Day 5
Day 5 is an American post-apocalyptic drama web television series created by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Josh Flanagan, and Chris Demarais. It premiered on Rooster Teeth's website on June 19, 2016. New episodes premiered exclusively on Rooster Teeth site via their paid sponsorship program, FIRST. Announced March 11, 2016, it was noted for being a dramatic departure from Rooster Teeth's typically comedic productions.
The series follows a junkie, Jake, who emerges after a drug binge only to learn that most of humanity has died after falling asleep. Jake and a small group of survivors search for the cause of the mysterious “sleep epidemic.”
Development
The concept had been in development since 2011 and was originally envisioned as a feature film, then a 45-minute short before becoming a six-episode series. According to Flanagan, “The original concept was Burnie Burns’. He was trying to come up with a way to make an apocalyptic story on a lower budget. So it was approached from a budgetary level from the very beginning but it’s such a relatable thing because everyone knows what it’s like to be this ridiculously tired."A scene was filmed during RTX 2012, and involved shutting down downtown Congress Avenue and 1,800 attendees.
The 8-episode second season premiered on August 6, 2017. It features guest stars William Sadler and Jake Busey, along with new recurring cast members Ryan Cooper, Electra Avellan, and Adriene Mishler.
A third season was originally set to premiere sometime in 2019, with the first two seasons being removed from Rooster Teeth First and syndicated to television networks for a six-month window instead. The two seasons have since been returned to the site after their broadcasts. On December 12, 2019, Flanagan announced on Twitter that he was no longer a full-time employee of Rooster Teeth, and confirmed that he did not have any future seasons of Day 5 in development at that time; while they had not been officially canceled, he stated, "I feel it's very unlikely they'll ever return as direct continuations.
Cast and characters
Introduced in Season 1
- Jesse C. Boyd as Jake, a meth addict who is one of the survivors of the apocalypse and is the main protagonist of the series. Boyd was attracted to the writing from his first audition, particularly its balance between humor and "high-stakes" moments.
- Walker Satterwhite as Sam, a 13 year-old boy who is one of the survivors of the epidemic.
- Stephanie Drapeau as Ally, a night shift doctor who is one of the survivors of the epidemic and is set on finding a cure.
- Davi Jay as Ellis, a pilot who is one of the survivors of the epidemic.
- Shannon McCormick as Dr. Abrams. Initially an antagonist to the group when he planned to test an experimental sleep drug on Sam that had killed numerous other test subjects, he forms a grudging alliance with them in their search for the source of the apocalypse.
- Katie Folger as Meredith. An enigmatic assassin initially introduced as an ally to Ellis but eventually revealed to be directly involved with the group behind the sleep apocalypse.
- Lee Eddy as Lex, another doctor who survives and is actively looking for a cure with Dr. Abrams. She and Ally dated prior to the epidemic.
- Joel Heyman as Bill Beavers, a man with a rare disease that makes it impossible for him to sleep: initially considered a death sentence with a life-expectancy of six months, Bill faces the very real possibility he will be the last man on Earth.
- * Bill was the main character of the original unreleased Day 5 short. Flanagan and Demarais later decided that though he made sense as the main character of that particular story, it would be too difficult to make the entire series about him; thus, Bill's story was adapted into an episode of the first season before he joined the supporting cast in Season 2.
- Jason Liebrecht as Colin
- Joe Estevez as Alonzo Alvarez, a local TV reporter driven mad by his commitment to staying on the air.
Introduced in Season 2
- Adriene Mishler as Gabbi, a survivor in search of the source of the sleep apocalypse who ends up joining Jake, Sam, Ally, and Ellis's group.
- Ryan Cooper as Aidan, an Australian pilot whom Ellis meets early on during the sleep apocalypse, searching for the supposed Sandman's Oasis where people are able to sleep.
- Electra Avellan as Paula, a mother who survived the sleep apocalypse along with her son Angel. Allies with Aidan in their attempt to get into the Sandman's Oasis.
Guests/recurring characters
- Alisha Revel as Sarah, Ally's assistant who joins the survivor group at the start of the series but succumbs to the apocalypse after losing her drugs at the rave. Haunts Jake's nightmares.
- Barbara Dunkelman as Flip, a mysterious drug dealer at the morgue who causes Jake to relapse and often appears in his nightmares.
- Garrett Graham as Dave, an office worker driven mad by the death of his dog, becomes a threat to the survivors as a phenomenon called the "Incubus," where he can only stay awake by inflicting pain on himself and murdering other survivors.
- Caiti Ward as Emily, one of Ally's co-workers who set out early during the apocalypse to try to establish a hospital network for survivors, but is killed by the Incubus while traveling through Austin. Subject of the short "Number 27".
- Jen Brown as Beth, one of the survivors Ellis teams up with in Austin.
- Ron Weisberg as Allister, Meredith's apparent superior, part of the organization behind the sleep apocalypse.
- Jeremy Vandermause as Tripp, a Silicon Valley hopeful who discovers and helps establish "the Sandman's Oasis" where people are able to sleep, although he soon grows to abuse his power.
- Jake Busey as Carl, an insane soldier who believes the "cure" to the apocalypse is giving all survivors a lobotomy.
- William Sadler as Bob, a seemingly normal man who has earned mythical status as "the Sandman," due to his apparent ability to allow people to sleep.
- Tristan Alijah Garcia as Angel. Paula's son, survived the apocalypse by staying up late after bedtime.
- Chris Demarais as Sebastian, a survivor living in the desert who helps suicidal survivors go out as spectacularly as possible.
Rooster Teeth employee cameos
- Gavin Free as Morgue Raver, who Sam witnesses crawl into one of the cold chambers with pillow in hand and promptly fall asleep.
- Josh Flanagan as Mark, a guard at the hospital in Austin.
- Aaron Marquis as Skinemax Star No. 2 and museum narrator
- Matt Hullum as Dale, Sam's affable father, who was asleep on the couch at the time the apocalypse started after catching Sam staying up late.
- Anna Hullum as Jake's mother.
- Blaine Gibson as Blaze, part of Jeffery's D&D team.
- Adam Ellis as Gamer 2, another member of Jeffery's D&D team.
- Samantha Ireland as Amy, a staff member at the station. Stars in the short "Making Headlines."
- Ashley Jenkins as US Reporter.
Episodes