Like many other Resident Evil adaptations, the Netflix live-action series attempts to put another spin on the video game franchise it’s based on. The show, directed by Supernatural’s Andrew Dabb, flashes between two different timelines, centering on Umbrella executive Albert Wesker (Lance Reddick) and his two daughters (played by Tamara Smart and Siena Agudong). In our review of the series, my colleague Charles Pulliam-Moore notes that it “keeps things fresh up to a point,” but gets bogged down by a “predictable plot that ultimately suffers from such a late entry into the modern-day zombie craze.” The Resident Evil made Netflix’s top 10 most-watched shows the week it debuted and the two weeks that followed, but largely fell off the map after that.It also doesn’t help that it only premiered a few months after the fourth season of Stranger Things debuted, potentially stealing some of the spotlight from Resident Evil. In addition to its live-action adaptation, Netflix also has a four-part Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness animated series that came out last year. The series focuses heavily on the lore of the Resident Evil franchise and has also been met with mixed reviews. Even if Netflix’s live-action Resident Evil wasn’t the success it intended, the streamer has several other video game adaptations, including those based on Horizon Zero Dawn, Tomb Raider, Far Cry, and Bioshock. Netflix already has an anime based on Castlevania and recently debuted an animated adaptation of Tekken.
