Years and Years: Dystopian sci-fi that makes Black Mirror feel bubbly

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  Years and Years is a miniseries that examines the near future of Britain as experienced by the Lyons family. [credit: HBO/BBC ]

I don't know about you, but I'm not really a fan of the future we've found ourselves in. As a child at the end of Generation X, the year 2020 seemed impossibly far away for much of my life. Now it's just a date a few months from now, with none of the jet packs or moon bases or meals-in-a-pill we thought we might get.

Unfortunately, it's not like my generation is moving forward empty-handed: there's rampant climate change, plunging biodiversity, and a worldwide resurgence of reactionary ideas. All together, it strongly suggests that while history does not repeat, it sure can rhyme. If simply reading that doesn't already have you lying down and searching for a paper bag—or if Black Mirror is no longer a strong enough dystopian dose of what we've got in store—then have I got a show for you. It's called Years and Years, and it's a new six-part depiction of dystopia from the man who resurrected Doctor Who, Russell T. Davies.

Years and Years is a co-production between the BBC and HBO, so I apologize for being late to the party. The series first aired in the UK back in May and then became available in the US last month. Set in England and starting in 2019, the show from there ostensibly follows the lives of the multigenerational Lyons family across the next decade.

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