Netflix’s 1899 is cancelled after just one season. The mystery thriller series, which starred Emily Beecham, Aneurin Barnard, Andreas Pietschmann and Miguel Bernardeau, was premiered last November on the streaming service. (Also read: Netflix show 1899 accused of stealing concept from indie comic Black Silence, comic creator calls them ‘identical’)
Confirming the news that the show would not be returning for another season, co-showrunners Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar announced on Baran’s Instagram, “With a heavy heart we have to tell you that 1899 will not be renewed. We would have loved to finish this incredible journey with a 2nd and 3rd season as we did with Dark. But sometimes things don’t turn out the way you planned. That’s life. We know this will disappoint millions of fans out there. But we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts that you were a part of this wonderful adventure. We love you. Never forget.”
Helmed by the creators behind the sci-fi thriller series Dark, 1899 was a German multilingual show, which premiered on Netflix on November 17 with all the episodes released at once. It received wide critical acclaim, and even found the coveted spot to the Top 10 chart. Set 13 years before the Titanic’s doomed voyage, the eight-episode series introduced a collection of eclectic characters on a migrant steamship named Kerberos, sailing from London to New York. The first season ended with a big cliffhanger. Earlier, Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar had publicly spoken about plans for seasons two and three.
The Hindustan Times review read, “For years, since that disappointing conclusion to Lost over a decade ago, people wondered if any project would come close to how the series had revolutionised the genre on the smaller screen. Westworld and Dark came perilously close, both in their own manner. The new heir to the throne, it seems, is Netflix’s multi-hyphenate, multi-genre show 1899. The period, mystery-horror is mind-bending, intriguing, gripping, and shocking in the right amounts. It may not have the novelty of Lost and Inception, but is a formidable beast that keeps you on the edge of your seat for eight whole episodes.”
Recently, Brazilian comic creator Mary Cagnin had posted a long Twitter thread accusing the Netflix show of stealing wherein she highlighted several similarities between her 2016 comic Black Silence and the show. She also pointed out several similarities between the arcs of characters in her comic and the show, including the eventual deaths of some of them.