10 Reasons Maniac Is The Best Netflix Original Series Since Stranger Things

Mental health isn't always so serious, particularly when you have so many hilarious stars in one cast. The show doesn't miss the opportunity to have fun with its scenarios, and the cast never allows any miss opportunities for a chuckle. Many of the laughs are ones where you feel bad afterwards, but they're earned nonetheless.

It's worth noting they're able to do this without trivializing the character's struggles or making psychological issues a punchline. Instead, the humor is provided through situational circumstances or natural conversation. It also comes from the dramatic shifts in personality within each dreamed scenario, as Jonah Hill's Owen can go from a depressed and mellow New Yorker to an eccentric Icelandic spy, feeling emotionally distraught after an encounter with an other-worldly being.

If Fukanaga, the writers, and actors weren't on the same page, these shifts could've come across as tone deaf. Thankfully, nobody ever breaks away from that common wavelength, making any shifts feel intentional, as well as purposeful.