# Wireless (2020 TV series)
**Wireless** is a 2020 American short-form thriller series created for the mobile streaming platform Quibi, in which a college student stranded after a car crash in the Colorado mountains must survive using his rapidly dying smartphone. It was created and executive produced by Jack Seidman and Zach Wechter, directed by Wechter, and executive produced by [Steven Soderbergh](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-soderbergh), with [Tye Sheridan](https://www.edgepedia.org/tye-sheridan) starring as Andy Braddock.[1](https://www.thewrap.com/tye-sheridan-to-star-in-steven-soderberghs-series-wireless-at-quibi/) The series is notable for its use of Quibi's Turnstyle technology: viewers see a conventional cinematic thriller when holding the phone horizontally, and the protagonist's phone screen, complete with texts, maps, and FaceTime calls, when holding it vertically.[2](https://techcrunch.com/podcast/original-content-wireless-interview/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | 10 episodes of roughly 8 minutes, all released on Quibi on September 13, 2020[3](https://tvtango.com/series/wireless) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/45063/wireless/episodeguide) |
| Creators | Created and executive produced by Jack Seidman and Zach Wechter; Wechter directed; Steven Soderbergh, Michael Sugar, Cathy Konrad, and Danny Sherman also executive produced[1](https://www.thewrap.com/tye-sheridan-to-star-in-steven-soderberghs-series-wireless-at-quibi/) |
| Premise | College student Andy Braddock crashes his Bronco into a snow-covered ravine on a remote Colorado road on New Year's Eve; his dying smartphone is his only hope of rescue[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/45063/wireless/episodeguide) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/wireless) |
| Signature device | Quibi's Turnstyle technology switches between landscape cinematic footage and a portrait view of Andy's phone screen as the viewer rotates the phone[2](https://techcrunch.com/podcast/original-content-wireless-interview/) |
| Lead cast | Tye Sheridan (Andy Braddock), Andie MacDowell (Elaine Braddock), Lukas Gage (Jake), Francesca Reale (Dana), Sydney Park, Eric Dane (Officer T.C. Kirschner)[3](https://tvtango.com/series/wireless) |
| Afterlife | Quibi shut down around December 1, 2020; Roku acquired the library in January 2021 and streamed Wireless on The Roku Channel from August 2021 until January 2024[6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-01-08/roku-quibi-sale-library-katzenberg-teigen) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/wireless) |
| Reception | IMDb rating of 6.0; rated TV-MA[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/wireless) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and episodes
Andy Braddock drives to a [New Year's Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-years-eve) party hoping to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend. Faced with a highway closure, he takes a shortcut on a remote mountain road and crashes his Bronco into a snow-covered ravine. Injured, he takes refuge in the vehicle and reaches out to his friend Jake for help, but a texting mishap triggers a fight with his mother, and his fear of jail for driving without a license leads him to ask Jake to lie for him. As the battery drains, he pleads with a Tinder match to rescue him, an avalanche buries the Bronco under feet of snow, and he attempts a final escape.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/45063/wireless/episodeguide)
The ten episode titles are the battery percentages 100%, 90%, 80%, and so on down to 10%, marking the phone's remaining charge as the story progresses.[7](https://www.epguides.com/Wireless/) All ten episodes were released at once on September 13, 2020, at 3:01 am ET, rather than in Quibi's usual weekday installments.[3](https://tvtango.com/series/wireless)
## The Turnstyle format
Quibi's Turnstyle technology, unveiled at CES in January 2020, lets the app switch seamlessly between portrait and landscape video depending on how the viewer holds the phone, with the alternate version pre-loaded so there is no rebuffering or audio interruption.[8](https://www.tvbeurope.com/tvbeverywhere/quibi-will-release-content-in-two-formats-profile-and-landscape) Most Quibi shows delivered two framings of the same footage; Wireless went further, using landscape for a traditionally shot thriller and portrait for a view of the protagonist's phone as he scrolls Instagram, checks maps, uses Tinder, texts friends, and asks Siri questions.[2](https://techcrunch.com/podcast/original-content-wireless-interview/) • [9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/phone-flip-new-quibi-series-wireless-empowers-the-viewer/2020/09/16/cffbcbe8-f831-11ea-85f7-5941188a98cd_story.html)
Because each viewer rotates the phone at different moments, each sees a slightly different cut of the story. Director Zach Wechter described the effect as making the viewer the editor: "You're never going to have the same experience as somebody else watching the show."[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/phone-flip-new-quibi-series-wireless-empowers-the-viewer/2020/09/16/cffbcbe8-f831-11ea-85f7-5941188a98cd_story.html) Wechter and co-writer Jack Seidman wrote the initial script before deciding on the phone-centric format.[2](https://techcrunch.com/podcast/original-content-wireless-interview/)
