German Series in the USA
"Cassandra" - When the Smart Home Goes Rogue

A home that organizes your everyday life, recognizes your preferences, and prepares dinner – sounds tempting? In “Cassandra”, it turns into a nightmare. This Netflix series gives the haunted-house genre a retro-futuristic twist.

By Angela Zierow

They have long been part of our everyday lives: smart home systems with artificial intelligence. They control lights and heating, restock the fridge, and keep uninvited guests away. And in the background, they collect plenty of data about our private lives. It's called “adapting to individual preferences” and “creating a personalized living environment.” Sounds harmless and feels incredibly convenient. But what happens when the ever-present AI suddenly crosses the line? The six-part Netflix series Cassandra turns the smart home into a house of horror.

A smart home with a creepy past

For genre fans, it comes as no surprise that Cassandra begins with a family hoping for a fresh start by moving far away from the city. Hamburg artist Samira Prill (Mina Tander), crime writer David (Michael Klammer) and their two children Juno (Mary Tölle) and Fynn (Joshua Kantara) have chosen Germany's oldest smart home of all places. The brutalist structure has stood abandoned in the forest of Wühlheim since the 1970s, after its original owner died in a mysterious car crash. The Prills wilfully ignore this fact, which (of course) turns out to be a fatal mistake: after their curious son discovers a broken-down robot in the basement and reactivates it, the electronic housekeeper Cassandra (Lavinia Wilson) starts taking charge. At first, Cassandra has an easy time winning over David and the kids – after all, she’s helpful and radiates a harmless, charming retro vibe. Since she monitors every corner of the house via screen, she quickly becomes an indispensable confidante. Only Samira remains suspicious of this ever-smiling, increasingly intrusive “family member.” And sure enough, Cassandra soon sees Samira as a rival – and the household accidents start piling up.

Jealous Robo-Lady Turns Into a Domestic Tyrant

A jealous AI as tyrannical housemate and substitute mom? Anyone expecting Cassandra to offer deep psychological insight or airtight logic will likely tune out by episode two. Especially since Cassandra, wobbling around on her little wheels, doesn’t quite convince as the menacing ruler of a haunted house. As Der Spiegel put it: “About as scary as a vacuum cleaner.” What’s more, showrunner and director Benjamin Gutsche (Lerchenberg, All You Need) overloaded his otherwise tightly scripted sci-fi story with countless unnecessary plotlines: infidelity, marital crises, domestic violence, suicide, homophobia, bullying, toxic masculinity, emancipation, cancer – even a touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder made it in. Still, mystery fans didn’t seem to mind. The human-machine cohabitation drama climbed to the top of Netflix’s charts in 32 countries. According to the streamer, it was the most successful German debut since Dear Child.

The Tragic Story of the “Ghost in the Machine”

Why the enthusiasm? As an after-work binge-watch, the six-parter hits the spot – maybe even because of its flaws. Alongside the (psycho) terror unleashed by the retro AI, the series also tells the tragic story of the human Cassandra: a wife suppressed and betrayed by her husband, who quite literally becomes the “ghost in the machine.” Thanks in large part to Lavinia Wilson’s moving performance, the downfall of a dutiful 1970s mother crushed by social convention really gets under your skin. The impressive set design and a splash of B-movie charm do the rest.