Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Unlisted’ on Netflix, an Australian Series Tangling Teens in an Evil Conspiracy

Teens are the targets of a sinister conspiracy in The Unlisted, a sci-fi-ish series enjoying an international release via Netflix after debuting on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The 15-episode series has all the trappings of a high-tech, big-network thriller, with hopes of luring young audiences in with a blend of heavy action and light comedy. But does it work better on paper than in execution?

THE UNLISTED: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A bustling cityscape. In the distance, tires screech, followed by a crash.

The Gist: That crash? A black van kissed a partition a bit too hard. Four teenagers in white jumpsuits scramble away from the scene, chased by two men dressed entirely in black. They escape.

Somewhere in the suburbs, Dru Sharma (Vrund Rao) wakes abruptly from a dentist-chair nightmare. He looks up the dream imagery online: “An untrustworthy presence is about to enter your life” is the interpretation, and — knock knock knock! It’s his parents (Nicholas Brown and Avishma Lohith). Ominous! They tell him, since it’s the Hindi holiday of Diwali, he can have his computer privileges back, as long as he stops being a hacker, a promise that’ll he’ll keep for about a half-dozen scenes, tops.

Dru and twin brother Kal (Ved Rao) ride their bikes to high school. It’s — moan — standardized test day, conducted by an agency with a not-at-all-suspicious name, the Global Child Initiative. On top of that, students are forced to line up for some kind of curious dental exam: “You’ll feel a pinch,” says a fishy-looking woman who couldn’t possibly be part of some type of conspiratorial scheme lorded over by corporate-governmental warlord types or whatever. Still bothered by his dream, Dru has Kal take the pinch in the gums for him, and if my math is correct, that means Kal got it twice, and Dru got it zero times.

In the midst of the written test, every kid in class suddenly freezes, staring into the middle distance like robots, save for Dru. Kal is skeptical of his brother’s claim, but evidence mounts: a classmate and his are kidnapped by men in black, and Kal begins exhibiting abnormal strength and endurance. Interesting. The brothers try to focus on the traditional Diwali prayer and meal arranged by their grandmother Dadi (Saba Zaidi Abdi), but they’re unsettled. Something ominous is afoot. What could it be?

Our Take: So far, so good-but-not-great. The first episode of The Unlisted does several things right: Blending genres, building intrigue, establishing characters. The theme song is an eerie version of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall, which nicely teases and telegraphs the plot. It moves along at an uptempo clip and, at 25 minutes, doesn’t feel padded or overstay its welcome.

But it also seems to be fishing around for a consistent tone — its modest stabs at comedy fall flat, and the serious moments fall prey to stiff dialogue and performances. It’s clear The Unlisted is still finding its footing. Originality is a concern as well; how many dystopian-teen sci-fi dramas have we seen lately on TV or at the movies? It feels like too many.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: Somewhere under the city, the four escaped teens trudge through the sewer system, looking rather upset and disturbed.

Sleeper Star: Taking promotional photos as a cue, it looks like the four as-yet-unnamed kids will play bigger roles in upcoming episodes. For now, the introduction of Dru’s friend/possible crush Chloe (Aria Ferris) seems extraneous, but the character exhibits signs of being a wild card in this plot.

Most Pilot-y Line: “I think there’s been a glitch. Just turn it off and on,” says the fishy-looking woman about whatever wireless mechanism caused the teens’ eyes to glaze over like fresh Krispy Kremes. Maybe they need to unplug it, then plug it back in?

Our Call: STREAM IT. Give The Unlisted another episode or three to see if it establishes itself as something special, or just another mildly compelling story.

Your Call:

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream The Unlisted on Netflix