They’re back: After the success of their hit TV series, Dark, Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar have returned with a distinctly creepy new Netflix show, and this time it’s set on a doomed ocean liner at the turn of the century.
Coming to Netflix later this year, 1899 tells the story of a shipful of European immigrants journeying to America. As you would expect from the makers of Dark, it isn’t long before the dark secrets of each passenger begin to unravel. Things take an even more dramatic turn when, after days of staring into an empty ocean, they spot another ship in the distance.
1899 stars Emily Beecham (Hail, Ceasar!) in the lead role. She appears alongside the likes of Aneurin Barnard, Andreas Pietschmann, Miguel Bernardeau, Maciej Musiał, Anton Lesser, and Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, many of whom will be speaking in their native languages, something which was very important to the show’s creators.
Talking to Deadline, Friese said: “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.”
From this new trailer, the series looks set to be a gothic affair, with the single, solitary location immediately suggesting a suitably tense narrative. However, all the talk about the nature of reality in the voiceover, 1899 might well end up dipping its toes into the realm of science fiction.
I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see what 1899 has in store. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the full trailer.
