<P> The show's first season introduced a multinational ensemble cast, with Aml Ameen, Doona Bae, Jamie Clayton, Tina Desai, Tuppence Middleton, Max Riemelt, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, and Brian J. Smith portraying eight strangers from different parts of the world who suddenly become "sensates"; human beings who are mentally and emotionally linked . Freema Agyeman, Terrence Mann, Anupam Kher, Naveen Andrews, and Daryl Hannah also star . In the second season Toby Onwumere replaces Ameen . The show aims to explore subjects that its creators feel have not been emphasized in many science fiction shows to date, such as politics, identity, sexuality, gender, and religion . </P> <P> All episodes of the first season of Sense8 were written by the Wachowskis and Straczynski; in the second season, Lilly Wachowski took a break from the show, and the episodes were written by just Lana Wachowski and Straczynski, with the exception of the series finale which was written by Lana, David Mitchell, and Aleksandar Hemon . Most episodes were directed by the Wachowskis (or just Lana, in the second season), with the remainder being divided between their frequent collaborators James McTeigue, Tom Tykwer, and Dan Glass . Sense8 was filmed almost entirely on location in a multitude of cities around the world . </P> <P> The first season, consisting of 12 episodes, became available for streaming on Netflix on June 5, 2015, and was met with generally favorable critical reception . It was praised for its representation of LGBTQ characters and themes, winning the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series . It was also recognized with a Location Managers Guild award for its use of locations as an integral part of the story, and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music . </P> <P> The second season began with a two - hour Christmas special in December 2016, with the remaining 10 episodes released in May 2017 . The season was met with positive critical reception and received a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series in the GLAAD Media Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single - Camera Series (One Hour). However the following month Netflix announced that they had cancelled the series, which had ended with a cliffhanger in expectation of a third season, then under negotiation . In response to criticism of the cancellation, especially with an unresolved story, Netflix produced a two - and - a-half - hour series finale, released on June 8, 2018 . </P>

How many episodes in sense 8 season 1