The Near-Future Shock of <em>Years and Years</em>
The HBO series stars Emma Thompson as a populist leader with dark plans.
There’s a moment about 15 minutes into the first episode of that made me gasp at its audacity, its prescience, its visual horror. The new six-part series from the British writer Russell T. Davies () charts the life of the Lyons family over the course of 15 years, starting in 2019 and ending in 2034. It’s a kitchen-sink saga that barrels its way through births and marriages and betrayals, but also through the near-future. In 2024, Stephen Lyons (played by Rory Kinnear), a financial adviser, is at home with his wife, Celeste (T’nia Miller), both rushing their way through.
