YouTube Premium is flexing its genre muscles once again with the visually impressive first trailer for the sci-series Origin. Set in the future, the new series presents a technologically advanced human race with the opportunity to start over on a new planet, but for an unlucky few, the journey to their new interstellar digs doesn’t go as planned, leaving them presumably stranded in space, lightyears from the home they new or the one they were expected to help colonize.

Origin comes from producers of high-end historical dramas (one with a fantasy element) The Crown and Outlander, and from the looks of the first trailer YouTube Premium has spared no expense in creating a future world that has humankind making a trek across the cosmos. Adding to the impressive visual effects and production design is the show’s cast, which includes a pair of Harry Potter alums in Tom Felton and Natalia Tena, as well as Sen Mitsuji, Nora Arnezeder, Fraser James, Philipp Christopher, Nina Wadia, Madalyn Horcher, Siobahn Cullen, Adelayo Adedayo and Wil Coban.

The series will be directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, who will also serve as an executive producer. Though the trailer does a solid job of explaining the plot, check out a synopsis below:


“The 10-episode series, from director Paul W.S. Anderson and the producers of The Crown and Outlander, follows a group of outsiders who find themselves abandoned on a ship bound for a distant land. Now they must work together for survival, but quickly realize that one of them is far from who they claim to be.”


The look of the new series is certainly striking and reminiscent of recent futuristic films and TV shows like Blade Runner 2049 and Netflix’s Altered Carbon. Moreover, Origin’s premise seems to have a mix of Lost In Space, Passengers, and Anderson’s 1997 sci-fi/horror film Event Horizon on tap as well. On a more positive note, it appears as though the series will attempt to explore an overarching theme of reinvention and the promise of starting over and presumably seeking one’s destiny elsewhere, turning the void of outer space into the new migration West.

How the series will eventually balance those themes with the thriller aspect remains to be seen, but with a fall premiere date just around the corner, it won’t be long before viewers have the chance to find out what’s in store when Origin begins streaming.

Origin is expected in the fall of 2018 on YouTube Premium.