What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedPerfect Sense
David Mackenzie · Film · 2011
If you loved Perfect Sense, start with Station Eleven (Patrick Somerville, 2021) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Perfect Sense across media.
What hooked you in Perfect Sense was the way the sudden collapse of humanity forces a profound, intimate focus on human connection.
Books on the same thread
Blindness
José Saramago · Book · 1999
Explores: Social Breakdown, Loss of Sight, Humanity in Crisis.
Like Perfect Sense, this novel examines how the sudden loss of a fundamental human sense strips society of its structure, leaving individuals to cling to their humanity amidst chaos.
Matched
Ally Condie · Book · 2011
Explores: Forbidden Love, Government Control, Free Will vs. Determinism.
This story mirrors the doomed romance found in Perfect Sense by exploring how external systemic control complicates the raw, personal desire for love in a rigid, dystopian world.
Feed
M. T. Anderson · Book · 2012
Explores: Technological Dependence, Social Commentary, Consumerism.
If the sensory degradation in Perfect Sense intrigued you, this look at how technological dependence alters human perception and individuality offers a similar, haunting critique of modern existence.
The Windup Girl
Paolo Bacigalupi · Book · 2010
Explores: Corporate Power, Environmental Collapse, Genetic Engineering.
Much like the global pandemic in Perfect Sense, this narrative portrays a world where environmental and biological catastrophe dictates the desperate terms of survival and daily human interaction.
Series on the same thread
Station Eleven
Patrick Somerville · Series · 2021
Explores: Rebuilding Society, Loss and Grief, The Power of Art.
This series captures the same melancholic beauty seen in Perfect Sense, focusing on how individuals preserve emotional intimacy and art while navigating the remnants of a fallen civilization.
Sense8
Lana Wachowski · Series · 2015
Explores: Connectedness, Empathy, Identity.
The intense emotional empathy that anchors Perfect Sense is mirrored here, as disparate individuals are forced into a deep, supernatural connection while facing existential threats to their way of life.
See
Steven Knight · Series · 2019
Explores: Survival, Prophecy, Tribal Warfare.
This show expands on the premise of sensory loss seen in Perfect Sense, illustrating how a world without sight fundamentally reshapes tribal dynamics and the necessity of protective love.
Normal People
Series · 2020
Shares a thread with Perfect Sense: Emotional Intimacy.
If the core of Perfect Sense was the fragility of intimacy, you will appreciate this raw exploration of how personal connection persists and falters through life's unpredictable, shifting circumstances.
Podcasts on the same thread
Making Sense with Sam Harris
Sam Harris · Podcast · 2026
Explores: critical thinking, ethical dilemmas, cognitive bias.
This podcast investigates the neurological and philosophical questions about the human experience that Perfect Sense dramatizes, providing a deeper intellectual context for your interest in the fragility of consciousness.
Maintenance Phase
Aubrey Gordon & Michael Hobbes · Podcast · 2026
Explores: scientific literacy, consumer protection, critical thinking.
For those captivated by the collapse of normalcy in Perfect Sense, this show offers a critical look at how we perceive health and reality, mirroring the film's skeptical examination.
Common questions
Is Perfect Sense a movie about a pandemic?
Yes, Perfect Sense is a 2011 film directed by David Mackenzie that follows a mysterious pandemic spreading across the globe. The narrative focuses on the lives of an epidemiologist and a cook as they navigate their relationship during this global crisis.
Who directed the 2011 film Perfect Sense?
Perfect Sense was directed by David Mackenzie. The film is set in Glasgow, Scotland, and tells the story of Susan, an epidemiologist, and Michael, a cook, who fall in love while a mysterious pandemic begins to affect the world around them.
Where does the story of Perfect Sense take place?
The events of Perfect Sense are set in Glasgow, Scotland. The story centers on the lives of an epidemiologist named Susan and a cook named Michael as they attempt to maintain their relationship while a mysterious pandemic spreads globally.
What is the premise of Perfect Sense?
Perfect Sense depicts the lives of Susan, an epidemiologist, and Michael, a cook, who fall in love in Glasgow, Scotland. Their relationship develops against the backdrop of a mysterious pandemic that is spreading throughout the world during the events of the film.