“Night Sky” begins with couple Franklin and Irene York opening the secret chamber in their backyard shed as it transports them to a new planet, which is probably lightyears away in a flash. They are here (on the deserted planet) for more than the 100th time, just to enjoy the view. The series starts a bit on the slowish side as both of them get to their normal retired life. Irene is in a wheelchair as she fell a year back, and Franklin is helping to get her back on her feet. Franklin is worried about his wife's health as he believes she might be losing control over this secret part of their life.
Byron is new to the town, and he spots the couple at the midnight going into the shade. He becomes suspicious and begins to follow them. Denise, the granddaughter of the Yorks is confused about her career paths and decides to pay regular visits to the Yorks.
The first few minutes of the first episode were exciting as it made me curious to explore what and where is this empty planet. Later, it becomes a bit slow as it gets into the retired life of the yorks, but before it ends, it again brings back and leaves the viewers wanting more.
The series becomes addictive from the second episode onwards as new characters are introduced. They all have their stories, and somehow they all are connected. The series parallelly delve into the origins of all these characters, which brings freshness to the story.
“Night Sky” is a slow-burn sci-fi with a big mystery surrounding its plot. The existence of the secret chamber, the identity of Jude, and Stella's backstory are intriguing and will keep you guessing till the end. You won't be seeing a lot of space visuals after the first episode in which they were stunning. The background music in the series is perfect, it won't let you get bored even at the laziest moments in the series.
The lead actors J.K. Simmons and Sissy Spacek are incredible in the roles, and so are the others. You can compare Frank of “Night Sky” with Howard Silk of Counterpart (not the assassin one), as they have simple life theories and not big ambitions, but their wives have much more prominent roles.
Overall, the story is exciting, progresses at a medium pace, and doesn't seem to be rushed. The Yorks lead the series, but the center of the story is the secret chamber, which has been in their life for more than 20 years and they have successfully hidden it from their family, neighbors, and the rest of the world. The only flaw I found with the series was, that it raises and creates more mysteries than it resolves them. Even when it ends, many scenes are put on cliffhangers. The first season seems to be the beginning of a much larger story. I hope it gets renewed for another season so that we can find out the answer to the spectacular ending of Season One. It has the potential to become a top-tier sci-fi show if it gets more seasons.
As stated above, the series is slow-burn, but still, it can be loved by all kinds of sci-fi fans. You can call it a love story, a heartwarming story of an old couple, or a mystery thriller, it will fit all these genres alongside science fiction. Also, if you love Counterpart, you will surely love it even more.
My Score: [8/10]
Note: All eight episodes of the first season are screened for this review