The creators of Dark are back with yet another astounding series, and this time it’s about a group of migrants trying to settle in New York. The new Netflix series 1899 was inspired by a horrifying antique photograph that showed a man in his underwear on the deck of a ship with a bloodied hammer in his hands. The image sparked the show’s plot, which is about a migrant ship sailing for America more than a century ago.
Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar,The creators of 1899, began to ponder who that man may have been, how he came to be on the ship in the first place, and his intended destination after that. By the way, this occurred years ago, at a time when the European immigration situation was especially severe and Brexit was only beginning to gain attention. The popular Dark Netflix series’ producers found themselves suddenly in possession of their next endeavour.
In a Netflix interview about the show, in which the migrant ship also encounters another ship in the ocean during its journey, Odar claimed that “that photo really sparked the idea to tell a story about immigrants.”
The idea was that a group of individuals from diverse nationalities, some of whom could only communicate in their own tongues, were on a boat bound for America. The history of my own family is one of immigration. “There is no one at home,” we would say, “we were always travelling the world; we never really settled.”
1899 starts off with a narrative that is extremely common. People from all walks of life and from various social, economic, and even national backgrounds within Europe are on board the migrant ship leaving the old world of Europe. Their shared desire for a better present and a better life is what brings them together.
However, 1899 exploits that straightforward opening as a springboard for what develops into a very frightening puzzle box of a Netflix series.
The Prometheus, a migrant ship that was previously thought to be lost, is discovered by the original ship as it is drifting at sea. And while we can’t say much more than that without giving anything away, let’s just say that what the original passengers learn makes their trip into a complete nightmare.
Actor Andreas Pietschmann describes the year 1899 as “the setting is set for a perplexing puzzle out on the water.”
He goes on to say that the story is about existence, family, relationships, and trust. “It’s a chaotic play with so many diverse ideas that is so complex and entertaining,”.