. Stone and Hill's turns are often cited when people talk about actors taking unusual risks on streaming platforms. Its aesthetic has been referenced in fashion and videos.

Critics gave Maniac generally positive reviews, praising its ambition, bold visuals, and the chemistry between Emma Stone and Jonah Hill. It holds about a 7.35/10 average from viewers, and it deals in loneliness, memory, pharmaceutical ethics, and identity. Many viewers praised its pacing and surreal set pieces.