10 Binge-Worthy SciFi/Fantasy TV Shows You Need to Watch

Cleverman

(SundanceTV)

Before creation, there was the Dreamtime. We come from the Dreamtime before we are born, and return after we die. Ancestral archetypes wove songlines in the void to make the world, its geography and creatures. It’s an understanding of nature that is tied into history, memory, story and song. The Dreamtime recalls tales of the Yowie, hairy and unusually strong people who lived in Australia alongside the progenitors of today’s Aborigines. Archaeological evidence shows there really is truth to this.

Cleverman uses this unique perspective to explore social conflict in modern-day Australia. This story centers around two Aboriginal brothers and a very white man. Handsome Waaru is a leader in the Aboriginal and Hairy communities. Koen is a mixed-race Aboriginal-white kid who just wants to run his bar and occasionally turn in Hairy refugees for the bounty money. Their uncle is the magical Cleverman, the human link between this world and the Dreamtime. Iain Glen (a.k.a., Jorah Mormont) plays Jarrod Slade, who wants to steal the magic of the Dreamtime so white people can use it for white people reasons.

When their wild-haired mystic uncle dies, Waaru thinks he is the natural heir to his power. But his uncle has other plans and Koen gets responsibility he never wanted. He also gets a magic stick, one blue eye, and a lot of unwanted attention. Waaru is angry and jealous. Will he betray two oppressed communities because of his pride or will he be the hero he always wanted?

Next: Gravity Falls