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Dispatches from Elsewhere

Dispatches from Elsewhere is an American drama television series created by and starring Jason Segel that premiered on March 1, 2020, on AMC.[1][2] It is based on the documentary film The Institute about the alternate reality game The Jejune Institute.[3]

Premise

The series, set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, follows "a group of ordinary people who stumble onto a puzzle hiding just behind the veil of everyday life. They will come to find that the mystery winds far deeper than they ever imagined."[4]

Cast

Main

Recurring

Production

Development

Jason Segel created the series and portrays the lead character.

On July 28, 2018, it was announced that AMC had given the production a series order. The series was created by Jason Segel who also directed the pilot and serves as executive producer alongside Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, and Garrett Basch.[6][4][7][8] The series is based on the 2013 documentary film The Institute, which is the story of The Jejune Institute, an alternate reality game set in San Francisco.[3]

Segel said that he chose to shoot in Philadelphia because during location scouting he was surprised to learn that the city is full of colorful public art; he said seeing the Magic Gardens for the first time was the moment he knew Philly was the right location for the show.[9]

Early versions of the script were set in an unspecified city, and then were rewritten to be about specific Philadelphia locations.[9]

Casting

Alongside the series order announcement in July 2018, it was announced that Jason Segel would star in the series.[4] In April 2019, Richard E. Grant, Sally Field and Eve Lindley were added to the cast, with André Benjamin joining in July.[10][11]

Filming

Principal photography for the series commenced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in July 2019.[4]

Future

In an interview in April 2020 after the first-season finale, Jason Segel commented on the possibility of a second season: "[I]t can be either an anthology or a limited [series], depending on how we decide to proceed. But the idea is that each season is stand-alone—and without giving too much away, each season would profile a specific thing, as The Jejune Institute was profiled in the first season."[12] By October 2021, the series was implied to be over.[13]

Episodes

Broadcast

The series was broadcast by AMC in the United States. In the United Kingdom, it premiered on April 29, 2020, on BT TV.[24]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an 85% rating with an average score of 7.2 out of 10 based on 39 reviews. The website's critical consensus is, "A weird and whimsical journey into the unknown, Dispatches from Elsewhere's experimental approach doesn't always coalesce, but committed performances and a genuine sense of wonder make it a trip worth taking."[25] On Metacritic, it has a score of 66 out of 100 based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]

Keith Phipps of TV Guide gave it a 4/5 rating and wrote, "What is going on is no clearer at the end of the first four episodes. That also doesn't really matter all that much. The series is as intriguing as it is heartfelt thanks to stylishly imaginative storytelling and richly developed characters."[3] Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone gave it a 3/5 star review and wrote, "Does Dispatches From Elsewhere earn its quirkiness? It's hard to tell based on the limited sample of episodes AMC made available to critics. But it's not boring, and its optimism is appealing in and of itself."[27]

Accolades

For the 32nd GLAAD Media Awards, the series was nominated for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.[28]

Alternate reality game (ARG)

In October 2019, fliers promoting a fictional entity called The New Noology Network (NNN) were found in the U.S. and Canada, advertising a study on recording dreams. This directed people towards the NNN's Twitch channel apparently broadcasting patient sessions live, until it was revealed to be a farce. Shortly after, NNN reached out to get participants to record themselves doing seemingly absurd tasks, similar in nature to the instructions given to participants of The Jejune Institute.[29]

Participants eventually figured out that this ARG was indeed directly connected to Dispatches from Elsewhere. Hidden clues in each episode starting from the second one led to clues tracking the location of a van, furthering the progress of the ARG and mirroring the search for Clara in the show. The final episode featured some of the participants' recordings of tasks from before, particularly recordings of themselves saying "I am (participant's name), and I am you", mimicking a line from the show. Segel himself was responsible for choosing which recordings to use in the finale, and contacting the chosen participants telling them to keep the secret. More clues led to a private video message from Segel thanking participants for their involvement.[30][31]

