1899 (TV series) explained

1899 is a multilingual German 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.

Premise

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.

Cast and characters

Main

• Emily Beecham as Maura Henriette Franklin/Singleton, a neurologist and one of the first female doctors in Britain, travelling alone to America
• Aneurin Barnard as Daniel Solace, a mysterious man who boards the Kerberos.
• Andreas Pietschmann as Eyk Larsen, the ship's weather-beaten captain
• Miguel Bernardeau as Ángel, a wealthy Spaniard traveling with Ramiro
• José Pimentão as Ramiro, a faux Portuguese priest traveling with Ángel
• Isabella Wei as Ling Yi, a mysterious young woman from Hong Kong, traveling with Yuk Je
• Gabby Wong as Yuk Je, a middle-aged woman from Hong Kong and Ling Yi's mother
• Yann Gael as Jérôme, a French stowaway
• Mathilde Ollivier as Clémence, a young woman from the Paris elite, accompanied by her new husband Lucien
• Jonas Bloquet as Lucien, an upper class Parisian, and former Lieutenant of the French Foreign Legion, newly married to his wife Clémence
• Rosalie Craig as Virginia Wilson, a sociable, wealthy British woman
• Maciej Musiał as Olek, a Polish stoker on his way to New York
• Clara Rosager as Tove, a young pregnant Danish woman traveling to New York City with her family
• Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen as Krester, a young Danish man with a mysterious scar on his face
• Maria Erwolter as Iben, a religious Dane traveling with her husband Anker and children, who supposedly hears the voice of God
• Alexandre Willaume as Anker, a religious Dane going to New York with his wife Iben, his son Krester, and his daughters Tove and Ada
• Tino Mewes as Sebastian, the first mate on the Kerberos
• Isaak Dentler as Franz, the captain's right-hand man
• Fflyn Edwards as Elliot, a.k.a. "the boy", a mysterious mute boy found under unusual circumstances, who becomes Maura's charge on board the Kerberos.
• Anton Lesser as Henry Singleton, a British investor and Maura's father

Recurring

• Vida Sjørslev as Ada, Krester and Tove's younger sister
• Alexander Owen as Landon, a stoker and friend of Darrel
• Ben Ashenden as Darrel, a stoker and friend of Landon
• Richard Hope as Dr. Reginald Murray, a boorish British doctor
• Joshua Jaco Seelenbinder as Eugen, an officer on the Kerberos
• Niklas Maienschein as Wilhelm, the telegraph operator on the Kerberos
• Jónas Alfreð Birkisson as Einar, a third class passenger from Norway and mutineer
• Heidi Toini as Bente, a third class passenger

Guest

• Cloé Heinrich as Nina Larsen, Eyk's daughter
• Alexandra Gottschlich as Sara Larsen, Eyk's wife
• Kaja Chan as Mei Mei, Ling Yi's friend in Hong Kong
• Martin Greis as Villads, the landowner that employed Anker's family

Production

Development

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:

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. The first season served to establish the theme and characters and pose big questions. If ordered by Netflix, the second season would explain the symbology of the triangles, and Maura's brother would be an important character. 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]

Budget

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]

Casting

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]

Filming

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 Babelsberg in Potsdam, 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]

Release

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]

Plagiarism accusations

Shortly after the release of 1899, Brazillian comic book author Mary Cagnin, through her X account, claimed her comic book story Black Silence (2016) had been plagiarized by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese.^[22] Cagnin mentioned that several elements of Black Silence had been reproduced in 1899 and speculated that the series creators discovered her work at the 2017 Gothenburg Book Fair, in Sweden, where she had distributed copies of Black Silences English version. Cagnin said she was "heartbroken" and had "cried a lot" over the issue. Her thread speculating how Black Silence had been plagiarized went viral in Brazil.^[23] Decider observed that "[a]side from an affinity for pyramids, it's hard to find many similarities" between the two projects", and noted that even when reading Black Silence with the specific goal of finding similarities to 1899, "the connections between the two properties were borderline nonexistent", concluding that "[c]reepy pyramids, suspicious suicides, weird codes, and outer space" are "incredibly common sci-fi tropes" and their appearance in both works is "not suspicious".^[24]

Jantje Friese responded the allegations through her Instagram account with a post that was later deleted, stating that "a Brazilian artist has claimed we stole from her graphic novel. To make it clear: we did not! Until yesterday we weren't even aware of the existence of that graphic novel". Friese went on to say that "Over two years we have put pain, sweat and exhaustion into the creation of 1899. This is an original idea and not based on any source material. Nevertheless we've been bombarded with messages – some of them ugly and hurtful." The series creator also added that "someone cries wolf and everyone jumps on it, not even checking whether the claims make any sense. [...] Of course should this be a scheme to sell more of her graphic novels: well played, [...]". Baran bo Odar, through his own Instagram account, declared the creators of 1899 "would never steal from other artists as we feel as artists ourselves" and that they had reached out to Cagnin.^[25]

Later, Cagnin claimed the situation was being dealt with legally through her X account. She briefly deleted her account and later deleted the original thread of the accusations.^[26]

