In the grand tradition of films like Groundhog Day or Sliding Doors, the series The Lazarus Project takes the concept of time travel and gives it a decidedly apocalyptic edge. Starring Paapa Essiedu and Anjli Mohindra, the two-season series from Joe Burton — who also created the Netflix spy show Black Doves starring Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw — finds George (Essiedu) living the same couple of weeks over and over again, initially believing he’s losing his mind. A chance encounter proves to him that his new reality is very real and offers him an opportunity that will change his life. With a haunting sci-fi premise, set amid a global pandemic and other all-too-real horrors, The Lazarus Project is your next mind-bending watch. Read on to find out everything you need to know about the British series. 

Where can I stream The Lazarus Project?

Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream now. 

Simon Ridgway

Who is Paapa Essiedu? Who’s in the cast of The Lazarus Project?

Paapa Essiedu, who plays George, is best known for his role as Kwame in Michaela Coel’s 2020 dark comedy drama I May Destroy You. The actor earned multiple award nominations for his riveting performance as the best friend of Coel’s Arabella. He’s also been seen in the Black Mirror Season 6 episode “Demon 79,” and starred alongside Saoirse Ronan in 2024’s The Outrun. Essiedu will play the cranky potions master Severus Snape in the upcoming television series adaptation of the Harry Potter series. Get ready to see him everywhere. 

Here’s the cast starring alongside Essiedu in The Lazarus Project:

• Anjli Mohindra, who starred in the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, as Archie
• Rudi Dharmalingam, who has had roles in Doctor Who and the British soap Hollyoaks, as Shiv
• Charly Clive, a comedian who also starred in the BBC series Pure, as Sarah
• Caroline Quentin, who starred in the BBC sitcom Kiss Me Kate, as Elisabeth “Wes” Wesley
• Tom Burke, who broke out in Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir and played Orson Welles in the David Fincher film MANK, as Rebrov
• Brian Gleeson, who starred in the Netflix series Peaky Blinders, as Ross
• Vinette Robinson, who has had roles in Sherlock and in Season 3 of Black Mirror in the episode “Hated in the Nation,” as Janet
• Alec Utgoff, who has had roles in Gladiator 2 and played Dr. Alexei in Season 3 of Stranger Things, as Rudy

What happens in The Lazarus Project?

In Season 1 of The Lazarus Project, George wakes up on July 1, 2022, to life as usual alongside his girlfriend, Sarah (Clive). When, six months later, he wakes up on that very same July 1 for a second time, nobody but him seems to notice that time has passed. On the next July 1 he experiences, George is approached by Archie (Mohindra), who tells him that he has a very rare mutant gene that allows him to remember that time jumps are occurring, and that he’s previously experienced them without realizing.  

Archie recruits George into the mysterious Lazarus Project with a group of people who also experience time loops that always restart on July 1, and sometimes in different years. Each July 1 is considered a checkpoint: If they’ve done what they needed to do, they can move forward; if not, they’ll return to the previous year. On one particularly devastating July 1, when something horrible happens to Sarah, and George is told it’s too late to reset, George is ready to break all the rules to save her.

Victor Bello

Is The Lazarus Project related to the 2008 film of the same name?

Paul Walker starred in the 2008 film The Lazarus Project directed by John Patrick Glenn. While both may have a sci-fi bend to them, there’s no connection between the film and the television series. 

Simon Ridgway

How many seasons of The Lazarus Project are there?

There are two seasons of The Lazarus Project. The series ended with its second season in 2023. 

What is the mysterious Lazarus Project in The Lazarus Project?

The Lazarus Project is a top secret organization comprised of members who can all reset time in different ways. They use these skills to prevent and undo mass extinction events, ranging from pandemics, atomic bombs, and everything in between. After figuring out how to stop each catastrophic event before they occur, the Lazarus crew make time go backward. Then, they do a time reset as many times as needed in order to save the world. All the while, the rest of humanity has no idea.

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