1899 | |
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Genre |
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Created by |
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Written by |
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Directed by | Baran bo Odar |
Starring |
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Theme music composer | Grace Slick |
Opening theme | "White Rabbit" byEliot Sumner |
Composer | Ben Frost |
Country of origin | Germany |
Original languages |
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No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer |
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Production locations |
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Cinematography | Nikolaus Summerer |
Running time | 50–62 minutes |
Production company | Dark Ways |
Original release | |
Network | Netflix |
Release | 17 November 2022 (2022-11-17) |
1899 is a multilingual German period mystery-science fiction television series created by Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar. It premiered on Netflix in November 2022 and received generally favourable reviews. The series was cancelled in January 2023.
Set in 1899, the series follows a group of European emigrants travelling from Southampton, UK on a steamship named Kerberos to start new lives in New York City.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
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1 | "The Ship" | Baran bo Odar | Jantje Friese | 17 November 2022 (2022-11-17) | |
On October 19, 1899, the steamship Kerberos is sailing from England to New York City. Four months earlier, its sister ship Prometheus disappeared without a trace on the same route. Maura and many of the first-class passengers on Kerberos are in the dining room when third-class passenger Krester bursts in pleading for a doctor. Krester is thrown out by Franz, but Maura follows Krester down into third-class, where she resolves Tove's tangled umbilical cord. Lucien and Clémence struggle with intimacy. Maura has strange visions. She encounters the captain of the Kerberos, Eyk, who warns her to follow the ship's rules. | |||||
2 | "The Boy" | Baran bo Odar | Jantje Friese & Dario Madrona López Gallego | 17 November 2022 (2022-11-17) | |
Eyk receives a message from the shipping company reading only two words: "Sink ship". Maura houses the boy, the only person discovered on Prometheus, in her room. She discovers a ring in his possession, and a symbol of an upside-down triangle with a horizontal line behind his left ear. The mysterious man introduces himself to Maura as Daniel. Ángel gives Krester a cigarette tin. Jérôme breaks into Lucien and Clémence's room and leaves a Legion of Honour medal. Eyk has hallucinations of his wife and daughters, who died in a house fire some years ago; one of his daughters wears the same hairband found on Prometheus. He wakes up to find a shaft has appeared under the bed in his room. | |||||
3 | "The Fog" | Baran bo Odar | Jantje Friese & Emma Ko | 17 November 2022 (2022-11-17) | |
Ada's cause of death is unable to be determined. After Kerberos runs into heavy fog, Eyk orders the ship to stop and wait until the fog clears. Eyk shows Maura the hairband and the shaft in his room. The two head back to Prometheus to find its logbook. First mate, Sebastian uncovers a panel and inputs a sequence made of triangles. While hiding from her mother after an argument about her training to be a geisha, Ling Yi has flashbacks of her friend's accidental death which led to her boarding Kerberos. Olek finds Ling Yi and comforts her. Disobeying Eyk's orders to keep Ada's death secret, Franz lets Tove retrieve her body. Krester gives Ángel a handjob. Daniel enters Maura's room and meets with the boy. On the Prometheus, Eyk and Maura find another shaft bearing the triangle symbol, which is also the ship company's logo. More bodies are found on the Kerberos. | |||||
4 | "The Fight" | Baran bo Odar | Jantje Friese & Jerome Bucchan-Nelson | 17 November 2022 (2022-11-17) | |
The mutineers sail the Kerberos westward. Franz forces Jérôme and Olek to throw the bodies overboard. Sebastian convinces Iben the boy is to blame for the deaths, and she takes command of the mutineers and orders a search. Lucien finds the medal and attacks Clémence, only to apologize and leave. Eyk and Ramiro escape captivity. Iben leads a search of Maura's room, but the boy has disappeared. Maura discovers a shaft appearing under her bed with the boy hiding in it. The boy uses a beetle to lead Maura to a safe path across the ship. Olek stages a distraction, allowing Jérôme to escape. Krester spits in Ángel's face in front of Iben, but she tells him she wishes God had taken him rather than Ada. Jérôme encounters Clémence and the two find Eyk and Ramiro, later joined by Maura and the boy. The six attempt to launch a lifeboat, but are found by the mutineers. | |||||
5 | "The Calling" | Baran bo Odar | Jantje Friese & Juliana Lima Dehne | 17 November 2022 (2022-11-17) | |
Disgusted by Iben and Krester's actions, Tove defects to the loyalists. Frightened of the boy, the loyalists lock him in a cabinet. Maura is shot at while trying to free him, but time suddenly freezes, and the boy leads her away. When time resumes, a mysterious ticking noise causes most of the ship's passengers, including Yuk Je and Krester, to enter a marching trance and throw themselves overboard. The boy writes Maura a cryptic note that "they" are listening, and whispers to her that if she wants answers, she needs to "ask the Creator". Using a beetle to reveal a passage in the shaft, the boy takes Maura to an abandoned mental asylum. Daniel follows and promises the boy "he" wouldn't find him. | |||||
6 | "The Pyramid" | Baran bo Odar | Jantje Friese & Emil Nygaard Albertsen | 17 November 2022 (2022-11-17) | |
