Skip to main content

Netflix releases trailer for mysterious new series ‘The OA,’ which debuts Friday

Writer and actress Brit Marling first caught the attention of Hollywood with her fantastic, under-the-radar 2011 drama Another Earth and her 2012 faux documentary Sound Of My Voice, and her next project appears to channel some of the same understated sci-fi themes — but in a very different sort of format.

Netflix released the first trailer for Marling’s upcoming original series The OA this week, and the eight-part project promises to explore some heavy philosophical concepts while following the story of a blind girl who returns with her sight restored years after her mysterious disappearance.

Recommended Videos

Scheduled to premiere this month on the streaming video service, The OA is directed by Marling’s frequent collaborator, director Zal Batmanglij, who directed her in Sound of my Voice and the 2013 drama The East.

Described by Netflix as “a powerful, mind-bending tale about identity, human connection, and the borders between life and death,” The OA was co-produced by Netflix and Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, as well as Marling, Batmanglij, and True Detective producer Anonymous Content.

Promising to “upend notions about what long-format stories can be,” the series remains a relatively secretive production, with little known about the plot beyond what we see see in the trailer. It’s unknown whether the series is envisioned as a multiseason project or a stand-alone, single-season arc.

Along with Marling in the lead role, the series’ cast also includes Emory Cohen, Scott Wilson, Phyllis Smith, Jason Isaacs, Alice Krige, Patrick Gibson, Brendan Meyer, Ian Alexander, and Brandon Perea.

The first season of The OA will premiere in full December 16 on Netflix.

Rick Marshall
Former Contributing Editor, Entertainment
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Greta Gerwig gets her wish: Narnia to receive IMAX release before Netflix
Greta Gerwig laughs as she stands next to Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling for Barbie.

In the end, Greta Gerwig will get her theatrical release. After months of speculation, Narnia will be released on IMAX screens before it streams on Netflix.

Per Matt Belloni of Puck, Narnia will air on nearly 1,000 screens worldwide on Thanksgiving Day 2026. IMAX has guaranteed Narnia will play for at least two weeks. However, that could increase to three if demand is high. After its IMAX run, Narnia will stream globally on Netflix around Christmas Day.

Read more
Jamie Foxx & Cameron Diaz play elite spies in Netflix’s Back in Action trailer
Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx run down a street in Back in Action.

It's a family affair for Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz in the trailer for Netflix's Back in Action.

Foxx and Diaz play Matt and Emily, former CIA spies who left the business to start a family. Fifteen years later, the duo are forced back into the world of espionage after their cover is blown. "When your enemies find out that you're alive, they're gonna come after you and your kids," Kyle Chandler's character says to Matt and Emily.

Read more
This gripping 2025 true crime mystery show is massively popular on Netflix right now
Peter Eggers in The Breakthrough.

 

One of Netflix's more interesting recent original series, The Breakthrough, is a four-part miniseries based on journalist Anna Boden and genealogist Peter Sjölund's book examining the second-largest criminal investigation in Swedish history. The show has already cracked Netflix's Top 10 list and has earned a strong 77% score on Rotten Tomatoes' Popmeter, the metric for audience reception.

Read more