Netflix has unveiled the first image of 1899, the hotly anticipated new mystery series from Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, creators of global hit Dark.
For their new show, Friese and Odar have gone back to the turn of the 20th century for a story set among European immigrants struggling to reach the “new world.”
The eight-episode series follows the mysterious circumstances around the voyage of an immigrant ship from Europe to New York. The passengers, all of different backgrounds and nationalities, are united in their hopes and dreams for a new century and for a new future abroad. But when they discover a second ship adrift on the open sea that had gone missing for months, their journey takes an unexpected turn and their voyage to the promised land becomes a journey into a nightmare.
In the first lush image released by Netflix, Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar stand alongside the 1899 ensemble cast decked out in their 19th-century finery. The show’s international cast includes Emily Beecham, Aneurin Barnard, Andreas Pietschmann, Miguel Bernardeau, Maciej Musial, Lucas Lynggaard Tonnesen, Rosalie Craig, Clara Rosager, Maria Erwolter, Yann Gael, Mathilde Ollivier, José Pimentao, Isabella Wei, Gabby Wong, Jonas Bloquet, Fflyn Edwards, Alexandre Willaume and Anton Lesser, among others. All the actors will speak in their mother tongue in the series, which was conceived from the start as a multi-lingual drama.
1899 has just begun production at Studio Babelsberg outside Berlin. It will be shot entirely on a virtual production stage with the studio’s new cutting-edge LED-Volume technology, which uses video game engine technology to create virtual sets and locations, allowing complex visual effects shots to be made in-camera.
The virtual studio is owned by Dark Bay, a dedicated company set up by Studio Babelsberg and Friese and Odar’s new production company Dark Ways with backing from Netflix. Film tech companies Arri, Faber and Framestore were involved in the development of the virtual production stage, which will be permanently situated on the Babelsberg lot.
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