The Lazarus Project (TV Series 2022–2023) Poster

(2022–2023)

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8/10
Brace yourself...
chippysmyth20 June 2022
Now, firstly if this doesn't get a second series I am going to find the person who decided to leave it on a cliffhanger and words of a deeply personal nature will be shared.

Secondly and more importantly it's fabulous. Starts off as a serialised version of Timecop and by episode three you realise it's a very different kettle of fish.

What would you do if everything that's happened since the 1st of July was erased? Everyone born or conceived winks out of existence, everyone who died comes back. How many going in which direction would make you want to press the button that does it?

Think you have answers? You don't, you REALLY don't and what makes this show so great is that it doesn't either.

That's not to say there are arbitrary decisions but you get to feel your way through intensely muddy waters with each of the well rounded characters. The writing is superb, the internal logic holds together and it could very easily go off the rails but some bright mind sat there and built a set of rules and stuck to them.

With this level of writing it would be a shame if the acting was mediocre which has been known to happen when studios get their acting talent based on the number of Instagram followers rather than ability. I don't imagine they blew the budget on their cast because although you'll recognise people they're not household names, they're just really good.

It's hard to go deeper into the story without launching into major spoilers but the paragraph above covers it nicely. You get to follow the newest person on a team having to deal with those concepts and navigate the absolute mind (synonym for sex) that comes with a Matrix level reality check.

I loved it, some people (idiots) won't get it, they'll complain that it's confusing or complicated while telling you Reservoir Dogs is their favourite film and despite it actually involving time travel it's not as hard to follow across 8 episodes as that film was in 80 minutes.

If you like intelligent, thought provoking dramas then you'll like this, if Made In Chelsea is your idea of culture then leave it alone.
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8/10
Time travel with a twist
balthesaur21 June 2022
'The Lazarus Project', a group of secret government agents tasked with stopping extinction-level events in the world, recruit their newest member - an app developer named George (Paapa Essiedu). Using a type of serum, average humans, such as the leader, Wes (Caroline Quentin), and fellow agent, Archie (Anjli Mohindra), can recall "Time Loops" - a cosmic event that resets the universe back to July 1st. Upon reset, those who have taken the serum, and certain mutants, like George, can remember everything prior to the reset.

Without giving too much away on an episode-by-episode basis, this show is quite entertaining to watch! The special effects, acting, writing, and flow are all very well done. There are some open plot holes that I hope will be addressed in the following season(s), but overall, a fresh idea on time travel!

Worth a watch!
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8/10
One of the best sci-fi shows I've seen in awhile
Tenagon18 June 2022
What a pleasant surprise. A very entertaining sci-fi show about a kind of time travel, something I don't remember seeing before in other shows or movies. All wrapped up with lots of action and twists.

Binged it in 2 days and can't wait for a 2nd season.

I won't waste time talking about acting and lightning, frankly when you enjoy something you just do, and as a sci-fi fan and time traveling shows, this one is just good fun.

It's not perfect but if you read the plot and think, mmm this sounds interesting, should I try it, I think you should, try 2-3 episodes, it's worth the time in mu opinion. And if you don't like it, just press reset, and get you 2 hours back...
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9/10
Remarkable
andrew-659-15293316 June 2022
Starts out as a fairly straightforward time-travel romp and slowly unpeels its characters to become an intense, brilliantly written and acted story of good people twisted and broken by the burden of a world saving power.
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7/10
Mix Tenet, The End of Eternity, Groundhog Day and The Adjustment Bureau
antoniokuntz-3265716 June 2022
The series is a bit "Tenet" and quite interesting. The Lazarus Project has some forgivable continuity flaws, but it's a good TV series that mixes old time travel ideas from The End of Eternity, Groundhog Day, and The Adjustment Bureau. Despite the lack of temporal logic: "mutants" can revive months side by side with normal agents (non-mutants who cannot revive months), although they can use a special drug to remember, which ends up causing a certain exponential unsustainability, because instead to go back in time, they would actually be creating multiverses. But time travel is just that, travel of the imagination.
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9/10
Why The Bad Reviews ?
carlcasso19 June 2022
This is a really good and original show.

