Netflix’s Highly-Anticipated New Horror-Thriller Series Arrives Tonight

Netflix’s highly-anticipated new horror-thriller series is about to drop on the streaming service. 1899, the new series from German creative team Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, who were behind the international hit sci-fi/mystery/thriller series, Dark. Odar and Friese signed an overall deal with Netflix and have been developing 1899 since 2018, and it has been labeled as the most expensive German TV series production of all time, with an overall reported budget of $62 million dollars. 

1899 will once again have Odar serve as director and Friese as lead writer. The larger writing team will be an international collection of writers, including Emma Ko (Hong Kong, UK), Coline Abert (France), Jerome Bucchan-Nelson (UK), Juliana Lima Dehne (Brazil, US), Joshua Long (US), Darío Madrona (Spain), and Emil Nygaard Albertsen (Denmark).

When And Where Can I Watch 1899? 

1899 will start streaming on Netflix on Thursday, November 17th. Netflix typically debuts new series in the middle of the night (midnight PST), but it will definitely be available Thursday morning. 

What Is 1899 About? 

The synopsis for 1899 reads as follows: 

1899. A migrant steamship heads west to leave the old continent. The passengers, a mixed bag of European origins, united by their hopes and dreams for the new century and their future abroad. But their journey takes an unexpected turn when they discover another migrant ship adrift on the open sea. What they will find on board will turn their passage to the promised land into a horrifying nightmare.

1899 will star Emily Beecham in the lead role of Maura Franklin, one of the first female doctors who is traveling from the UK to America. Also starring in the series are actors 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. Each actor from this eclectic collection of international thespians will be playing a character that speaks in his/her/their native language. 

How Many Episodes and Seasons Will 1899 Get? 

1899 will run for 8 episodes – all of which will release on Netflix simultaneously on Thursday, November 17th. That will constitute Netflix’s usual “Binge Watch” model of release, rather than weekly episode releases. 

While 1899 Season 2 hasn’t been officially announced, Baran bo Adar told THR that the creative team already has Season 2 and Season 3 mapped out, in terms of story: 

“We always like to have an ending before we start. We want to know where we are going. We’re moving through a story, and we want to know how it will be resolved in the end. In the middle, there may be some ideas that are more loosely thrown in. And as we go through the process, the ideas can shift and move into a different position.

 For example, on Dark, the idea of the parallel universe was always planned to be in the second season. And then while we were working on it, we decided to move it to the third season. Stuff like that always happens. You just trying to be flexible, to really allow the process to surprise you while you’re going through it, but still kind of knowing where you’re sailing to.”

1899 will start streaming on Netflix.