How to Watch Love Death and Robots on Netflix

Love Death & Robots is a Netflix anthology series that sees different animation studios from around the world tell exciting short-form stories. It combines the brilliant mix of “Heavy Metal” and “Black Mirror”.

This season is full of intriguing stories, from a trippy homage to Moebius to an animated space adventure. If you love these sci-fi anthology shows, check out these hidden gems on Netflix right now!

What is Love Death & Robots?

Love Death & Robots is a five-time Emmy award winning animated series produced by Blur Studio and is available to watch on Netflix. It features stand-alone episodes that vary in animation style and story, spanning a range of genres including science fiction, comedy, and even horror. Its most noteworthy achievements include its dazzling array of award-winning special effects.

The show boasts a devoted fan base, particularly among adults who enjoy animated programs. The latest iteration, season three, was recently renewed. To mark the occasion, Netflix has teamed up with YouTube to release the most impressive episode of its third sexiest season. In addition to the aforementioned prize-worthy content, it has also rolled out an immersive augmented reality experience for its most avid fans. The aforementioned interactive display is only a taste of things to come.

Season 1

The first season of Love Death & Robots, a Netflix animated anthology series from Tim Miller and David Fincher, was released on March 15, 2019. It consists of 18 short animated stories exploring different themes including love, death, and technology. Each episode tells an independent story in a different genre, ranging from 6 to 20 minutes long.

Unlike many anthology series, Love Death & Robots is designed as a single, cohesive narrative. This allows the filmmakers to take a more holistic approach to their storytelling. This is evident in the way their characters react to one another and the environment, as well as the way they are able to communicate and interact.

While this is a positive thing for an anthology series, it can be problematic when trying to establish thematic continuity between episodes. It also can make for a less compelling experience than watching individual standalone shorts.

This is especially true in this season of Love Death & Robots, which feels less like an anthology series and more like an animated science-fiction anthology film. This leads to a few episodes that feel more disposable than they should be, and it makes it hard to really get invested in them.

But despite this, there are still some very good stories here. A few of them, like “Beyond the Aquila Rift,” are incredibly well-crafted. They feature a spaceship blown off course and caught in an incredible, surreal setting that would be right at home in Black Mirror or the new Twilight Zone.

Other stories, such as “Shape-Shifters,” are less effective. The werewolves fighting alongside the prejudiced servicemen in Afghanistan are too silly for their own good, and even though the story is only 16 minutes long, it feels a bit longer than it needs to be.

On the other hand, there are some excellent stories, such as “Swarm,” which explores the ways in which humans have become more powerful than nature. The story uses some of the most innovative visual effects I’ve seen in a recent anthology.

The other big story in this season of Love Death & Robots is the three droll robo-tourists from Volume 1’s “Three Robots,” who continue to travel across a post-apocalyptic Earth, studying survival strategies and imagining what it might be like to live after mankind has died. It’s a very funny short, but it’s also a little morbid.

Season 2

Netflix's experimental Love Death & Robots is back with a second volume of stand-alone animated short films based on classic science fiction and fantasy literature. The original 18-episode first season featured some incredibly innovative animation styles and unabashedly adult content. The second season, however, is notably shorter and much more focused on storytelling.

With only eight stories this time around, the challenge for creator Tim Miller and his team of animators was to find a balance between story and visual style that still made this a stand-out anthology series. The goal is still to tell visually stunning and thought-provoking stories that challenge viewers to think about big questions such as what it means to be human or what the future might look like if we were to use robots to replace humans.

The first episode, "Automated Customer Service," kicks off the new season with a hilarious, frenzied premise where a robotic vacuum goes on a murder rampage. It's a fun riff on a common theme in the show, where malfunctioning robots get triggered to kill people.

It's a pretty cool way to open the show, but it doesn't really serve as the launching point for what is ultimately a surprisingly strong Season 2. The next two episodes -- "Life Hutch" and "The Drowned Giant" – are both more mature, challenging viewers to grapple with the big questions of life, death, and robots.

"Life Hutch" is a good example of how Love, Death & Robots can be judged on its own terms: Does the photo-realistic animation elevate the narrative or simply highlight it? The stranded astronaut's cat-and-mouse battle with a malfunctioning robot is fun, but it ultimately feels like an exercise in tech demo for the stunningly realistic animation.

While this second volume of episodes is not as groundbreaking as Season 1's, it is still a fascinating look at the ways different animation studios can use their skills to tell compelling stories. This season also includes a handful of stories that go beyond the purely comic or action-driven realm, such as "Snow in the Desert," which encourages viewers to ask big questions about robotics and how we might build a better society in the future.

Season 3

The Emmy-winning animated anthology Love Death & Robots, created by Deadpool director Tim Miller, has a rich history of telling startling short stories that mix terror, imagination and beauty. The third volume, executive produced by Tim Miller and David Fincher (MINDHUNTER, Mank), will combine a mixture of horror, fantasy, and science-fiction with the trademark wit and visual invention that has made this series a fan favorite.

Season 3 is expected to arrive on Netflix this May, and fans can expect a variety of new episodes from some of the series’ most popular creatives. From a medieval-set Lovecraftian tale to an action-packed zombie apocalypse, there’s something for everyone in this latest collection of genre shorts.

A grotesque mash-up of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu with a military team who encounters an ancient evil, In Vaulted Halls Entombed delivers a deeply dark and surprisingly well-paced story of supernatural danger and eerie animation. The short has the most ominous atmosphere of any episode this year, and the animation itself is some of the finest we’ve seen in the anthology.

This short also features an interesting use of the concept of resurgent life, and it’s a fun romp through a strange and dangerous world. The only thing that could be better would be if it was a longer episode, but as it is, this short is a delightfully unique entry in the anthology’s catalog.

Another standout is the title episode, Three Robots: Exit Strategies, from sci-fi novelist John Scalzi. This is the first Love, Death & Robots direct sequel and it follows the titular trio of droll droids as they journey to study post-apocalyptic human survival strategies before mankind is wiped out.

The show’s reimagining of a nuclear apocalypse, however, is a bit over-the-top in terms of violence and guts, but it’s still an impressive piece of work that makes good on the promises of the previous season. It’s also a welcome return to the slapstick side of the series, with the droids and their dog-like companions tackling an array of gory horrors.

The only real weakness of the season comes in the form of the rushed and poorly-written episode Night of the Mini Dead. The premise is simple: a group of survivors on a mission to explore a moon called Io are forced to survive using the oxygen from their co-pilot’s body, as well as mind-warping drugs that can help them deal with the pain of their injuries. The episode’s fast-paced production values and cutesy tone isn’t bad, but it feels like an unnecessary diversion that will likely only be watched once.