Unnatural Selection (TV series)


Unnatural Selection is a 2019 TV documentary series that presents an overview of genetic engineering and particularly, the DNA-editing technology of CRISPR, from the perspective of scientists, corporations and biohackers working from their home. It was released by Netflix on October 18, 2019.

Episodes

Unnatural Selection is a documentary series.

Season 1

The first season consists of 4 episodes. It became available for streaming on October 18, 2019.

Reception

According to reviewer Megan Molteni, writing for Wired Magazine, "Unnatural Selection chronicles the ambitions and struggles of scientists, doctors, patients, conservationists, and biohackers as they seek to wrest control of evolution from nature itself. They are all navigating the profound ethical dilemmas of a world where it’s possible to rewrite the code of life inside any organism, including human... If you were looking for a Schoolhouse Rock! explanation of how Crispr works or a deep dive on the history of its discovery, Unnatural Selection won’t deliver... All the requisite references will be made —to Gattaca, to Huxley, to “life, uh, finds a way.”... After watching Unnatural Selection you might not have a better understanding of how Crispr-Cas9 differs from Crispr-Cas12e, a, or b, but you’ll definitely have something to talk about on the subway."
According to reviewer Dream McClinton, writing for The Guardian, "For the , the series had to tell the broader, more intricate story of genetic engineering, a story filled with great risk, benefits, consequences, emotions, sentiments and future, to better illuminate the field and further the discussion on the technology... The series is haunted by feelings of ambivalence from the scientists who are cautious about tipping the scales towards a possible dystopian future.. Unnatural Selection demonstrates the worry of many, and the hope of others, threaded into a huge tapestry of possibility of a more perfect future... While doubts the series will change the minds of the public about genetic engineering, hopes it will educate some about both the benefits and risks of genetic engineering."
There are other reviews of the series, including reviews from the TheReviewGeek and ReadySteadyCut.