''Explained'' is an American

documentary television series Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

on the streaming service

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. The show is produced by

Vox Media Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company based in Washington, D.C., and New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''SB Nation'' (a sports blog network founded in 2005 by ...

and is based on Vox's previous

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

video series which followed a similar format. The show's episodes averaged between 16 and 24 minutes, with each focusing on a different topic. Each episode is voiced by a different guest narrator. The series premiered on Netflix on May 23, 2018 with episodes released on a weekly basis. The second season premiered on September 26, 2019 and the third season on July 16, 2021. The show has also spawned five spin-off series. On September 12, 2019, Netflix released the first season of '' The Mind, Explained'', a series focused specifically on topics related to the human brain. On January 4, 2020, a follow-up titled '' Sex, Explained'' was released, with episodes centered around the theme of sex. On April 26, 2020, the 3-episode miniseries '' Coronavirus, Explained'' was released, which focuses on the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On September 28, 2020, the 3-episode miniseries, '' Whose Vote Counts, Explained'' was released, which details this history and current context of voting in the United States. '' Money, Explained'', a 5-episode miniseries released on May 11, 2021, focused on financial scams, credit cards, student loans, retirement and gambling. On November 9, 2021, a second season of ''The Mind, Explained'' was released.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2019)

Season 3 (2021)

Reception

The first season of ''Explained'' received generally positive reviews from critics. Kahron Spearman of ''

The Daily Dot ''The Daily Dot'' is a digital media company covering the culture of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Founded by Nicholas White in 2011, ''The Daily Dot'' is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The site, conceived as the Internet's "hometown ...

'' praised the show's use of "experts, easy-to-understand charting, and linear storytelling". In his review for

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

, Steve Greene wrote that the show "manages to avoid patronizing that unpredictable audience, presenting historical timelines and abstract concepts in a way that viewers can choose to digest however they wish".

References

External links

* on

* {{Vox Media 2018 American television series debuts 2010s American documentary television series English-language Netflix original programming Netflix original documentary television series Vox Media