A reliable critic warned me when he recommended Netflix's Russian Doll. It starts out wonky, he told me. The lead actress is visibly trying a little too hard to be funny and Jewish (sic), failing to strike him as either, and the tone isn't quite mastered. Once you get used to the somewhat quirky characters, and the mixture of tones gets truly good, I'd say you're in for a witty and intriguingly strange take on the Groundhog Day formula. I'll take whatever's not Happy Death Day.

Having just finished Umbrella Academy, which I mostly liked, this wasn't a shabby one to pick next. In the series, Natasha Lyonne (one of the creators alongside Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland) plays Nadya Vulvokov, whose story begins in the lavatory of her friend's apartment, where her 36th birthday party is being held. At one point during the night, she leaves the apartment and ends up passing the street without looking. She is run over and killed. Then, she's right back in the bathroom.

Indeed, Nadya appears to be trapped in a time loop that resets every time she dies, which keeps happening in ways that suggest the very Universe wants her trapped in the time loop. Trying to figure out if she's simply had the wrong drugs and then just what the hell is going on, she meets Alan (Charlie Barnett), and discovers that she isn't the only stuck in time.

Both of our leads are interesting in their own right and are just weird enough that we can still feel for them. There is also Greta Lee as Nadya's unthinkably sweet party host, Brendan Sexton III (of Black Hawk Down) as a local bum, and Jeremy Bobb, who's crying out to be cast as Jack Nicholson in a biopic about the production of The Shining. Can the good folk behind Disaster Artist make this happen?

Russian Doll ends on a finale that, while not paving the way for any sort of sequel, invites much speculation. It reminded me of Primer, although not quite as insanely confusing. As you'd expect, there is already much guessing.

I'm fine with understanding just as much about the time travel aspect as the characters we follow (Nadya and Alan might still have some questions at the time of this writing). What I can tell you is that Russian Doll is well-shot, lushly colored, full of distinct characters, and quite snappy in its pacing and sense of humor, while leaving room for the sort of existential musings a scenario like this would inspire. As familiar as it is in some respects, you likely won't be able to predict everything. Its use of pre-existing music also has some thought behind it.

The last Netflix original I praised was Maniac, which was also a visually interesting, masterful combo of extremely hilarious anf extremely sad (albeit thoughtful). It shared problems in common with Russian Doll too; there are a few lines of dialogue that try to connect with Kids Today™, despite decidedly not being written by Kids Today™.

All the same, 2019 is looking to be another good Netflix year