An extraordinary mix of alien portals and love

Amazon Prime Video is currently the best place to go for fans of special and extraordinary science fiction material. After the visually stunning second season Undone and the mystery western Outer Range, the Night Sky series has now started. It requires a lot of patience, but rewards with an electrifying performance from Oscar winners Sissy Spacek and JK Simmons, which takes us to the other end of the galaxy.

Sci-Fi series on Amazon Prime Video: This is what awaits you in Night Sky

Former teacher Irene (Sissy Spacek) and her husband Franklin (JK Simmons) spend a quiet retirement together. Her everyday life consists of reading, gardening, visiting the doctor and reminiscing. Irene has been physically disabled since a fall a year ago, but is lovingly cared for by her husband. The York are though no ordinary retired couple.

There is this one thing that sets them apart from every other senior on the planet. They have been keeping a secret for many years. There is one under the small shed in her garden mysterious portalwhich becomes a small space station on a alien and distant planets leads. They never told a living soul about it. Over the years, the Yorks have made over 800 visits to the starry sky, many light years away.

That could soon be over. Because Franklin is tired of traveling. But Irene doesn’t want to give up her special retreat. But then her life changes abruptly when she confused and bloodied young man named Jude (Chai Hansen) on the space station. And after all these years, the Yorks have to realize that they Part of something much bigger and there is more behind their portal in the garden than they could have imagined.

Night Sky: Is the sci-fi drama worth it on Amazon Prime?

Anyone watching the series for the central sci-fi mystery surrounding the ominous portal to a distant world could be disappointed. Because Night Sky reduces the science fiction elements to the bare minimum and uses this as a catalyst for a touching and very human story.

At the beginning, the series takes a meditative look at love and life in old age, while Franklin and Irene join in suppressed trauma and unfulfilled longings have to deal with.

The two stars Sissy Spacek (Carrie, Nashville Lady) and JK Simmons (Whiplash, Spider-Man trilogy) play their characters in a very likeable and authentic way. Over 50 years of marriage and life experiences can be felt in every single scene with them. And this one intimate focus on the characters makes Night Sky so special.

Whether it’s Irene’s motherly care for Jude, Franklin’s endearing grumpiness towards strangers and finally his budding friendship with his far too nosy neighbor Byron (Adam Bartley): the characters and her quirks, her love and her pain are at the heart by Night Sky.

Only from episode 2 does the actual story pick up speed and become bigger. From now on we not only follow the Yorks and their new guest, but also one Mother-daughter team from Argentina, which offers a completely different experience with mysterious portals. This storyline around a mysterious organization however, hardly unleashes the same pull as Irene and Franklin’s escapades, and at times feels like a second series is running in parallel here.

Am I happy with my life? What is the meaning of me overall? And can I gather the courage to change something and myself? These are the real questions Night Sky raises over the course of 8 episodes. The alien elevators quickly become a minor matter.

The eight-episode sci-fi series Night Sky has been streaming on Amazon Prime Video since May 20, 2022. The first six episodes served as the basis for this series check.

Night Sky and more: The 20 best series starts in May on Netflix, Amazon & Co.

Need more fresh streaming tips? The most exciting series that you can stream on Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Co. in May can be found here in the monthly preview:

In addition to the Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ and the long-awaited Netflix return Stranger Things, other hidden highlights await you. We checked Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, Sky, Apple TV+ and other services and present you the 20 big highlights of the month in the Moviepilot podcast stream trawl.

*These links are so-called affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links or subscribe, we will receive a commission. This has no effect on the price.

Do you already have Night Sky on your watch list?