Plotlines

1899 is one of those tragic Netflix series that unfortunately didn’t make it past a first season due to viewer numbers and destroyed my trust in Netflix. Something I’ve also written a bit about in Mindhunter. But let’s start at the very beginning!

There used to be a small, inconspicuous series from Germany called Dark (2017). Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar are the creative minds behind this series and are also responsible for films such as Who am I? (2014).

Dark was an absolute hit back then and consistently managed to fascinate viewers right up to the last minute at the end of the third season with an incredibly dense story that never lost its intensity. However, it must also be said that the series is not something to be enjoyed on the side. You have to get involved with the series, the characters and the story being told.

A great success for the makers and, of course, for Netflix! So there was the opportunity to create another series, and with 1899, that’s what happened.

1899

1899 is set on the ship Kerberos, which was on its way from London to New York. Many of the passengers have embarked on this journey in the hope of a better life in the distant USA.

However, you realise right from the start that there are not only many secrets on board, the passengers also all have their own baggage to carry. At the same time, it quickly becomes clear that there is something wrong with the whole setting, including the discovery of the Kerberos’ sister ship, the Prometheus.

From around the second half of the series onwards, you get a deeper insight into the background to the Kerberos’ journey and that it is not actually as it seemed at the beginning. Towards the end of the season, this is then completely turned on its head again, fascinating!

This ending also left you hungry for more. More of these fascinating depictions, more of this world and more of what the creators had planned.

The audience

I realise that many people don’t like this, but it’s still necessary to make the audience take responsibility. Because I have often read that 1899 is not like Dark, is told far too slowly and doesn’t fit in with the previous series at all. But where does it say that 1899 should be like Dark?

I didn’t really understand these statements, because I don’t understand why the work has to be compared with Dark. It’s an independent work with a completely different story and a very different setting. Sure, the creative minds behind it are the same, but I just don’t see a differentiated point of view here. And I’m well aware that this isn’t all that common these days, but it’s still a factor to consider.

It often seemed to me that precisely because of this strange comparison and because 1899 was so different from Dark, the series didn’t score as highly in the viewers’ favour as it would have done if it had been viewed separately from Dark. The comparison to Dark has simply been heard far too often and even if this may sound exaggerated, nobody compares Schindler’s List (1993) with E.T. (1982), do they?

The streaming service

Let’s move on to the main culprit, the streaming service Netflix! For some time now, Netflix has repeatedly made headlines for simply cancelling series without much notice or warning because they have not met the targets set due to various key figures. This means that if a series does not achieve the required viewer numbers within a specified period, it is cancelled. The possibility that these viewer figures could still change is not taken into account here.

It doesn’t matter whether the series has an ending or not. The series are also often produced in such a way that the ending is kept very open. On the one hand, this always raises hopes for a continuation, but it also creates frustration when it doesn’t materialise.

Of course, the prompt cancellation of a series is nothing new, but the way it is produced has changed. In the past, one season of a series was always shown each year, and it was usually decided halfway through the season whether it would continue or not. In addition, the end of a season often ends in such a way that, although it is open to further seasons, it is also a good conclusion. A good compromise has often, but not always, been found between an open ending and the conclusion of the series. Precisely because of the aspect of closure, you were extremely happy when it continued, regardless of whether you knew it beforehand or not.

Pre-production is another factor, as this only begins after the season has aired, and it therefore takes time for the series to continue. Stranger Things is a very prominent example here; the series began back in 2016 and took until now, 2025, to be completed in just five seasons. The entire production felt the effects of this, as the child actors from 2016 grew up faster than their roles were intended.

The end

Let’s summarise!

We have a series that is creative, chooses different paths and has a form of otherness that is quite unusual. It certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it tells an interesting story, of which there are fewer and fewer.

In addition, there is a streaming service that has proven itself in the mainstream, but due to various, mostly economic factors, sets completely exaggerated key figures and therefore cannot achieve its goals.

What is the result of all this?

This creates a scepticism among viewers that is extremely unhealthy for streaming services, because they simply don’t want to invest so much in a new series, as they always have in mind that it might come to a premature end without a proper conclusion.

But is it that simple?

Let’s be honest, it’s rarely really that simple. Sure, we could just point the finger at the streaming services now, blame them for everything and happily flop down on the couch and binge The Big Bang Theory for the hundredth time!

Streaming services have definitely played a major role in changing viewer behaviour in terms of how series and films are consumed, especially after the coronavirus pandemic.

Viewers need to start showing media producers what they like and what they don’t like again. When series are cancelled, viewers have to cancel their subscriptions en masse so that the streaming service realises very painfully that it may not be on the right track.

Streaming services need to start setting up key figures, but do more market research and see what really resonates and where it resonates. Always listening to the loud crowd that has just jumped on a rage train in social media is easy, but certainly not a particularly smart decision!

Disclaimer!

This article is a way of venting my frustration at the fact that really well-made, well-written and excellently produced series are simply cancelled. Sometimes, apparently, arbitrarily, sometimes because they simply failed to fulfil completely exaggerated expectations. (It should not be forgotten that expectations can be raised, but they are the responsibility of those who have them).

The article is based on experience that I have gathered over decades and should also be viewed from this perspective. Of course, a lot has changed and changes are certainly not wrong. But sometimes, as in the case of series and films, they simply go in the wrong direction, and you often get the feeling that it’s a form of bubble economy.

From this point of view, I can only advise you, whether you still like the medium or not, to buy your favourite series or films on DVD / Blu Ray. Because if it’s a bit of a bummer, you can still meet up with friends in the evening, flop down on the couch and enjoy a few episodes of Knight Rider (Strange example, I know, but sometimes you just have to hassel the Hoff!).