## Production
Wechter's company invented a special camera device that could record the front and rear camera angles and whatever appeared on the phone's screen simultaneously. Sheridan described the shoot as filming two shows at once, performing the traditional scenes and also typing texts or appearing in FaceTime video for the vertical screen. Many of Andy's calls were recorded live, with costars answering his FaceTime requests from a nearby location; technical glitches such as buffering and cut-outs were kept in the show because they made the calls feel real. Wechter said it would have been cheaper to film each side of a scene separately, but the team "moved mountains in production" to capture live interactions.[10](https://www.upi.com/amp/Entertainment_News/TV/2020/09/14/Steven-Soderbergh-wants-you-to-watch-Wireless-on-your-phone/8441599843717/)
Soderbergh signed on as executive producer after seeing "Pocket," a short film by Wechter and Seidman that experimented with the two-screen technology, calling it the first thing he had seen designed for the phone that "absolutely worked."[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/phone-flip-new-quibi-series-wireless-empowers-the-viewer/2020/09/16/cffbcbe8-f831-11ea-85f7-5941188a98cd_story.html) The series was announced in November 2019, with production beginning that week.[1](https://www.thewrap.com/tye-sheridan-to-star-in-steven-soderberghs-series-wireless-at-quibi/)
## Release and availability
Wireless premiered on Quibi in September 2020, six months into the platform's troubled life. Quibi, a mobile-only short-form service founded by [Jeffrey Katzenberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeffrey-katzenberg) and [Meg Whitman](https://www.edgepedia.org/meg-whitman) that had raised roughly $1.75 billion, announced its shutdown on October 21, 2020, with streaming ending on or about December 1, 2020.[11](https://www.axios.com/2020/10/21/quibi-shutting-down-streaming) • [12](https://www.tvline.com/news/quibi-shutting-down-streaming-service-folding-series-cancelled-1234586915/) In January 2021, Roku acquired the global distribution rights to more than 75 Quibi shows and documentaries for less than $100 million and began streaming them free on the ad-supported Roku Channel later that year.[6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-01-08/roku-quibi-sale-library-katzenberg-teigen)
Wireless streamed on [The Roku Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roku-channel) from August 2021 until January 2024.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/wireless) In September 2023, Roku removed more than three dozen series from the service as a cost-cutting measure, and Wireless appeared on the list of removed titles.[13](https://thedesk.net/2023/09/roku-removes-quibi-shows-cost-cutting/) As of early 2026 the series is unavailable to stream, rent, or buy in the United States.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/wireless)
## Reception
[The Playlist](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-playlist)'s review gave the series a B+ and called it "the first series from Quibi that not only demands your attention but demonstrates what the streaming platform is actually capable of."[14](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/wireless/s01) On IMDb the series holds a rating of 6.0 out of 10.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/wireless) The Associated Press coverage framed the show as a technological jump for Quibi, one that made the viewer an active participant by letting them choose their perspective, and quoted Wechter hoping the project would inspire filmmakers to consider the phone as "a new landscape for storytelling."[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/phone-flip-new-quibi-series-wireless-empowers-the-viewer/2020/09/16/cffbcbe8-f831-11ea-85f7-5941188a98cd_story.html)
## References
1. [Tye Sheridan to Star in Steven Soderbergh's Series 'Wireless' at Quibi, TheWrap (November 14, 2019)](https://www.thewrap.com/tye-sheridan-to-star-in-steven-soderberghs-series-wireless-at-quibi/)
2. [Original Content podcast: 'Wireless' shows off Quibi's Turnstyle technology, TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/podcast/original-content-wireless-interview/)
3. [Wireless, TV Tango](https://tvtango.com/series/wireless)
4. [Wireless, Episode Guide, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/45063/wireless/episodeguide)
5. [Wireless (2020), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/wireless)
6. [Quibi died, but its shows will live on with Roku, Los Angeles Times (January 8, 2021)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-01-08/roku-quibi-sale-library-katzenberg-teigen)
7. [Wireless, a Titles & Air Dates Guide, epguides.com](https://www.epguides.com/Wireless/)
8. [Quibi will release content in two formats: profile and landscape, TVBEurope (January 9, 2020)](https://www.tvbeurope.com/tvbeverywhere/quibi-will-release-content-in-two-formats-profile-and-landscape)
9. [Phone flip: New Quibi series 'Wireless' empowers the viewer, The Washington Post (September 16, 2020)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/phone-flip-new-quibi-series-wireless-empowers-the-viewer/2020/09/16/cffbcbe8-f831-11ea-85f7-5941188a98cd_story.html)
10. [Steven Soderbergh wants you to watch 'Wireless' on your phone, UPI (September 14, 2020)](https://www.upi.com/amp/Entertainment_News/TV/2020/09/14/Steven-Soderbergh-wants-you-to-watch-Wireless-on-your-phone/8441599843717/)
11. [Quibi says it's shutting down, Axios (October 21, 2020)](https://www.axios.com/2020/10/21/quibi-shutting-down-streaming)
12. [Quibi Shutting Down: Streaming Service Folding, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/news/quibi-shutting-down-streaming-service-folding-series-cancelled-1234586915/)
13. [Roku begins removing Quibi shows to cut costs, The Desk (September 8, 2023)](https://thedesk.net/2023/09/roku-removes-quibi-shows-cost-cutting/)
14. [Wireless: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/wireless/s01)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Genre web series: horror, thriller, science fiction, and mystery*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license