Cancellation and response

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."^[27]

Writing in Digital Spy, David Opie said that "for all we know, there might be talks to save the show at HBO or Prime 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]."^[28]

Fans took to social media to decry the decision, and a petition to save the show was started on Change.org. As of July 2024, it had garnered over 100,000 signatures.^[29]

Reception

Audience viewership

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.^{[30] [31]} The following week, the series remained at the same position and garnered 87.89 million viewing hours.^{[32] [33]} In its third week, the series generated 44.62 million viewing hours, while also holding its position at number two.^{[34] [35]}

Critical response

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.^[36] 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." On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the series has a score of 66 out of 100 based on 12 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[37]

Collider named 1899 as one of the best new TV shows of 2022,^[38] while MovieWeb ranked it the sixth best TV show of the year.^[39]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2022	Camerimage	TV Series Competition	1899		[40]
2023	American Society of Cinematographers Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Episode of a Series for Non-Commercial Television	Nikolaus Summerer (for "The Calling")		[41]
	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Foreign Language Series	1899		[42]
	Grimme Prize	Best Fiction			[43]

External links

• • • Screenplay of Episode 1 "The Ship"

Notes and References

1. Web site: Clarke . Stewart . 13 November 2018 . Migration Drama '1899' Is New Netflix Project From Creators of 'Dark' . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20210503123127/https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/netflix-dark-creators-1899-baran-bo-odar-jantje-friese-1203027167/ . 3 May 2021 . 3 May 2021 . .
2. Netflix Reveals New Shows from Sweden, France, Germany, Spain, UK . . . 24 November 2018 . 3 May 2021 .
3. Exciting! The next journey... . CDUV5BdpBct . baranboodar . bo Odar . Baran . Baran bo Odar . 31 July 2020 .
4. News: Huff . Lauren . Dark creators tease the mysteries behind their new mind-bending Netflix series 1899 . EW . 26 September 2022.
5. News: Roxborough . Scott . The Creators of '1899' Reveal (Some of) the Secrets Behind the New Netflix Mystery Series . . 16 November 2022 . 24 November 2022.
6. 1899: Wir erklären die verwirrende Netflix-Serie (mit Baran bo Odar und Jantje Friese). streamgestoeber.podigee.io. Streamgestöber. 23 November 2022. 36:30. 24 November 2022. de. 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.. 24 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221124100643/https://streamgestoeber.podigee.io/250-1899-netflix-erklaert. dead.
7. News: Müller . Jochen . Medienboard: Zwei Mio. Euro für deutsche Netflix-Serie "1899" . blickpunktfilm.
8. News: Niemeier . Timo . Netflix-Serie "1899" erhält Mega-Förderung aus dem GMPF . dwdl.
9. News: Netflix and Sky are strengthening Germany as a series location . die—tagespost.
10. Web site: 'Cruella' & 'The Pursuit Of Love' Actress Emily Beecham To Star In Netflix's Period Horror '1899' From 'Dark' Creators . Wiseman . Andreas . . 16 December 2020 . 3 May 2021 . 28 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210128130324/https://deadline.com/2020/12/netflix-series-1899-dark-emily-beecham-cruella-1234657366/ . live .
11. Web site: Aneurin Barnard, Andreas Pietschmann, Miguel Bernardeau & More Join Epic Netflix Series '1899' From 'Dark' Creators . Grater . Tom . . 2 May 2021 . 3 May 2021 . 3 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210503070037/https://deadline.com/2021/05/aneurin-barnard-andreas-pietschmann-miguel-bernardeau-more-epic-netflix-series-1899-dark-creators-1234746418/ . live .
12. 1899 lens test shooting day #1... thanks to our lovely stand-ins Judith and Bryan... #1899 #hasselbladx1dii @netflix . CH-_EWoJZ1E . baranboodar . bo Odar . Baran . Baran bo Odar . 24 November 2020 . 3 May 2021.
13. Really like these colors and the darkness of these images from our lense camera test for 1899... #1899 #hasselbladx1dii @netflix . CIP8TwChR-P . baranboodar . bo Odar . Baran . Baran bo Odar . 1 December 2020 . 3 May 2021.
14. Web site: 5 November 2020 . 1899 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210503172224/https://productionlist.com/production/1899/ . 3 May 2021 . 3 May 2021 . Production List . Film & Television Industry Alliance.
15. Web site: '1899' First Interviews: Netflix & The Creators Of 'Dark' Talk Building Europe's Largest Virtual Production Stage To Shoot Ambitious Multilingual Series . Grater . Tom . . 3 May 2021 . 3 May 2021 . 3 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210503071538/https://deadline.com/2021/05/1899-netflix-creators-dark-talk-europes-largest-virtual-production-stage-multilingual-series-1234747377/ . live .
