1899 Creators Spoil the Netflix Hit’s Scary Secrets

Netflix subscribers are about to be treated to a spine-chilling new adventure, with 1899 arriving on the platform very soon. The series hails from creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, who already baffled and entertained viewers with the live-action series Dark. It’s safe to assume that 1899 is most likely going to be a mind-boggling experience, and the creators are shedding a bit more light on how that mystery box is concocted. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Friese and bo Odar revealed a bit about their creative process — and also confirmed that the show will not be featuring any characters from their previous series.

“We don’t have bad ideas,” bo Odar said with a laugh. “No, we just forget them immediately. But we’re not afraid of putting bad ideas on the table, because sometimes there’s something small in a bad idea that’s actually good that you should use. One bad idea we’ve definitely said is not going to happen is that 1899 is related to Dark. We get that question a lot. So for all the fans out there: Sorry, there won’t be any characters from Dark suddenly appearing on the ship.”

“There are always three key elements,” Friese said of their creative process. “One is theme, the other is character and the other is plot. Writing is really about going back and forth between all three of them. But usually, it’s the theme that starts the whole process. We need to know what are we actually talking about. What’s the fundament of it all?  Then you start putting characters into that idea, but they might feel a bit one-dimensional, so you get some ideas for the plot and you work it in. But you keep checking: Is it still working with the theme or do you need to shift that a bit? And then something that’s quite important for series, especially compared to movies, is the whole world-building process. What’s the space in which you’re telling your story? Then it’s really a lot of bouncing back and forth between the two of us — at the beginning, throwing in random ideas in the beginning and trying to figure out what ideas actually stick. It’s a very long and also very complicated process.”

What is 1899 about?

In 1899, a group of European migrants leave London on a steamship to start new lives in New York City. But when they encounter another migrant ship adrift on the open sea, their journey begins to turn into a nightmare.

The series stars Emily Beecham, Aneurin Barnard, Andreas Pietschmann, Miguel Bernardeau, Maciej Musiał, Anton Lesser, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, Rosalie Craig, Clara Rosager, Maria Erwolter, Martin Greis-Rosenthal, Yann Gael, Mathilde Ollivier, José Pimentão, Isabella Wei, Gabby Wong, Jonas Bloquet, Fflyn Edwards, and Alexandre Willaume.

Is 1899 a sequel to Dark?

As the creators revealed in an interview earlier this year, while 1899 is not a direct continuation of Dark, the two shows share a lot of commonality.

“There is a lot in the DNA that is kind of close to Dark in terms of the puzzle and needing an engaged active audience,” Friese explained in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. “But there are also things that are quite different in terms of atmosphere and tonality, but also pacing and more action-y stuff happening. So it is truly a beast of its own, but shares a lot of the same maybe mechanisms as Dark does. Hopefully it feels like something really fresh and new, while still [being] exactly what Dark fans would like to watch.”

“We do love to play with genres and expectations,” Odar echoed. “I think you have to watch carefully, because every little piece means something.”