The One is a new eight episode science fiction (or is it?) series coming to Netflix in March

Based on the John Marrs novel of the same name, the premise of The One is easy to state: What if we could find our perfect partner through DNA matching?

The series is set five minutes in the future, in a world where a DNA test can find your perfect partner – the one person you’re genetically predisposed to fall passionately in love with. No matter how good your relationship, which one of us can honestly say we haven’t thought about whether there is someone better out there? What if a hair sample is all it takes to find them? The idea is simple, but the implications are explosive. We will never think of love and relationships in the same way again.

Who is John Marrs?

If you’re unfamiliar his work, his website provides a lot of easy to access information. He has been a freelance journalist (25 years) and his debut novel The Wronged Sons, was released in 2013 and in May 2015. The website lists all his works, and both The Minders and The Passengers look like they might be considered for adaptation as well, subject to the success of this current project.

The One was published in May 2017 and was the BBC Radio 2 Book Club Book of the Month. You can also follow him on twitter.

Who’s in The One?

Netflix has released a cast list in the form of a set of character thumbnails:

Hannah Ware as Rebecca, the ambitious and impulsive CEO and founder of MatchDNA, a company that pairs people with their soulmates

Dimitri Leonidas as James, Rebecca’s best friend and the co-founder of MatchDNA until he abruptly departed at the height of the company’s success – and only she knows why

Amir El-Masry as Ben – best friends with James and Rebecca, though he’s always seen Rebecca as more than a friend

Stephen Campbell Moore as Damian, one of MatchDNA’s investors

Wilf Scolding as Ethan, Rebecca’s partner – together, the loved-up face of MatchDNA

Diarmaid Murtagh as Connor, Rebecca’s Head of Security at MatchDNA

Lois Chimimba as Hannah, besotted with her husband Mark but haunted by the fear that he will eventually leave her for a MatchDNA partner

Eric Kofi-Abrefa as Mark; a friendly, relaxed journalist and Hannah’s husband

Pallavi Sharda as Megan, a beautiful and charismatic new acquaintance of Hannah’s

Zoë Tapper as Kate, a straightforward and sceptical Detective Inspector at the Metropolitan Police

Gregg Chillin as Nick, an irreverent Detective Sergeant who works closely with Kate

The One is coming to Netflix on March 12 2021. There’s a teaser trailer available on Netflix, where you can also set a reminder.