16. The future of working... endless zoom calls for 1899. this time with @framestore in London who are doing VFX work for 1899... #1899 @netflix . CKB-XmZhR4B . baranboodar . bo Odar . Baran . Baran bo Odar . 15 January 2021 . 3 May 2021.
17. Web site: Moore . Kasey . 12 August 2022 . Netflix's '1899' From 'Dark' Creators: Everything We Know So Far . 2022-09-05 . What's on Netflix . en.
18. 24 September 2022. Netflix. Netflix. 1573736524650348544. The new mystery series from the creators of DARK. 1899 premieres November 17 to positive reviews #TUDUM.. 24 September 2022.
19. Web site: Moore . Kasey . 17 November 2022 . '1899' Making Of Documentary Drops on Netflix Globally . 2022-11-17 . What's on Netflix . en.
20. News: Frank . Arno . 21 November 2022 . (S+) »1899«: Netflix-Serie soll bei Comic geklaut haben – was ist dran am Vorwurf . de . Der Spiegel . 2022-11-21 . 2195-1349.
21. Web site: Petski . Denise . 2 January 2023 . '1899' Canceled After One Season At Netflix . 2 January 2023 . . en-US.
22. News: Wünsch . Silke . Netflix series '1899' accused of plagiarism . 23 November 2022. 2024-07-31 . DW.
23. News: Danhauer . Whitney . 27 November 2022 . Creator of Netflix's '1899' Slams Comic Book Artist Claiming the Series Copied Her Original Idea – Says She's 'Crying Wolf' . 2024-07-31 . Showbiz Cheatsheet . en-US.
24. Web site: Cobb . Kayla . 21 November 2022 . Was '1899' on Netflix Plagiarized? Everything We Know . 2024-07-31 . en-US.
25. News: Figueiredo . Ana Luiza . 21 November 2022 . "1899": autora brasileira acusa série da Netflix de plágio; entenda o caso . 2024-07-31 . Olhar Digital . pt.
26. Web site: [SPOILERS S1] Plagiarism claimant deleted her account ]. 2024-07-31 . Reddit. 3 December 2022 .
27. News: '1899' Cancellation Reiterates Why It's Hard To Bother Investing In Netflix Shows. Forbes. 3 January 2023.
28. News: Why 1899 was cancelled – and the chances of season 2 or a spinoff. Digital Spy. 3 January 2023.
29. Web site: 3 January 2023 . Petition is signed for second series of Netflix's 1899 . . en.
30. Web site: 20 November 2022 . Netflix Global Top 10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221130033105/https://top10.netflix.com/tv?week=2022-11-20 . 30 November 2022 . 29 November 2022 . Netflix.
31. Web site: Bell . BreAnna . 22 November 2022 . Netflix Top 10: 'The Crown' Season 5 Continues to Reign at No. 1, '1899' Debuts at No. 2 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221130213215/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/the-crown-season-5-no-1-1899-debuts-no-2-netflix-1235440137/ . 30 November 2022 . 29 November 2022 . . bot: unknown .
32. Web site: 27 November 2022 . Netflix Global Top 10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221130033517/https://top10.netflix.com/tv?week=2022-11-27 . 30 November 2022 . 29 November 2022 . Netflix.
33. Web site: Mitovich . Matt Webb . 29 November 2022 . Wednesday Bests a Netflix Viewership Record Set by Stranger Things 4 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221130033753/https://tvline.com/2022/11/29/wednesday-ratings-netflix-viewership-record/ . 30 November 2022 . 29 November 2022 . TVLine.
34. Web site: 4 December 2022 . Netflix Global Top 10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221207014435/https://top10.netflix.com/tv?week=2022-12-04 . 7 December 2022 . 6 December 2022 . Netflix.
35. Web site: Hailu . Selome . 6 December 2022 . 'Wednesday' Has Already Become Netflix's Third Most Popular English-Language Series of All Time . 6 December 2022 . Variety.
36. Web site: 1899: Season 1 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221203040543/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/1899/s01 . 3 December 2022 . 23 November 2022 . Rotten Tomatoes.
37. Web site: 1899 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221203040812/https://www.metacritic.com/tv/1899 . 3 December 2022 . 22 November 2022 . Metacritic.
38. Web site: Kutschker . Eden . 13 December 2022 . 10 New TV Shows From 2022 To Binge Before The Year Ends . 2022-12-14 . . en-US.
39. Web site: Bundela . Rudransh . 29 November 2022 . The Best TV Shows of 2022, Ranked . 2022-12-14 . . en-US.
40. Web site: Energa Camerimage 2022 – Nominations . https://web.archive.org/web/20221220061641/https://www.independenttalent.com/announcement/energa-camerimage-2022-nominations/ . 2022-12-20 . 2022-12-20 . Independent Talent.
41. News: 2023 ASC Awards Nominees Announced . 10 January 2023 . American Society of Cinematographers.
42. Web site: Nordyke . Kimberly . 15 January 2023 . Critics Choice Awards: Full List of Winners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230116052049/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/critics-choice-awards-winners-list-full-2023-1235300137/ . 16 January 2023 . 16 January 2023 . The Hollywood Reporter.
43. News: The nominations for the Grimme Prize 2023 . 20 January 2023 . Trend Detail News . 19 January 2023.