This Eerie New Netflix Sci-Fi Series Will Make You Dread A Rainy Weather Forecast

Who knew a raindrop could be so deadly? Netflix is diving back into the post-apocalypse survival genre with The Rain, premiering May 4. The streaming service has to be hoping that the Scandinavian original series will have similar success to the German sci-fi thriller Dark, which captivated fans with its twisty, time-bending plot. This new series is Netflix's latest sci-fi saga, and the response is yet to be clocked, but will The Rain return for season 2? It’s too early to tell, and Netflix has not announced any plans just yet. But the show’s premise and trailers look promising. If it builds up a fanbase like Dark did, it could also earn a renewal.

According to Netflix's website, The Rain follows siblings Simone (Alba August) and Rasmus (Lucas Lynggard Tønnesen) as they fight to survive in a dystopian society ravaged by a deadly virus carried in rain drops. The official trailer, which is in Danish with English subtitles, gives some background information on how everything went wrong. A downpour of rain sparked horrific reactions in anyone who lets even one droplet of rain touch their skin. The virus wipes out most living beings, but the siblings are spared by their father. He rushes them into an underground bunker, saying Rasmus is the key to solving the crisis, as he leaves to investigate.

Six years pass and the siblings emerge from their hiding place with their father’s research notebook to find the country in ruins. They ban together with a group of other young adults and quickly discover that other humans are still the deadliest disease of all. Go figure. The trailer’s dark imagery combine with the lush landscape makes it a visually engaging clip.

The Rain’s official Twitter page posted an intense alternate trailer featuring Simone’s voice (in English) as she mulls over how something so horrific could happen in her idyllic country. The trailer also included the show’s tagline: “Stay dry, stay alive.”

In a press release, Netflix's Vice President of International Original Series, Erik Barmack, said, “Scandinavia is known around the world for intriguing storytelling and captivating TV. We are excited to be working with such fine local actors, writers and directors to bring a big, fresh premise to a global audience.” The release also notes that The Rain is making a global debut on Netflix, meaning that it can be watched by subscribers all over the world.

The Rain will probably appeal to fans of shows such as The Walking Dead and 3% , as they all concern an ensemble of survivors struggling to find resources and retain their sense of humanity in a world with little to no social constructs. According to Yahoo, writer Jannik Tai Mosholt wanted to tell a story about young people coming to terms with a catastrophic event. She said:

"I’m interested in finding out what we humans will do if the day should come when civilization as we know it vanishes. And I want to see it through the eyes of youth. Those who are too young to understand it all when everything and everyone disappears around them, and who then have to find out who they are and what they will become…The Rain is a story about hope and finding out what there is to hope for when all of hope seems gone. It’s a story about responsibility and whether survival is about the individual or the group.”

It's a terrifying and intriguing concept to make a substance that keeps humans alive something that is essentially toxic to them. The first season will surely bring up a ton of questions about how this team will survive in such dire circumstances, and whether the pre-disaster reality can be restored. The Rain sounds like it will capture sci-fi lovers' curiosity, but can it keep their attention? Only time will tell.