Don’t Look Up

Kate Dibiasky discovers a previously unknown comet while a doctoral candidate at Michigan State University. Dr. Randall Mindy confirms it is on a collision course with Earth, roughly six months away. NASA verifies the finding, establishing the basis for urgent action.

Dibiasky and Mindy present their findings to White House officials. President Janie Orlean and Chief of Staff Jason greet the briefing with apathy, signaling political hesitation. NASA official Teddy Oglethorpe urges transparency and a public briefing.

Oglethorpe advises leaking the news to the media to spur action. Dibiasky and Mindy decide to go public, providing information to television audiences. The situation escalates beyond political handling as media coverage widens.

On The Daily Rip, the hosts treat the threat flippantly. Dibiasky loses her temper and delivers a raw, emotional tirade about humanity's doomed future. Mindy enjoys positive public attention while Dibiasky becomes the target of memes and ridicule.

NASA Director Jocelyn Calder downplays the threat, influenced by top donors. President Orlean announces a separate plan to divert the comet using nuclear options, attempting to shift public focus away from the media spectacle. The administration lurches between denial and distraction.

A space mission is launched to deflect the comet, representing the administration's attempt at direct intervention. The mission proceeds into space with the aim of altering the asteroid's trajectory. The public, media, and political factions watch with trepidation.

Orlean abruptly aborts the mission when billionaire Isherwell reveals the comet's trillions in rare-earth elements. The White House agrees to fragment the comet and recover resources from the ocean using BASH technology, bypassing peer review. Mindy is sidelined from decisions and Dibiasky is discouraged.

Mindy is appointed National Science Advisor, signaling a shift toward Isherwell's corporate agenda. Dibiasky is sidelined and pressured to stay silent. Mindy begins an affair with Brie Evantee, deepening the media power dynamic.

Public opinion splits between alarmists, economic opportunists, and deniers. Dibiasky returns to Illinois and faces rejection from her parents, while starting a relationship with Yule, a shoplifter she meets at her job. Mindy faces ethical pressures and personal turmoil.

Mindy delivers a fierce on-air critique of the administration, challenging Orlean's downplaying of the apocalyptic threat and humanity's indifference. The moment polarizes public opinion and raises questions about science and power. The address marks a turning point in her public stance.

Dibiasky and Mindy reconcile and mobilize a global protest movement with the slogan 'Just Look Up' on social media. They urge other nations to join a coordinated interception effort. Orlean campaigns in opposition with 'Don't Look Up' messaging.

Russia, India, and China are cut from the mining deal and attempt their own deflection mission. Their spacecraft explode, underscoring the futility of human attempts to avert the disaster. The world slowly realizes the threat may be irreparable.

Isherwell, Orlean, and others board a sleeper spaceship to seek an Earth-like planet, leaving Jason behind. Orlean offers Mindy two seats on the ship, but Mindy declines and spends a final evening with friends and family. The crew departs as the world edges toward impact.

The comet strikes off the coast of Chile, triggering a worldwide extinction-level event. Global climate and ecological systems collapse, signaling the end of humanity as known. The world succumbs to the catastrophe forecast by scientists.

In the mid-credits scene, 2,000 people who left Earth land on a lush alien planet after long cryosleep and emerge to explore their new world. Orlean is killed by a bird-like predator, a fate foreseen by BASH's algorithms. In the post-credits, Jason survives and records a final message urging viewers to 'like and subscribe.'