Robert Downey Jr.’s New Apocalyptic Netflix Drama Is A Darker Version Of Don’t Look Up

Published Nov 10, 2026, 4:15 PM EST As Classic TV Editor at Screen Rant, Guy specializes in leading features content about shows from decades gone by. Having written for and edited several TV, film and music publications, his areas of expertise include comedy, crime, historical drama, Westerns, and political thrillers. Two years after his production company’s acclaimed HBO adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer, Robert Downey Jr. is producing another streaming miniseries with similarly profound real-world implications. This time, he’s backing Netflix’s adaptation of a celebrated Off-Broadway play entitled Weather Girl. Written by Brian Watkins, who previously created Prime Video’s ambitious sci-fi Western series Outer Range, this play addresses the global climate crisis from the perspective of a weather presenter who finds herself reporting live on a harrowing family tragedy. The original stage version of Weather Girl is also the work of Francesca Moody Productions, the company behind previous landmark stage-to-screen successes Fleabag and Baby Reindeer. Much like Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s breakthrough role, it’s a one-woman show. Stage actor Julia McDermott played Weather Girl’s protagonist Stacey onstage for its Westend and Off-Broadway runs, and will reprise the role in Robert Downey Jr.’s Netflix production for the small screen. Apocalyptic TV shows have become ubiquitous over the past decade, and this psychological thriller is another one to add to the list. It’s essentially about a young woman dealing with her own personal demons who’s thrown into the midst of a climate catastrophe that feels frightening close to home, especially for residents of the Greater Los Angeles area like Downey Jr.. In this sense, it has more in common with one of Netflix’s most watched movies, Adam McKay’s 2021 disaster satire Don’t Look Up, than it does with any other TV show. Robert Downey Jr.’s Upcoming Netflix Production Tackles The Climate Crisis For a long time, it was assumed that Robert Downey Jr.’s next TV project would be Singularity, a Prime Video thriller tapping into concerns about the advance of AI. But it looks like Netflix’s Weather Girl will far precede its Amazon-backed rival, addressing another existential threat to humanity. This miniseries adapted by Brian Watkins from his own stage play deals with the effects of climate change on California. When its title character Stacey, played by Julia McDermott, is sent to cover a local wildfire, it triggers a downward spiral in her psychological wellbeing that mirrors the destabilization of the climate she’s reporting on. Robert Downey Jr.'s TV Productions Network/Platform Year The Age of A.I. YouTube 2019 Perry Mason HBO 2020–2023 Sweet Tooth Netflix 2021–2024 The Bond Discovery+ 2022 Downey's Dream Cars HBO Max 2023 The Sympathizer HBO 2024 Weather Girl Netflix TBC Watkins will also direct the first episode of the series, which is executive-produced by Downey Jr. and his wife, Susan, through their production company Team Downey. A24 is co-producing the project, which broadens the scope of Stacey’s personal story from the original stage version of Weather Girl. What To Expect From Weather Girl Although no cast members other than Julia McDermott have yet been announced for Netflix’s Weather Girl, the streamer has already announced via Tudum that its story will involve additional characters, including Stacey’s estranged mother. The miniseries is also said to confront “the looming climate apocalypse”, suggesting that it won’t pull any punches when it comes to depicting the true horrors of global warming. At the same time, if the stage play is anything to go by, the show will infuse its presentation of Stacey’s increasingly troubled mental state and a full-blown climate crisis with a searingly dark sense of humor. It’s as though Brian Watkins watched the Netflix movie Don’t Look Up, and decided he wanted it darker. This aspect of Weather Girl feels reminiscent of Robert Downey Jr.’s 2024 genre-bending 2024 masterpiece The Sympathizer, which exposes the stark reality of American actions during and immediately after the conclusion of the Vietnam War. It seems likely that climate change along the Pacific Coast is about to get the same brutally honest satirical treatment. The exact runtime and episode count of Weather Girl haven’t been confirmed at this point. We only know that, like The Sympathizer, it’s going to be a miniseries adaptation from another medium. But fans of Downey Jr.’s previous TV productions, as well as Don’t Look Up, should be on the lookout for more details in the coming months, with a 2027 release a strong possibility.