April 19 (2016-04-19) – July 19, 2016 (2016-07-19)
Containment is an American dramalimited series,[1] based on the Belgian television series Cordon. The series was officially ordered as a series by The CW on May 7, 2015,[2] and aired from April 19 through July 19, 2016.[3]Julie Plec served as executive producer, alongside David Nutter. The series follows an epidemic that breaks out in Atlanta, leaving a section of the city cordoned off under quarantine and those stuck on the inside fighting for their lives.
On May 12, 2016, The CW announced that Containment would not be renewed and would remain as a limited series.[4]
Cast and characters
Main
Outside the Containment Zone
David Gyasi as Major Alex "Lex" Carnahan, an officer of the Atlanta Police Department, boyfriend of Jana and best friend of Jake.[5]
Claudia Black as Dr. Sabine Lommers, a high ranking Doctor within the CDC who reports directly to POTUS.
Trevor St. John as Leonard "Leo" Greene, a reporter and conspiracy/truthlighter vlogger.
Inside the Containment Zone
Christina Moses as Jana Mayfield, a Data Recovery specialist, girlfriend of Lex, and ex-girlfriend of Jake.
Chris Wood as Officer Jake Riley, an officer of the Atlanta PD and best friend of Lex.
Kristen Gutoskie as Katie Frank, an Atlanta school teacher and mother of Quentin.
George Young as Dr. Victor Cannerts, an Infectious Diseases doctor and working with the CDC.
Hanna Mangan-Lawrence as Teresa Keaton, shop assistant at her mother's grocery store who is heavily pregnant by her boyfriend, Zander.
A Syrian man is found to be infected by a highly contagious virus. He infects multiple people, including his doctor and family, and sets in motion a series of events which leads to Zone 6 of Atlanta being quarantined via a cordon sanitaire created by use of shipping containers to block off streets. Government official Dr. Sabine Lommers erects this barrier around Zone 6 to prevent the virus from spreading. She asks police officer Lex Carnahan to stay outside the barrier to maintain calm and become the public face of the virus containment effort in the rest of the city. He eventually accepts, but only in the hopes of learning what is happening inside the quarantined zone, as his girlfriend Jana and his friend and fellow cop Jake are inside.
Authorities discover that the younger cousin of the Syrian man, now deemed "Patient Zero", had a girlfriend who was likely exposed to the virus. Lex and Dr. Lommers must track her down to see if she has been infected. They use citywide security footage to learn that she is at a teen sleepover somewhere inside the cordon. Meanwhile, the pregnant Teresa wishes to visit her grandmother, who has Parkinson's disease. Before she leaves her mother's store a friend stops by to invite her to a party. Teresa's infected friend exposes her to the virus while hugging and kissing her, and Teresa then takes measures to avoid infecting her grandmother. When the authorities confirm the existence of infected people outside the cordon, they position shipping containers to reinforce the barricade, signifying a somewhat more permanent quarantine.
While Lex attempts to maintain control outside the cordon, he learns that a young woman, who had close contact with an infected patient, is unaccounted for. With limited resources available, Lex is forced to enlist help from Jake, whose growing resentment towards Lex for getting him trapped inside is causing him to spiral. Meanwhile, Katie must face her students' desperate parents, and Teresa is shaken by a robbery at her mother's store. Furthermore, Leo Greene, a reporter, shows that there is a way out of the cordon, which leads to chaos and the shutdown of all communication inside the cordon, except for that with Dr. Victor Cannerts.
Lex continues his PR job until he realizes that that is not the job he wants to do. Katie needs medication, and Jake helps retrieve it and supplies for Dr. Cannerts. Jana makes a phone that works inside the cordon; while looking for a signal on the roof, she meets Sam, head of building ops and maintenance. She successfully makes the call, but it stops working after she talks to Lex for a second. Theresa's mother gets robbed again but is saved by a gang that takes over the shop. Xander tries to get into the cordon and, after an unsuccessful attempt, he gets in with Leo's help.
A food drop is organized inside the cordon. With limited police officers available to oversee the distribution, part of the food is taken by the gang still in charge of Theresa's mother's shop. Meanwhile, Lex is getting fed up with the authorities, and Katie realizes a mismatch in the timeline of events which leads to her figuring out that the people in charge are lying to the public. In the end, Meese is seen inside the cordon talking over a sat phone to a Chief Besser, saying that he made it inside the cordon.
Jake and Katie leave the hospital to find Thomas. The gang leader shoots a sick member of his gang. Lex and Leo team up, but Lex responds to deal with a squatter. Meese joins the gang. Xander and Theresa escape the shop. Jake and Katie find Thomas. Jake suspects that Thomas is immune when Thomas is exposed to the virus but doesn't get sick. Lex sends a video to Jana for decryption. Jake confesses his love for Katie. Jana lets Xander and Theresa into the office, but the gang takes Leanne hostage.
During a press conference Dr. Lommers tells Scott that she wants to trust him and during the conference is asked why she can't tell the truth. Lommers states "America needs to learn the truth" and shows the military men in isolation on camera. Jake finds two dead people in the shower suffocated and wrapped in plastic. He meets up with Lex and tells Jake it's Lommers. It was deduced that Lommers and the Chief are working together. Jake delivers a baby and is excited to tell Katie. While he is talking to her in isolation she coughs blood. Lommers is giving a press conference disclosing that the testing Dr. Victor Cannerts was doing in his lab was not approved by the CDC.
News media outlets cover Dr. Lommers' scandal, reporting they expect there will be hearings. The two young teenagers get engaged. Lex joins Jana in the cordon. Jake has a funeral releasing Katie's ashes. They find another person who has antibodies against the disease. At the series' conclusion, the cordon sanitaire is still in place.
Production
Filming for the series' pilot episode occurred in February and March 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. Several locals were cast as extras in various scenes.[19] In October 2015, the series was in regular production in the Atlanta area.
Broadcast
The series was broadcast on the Global Television Network in Canada,[20] on E4 in the UK[21] and on ProSieben in Germany. The limited series was available on Netflix in the United States between October 2016 and October 2021.[22]
Reception
On Metacritic, the series holds an average score of 48% out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[23] Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes also reported mixed critical responses, averaging a 53% rating. The website's consensus reads: "Uninspired performances and pedestrian writing make Containment just another in the long line of disaster movie scenarios we've seen played out countless times before."[24]
