Netflix's upcoming series Sense8 follows eight strangers from around the world: Will from Chicago, Riley from London, Capheus from Nairobi, Sun from Seoul, Lito from Mexico City, Kala from Mumbai, Wolfgang from Berlin, and Nomi from San Francisco.
When the show begins, they have no idea they all share the same gene mutation that connects them as a sensate cluster, but it's soon revealed when they begin sharing sensations with people they've never met before. The thriller, which was created by Andy and Lana Wachowski and Joe Straczynski, follows each character's journey as they figure out what is happening and meet the other sensates.
"It's a global story told on a planetary scale about human transcendence and what it ultimately means to be human in a contemporary society," Straczynski told BuzzFeed News earlier this month, noting that each sensate cluster is meant to represent how people can work together, even when they have different political or cultural beliefs.
The creators of Sense8 wanted all eight characters to come from very different walks of life, and below, BuzzFeed News can exclusively reveal details and first look videos on each member of the sensate cluster.
1. Will Gorski (Brian J. Smith)
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Location: Chicago, Illinois
Height: 6'1"
Occupation: Police officer
Area of expertise: Protecting and serving
More details: Will is the first one to connect with Jonas (Naveen Andrews), the man who guides the eight new sensates toward answers. Will has a connection to a unsolved murder, which still haunts him and causes him to have migraines and visions. But it gets worse when "a new death opens old wounds" for Will, according to a Netflix representative.
2. Nomi Marks (Jamie Clayton)
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Location: San Francisco, California
Height: 5'10"
Occupation: Political blogger
Area of expertise: Online hacking
More details: Nomi finds out "that a sudden change in the way her brain works will kill her in six months unless she has extensive brain surgery," according to a Netflix representative. She's also transgender and is in a very happy relationship with her girlfriend Amanita (Freema Agyeman).
3. Wolfgang (Max Riemelt)
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Location: Berlin, Germany
Height: 5'11"
Occupation: Locksmith by trade, safe-cracker by profession
Area of expertise: World-class jewel heists, hand-to-hand combat
More details: Wolfgang, who has unresolved issues with his father, is involved in high-stake heists with his best friend, as well as organized crime.
4. Kala (Tina Desai)
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Location: Mumbai, India
Height: 5'5"
Occupation: Pharmacist
Area of expertise: Medicine
More details: Kala is about to marry a man she's not truly in love with, which is particularly problematic because her soon-to-be father-in-law owns the pharmaceutical company where she works. When she prays to the Hindi deity Ganesha, hoping to find a way to end her engagement, "she ends up with far more trouble than she had anticipated," according to a Netflix representative.
5. Capheus (Aml Ameen)
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Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Height: 5'10"
Occupation: Bus driver
Area of expertise: High-difficulty driving
More details: Optimistic and kind Capheus "knows every back alley" because he drives bus called the "Van Damn." He is also "desperately trying to earn money for medicine that will save his dying mother," according to a Netflix representative.
6. Sun (Bae Doona)
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Location: Seoul, South Korea
Height: 5'6"
Occupation: Chief financial officer
Area of expertise: Martial arts
More details: Sun, whose father is a Korean businessman, is a burgeoning star in the underground kickboxing world. But she "gets caught up in a web of embezzlement, courtesy of her brother, and must decide whether or not to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her family," according to a Netflix representative.
7. Lito (Miguel Ángel Silvestre)
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Born: Bilbao, Spain
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Height: 5'11"
Occupation: Actor
Area of expertise: Loving and lying
More details: Lito is in love with a man named Hernando (Alfonso Herrera), but is closeted because he feels being out would ruin his chances of having a successful career.
8. Riley (Tuppence Middleton)
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Born: Iceland
Location: London, England
Height: 5'7"
Occupation: D.J.
More details: Riley has a troubled past and ran away from home. Now, she is heavily involved in the drug trade.