I binged through it and enjoyed every episode.

I really hope they make a second series.

I've no idea why people are giving this bad reviews.

It really is one of the best shows on Sky in a long time.

Give it a go.

You won't be disappointed.
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7/10
A clever variant on a known theme.
GwydionMW18 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Time gets reset on one day each year, but most people don't remember it.

To get a story, the program has to assume that major disasters are happening all the time. So the mentors are very unwilling to reset a year for lesser causes, including the death of one of their own.

It can also mean that a baby born within a year gets erased.

This leads to strong reactions, naturally. That gives the necessary drama.

Fine overall. And has a lower score than most people think it merits. It gets a lot of hate-bombing: people who score at 1 and write nasty reviews. Since this isn't based on a book, it must be just about non-white actors having some decent roles in a very mixed cast.
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9/10
Ignore the review bombing, innovative time travel series
steffijackson17 June 2022
First of, a mini rant about review bombing...It's pathetic and pointles. There is a definite pattern to it and I think most people know why. It's ruining the reputation of genuine, respectable review sites. Ok on to the series...absolutely loved it! I thought it was a creative take on the time loop genre and plenty of room to grow. The story is compelling, good character development and mostly great acting. There are minor moronic moments but easily forgotten as the story moves at pace. Look forward to S2 to see where the rabbit hole goes.
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6/10
Fantastic team in front of & behind the camera
littlebirdpica18 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The casting director has done a great job, particularly with the actors who play Ross, Shiv, Archie and Janet; who you end up being more interested in than George & Sarah, who are good, to be fair, but their storyline didn't interest me as much. Great concept, but the storylines taking place in 2018 were of more interest to me and I wish the series had been focused on Ross and Archie instead; who knows if this will be explored more in a second season?
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2/10
Great idea terrible execution.
cdguyan28 June 2022
Loved the first episode and it all went downhill after that, it's just so implausible. No not the time travel stuff, the fact that 1) he thought he had any chance of getting away with it 2) OK only on 7/8 but looks like he'll manage it.

These are supposed to be the cream of the crop, they handle international incidents yet an app designer can fool them with an add hoc plan.....total BS.
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9/10
More.... More.... More!
zenjunkie19 June 2022
At last Sky has put on a really good series that's worth watching.

Ignore all the bad reviews and the idiots who bang on about woke this & woke that. Ignore those who say there's no character build. Their individual stories unfold as each episode builds to its crazy end with a good opening for at least one more season.

It's all about TIME, and the ability to create a restart point should a man-made global catastrophe occur.

This series requires your full attention and commitment. If you have a short attention span - don't bother... watch adverts instead.

If, on the other hand, you're up for a good well written story with good acting, a decent script, Bond-like excitement, some dry humour and some very human dilemmas thrown in just to mess with your head.....then DO NOT MISS THIS.

Enough said Please SKY, give us Season 2.... NOW!
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6/10
Hit & miss. Mostly misses.
W011y4m56 July 2022
A top secret organisation, operating above & beyond the world's intelligence agencies... Which evidently doesn't perform psychological assessments on any prospective recruits. We're supposed to have a hard time taking the time reversion in as a sci-fi concept - as audience members - but I found if more difficult comprehending these character's gullibility. The first 3 episodes of the (1st, in case it gets a 2nd etc.) series get off to a really promising start & throughout, "The Lazarus Project" has a lot of personality - not to mention, cinematographer Richard Stoddard does a fantastic job in the final 2 installments & the theme tune's great... But nothing can compensate for the drop in quality from 4 onwards, which is a shame as I had hoped creator & writer Joe Barton had crafted another Giri/Haji but alas, sadly not.
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3/10
Simply stupid
bogdan25319 July 2022
First episode was promising, but then we find out all these highly trained time travel operatives only know to make bad decisions like they're in some highschool show.

People ignore protocols fully knowing what the consequences could be, and when those consequences turn on them they decide destroying the planet and killing billions is justified.

The main character is the least stupid of them because he's just a civilian app developer they decided it's ok to give responsibilities to like he's a freaking MI5 agent.

