1899
The creators of Dark return with a new original series, this time on a migration journey, from Europe to the United States which will turn into a sinister nightmare.
Credits: Netflix
The series Dark on Netflix has been critically acclaimed and established a large fanbase. For this reason, the expectations about the new show by Baran Do Obar and Jantje Friese, 1899 were high.
The setting is on a ship sailing from Europe to New York, one of the several that brought European migrants toward a new life in the United States, a land full of opportunities. Everyone on board is haunted by their past, hiding secrets or tormented, from Eyik Larsen, the ship’s captain ( Andreas Pietschmann, also seen in Dark) to Maura Franklin, played by Emily Beecham (Hail Ceasar!, Into the Badlands).
The series is influenced by the so-called migrant crisis (a crisis that is not based on resources, but on identity, and if anything is a racism crisis) in Europe and takes the viewers back to a time when stopping ships was not a political priority. Another crucial event that has influenced the show is Brexit and the divisions and cracks it left behind. The show is in fact pan-European, reflecting the different nationalities of those who boarded ships headed toward a better future in New York, and their languages.
Emily Beecham, Andreas Pietschmann, courtesy of Netflix
The journey of the ship toward New York changes when the Prometheus, another migrant ship that had disappeared four months before; when the Ship reaches the Prometheus, the nightmare, slowly but surely begins.
The class element also has an intersection in the development of the show; there are upper and lower docks on the ship, and the life of prospects of those who find on the two sides of the divide are significantly different.
What happened to the Prometheus? What secrets are the passengers of the ship carrying with them to New York?
The show is a journey into mystery and in the darkness and it makes for an enthusiastic, curious and unexpected view. From the otherisation of non-white characters to the class divide, 1899 also offers lenses of reflection on the Europe of walls, militarised borders, social crises and hateful political and media rhetorics.
1899 is available on Netflix, from today.