Following the 1999 film, 6ixtynin9: the Series is an unexpected adaptation about the unexpected package. The loss of the package drives the violence of the film, as gang members tries to recover the money, and as protagonist Toom tries to survive. This is despite the package being easily replaceable by the original sender. In turning the movie into a show, the story expands to a whole set of characters in Toom’s apartment building, as well as a whole set of potential victims. Additionally, in bringing the late 90s plot into the post-pandemic world – a world with mass layoffs, government incompetence, and democracy protests, 6ixtynin9 feels cathartic. The series captures that sense of pure survival we’ve been facing these past few years.

Upon immediately watching, 6ixtynin9 feels like a thriller, but it has a surprising streak of dark humor that’s unexpected. From a thriller about people screwed over by companies and rich men, it’s hard to imagine moments like the afterlife customer service desk and hallway rap sessions. There’s a certain levity that comes with these, but these moments always serve as a precursor of how things can easily get so much better or worse than it is at the moment, it all depends on dumb luck especially without certain privileges. The series plays with expectations and the different levels of information each character has in order to push and pull their audience’s emotions.