TV Review: 1899 (2022)

1899 (2022) created by Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar

A large ship, the Kerberos, is sailing from England to America in 1899. It's out in the middle of the Atlantic when it gets a strange message on its wireless. The communication is a set of coordinates not far away. The same company that owns the Kerberos lost a ship, the Prometheus, four months earlier. The captain and some of the crew thinks it might be the Prometheus, though there is no identification or request for help with the message--just the coordinates. The captain orders the crew to sail to the location, even though that will slow down the trip considerably. The passengers are not excited about the change of plans, especially the second-class passengers below decks who are desperate to get to America.

The story actually starts with what seems like a nightmare or a memory of Dr. Maura Franklin (Emily Beecham). She is in some sort of asylum, trying to get out only to be dragged back in. She wakes up in her bed on the boat. She whispers to herself "I am not going insane" as she starts her day. Many other passengers and even the captain have similar nightmare experiences. They are all leaving some complicated or difficult situations behind. The passengers are an international melange, with a French couple, a pair of Chinese women, two male Spanish traveling companions, and the below decks Low Country folk (in addition to the thousand or so other passengers who are unnamed and fill the background). The crew is a mix of Germans (from the company that built the ship) and English (from the company that bought the ship). Once the Kerberos finds the Prometheus, the situation only gets stranger, more confusing, and more perilous.

The show is a descendant of Lost, the popular series in which an airplane crashes on an island where many mysterious things are slowly revealed, both about the island and about the marooned air travelers. The first few episodes of 1899 focus on specific characters. Literary references and "big ideas" play a roll in the unfolding plot. The mysteries keep building till just over halfway through the eight episodes. Episode five has some explanations in it, but viewers are left uncertain about who is telling the truth or what is really going on. As the show proceeds, it gives a lot more detail and more to think about, especially about the nature of reality, memory, and choice. The final episode explains quite a bit but still leaves things open, either for viewer interpretation or another series of episodes. I would definitely watch another season.

The show is made by the same creators as Dark, the German Netflix show about a small town dealing with weird time travel issues. I really liked that show and this is thematically and visually similar.

Recommended, especially for Lost fans. 

Currently (December 2022), the series is only streaming on Netflix.