People in control constantly fail to recognize events that have strong possibilities to turn their agents, and they do this repeatedly creating more and more rogue agents. Their worst enemies are themselves.

Everyone is stupid in this.
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9/10
We'll done Sky
matt-r-jones16 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Finally Sky deliver a brilliant Sci-fi. Fantastic concept, written perfectly. The actors are brilliantly cast and their characters are developed well. I was hooked from the first episode and watched the entire series in less than a day. The finale episode is one hell of a cliff hanger, so I pray a second season will be commissioned.

The Lazarus project prevent extinction level disasters through a time loop. George, the lead, develops the ability to remember these loops. The series chronicals his journey.
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6/10
Hard to rate
drael6417 June 2022
Its a very compelling premise, with okay acting, and fairly bad writing/directing.

Some of the character reactions are weird. There's an occasional injection of a weird progressive perspective. Overall, it's okay. The plot will keep you interested, but there are moments where most people will find it stilted or annoying.
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10/10
Peak British Sci-Fi
cooper-aus19 June 2022
Has a believable cast with an outstanding story.

Pacing was good with an interesting and multi leveled plot.

Made an account just to show my support for more quality sci-fi.
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6/10
I WANT to rate this 9/10. So Frustrating
yufrsq13 February 2024
This is such a hard series to review.

Note- No plot spoilers but examples of dialogue which contain elements which some people may not wish to read about.

The idea is brilliant, original, creative and intelligent.

The acting is good, the melancholic feel and greyish colouring that runs through each scene draws you in. The plot is well thought out and kept me coming back to watch every episode.

Why couldn't they write better dialogue and make character interactions more realistic? It seems like a small thing but it adds up and becomes annoying.

A few examples of how the characters interact in most scenes...

1. One main character (Archie) begs another (George) who's partner has just died, out "for a pint" despite him repeatedly declining. Archie is seen bringing over two pints from the bar to George who is waiting looking depressed. George asks one question about the ethics of what they do causing Archie to launch into a short soliloquy before righteously leaving to go, then turning dramatically to say "oh and thanks for the pint"... whhhat!!?

2. The Lazarus project is a top secret government organisation whose entire role is to make use of a mysterious singularity (that is governed by quantum mechanics) an agency that is able to freely poach agents from MI-5. Yet one of the researchers states when something like (when ecplaining to someone else) "it's a bit like pavlov's cat, who ate some cyanide and so was dead and alive" before being corrected by one of the agents... surely this agency's incredible recruitment abilities would not pick someone who doesn't have any understanding at all of the main subject matter?

3. Why are an app developer, and later a primary school teacher, able to become international super-spy's within a few days of being recruited?

4. Shiv says to Archie, when he is recruiting her (from MI5), that she wouldn't be able to beat him in a fight because MI5's martial arts training is not very good. Implying he has been thoroughly trained. Yet he is completely decked repeatedly by George, who is essentially a wuss with zero training.

5. They keep saying "f&£king.. this and $h!t.. that" when there is no reason to. In think swearing can add to realism when used appropriately but it's just odd sometimes in this series.

6. It's actually hilarious when George drives a few hundred yards away from huge nuclear bomb down a country road before detonating it and is completely fine.

It's so frustrating because so much of an excellent series is all here. Despite its weirdness I will keep coming back for more.

I would say dialogue and screen writing: 3/10 Acting: 7/10 Plot: 9/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Overall: 6/10.
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8/10
A slow burner that picks up after a couple of episodes and just builds... and BUILDS!
speterblakesmy19 June 2022
Wow, I binged this one. I was dubious at first, the first episode was interesting but I wasn't completely sure. After episode three though, I was really enjoying it, and from that point all I can say is that it really builds well. The tone and momentum really gets you hooked. I watched it all in one sitting and now I'm waiting desperately for the next season!

REALLY enjoyable and worth biting into.

9/10 for me.
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6/10
Loving the SciFi, hate the plot holes
diskord27 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Im loving the Sci-Fi, acting, setting...it's a great overall scenario. Time travel without the paradox is a great mechanic.

What I'm having trouble with is the major plot holes. A multi-national super powerful agency that has the ability to reverse time...but they can't figure out personnel policy. Why let people have kids? Or even why allow dating at all? A damn shrink would immediately point all this out...

