| Better Than Us | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
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| Starring |
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| Country of origin | Russia |
| Original language | Russian |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 16[1] |
| Production | |
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| Production locations | |
| Cinematography |
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| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Distributor | Yellow, Black and White Netflix |
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Digital |
| Original release | 23 November 2018 |
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Website  | |
Better Than Us (Russian: Лучше, чем люди, romanized: Luchshe, chem lyudi, literally Better Than Humans) is a Russian science fiction television series created by Andrey Junkovsky. It was produced by Yellow, Black and White in cooperation with Sputnik Vostok Production[2] for the Russian state channel C1R.[3] Netflix purchased it under the English title Better than Us, and it is the first Russian series presented as a Netflix Original.[4] On 16 August 2019, the first season became available to stream on Netflix markets outside of Russia and China.[5]
A second season of 10 episodes is planned to begin filming in Moscow and Beijing in the third quarter of 2021.[6]
The story takes place in 2029, where androids serve humans in various positions, even replacing them in many menial jobs. China's one-child policy has led to a critical shortage of marriageable women, so an engineer designs an advanced robot named Arisa. She is programmed to be a wife to a man and mother to adopted children, and she does not abide by Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. She is designed to protect her family, which includes herself. However, her creator dies and Arisa is sold to the Russian robotics firm CRONOS.[7] Arisa accidentally kills a man at CRONOS who tried to use her as a sex robot, and she then flees. She encounters little Sonia and automatically bonds with her and makes herself the child's guardian.
The series follows three storylines: that of Arisa and the family she adopts; the family's son Egor Safronov and his girlfriend Zhanna as part of the anti-droid militant group called the "Liquidators"; and the secrets of Viktor Toropov, the head of CRONOS, as he tries to hide the fact that they cannot make another Arisa.[8]
The filming of the television series began in 2016 and ended in 2018.[10][failed verification]
. kino-teatr.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 9 February 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
[The creators of "Kitchen" and "Londongrad" make a series about robots] (in Russian). kinometro.ru. 24 August 2016.
(in Russian). kinopoisk.ru. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
. The Hollywood Reporter.
. netflix.com. 2019.
. Variety. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
. nbcwashington.com. 2019.
. decider.com. 31 August 2019.
. YBW Group (in Russian). Retrieved 31 August 2019.
[Paulina Andreeva plays a robot in a new fantastic television project]. OK! Magazine Russia (in Russian). 24 August 2016.
Categories: Androids in television | Russian-language television shows | 2018 Russian television series debuts | 2010s Russian television series | Russian-language Netflix original programming | Existentialist works | Hard science fiction | Philosophical fiction | Robots in television | Serial drama television series | Television shows filmed in Moscow | Transhumanism in television series | Channel One Russia original programming | Russian drama television series | Russian science fiction television series | Works set in Moscow | Science fiction web series | 2018 web series debuts
