Mind-Bending Netflix Sci-Fi Series 'The OA' Is Back With a Mysterious New Trailer

Overview

When The OA arrived on Netflix in December 2016, inspiring many a binge-watch and just as many conversations, four words came to mind: like story, like show. In the sci-fi mystery series, an enigmatic young woman told a strange, sometimes creepy tale to a willing audience, demanding their faith and trust in return — and the eight-episode first season did exactly the same with streaming viewers.

Now the show is back, with The OA: Part II due to arrive on March 22. Across another eight installments, the series will once again delve into the plight of Prairie Johnson (Brit Marling), a blind woman who went missing for seven years, returned suddenly with restored sight, and started calling herself The OA.

In the first season, she would only relay the details to a group of followers — and both her story and its retelling featured near-death experiences, Russian oligarchs, tinkering with space and time, and interpretative dance moves. In the second season, The OA finds herself in an alternative dimension where Barack Obama has never been president. Meanwhile, a private detective tries to track down a missing teen and The OA's original pals once again try to work out what's going on.

Marling created the series with director Zal Batmanglij, with both co-writing several episodes as well — and their pre-The OA filmography gives an idea of the kind of space the pair likes to play in. Festival circuit flicks Sound of My Voice and The East each delved into close-knit groups with charismatic leaders and murky conspiracies, the former in a cult with a ringleader who claims to be from the future, and the latter in an eco-activist group.

Whatever The OA: Part II has up its sleeves, it won't be straightforward, but it'll likely inspire plenty of out-there sci-fi theories. Check out the trailer below — and start pondering just what's going on in the show's weird vision.

The OA: Part II hits Netflix worldwide on Friday, March 22.