If you were a kid (or a parent of kids) in the late ’90s, you might remember the Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House. Surprisingly prescient, it was about a family who won a house run by a virtual assistant that ended up going haywire. The German Netflix series Cassandra has a similar premise, but it certainly doesn’t belong on Disney Channel.
Netflix’s Cassandra follows a family that moves into Germany’s oldest smart home, abandoned for decades when the previous owners died under mysterious circumstances. Upon their arrival, virtual assistant Cassandra (Lavinia Wilson) comes back online and starts helping out however she can. But she’s also intent on never being left alone again.
The six-episode thriller series from writer and director Benjamin Gutsche is now streaming in its entirety. Alongside Lavinia Wilson, the cast also includes Mina Tander, Michael Klammer, Franz Hartwig, Joshua Kantara, Elias Grünthal, Filip Schnack, and Pina Kühr.
Cassandra has not received much coverage, but it has managed to find an audience on Netflix just days after its February 6 premiere. At the time of writing, it’s the sixth most popular show on the streamer, ahead of the latest season of The Recruit.
“Fusing elements of sci-fi, horror, psychological thriller, and women-focused family dramas of decades past, Cassandra is quieter than the company’s films but still a sleek, ambitious limited series with plenty of meat on its bones,” reads Collider’s review, “and given our current time, it doubles as a primal, intentionally discordant scream of female rage.”
You can stream Cassandra on Netflix right now.
