From the creators of the German science fiction thriller Dark, comes another spellbinding series that will certainly set hearts racing. 1899 is the second project in Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese’s Netflix deal, and it looks just as good as the first. Although consistent with their stylistic propensity to serve up dread and thrill in equal measure, this project follows a significantly different course that leans more towards mystery and incorporates less time travel into the plot.
Watch your favorite anime for free with Funimation's 14-day free trial
1899 is a truly international show eager to project Europe’s linguistic diversity. This also includes multiple European languages spoken in the series. It is a montage of European culture, ranging from Polish to French, Spanish, and German. This is an ambitious project that was created using cutting-edge technology to render its visual effects. Virtual sets are created using a video game engine, and motion graphics allow for high-level in-camera edits.
The plot follows a group of immigrants from various backgrounds as they come from Europe to New York in pursuit of new chances. Set in 1899, the passengers are united in their optimism about the future until they come across another migrant ship adrift on the open sea. A formerly straightforward trek to the promised land becomes a terrifying nightmare of epic dimensions. And here are 6 quick things you need to know about the Netflix series.
1899: 6 quick things you need to know
6. 1899 premieres on November 17 on Netflix
Who said that supernatural mystery novels and horror stories should just be saved for the month of October? Well, we certainly do not agree with that. And it appears that neither does Netflix. 1899 is set to premiere on Thursday, November 17 at 1.30 P.M IST/ 3:01 am ET. You can also check out our streaming guide here.
The first two episodes were already available to attendees of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, which Netflix stated were hailed with considerable acclaim. But the dark and disturbing mysteries should only become deeper as the story progresses.
5. It has a total of eight episodes
There is no set number of episodes for a Netflix original limited series. We have some lasting as long as 10 — such as Mike Flanagan’s terrifying The Haunting of Hill House. While others keep things a little slimmer with, say, six, like the 2022 survival thriller Keep Breathing, starring Scream’s Melissa Barrera.
However, the sweet spot that the majority of the platform’s miniseries tend to strike is a total of eight episodes that is neither too lengthy nor too short. And it looks like the creators of 1899 believe that eight is enough. This intriguing new thriller’s plot will be delivered in eight segments, but what precisely does this story entail?
4. It is a supernatural period piece
If you haven’t guessed from the title, 1899 is set near the end of the nineteenth century. It follows the journey of a steamboat carrying a diverse mix of immigrant travelers from Europe to New York. They are forced to take a diversion. However, when the captain receives what looks to be a message from a ship called the Prometheus, which went missing months ago and was consequently assumed to have sunk.
When they find the missing marine ship adrift in the ocean, they board it to investigate. And in return met with further questions and perplexing, abnormal conditions that push the crew members and passengers to clash, and puts every one of them in danger.
3. 1899 features actors from all over the world
The diverse 1899 cast includes some Netflix veterans. This includes German-born Andreas Pietschmann from Dark, Miguel Bernardeau from Netflix’s Spanish drama Elite, and Lucas Lynggaard Tnnese and Clara Rosagern from the Danish sci-fi thriller The Rain bringing these disparate characters to life. Polish actor Maciej Musial (who played Sir Lazlo in The Witcher) also stars alongside English actress Rosalie Craig (The Queen’s Gambit), Alexandre Willaume (Danish fantasy thriller Equinox), and another Danish actor named Maria Erwolter(The Ritual).
It also features other UK-based actors like Emily Beecham(AMC’s Into the Badlands) and Wales’ Aneurin Barnard (Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk), as well as Hong Kong natives Isabella Wei and Gabby Wong(2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). The cast also includes French-Cameroonian actor Yann Gael, Portuguese actor José Pimento, and France’s Mathilde Ollivier, who you may recognize from the 2018 period horror film Overlord.
2. Yet another masterpiece from the creators of Dark
Andreas Pietschmann and the creators of Dark, Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, are also the masterminds behind this new, international mind-bender of a series. Before the German-language supernatural drama made them both famous in other parts of the world, the team worked on movies directed by Bo Odar, such as the 2010 crime film The Silence 2014 called Who Am I?
He also made his feature-length debut in 2006 with the coming-of-age drama Unter der Sonne. He then made his English-language debut in 2017 with the cop drama Sleepless, starring Jamie Foxx.
1. A new virtual production facility was created for 1899
Apart from its mysterious and fantastic premise, perhaps the most captivating aspect of 1899 is its visual effects, which are achieved using a cutting-edge technique called virtual production, which has become much more common on film and TV show sets. You can find this method used by many of Disney’s newer Star Wars TV shows, including The Mandalorian. This method entails capturing footage in front of backdrops that project CGI in real-time rather than acting in front of a green screen and animating the effects later.
According to Tech Crunch, a brand-new company called Dark Bay, the first of its kind to be based in Europe and devoted to the use of virtual production, was established specifically for the production of 1899. Dark Bay is a wholly owned subsidiary of the production company Dark Ways founded by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese.
It appears that the characters in this new television series are traveling down some dark alleys and a very long way from the closest dark bay. When 1899 debuts on Netflix on November 17, you can see what bizarre landscapes they encounter and who will make it out alive.
