Netflix Adds 1 Best Sci-Fi Drama of the Last 10 Years

In 2015, The Man from the Heights was one of the first original series on Prime Video. As of this week, it has a new streaming home on Netflix.

The show is based on the 1962 sci-fi novel by Philip K. Dicka writer whose work inspired him Blade Runner and other hits.

The series is set in an alternate timeline where German and Japanese forces defeated the United States during World War II and carved up America in its wake.

Now, Watch With Us shares three reasons why you need to watch The Man from the Heights on Netflix in March.

The base is dark and interesting

The world of The Man from the Heights It’s not something we’d like to live in, but there’s something interesting about how the world has changed on the show. Japan controls most of the West Coast of the United States, while Germany occupies most of the East Coast and the central regions. Only a small neutral point separates the two kingdoms in the Rocky Mountains.

Not all citizens accept the world as it is. It’s late Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa – who had a dangerous role as a villain Mortal Kombat – has an influential opportunity as Japan’s Trade Minister Nobusuke Tagomi. His people seem to be in control of their destiny, but Tagomi realizes that being America’s champions has done more harm than good. His acts of resistance are less visible than others, but he has an important part to play in the story. However, most of the show’s spotlight goes to Juliana Crain (FBI: Most Wanted‘s Alexa Davalos), one of the Americans who lived under Japanese occupation.

Alexa Davalos Gives an Outstanding Performance

Although Davalos has worked regularly as an actor for more than two decades, he rarely gets the limelight he has on the show. That’s unfortunate because Davalos is magnetic and compelling in this role. At first he portrays Juliana as a loyal citizen who has embraced Japanese culture. It was when he witnessed the brutality of the regime that he rebelled. Juliana is also one of the few characters who notices stories from other worlds that show the defeat of the Nazis.

Over time, Juliana takes great risks to bring down the Nazis, even if it costs her the love of her boyfriend, Frank Frink (Bridgerton‘s Rupert Evans). He also catches the attention of Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank), a man of questionable integrity.

Characters Exist in a Moral Ambiguity

Ironically, Frank’s acts of rebellion go even further than Julianna’s, and without spoiling the early events of the show, the Japanese regime brought it upon itself with its atrocities. In order to attack the Japanese who control his home, Frank must make moral compromises.

Still, Frank looks like a saint compared to John Smith (Rufus Sewell), a former American soldier turned Nazi collaborator. Because of his ruthlessness, Smith became an SS Obergruppenführer and one of the leaders of the Nazi regime in America. Smith is not a cartoon villain, although he often does bad things. Sewell gives Smith a basic humanity that allows him to acknowledge the cost of his betrayal and his ideals. Smith even risks his life and standing to protect one of his family members from fellow Nazis, only to see it backfire. Smith pays a high price for his power, and his story is one of the most interesting aspects of the show’s four-season run.

The Man from the Heights is streaming on Netflix.