The survivors head to different tasks: Maura and Eyk look for the boy; Ramiro and Anker stay in the bridge with Sebastian; Ángel, Jérôme, Lucien, Olek, Ling Yi, and Franz head to the engine room to restart the engine; and Virginia, Clémence, Tove and Iben search for survivors. A black metallic substance begins to appear and grow in the ship. Tove experiences hallucinations of Krester and Ada, and has flashbacks of her rape by a feudal lord due to Krester's relationship with the lord's son, and her killing the lord. Olek and Ling Yi share their first kiss. | |||||
7 | "The Storm" | Baran bo Odar | Jantje Friese | 17 November 2022 (2022-11-17) | |
The Kerberos sails into a storm. The survivors in the bridge head to the engine room for help. Halfway, Iben refuses to follow the rest of the survivors, and Anker stays with her. Olek and Ling Yi head to the bridge to steer the ship. Franz and Tove move to seal the bulkheads. Daniel breaks down a wall and climbs through a series of portals in different landscapes. Maura climbs through the shaft in Daniel's room and finds herself in an abandoned house; she sees flashbacks of her with Daniel and finds photographs of the two of them with the boy. | |||||
8 | "The Key" | Baran bo Odar | Jantje Friese | 17 November 2022 (2022-11-17) | |
Maura, Eyk, Jérôme, Clémence, Ramiro, Tove, Ling Yi and Virginia realize they all received a letter which led to them boarding the Kerberos. Maura tells them they are in a simulation orchestrated by her father, but all except Eyk distrust her and leave. Maura takes Eyk through the shaft in Daniel's room to his memories of their family. Maura and Eyk break down a wall and enter a series of portals. Henry injects Elliot with a white substance, unlocking a memory in which Maura injects Elliot with a black substance despite Daniel telling her to "let him go". Daniel hacks into the simulation, changing the code and causing many disruptions. The rest of the survivors escape from the rapidly expanding black substance in the ship, teleporting into each other's backgrounds before ending up back on the ship. |
On 13 November 2018, it was announced that Dark creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar were developing the project for Netflix under their overall deal at the streaming service.[1] The series was confirmed to be moving forward two weeks later during a Netflix press conference showcasing European original programming.[2] By July 2020, bo Odar revealed via Instagram that Friese had completed writing the script for the pilot episode, titled "The Ship."[3] During an interview with Deadline Hollywood, Friese explained how the European migrant crisis and Brexit were influential to the series, saying:
The whole European angle was very important for us, not only story wise but also the way we were going to produce it. It really had to be a European collaboration, not just cast but also crew. We felt that with the past years of Europe being on the decline, we wanted to give a counterpoint to Brexit, and to nationalism rising in different countries, to go back to that idea of Europe and Europeans working and creating together. Being true to the cultures and the languages was really important, we never wanted to have characters from different countries but everyone speaks English. We wanted to explore this heart of Europe, where everyone comes from somewhere else and speaks a different language, and language defines so much of your culture and your behaviour.
As with Dark, Friese served as the head writer of the show. The staff writing team comprised writers of different nationalities including Emma Ko (from Hong Kong and the UK), Coline Abert (from France), Jerome Bucchan-Nelson (from the UK), Juliana Lima Dehne (from Brazil and the US), Joshua Long (from the US), Darío Madrona (from Spain), and Emil Nygaard Albertsen (from Denmark). According to director Baran bo Odar, all scripts were first written in English, then the non-English sections were translated by the staff writers and/or translators. Odar had phonetic copies of the script on set, and language assistants were present during filming to ensure the accuracy of the dialogue.[4]
Friese and bo Odar have ideas for two more seasons, with increased complexity compared to season 1.[5] The planned three-season structure stems from Friese's and bo Odar's film background, where films have three acts.[6] The first season served to establish the theme and characters and pose big questions.[6] If ordered by Netflix, the second season would explain the symbology of the triangles, and Maura's brother would be an important character.[6] bo Odar described this second act as "all about the fun and games, where you play with the theme, and maybe get a little bit more megalomaniacal and crazy, and then resolve it in the third season into a hopefully satisfying resolution."[6]
The budget for the series was at least €60 million ($62.2 million) with €2 million coming from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg,[7] €10 million coming from the German Motion Picture Fund,[8] and Netflix investing €48 million in the project. 1899 is the most expensive German television series of all time.[9]
On 16 December 2020, it was announced that Emily Beecham was cast in the lead role.[10] On 2 May 2021, Aneurin Barnard, Andreas Pietschmann, Miguel Bernardeau, Maciej Musiał, Anton Lesser, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, Rosalie Craig, Clara Rosager, Maria Erwolter, Yann Gael, Mathilde Ollivier, José Pimentão, Isabella Wei, Gabby Wong, Jonas Bloquet, Fflyn Edwards, and Alexandre Willaume were added to the cast, with each character speaking in the actor's native language.[11]
Pre-production for the series officially commenced on 24 November 2020, with a week-long lens test shoot taking place.[12][13] The series was initially scheduled to begin principal photography on 1 February 2021,[14] but was later pushed back by 3 months. Filming officially began on 3 May 2021 at Studio BabelsberginPotsdam, the only designated UNESCO Creative City of Film in Germany.
