Data collection by social media and various other sites has become a norm we rarely think about, but what if that level of surveillance were dialed to the max? The most famous example of a dystopian world ruled by a totalitarian level of surveillance is George Orwell’s1984, and there’s a forgotten gem on Netflix that feels like a spiritual successor to that. In the 2020 Brazilian sci-fi series, Omniscient, the concept of privacy is completely warped, as it paints a terrifying reality where everyone’s every move is monitored by tiny drones that are practically invisible to the naked eye. We navigate this world through the lens of a murder mystery, where the ubiquitous System is unraveled, and we are confronted with ideas that hit a bit too close to home in this day and age, making for a gripping six-episode binge.
‘Omniscient’ Constructs a Chilling World of Constant Surveillance
Omniscient transports us to the safest place on the planet, where crime is almost non-existent, so much so that there isn’t even proper law enforcement anymore, just the titular company. Ever since Omniscient took over public safety, every single person has been assigned a minuscule drone that tracks and analyzes every move they make, including behavioral cues suggesting they may commit a crime. The minute a crime is committed, an AI-powered supercomputer analyzes the footage and immediately sends the perpetrator to the courts to receive their sentence. Already, the idea of being constantly under scrutiny by a machine that doesn’t process nuance or humanity is chilling in itself, especially when we see examples of people unable to find employment due to infractions they made as teenagers or facing harsh consequences if they lash out after the death of a family member.
However, the unfaltering surveillance is only the tip of the iceberg, as there are even more infuriating bits of hypocrisy that make the System an all-too-familiar nightmare. While the essence of the System is a huge invasion of privacy, the company also prides itself on strict privacy policies, allowing the AI to access the drone footage and no one else. So when a tech trainee at the company, Nina (Carla Salle), finds her father murdered at home, a crime that the supercomputer never detected or punished, she is unable to access the single piece of footage that could give her father justice. To top it off, the “police force” urges her and her brother Daniel (Guilherme Prates) to speak nothing of the murder, ignoring the “glitch” in the System to keep the peace. Between the threat of unwavering surveillance and the ironies around what privacy means, the world of Omniscient is terrifying in how it is not far-fetched from our own.
At the Center of ‘Omniscient’ Is a Harrowing Murder Mystery
What makes Omniscient an effortless binge is that the show refrains from an overly preachy tone as it guides us through its dystopian nightmare and instead anchors the world in a murder mystery. After receiving no help from the company or the local figurehead authorities, Nina takes it upon herself to figure out who murdered her father and why the System failed to recognize the crime. There’s a distinct sense of dread and tension in watching Nina make her moves while evading detection by a drone that is ceaselessly present, especially since she isn’t fighting a particular villain. The workers at the company are simply workers; Nina is defying an entire system that most of the public has accepted as beneficial for their safety and security.
Throughout the show, Nina’s personal losses and Salle’s performance keep us rooted in humanity as we navigate the unfolding corruption in the System. In just the first episode, we watch her break the private property of the company as a result of frustration about being denied access to the footage, an impulse we can all relate to, and then be charged an absurd fine for it. It sets up her emotional arc and grit that carries us through the murder mystery, positioning us to root for her in the face of an unfeeling system. Salle balances this frustration with sharp intelligence that makes Nina fun to watch, as she cleverly and ingeniously hides her movements from the drone. With Salle’s Nina at the heart of the show, it is easier to immerse yourself in the eerie world where the sun shines too brightly and the people are too happy for a society that is perpetually surveilled.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Omniscient is six episodes of emotional revelations and spine-tingling corruption, tied together by a woman we trust to take us to a satisfying conclusion. It is equally enthralling and horrifying in how it represents a world that doesn’t feel too dissimilar to our own, thanks to the semantics surrounding the boundaries of privacy and intrusion. So, next time you’re vying for a show that’ll make you reconsider how you operate online, this overlooked gem on Netflix is for you.
