Why You Should Be Watching 12 Monkeys

Based on the 1995 film with the same name, 12 Monkeys tells the story of James Cole (Aaron Stanford), a time-traveler who must travel in time from 2043 to our present, to prevent the release of a virus that annihilates the human race. To accomplish his mission, he must bring along Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull), a CDC virologist.

Time travel is always a hard subject to write about. Showrunners risk themselves by having an illogical story, bumping into anachronisms and conflicting timelines, or having an intelligent story that’s hard to understand, where viewers might lose their interest on the show because they simply can’t keep up.

Smartly crafted and cleverly paced, this show proves that it’s possible to bring smart and comprehensible time-travel stories to TV.

First of all, it accomplished to balance the science and the fiction, something that most content in this genre struggles with.

Astoundingly written, the story keeps viewers always on the edge of their seats. Each episode leaves them with a need to start theorizing about what may come next, and wanting to re-watch older episodes in hopes of finding clues that may help to build up conjectures and eventually, throughout the show, the viewer is able to fill in the missing pieces of this mind-blowing puzzle.

It is worth mentioning that the show also has an amazing cast, portraying their characters beautifully in a way you just can’t help but feel connected to them. Even with characters that traditionally would be considered villains, the show’s writing and the actors’ portrayal of them bring out the viewer’s understanding, adding several layers of depth to the process of character development.

On top of that, the story is not only told through the lines delivered, but also through stunning visuals that make the viewer feel as if they’re travelling throughout time, experiencing every single adventure.

There’s little content from this genre that delivers such quality. 12 Monkeys is, in my opinion, one of the best sci-fi shows of the last decade. Few shows have challenged me and kept me constantly excited with what may come as this one does.

With season 3 just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to start watching the series. If you’ve watched the film and enjoyed it, I guarantee you’ll love the TV series. To those who haven’t, if you love science fiction, especially time-travel stories as I do, I advise you to start watching this show, you won’t regret it.

You can watch 12 Monkeys Seasons 1 & 2 on syfy.com, Hulu, Itunes and Amazon Video.

12 Monkeys Season 3 starts May 19th on Syfy.

Cecilia López Closs