Netflix has released the first trailer for its upcoming limited series The I-Land. The survival thriller, which will run for seven episodes, will tell the story of group of strangers trying to survive on an unnaturally dangerous island. Netflix describes the show in an official press release: “When ten people wake up on a treacherous island with no memory of who they are or how they got there, they set off on a trek to try to get back home. They soon discover this world is not as it seems. Faced with the I-Land’s extreme psychological and physical challenges, they must rise to their better selves — or die as their worst ones.”
The trailer begins with an immediate nod to a science fiction setting, with a silhouetted man (John Earl Jelks) addressing a jumpsuit-clad “Ms. Chase” (Natalie Martinez). He asks, “Can you please tell us the first thing you remember from the simulation?”
The trailer then flashes to a tropical island that would be a veritable paradise under normal circumstances. Chase, having just woken up on the beach, sits in a circle with nine other identically dressed individuals, all of whom have no recollection of how they came to be there. The trailer then proceeds to show a variety of dangers that the group is exposed to: severe storms, shark attacks, and paranoid infighting to name a few. All the while, there are cuts to an entirely different, futuristic setting in which more silhouetted men are observing an array of monitors with different views of the island.
The introduction of a mysterious cowboy character (Bruce McGill) cements the idea that there are rules behind the strange locale, and that the perils faced by those on the island are not so random. He imparts some advice to Chase, “If you do something wrong, the island, it pays you back.”
The show’s lead, known only as Ms. Chase for now, will be played by Under The Dome’s Natalie Martinez. The cast also includes Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns), Alex Pettyfer (Lee Daniels’ The Butler), Ronald Pete, John Earl Jelks (True Detective), Kyle Schmid, Kota Eberhardt, Sibylla Dean (Tyrant), and Bruce McGill (MacGyver).
The I-Land debuts on September 12 on Netflix.