Netflix Series ‘Containment’ has Increased Views due to Global Pandemic

Rosa Morales, Copy Editor

As people are spending more time inside due to stay-at-home orders as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, certain shows and movies have seen an increase in viewers. Movies and shows that have a focus on the spread of deadly viruses have especially soared in viewership. One virus-themed program that has fallen in this category is Containment.

Containment is an American drama television series that originally aired on CW in 2016 and is available on streaming services, such as Netflix. The series is based on the Belgian series Cordon, and takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, where a virus breaks out. This causes city officials to decide to place a barrier around a portion of the city to allow for a quarantine in hopes of reducing the spread, and eventually killing, the virus.

The people who happen to be stuck inside of the cordon are forced to fight for their lives while the local city and federal officials attempt to reduce the risk of an outbreak and find a cure.

The series touches on the lives of several people, including police officer Lex Carnahan, who finds himself outside of the cordon, attempting to keep the people at peace. Other main characters include Carnahan’s girlfriend Jana Mayfield and best friend and fellow officer Jake Riley, who happen to both be stuck inside of the cordoned area.

This makes Carnahan’s job that much more difficult because he is constantly told by his superiors to set aside his personal feelings and focus strictly on his career’s duty. Throughout the series, he has internal battles on the types of decisions he should be making because he wants to keep the greater population safe but cares deeply for these individuals.

Katie Frank, an elementary school teacher who took her class on a field trip, finds herself and her entire class on lockdown in the very hospital that the virus had its first victims in. Alongside the many people stuck inside the cordon, there is also a researcher from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in this hospital, racing against time to find a cure for the virus before it consumes Atlanta.

The different story lines, the intense atmosphere around the virus, and the methods the government use to handle this situation makes it easy for viewers to compare the TV show to our current coronavirus condition.

After watching this show, the desire to wear a mask in public will surely increase tenfold, making individuals subconsciously stay even further back from the 4-6 ft. recommended distance.

Containment has a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a 7.2/10 on IMDb, and a 7.9/10 on TV.com.  The content of the show is incredibly plausible, especially today, making it that much harder to turn off.