What would you do with your last days on Earth if you knew the end of the world was coming — and soon?

Carol and the End of the World is a new limited, adult animation series coming to Netflix, premiering December 15th. It’s set against the backdrop of a mysterious, rogue planet hurtling towards Earth, due to impact and destroy it in a year. 

The trailer released to YouTube on December 4th and it already has over 5.3K views. And from the comments, it’s being received with quite a bit of excitement for its combination of simplistic animation style and the question human beings invariable all ask ourselves, what brings meaning to our lives, touching many with already existing existential crises and even death anxiety, while others applaud the fact that the lead character, Carol, is an older woman.

While it’s the least favorite of my animation style preferences (the style is as bland, clunky and unimpressive as the physical appearance of the character of Carol), I will be watching it more for the story and how it unfolds, especially since one of the interesting things about this story’s scenario that sets it apart from the done to death, end-of-the-world trope is that here the people of Earth react with less of the typical worldwide panic and more of a sense of liberation, quitting their jobs and pursuing their wildest dreams, while some among them pose the question of what their existence really means to them (along with the amusing, never ending absurdity of television commercials asking, “Does your dog know it’s the end of the world?”).

The unfolding tale is viewed through the eyes of Carol, a quiet, oft-uncomfortable administrative assistant in an accounting department who is uncertain what to do with this information or how to react to the apocalyptic news. All around her people walk off their jobs in droves, throw cash into bonfires, the stock market bell is rung for the last time and people all over the world celebrate a sort of newfound freedom this end of days news gives them.

The Executive Producer and Creator Dan Guterman (the writer of Rick and Morty), describes the series as, “a love letter to routine, a show about the comforts of monotony” and, “an animated and existential comedy about the daily rituals that make up the gaps that make up a life”.

The 10-episode series stars Martha Kelly (stand-up comedian and actress best known for co-starring in the FX comedy series Baskets) as Carol Kohl, along with Beth Grant (No Country For Old Men and The Mindy Project) and Lawrence Pressman (Reboot and Modern Family), with some surprise appearances by guest stars Stephen Colbert, Alison Brie, LeVar Burton, Barkhad Abdi, Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs, Kurtwood Smith, Laurie Metcalf and Tim Heidecker.

Dan Guterman and Donick Cary (The Simpsons, Parks and Recreation, Silicon Valley) are the executive producers, the co-executive producer is Kevin Arrieta (Wilfred, The Last O.G.). Bardel Entertainment, Inc. is responsible for the animation.

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