ARG company Hexagram was responsible for creating the ARG with involvement from Segel, AMC's VP of digital content Kevin Dreyfuss, and AMC's director of digital media Sarah LeTrent.[31][32] Hexagram enlisted Sludge to produce the live interactive content for the ARG, filming on location in New Mexico. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of a grand finale with a live audience, the remainder of the ARG was re-scripted, telling players to stay safe at home and tune in to the remaining live streams.[32][33]

References

  1. ^ Roots, Kimberly (November 25, 2019). "Sally Field and Jason Segel Receive Mysterious Dispatches From Elsewhere in New AMC Drama's First Teaser". TVLine. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  2. ^ "AMC's "Dispatches from Elsewhere" to Debut with Two-Night Premiere Event". The Futon Critic. December 5, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Phipps, Keith (February 10, 2020). "Dispatches from Elsewhere Review: Jason Segel Returns to TV With a Bold, Unpredictable Series". TV Guide. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Andreeva, Nellie (July 28, 2018). "Jason Segel Anthology Series 'Dispatches from Elsewhere' Gets AMC Series Order". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  5. ^ Denise Petski (July 18, 2019). "Dispatches From Elsewhere: Tara Lynne Barr To Recur In Jason Segel's AMC Anthology Series". Deadline. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  6. ^ Baysinger, Tim (July 17, 2019). "Outkast's Andre 3000 Joins Jason Segel's AMC Anthology Series 'Dispatches From Elsewhere'". The Wrap. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  7. ^ Maglio, Tony (July 28, 2018). "AMC Orders Jason Segel Anthology Series 'Dispatches From Elsewhere'". TheWrap. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  8. ^ Schwartz, Ryan (July 28, 2018). "Jason Segel to Star in, Create AMC Anthology Dispatches From Elsewhere". TVLine. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Gray, Ellen (February 25, 2020). "How Jason Segel fell for Philly and why he made his new TV show here". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  10. ^ Thorne, Will (April 9, 2019). "Richard E. Grant, Sally Field Join Jason Segel Series 'Dispatches From Elsewhere' at AMC". Variety. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  11. ^ Saponara, Michael (July 18, 2019). "André 3000 Joins Cast of AMC's 'Dispatches From Elsewhere'". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  12. ^ Grobar, Matt (April 27, 2020). "'Dispatches From Elsewhere' Finale: Jason Segel On Injecting Himself Into His Series' World And What He Knows About A Possible Season 2". Deadline. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 13, 2021). "Jason Segel To Star In 'Shrinking' Apple TV+ Comedy Series From 'Ted Lasso's Bill Lawrence & Brett Goldstein". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  14. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 3, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.1.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  15. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 3, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.2.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  16. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 10, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.9.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  17. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 17, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.16.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  18. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 24, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.23.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  19. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 31, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.30.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  20. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 7, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.6.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  21. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 14, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.13.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  22. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 21, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.20.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  23. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 28, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.27.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  24. ^ Moore, Sam (January 31, 2020). "Richard E. Grant-starring 'Dispatches From Elsewhere' UK premiere date announced". NME. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  25. ^ "Dispatches from Elsewhere: Season 1 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  26. ^ "Dispatches from Elsewhere: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  27. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (February 27, 2020). "'Dispatches From Elsewhere' Review: A Journey Into the Weird Beyond". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  28. ^ Shaffer, Claire (January 28, 2021). "'Schitt's Creek,' 'The Prom' Nominated for 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  29. ^ Andersen, Michelle (October 29, 2019). "New Noology Network Goes Beyond the Jejune". ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  30. ^ "What Happened To The Elsewhere Society? - Inside A Mind". YouTube. December 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  31. ^ a b Maas, Jennifer (May 11, 2020). "An Alternate Reality Game Helped Create the 'Dispatches From Elsewhere' Finale". TheWrap. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  32. ^ a b Solomon, Brian (May 18, 2020). "Behind the Experience: New Noology Network". Linkedin. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  33. ^ "New Noology Network". Sludge.io. Retrieved March 22, 2021.

External links