Netflix and DARK WAYS, the newly set-up production company helmed by the creators of DARK, Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, announced the start of production for their highly anticipated new Netflix original mystery-series “1899.” Netflix also revealed the first look and a teaser for the series (watch above), which is set out to be a truly multi-language series, the characters will speak in the language of their origin.
The creators behind the award-winning German series DARK, which received praise and excited fans around the world, have assembled an international cast including Emily Beecham, Aneurin Barnard, Andreas Pietschmann, Miguel Bernardeau, Maciej Musial, Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, Rosalie Craig, Clara Rosager, Maria Erwolter, Yann Gael, Mathilde Ollivier, José Pimentão, Isabella Wei, Gabby Wong, Jonas Bloquet, Fflyn Edwards, Alexandre Willaume and Anton Lasser, among others.
The eight episodes follow 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 by their hopes and dreams for a new century and their future abroad. When they discover a second ship adrift on the open sea that had gone missing for months, their journey takes an unexpected turn. What they find onboard will turn their passage to the promised land into a nightmare-like riddle, connecting each of the passenger’s pasts through a web of secrets.
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“1899 is a truly European series with characters from various countries speaking in the language of their origin. We feel very fortunate to have found amazing talent from all over the world to venture into this exciting journey with us,” said Writer, producer, and showrunner Jantje Friese.
Filming will take place in a new custom-built virtual production stage. The largest LED 'Volume' of its kind in Europe, it unlocks the ability to capture a significant amount of complex visual effects shots in-camera through virtual sets and locations created with game engine technology. Owned by DARK BAY, a dedicated company set up by DARK WAYS and Studio Babelsberg with Netflix backing, the cutting edge virtual production stage will be permanently situated at the long-standing Babelsberg Studios, outside Berlin and provides content creators with new and innovative ways of creative storytelling.
“Partnering with Netflix enabled us to bring our vision behind1899 to life. Thanks to their upfront support and commitment we were able to build the Volume, making 1899 a pioneer title for Germany and the region,” said Director, producer, and showrunner Baran bo Odar. “The infrastructure is a cutting-edge innovation for the German production landscape and could also bring enormous creative benefits for filmmakers and creatives worldwide.”
“We are extremely happy that we could support Jantje and Bo in finding a perfect solution for their creative vision for 1899,” said Rachel Eggebeen, Director EMEA Netflix Originals. “The virtual production stage infrastructure will create new opportunities, and we're fully committed to bringing these technological advances to the German entertainment industry.”
Odar and Friese once again join forces with the exceptional talent behind the camera known from the DARK universe such as director of photography Nikolaus Summerer, set designer Udo Kramer, hair & makeup designer Christina Wagner, or composer Ben Frost and they are working with new collaborators such as casting director Lucy Bevan, Oscar-nominated costume designer Bina Daigeler and Framestore's integrated visualization, virtual production and VFX teams supervised by Christian Kaestner.
1899 is produced by DARK WAYS in cooperation with Netflix. DARK WAYS receives funding support for 1899 from the German Motion Picture Fund and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. The investment for the DARK BAY virtual production studio received support from the Investment Bank of Brandenburg (ILB).