I'll continue to watch because I'm a gluten for punishment...but for those of you who get easily turned off by plot holes..you might want to skip this one.
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3/10
Had to Rate it Down due to Unrealistic Storyline
911C4S9 July 2022
Like some reviewers said, the time travel premise is quite solid. Very little holes insofar as the time travel bit is concerned and overall an interesting concept. That made it a very promising show.

BUT, and here's where it broke down for me. The storyline requires you to suspend your disbelief. I don't want to give away the plot so I'll use an analogy to describe where it went wrong.

Imagine you were hired out of college by an individual who became your mentor and your teacher. Showed you the ropes in the company, help made you who you are in the company. Fast forward 10 years you are now very experienced, both of you still work there and you trust your mentor with your life. The entire dept is close with everyone becoming familair through years of working together. In come a new hire, green and raw. And after a little while he starts bad mouthing your mentor, saying he stole money from the company etc etc. You couldnt contact your mentor to verify because he's away on a business trip and he's phone is off for some reason. Without waiting, without verifying, without speaking to your mentor of 10 years you decide to take the word of the new hire. Not just you but the entire dept and the boss too. No one took a minute to question the new hire. Maybe he had a bone to pick with the mentor. Maybe he has an ulterior motive. Nooooo. Nobody bothered and so all of you villianise your mentor.

That's what the writers want you to swallow and this becomes one of the main pillar themes of the show.

When this was introduced I thought the writers will use an ingenious way to make up for it later to make me go - Aha, good one. But nope. They just kept on with it. And then the big slap on the face came when everyone found out the new hire was lying all these while, framing the mentor and.... nothing happened. The new hire continued on. No punishment. No sacking. No nothing. That definitely broke it for me.

Won't be watching Season 2.
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8/10
Worth your time.
mrgregfanning20 June 2022
This is an interesting, intelligent, human spin on a time travel action story. Well written and acted. Isn't it odd that shows with a diverse cast are the ones that get bombed with bad reviews? Ignore them.
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7/10
Ponderous start with good finale
evangrant-9405921 July 2023
Good concept almost ruined by ponderous mid-season delivery. Season 1 would have been better as four or maybe six episodes rather than eight. More pace throughout would have helped bridge some of the absurdity. Interesting and good that the science fiction structure is used wholly to develop character and not to indulge in any gadget chic. No Q from James Bond here!

I thought Archie, West, Rebrov and Shiv were well cast and played. George less so: too much use of the "rabbit caught in the headlights" list.

Still, pace picks up and the final episode of season 1 brought a lot of threads together, added some new plotlnes, and left me keen to watch season 2. Bring it on!
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3/10
Seems good at start, but its pretty bad
generalGib10 August 2022
This is not a sci-fi series, lets start with that assumption, only then it would make some sense. They got good actors, bad direction, they keep dragging small boring parts of series with more useless flashbacks. There isn't good enough motivation for characters to go so bonkers. That part never made sense.

Acting is good, so sort of would work good as a dumb fantasy series.
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10/10
Excellent!!!
drewlmore-4776018 June 2022
Ignore the stupid negative reviews. One of of best British sci-fi's in years. If you love the idea if time travel, if you love twist and turns watch this show.. all the way to the end. Great TV.
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7/10
Subtle Matriarchy
avnrulz25 July 2023
So, we meet the super-secret group who 'saves the world' unbeknownst to 99.99% of the rest of us. Paying attention, we notice the major players in the leadership positions are all women, from the head of the project to Archie (kick-ass field agent) and Janet (the genius designer). The men, with the exception of one character are the weak links, either playing catch-up or 'setting the world on fire', and even the male side characters, such as Sarah's co-worker, is a jerk. Shiv, the one decent male character, is fast approaching burn-out; George, our 'lead', does something he's warned against, for personal gain, and Rebrov is the worst of them. Again, 'women good, men not so good'.

Small reprieve for the men with 'Reggie', but even he has 'masculinity issues', and the lead character from 'the other side has built one too' is, you guessed it, a kickass woman.
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