The series was shot in a new virtual production stage called Volume, operated by bo Odar and Friese's sister company Dark Bay, at Studio Babelsberg.[15] Filming also took place in London, England.[14] Creative studio Framestore provided visual effects for the series.[16] Filming wrapped in November 2021 with Baran bo Odar posting on Instagram.[17]
1899 had a two-episode premiere on 47th Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September 2022. The series launched on Netflix on 17 November 2022,[18] along with a companion making-of documentary titled Making 1899.[19]
Netflix announced a few days after release that 1899 was in 58 countries the most watched product of all the offerings available on Netflix at that time.[20] Despite this, on 2 January 2023, the show was cancelled.[21]
Writing in Forbes about the cancellation of 1899 and other Netflix series, Paul Tassi said that "I feel like Netflix is almost actively stealing my time from me. [...] It's frankly exhausting, and if it's this exhausting for viewers, I have to imagine it's ten times as much for showrunners and actors. Netflix is becoming a graveyard stacked with dead series with unfinished conclusions. [...] Something has to change."[22]
Writing in Digital Spy, David Opie said that "for all we know, there might be talks to save the show at HBOorPrime Video, plus there's a small chance that Netflix themselves might try and wrap things up in a one-off special or movie. That's exactly what happened after fans decried Netflix's decision to cancel Sense8 a few years back [that is also an international genre show]."[23]
Fans took to social media to decry the decision, and a petition to save the show was started on Change.org. As of 27 May 2024, it had garnered over 99,600 signatures.[24]
During its debut week, 1899 ranked at number two on Netflix's Top 10 TV English titles just three days after its release with 79.27 million hours viewed.[25][26] The following week, the series remained at the same position and garnered 87.89 million viewing hours.[27][28] In its third week, the series generated 44.62 million viewing hours, while also holding its position at number two.[29][30]
The series received generally positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 79% based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 6.80/10.[31] The website's critical consensus states, "1899 navigates its multicultural passengers through an atmospheric mystery and delivers a suspenseful journey, even if it may never reach a satisfying destination."[31]OnMetacritic, which uses a weighted average, the series has a score of 66 out of 100 based on 12 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[32]
Collider named 1899 as one of the best new TV shows of 2022,[33] while MovieWeb ranked it the sixth best TV show of the year.[34]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
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2022 | Camerimage | TV Series Competition | 1899 | Nominated | [35] |
2023 | American Society of Cinematographers Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Episode of a Series for Non-Commercial Television | Nikolaus Summerer (for "The Calling") | Nominated | [36] |
Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Foreign Language Series | 1899 | Nominated | [37] | |
Grimme Prize | Best Fiction | Pending | [38] |
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Friese: Also, es wird [in der zweiten Staffel] auf jeden Fall aufgeklärt, was es mit diesen ganzen Dreiecken und so, Symbolen, zu tun hat. / bo Odar: Und der Bruder wird einen wichtigen Charakter spielen, auf alle Fälle. Also Mauras Bruder. [...] Wir kommen ja eigentlich vom Film, und deswegen auch immer drei Staffeln, weil wir das wie drei Akte sehen. Und der erste Akt ist dazu da, alles zu etablieren, das Thema zu setzen, die Charaktere einzuführen, eine große Frage zu stellen, die dann am Ende beantwortet wird. Und die zweite Staffel ist ein klassischer zweiter Akt eines Films, wo es um das Fun and Games geht, wo man mit dem Thema spielt, und man vielleicht noch ein bisschen größenwahnsinniger wird und verrückter, um es dann in der dritten Staffel in einer Auflösung, hoffentlich befriedigend, auflöst. Weil definitiv, die zweite Staffel wird etwas verrückter und wilder. Wenn es eine [zweite Staffel] gibt.
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