Is Paramount's 2024 series, Insomnia, based on a true story? While the official trailer tackles real-life experiences of what insomnia is and how sufferers deal with it, the series also depicts a thriller aspect.
So, what does this mean? Is it based on a real-life experience or perhaps a fiction-based show in which to immerse yourself? Here's all you need to know.
The True Inspiration Behind Paramount's Insomnia Series
Insomnia is an adaptation of Sarah Pinborough's sleep deprivation thriller novel of the same name.
The series' development was greenlit in March 2023 and is set to grace the UK's small screens on May 23 with six episodes, starring BAFTA Award winner Vicky McClure (This is England '86) as the titular character, Emma Averell.
Back in 2022, the author shared that the story behind Insomnia also happened to be from her personal experience of being a "slave to sleeping aids", but also in how her friends, who are women, struggle with female guilt for "missing family stuff because of work."
However, the series does seem to depict a similar real-life illness with a cure that has yet to be found.
Symptoms of Insomnia Highlighted in the Trailer
The most that Pinborough has warned viewers about around her research for Insomnia was "how quickly lack of sleep affects us and our sanity," and that it only takes a few missed nights of sleep "before hallucinations and paranoia kick in."
The most basic symptom of insomnia is having difficulty falling asleep at night while facing the consequences the next day by feeling tired or losing focus on tasks in the daytime.
Losing sleep could lead to hallucinations and distorted memories, too.
Insomnia is usually linked to a health condition (depression or other medical condition or taking new medication) or external factors such as stress, which hinder the person from getting enough sleep.
As the Insomnia trailer suggests, the condition could run in your family genes.
More specifically, the show seems to be about a more specific condition involving family history, which is called Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI).
This is described as a rare genetic degenerative brain disorder that progressively worsens, which would gravely affect the physical and mental state of the affected individual, depending on the hereditary passed on from generation to generation.
Worse, there is still no cure for this condition.
Keep in mind, though, that the author or showrunners have yet to confirm whether or not the series is trying to depict FFI.
While insomnia is not particularly dangerous, it does affect around 10%-30% of the population in various studies, some even reaching as high as 50%-60%.
What Is the Plot of the Insomnia Series?
The official synopsis for Insomnia follows Emma, a career-driven mother turning 40 in a couple of weeks living with her loyal stay-at-home husband, who ends up suffering the same fate her mother did at the same age.
According to the trailer, Emma's sleep deprivation was similar to what her mother previously experienced before eventually turning into a violent psychotic break the night she turned 40.
Thanks to this phenomenon, Emma starts to question her own reality, making her believe this is more than insomnia. Her mother is in the hospital after getting injured, her sister shows up in town without warning, and Emma feels she's being watched from the sidelines.
Could it truly be insomnia or are external factors affecting her life before her 40th birthday?
We'll have to find out once Insomnia premieres on Paramount+ on May 25.
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