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Clever and funny film way ahead of its time on Netflix - perfect for Severance fans

The film stars Jim Carrey as a man who discovers his entire life has been a 24-hour reality TV show - and it's still incredibly relevant today

[Jim Carrey in The Truman Show]

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Jim Carrey in The Truman Show(Image: Getty)

Fans of the mind-bending Apple TV series Severance are eagerly awaiting its next instalment, following the second series that concluded this spring that left audiences and critics singing praises about the truth unravelling about Lumon Industries.

With fingers crossed for a shorter than three-year hiatus, Severance fans looking for something that hits the cerebral, surreal, and heartfelt notes of Severance need look no further than Netflix. The Truman Show is ready to fill that void. Starring Jim Carrey, the 1998 satirical gem uncovers the life of a man who realises his existence is the subject of a 24/7 hour reality TV show.

The film follows Truman's stranger-than-life story as he grapples with the earth-shattering revelation about his idyllic existence and the millions of viewers hooked on his daily life.

Despite the lie at its core, the movie is funny, heartfelt, and thought-provoking. And for those yearning for original storytelling, it's neither an adaptation nor a sequel.

What people are saying about The Truman Show

Widely acclaimed by both pundits and the audience, The Truman Show boasts a 'Certified Fresh' status on Rotten Tomatoes, with an impressive 94% approval from critics and 89% from over 250,000 viewer ratings.

"A funny, tender, and thought-provoking film, The Truman Show is all the more noteworthy for its remarkably prescient vision of runaway celebrity culture and a nation with an insatiable thirst for the private details of ordinary lives," reads the critical consensus.

Legendary critic Roger Ebert reviewed the movie when it was released and evoked Princess Diana as content to be consumed.

"Were invited to think about the implications," he wrote. "About a world in which modern communications make celebrity possible, and inhuman.

"Until fairly recently, the only way you could become really famous was to be royalty, or a writer, actor, preacher or politicianand even then, most people had knowledge of you only through words or printed pictures.

"Television, with its insatiable hunger for material, has made celebrities into 'content,' devouring their lives and secrets. If you think 'The Truman Show' is an exaggeration, reflect that Princess Diana lived under similar conditions from the day she became engaged to Charles.

[Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank]

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Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank(Image: Paramount)

Jim Carrey's performance in the film is often considered one of his best. He won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama, whilst Ed Harris, who plays a ruthless executive producer, won for Best Supporting Actor.

The Guardian's 1998 review praised Carrey as "impressive in deftly satirical comedy", noting that his role combined "Cliff Richard's wholesome grin, Jerry Lewis's comic energy and Anthony Perkins's spooky mildness".

The performance has stood the test of time, according to a 2024 review from The Highlander: "Through Truman's mannerisms from start to finish, Carrey truly excels in the main character role as his mannerisms along with his gradual realization that he is living in a simulated reality. Carrey has been known for many great performances, but this is one of his best."

The legacy of The Truman Show

[56TH ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS -- Pictured: Jim Carrey, Best Actor In A Leading Role - Drama, for "The Truman Show" on stage during the 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 24, 1999 (Photo by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)]

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Jim Carrey took home a Golden Globe for his dramatic turn in The Truman Show(Image: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

Despite coming out 27 years ago, The Truman Show's themes of exploitative media, hungry audiences, and surveillance culture will resonate with 2025 audiences.

When it was released in 1998, reality TV hadn't yet reached its peak - Big Brother US and UK didn't follow until 2000 - but the film foreshadowed the rise of reality TV and social media culture.

The movie was a smashing success both with critics and at the ticket stands, bagging three Oscar nods to boot.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, director Peter Weir shared his astonishment at its prescience with BBC Culture: "I had no idea the tsunami of reality TV lay just below the horizon."

He added: "It seems to appeal to a young audience which is unusual for a film older than they are."

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