What is Keep Breathing starring Melissa Barrera about?

Nervous fliers might want to stay away from Keep Breathing, a new survival drama about a plane crash that leaves a young woman stranded in the Canadian wilderness. Or, if you’re feeling brave, maybe give it a chance anyway! It’s a surprisingly moving watch that delves deep into the heart of trauma and mental health.

Starring Scream and In the Heights actress Melissa Barrera, Keep Breathing has a straightforward premise and it’s a pretty short watch at just six episodes, each one only about 35 minutes in length—give or take a few minutes.

Besides Barrera, the series also stars Jeff Wilbusch, Austin Stowell, Juan Pablo Espinosa and Florencia Lozano. Want to learn more about the cast? Check out our helpful cast guide right here.

Blindspot creator Martin Gero and writer Brendan Gall (who wrote several episodes of Blindspot), collaborated on this project as co-showrunners and executive producers. They wrote the series alongside Iturri Sosa (Gotham).

Maggie Kiley (Dr. Death, Dirty John) directs the first three episodes of the series and Rebecca Rodriguez (Snowpiercer, Doom Patrol) directs the latter half. It’s always nice to see a show, especially one with a female lead, supported by women directors. Kiley is also an executive producer.

What is Keep Breathing about?

As mentioned, Keep Breathing is a survival drama that follows Liv (Barrera) after she boards a small passenger plan on her way to Inuvik and the plane crashes, leaving her a lone survivor in the Canadian wilderness.

While trying to survive, Liv is plagued by vivid moments of her past traumas and lingering mistakes. She must contend with her personal demons as well as the very real dangers she faces in the wild.

Some of the marketing might lead you to believe that Keep Breathing is a thriller, but it’s definitely more of a drama. You’ll want to keep that in mind so you don’t go in expecting something that leans into horror when in reality, the show is more grounded and quite poignant.

Here is the official logline, courtesy of Netflix:

"After her private plane crashes in the remote Canadian frontier, lone survivor and New York lawyer, Liv, must battle both an unforgiving wilderness and past personal traumas to stay alive."

Keep Breathing premieres on Thursday, July 28.