Netflix's Stateless is a gripping immigration drama that risks being overshadowed by its star power

Salon.com

The Cate Blanchett-produced drama stars Yvonne Strahovski, whose white female German-Australian character is meant to entice viewers to a six-episode story about immigration and refugees. "This is the crux of what occurs in the first episode of Stateless, and it's also the carrot meant to lure people who wouldn't otherwise sit through a six-hour drama about the plight of refugees hailing from countries across the Middle East and Africa, now stuck in some Australian version of limbo," says Melanie McFarland, adding: "Essentially Stateless attempts to employ the same tactic that Jenji Kohan did in Orange Is the New Black by dangling the story of a white, well-to-do blonde woman who ends up in prison as a lure into a story that is actually about the plight of the Black and brown people locked up with her. Considering Stateless has been in the works for many years, and Blanchett and her fellow creators reportedly contended with extensive pushback before the project received the official go-ahead, one may well absolve the producers for taking this approach. This also explains why Stateless devotes far more time and effort in developing and humanizing its white characters as opposed to bringing much (if any) depth to the refugee characters aside from the stories of Ameer and Mina. Blanchett's Pat is not onscreen for very much time, although she too serves as a A-lister carrot."

ALSO:

• With its Orange Is the New Black approach, Stateless' Trojan-horse effect is real
• Yvonne Strahovski gives a beautifully nuanced performance, but resists the temptation to go "For-Your-Consideration big"
• Cate Blanchett says the choice to start Stateless with some light-hearted camp is entirely deliberate