Alma Winograd-Diaz gets into a near fatal car accident, and wakes up able to move through time. That premise sounds simple. It is not. Undone turns Alma’s ability into a puzzle box that takes two seasons to open, and by the time it does, the show has earned its reputation as one of the most ambitious animated dramas on television.
The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on September 13, 2019. It was Amazon’s first adult animated original, and its first to use rotoscoping, a technique that draws over live-action footage frame by frame. That choice shapes the whole series. Scenes blend together, past and present run into each other, and the line between memory and reality blurs constantly.
Trailer, via Prime Video.
Alma’s Crash
Alma is played by Rosa Salazar, and she carries the weight of the show. Her father died years before the series begins, and the accident opens a door she never expected. She can rewind moments, slip sideways into other versions of herself, and see things that happened before she was ready to see them. The show treats this power as both gift and curse, and Alma spends every episode trying to understand what it means.
The show opens with Alma’s accident. We see it happen, and we see it again from her perspective. The rotoscoped animation lets the scene stretch out, showing the same moment from multiple angles. It is a technical trick, but it also sets up the show’s central question: what is real, and how much of it can we control?
Becca and Camila
Alma’s sister Becca, played by Angelique Cabral, and her mother Camila, played by Constance Marie, ground the show in family. They do not share Alma’s power, but they feel its effects. Camila’s grief runs deep, and Becca’s anger at the situation pushes the plot forward. The show leans on these two relationships to give Alma’s time-traveling adventures a human shape.
Bob Odenkirk plays Jacob Winograd, Alma’s stepfather. He appears in the show’s present-day timeline, and his presence shapes how Alma approaches her father’s death. The show never fully explains why Alma’s father died, and that absence is part of the point. Alma has to chase down answers that may not exist, and the show respects that uncertainty.
The Elastic Nature of Reality
The show’s creators, Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob-Waksberg, describe Undone as exploring “the elastic nature of reality through its central character, Alma.” That description fits. The show is not a straightforward science-fiction story. It is a character study dressed in time-travel mechanics.
Purdy and Bob-Waksberg built the show around Alma’s experience, and the animation reflects that focus. The rotoscoping process forces the show to look closely at faces, gestures, and small movements. Nothing passes by unnoticed. Every expression counts, and the show trusts the audience to follow along.
The show’s first season ran 16 episodes, with a premiere date of September 13, 2019. The second season followed on April 29, 2022, after Amazon renewed the show in November 2019. That gap between seasons changed how the story unfolded, and the show handles that shift carefully. The second season picks up where the first left off, but the wait between them changes the tone.
Time Travel as Comedy
The show is described as a “psychological comedy drama,” and that label holds up. There are jokes, but they sit alongside the heavier themes. The show does not treat Alma’s condition as a punchline. It treats it as a condition, one that affects everything she does.
The comedy comes from Alma’s attempts to manage her life while her time sense goes haywire. She rewinds conversations she should have walked away from. She sees versions of herself she cannot explain. The show finds humor in confusion, and that balance keeps the tone from tipping too far in either direction.
A Show Built on Trust
Undone asks a lot of its audience. It expects viewers to keep track of timelines, to accept strange rules, and to trust that the show will eventually explain itself. Most shows would break under that pressure. Undone does not.
The show’s faith in its audience pays off. By the final episodes, the pieces fall into place, and the show delivers a resolution that feels earned. The rotoscoping, the family dynamics, and Alma’s time-traveling journey all circle back to each other.
| Season | Premiere Date | Episode Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13, 2019 | 16 |
| 2 | April 29, 2022 | 16 |
That table shows the show’s full arc, from the first premiere to the final episode. The gap between seasons is real, and the show acknowledges it. The second season picks up where the first left off, and the pacing reflects that wait.
The Verdict
Undone is a bold, confident show that trusts its audience to sit with uncertainty. It is not a perfect show. Some of the later episodes lean on repetition, and the middle stretch drags in places. But the ambition is real, and the payoff is real.
The show’s rotoscoping technique is a genuine achievement. It gives the series a visual identity that stands apart from other animated shows. The performances are strong across the board, especially from Salazar, who anchors the whole project.
The show’s exploration of Alma’s relationship with time is the heart of the story, and it is handled with care. The show does not rush to explain everything, and that restraint pays off in the final stretch. Alma’s journey is a personal one, and the show respects that scale.
Undone is a show about grief, family, and the limits of what we can change. It is also a show about the messiness of life, and it does not shy away from that mess. The show is available to stream on Prime Video, and it remains one of the most distinctive animated dramas ever made.
The show ends with Alma finally finding some measure of peace, though not the closure she sought. The final episode leaves the door open for a future beyond the story, but it does not force a neat ending. That restraint is fitting for a show that spent two seasons asking questions without easy answers.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
