8 Days – Season 1 Review

8 Days is a German apocalyptic sci-fi series from SKY Germany (org. title 8 Tage). Season 1 has been released in Europe (HBO) as well as several other countries worldwide. Read our review to get an idea if this is a series for you!

8 Days is a German apocalyptic sci-fi series from SKY Germany. Its original title is 8 Tage which means the exact same as the English/International title. Season 1 has been released on HBO in Europe in March, so the series is beginning to get a lot of attention now.

The premise is actually very simple; A meteor is heading for Earth and when the series begins, we’re just 8 days away from the impact. We learn pretty quickly that the (obvious, I guess) Armageddon-solution of shooting bombs and rockets into space to change its course, have all failed.

We also find out that the meteor is heading for France which means pretty much all of Europe is in the “Kill Zone”. Personally, I find the concept fascinating and was hoping for a German series with the qualities of Dark.

Recommended reading: Check out our Season 1 review of the German Netflix series Dark which has season 2 coming out later this year >

Unfortunately, 8 Days is nowhere near as good as Dark, so you should set your expectations accordingly.

The European refugees

Since the meteor is heading for Europe, a reverse refugee situation has suddenly become the norm. Now, everyone wants to leave Europe as fast as possible.

The entire planet will be reeling from the meteor crash, but only in Europe will it mean certain death. This means people living in Europe are struggling to make it to the United States or Russia. At least that’s where those we’re following are heading. Obviously, Africa or Asia would be other obvious destinations.

To me, it would be a lot more interesting if this was a bigger part of the story. I mean, the grotesque irony of the situation is obvious. However, the associations you get are more related to World War II and the Holocaust.

Since this is a German series, it does make sense, but it feels like they could have done more with this in the storyline of 8 Days.

Try not to think too much

You will probably (definitely) be able to guess most (if not all) of the plot during the first few episodes. First, it’s because we’re dealing with a “Murphy’s Law” kind of deal. Everything that could possibly go wrong, will go wrong! After that, it’s mostly the characters making dumb-as-hell decisions.

There are quite a lot of characters in 8 Days, but it turns out that most of them are connected somehow. Often in very random and very unbelievable ways. By the second episode, you’ll probably be rolling your eyes while going “Of course they know each other as well!”

You will be irritated by the stupid decisions people make. To me, it was like watching The Rain (which Danish people seemed to find more annoying than International audiences). Or probably more like the TV series version of Stephen King’s The Mist, which was first a brilliant movie. Actually, two episodes in, 8 Days is much worse!

In fact, the plot of 8 Days feels like a watered down version of the two aforementioned series. Oh, and then we also get a 10 Cloverfield Lane situation from the very first episode. 

Also read: Review of 10 Cloverfield Lane which should have earned John Goodman all the awards >

Obviously, the oncoming apocalypse isn’t enough to get us hooked. We also need psychopaths who were crazy before the apocalypse made everyone lose their damn minds!

8 Days features 8 episodes in Season 1

It should come as no surprise that season 1 of 8 Days consists of 8 episodes. Every episode features another day closer to the apocalypse. But then again, this doesn’t really hold true since we get a lot of flashbacks along the way.

When episode 1 of 8 Days begins, we’re right in the middle of this horrible situation with eight days left until the European apocalypse.

In episode 2, we’re transported back to 40 days before impact to show how some characters relate to one another. And to cover the “Armageddon”-inspired attempt to stop the meteor from hitting our planet. Other than this, episode 2 is full of sex. We’re talking pretty much an orgy.

I’m sorry if this feels like a spoiler, but this says nothing of the plot (which is just irritating at that point). Also, I should warn you that the opening credits contain images with major spoilers. In other words, don’t look too closely at the pictures during the theme song.

Then again, it takes quite a lot to be surprised by anything since 8 Days is very predictable.

Will there be a Season 2 of 8 Days?

Yes, season 2 could be in the making, if this first season is a success. The creators (Stefan Ruzowitzky and Michael Krummenacher) of this German show has already stated that they do have ideas for how to continue.

As stated earlier, I find the concept fascinating and have faith that a second season could improve the overall storytelling.

8 Days (8 Tage) premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2019.

Before it even screened in Berlin, HBO had secured the rights for most of Europe where it was released on March 1, 2019. The series also has deals for several other countries worldwide.

Details

Creators: Stefan Ruzowitzky, Michael Krummenacher
Cast: Christiane Paul, Mark Waschke, Lena Klenke

Plot

Eight Days left. A 60 kilometer wide meteor is on collision course with Earth. The anticipated strike zone is right in the middle of Europe. Estimated survival rate: Zero. The United States try to knock the meteor off course with nuclear weapons, but fail. All of Europe is on the run. Not the spectacular Hollywood version, but the nitty-gritty story of a real family doing whatever they have to do to survive when the world spins out of control.