Dark (TV series)

Dark
File:DarkNetflixPoster.jpg
Genre	Science fiction Thriller Drama
Created by	Baran bo Odar Jantje Friese
Starring	See below
Theme music composer	Apparat
Opening theme	"Goodbye" by Soap&Skin
Composer	Ben Frost
Country of origin	Germany
Original language	German
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	18 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Baran bo Odar Jantje Friese Quirin Berg Max Wiedemann Justyna Müsch
Production location	Germany
Cinematography	Nikolaus Summerer
Running time	45–57 minutes
Production company	Wiedemann & Berg Television
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	1 December 2017 (2017-12-01) – present

Dark is a German science fiction thriller web television series co-created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese. Set in the fictional German town of Winden, Dark centers around the aftermath of a child's disappearance that exposes the secrets and hidden connections of four estranged families as they slowly unravel a sinister time travel conspiracy that spans three generations. Throughout the series, Dark explores the existential implications of time and its effects on human nature.

Dark is the first German-language Netflix original series and debuted on Netflix's streaming service on 1 December 2017. The first season received mostly positive reviews from critics, who made initial comparisons to another Netflix series, Stranger Things.

Netflix renewed Dark for a second season, which was released on 21 June 2019 to critical acclaim from critics. The series was renewed for a third season which will serve as the final season of the series.

Premise

Children start disappearing from the fictional German town of Winden, bringing to light the fractured relationships, double lives, and dark past of four families living there, and revealing a mystery that spans three generations. The series follows Jonas Kahnwald, a teenager struggling to cope with his father's suicide; police officer Ulrich Nielsen, whose brother disappeared 33 years earlier; and police chief Charlotte Doppler.

The story begins in 2019 but spreads to include storylines in 1986 and 1953 via time travel, as certain characters of the show's core families grow aware of the existence of a wormhole in the cave system beneath the local nuclear power plant, which is under the management of the influential Tiedemann family. During the first season, secrets begin to be revealed concerning the Kahnwald, Nielsen, Doppler, and Tiedemann families, and their lives start to crumble as the ties become evident between the missing children and the history of the town and its citizens.

Cast and characters

The first season initially takes place in 2019 but expands to include stories set in 1986 and 1953, with several characters being portrayed at various ages by multiple actors. The second season takes place several months after the first, depicting the initial three stories in 2020, 1987 and 1954, respectively, while introducing stories set in 2053 and 1921.

Main characters

Character	Year	Description	Actor
Jonas Kahnwald	2019	A high school student struggling with his father's suicide	Louis Hofmann
	2052	A time traveler, also known as "The Stranger"	Andreas Pietschmann
	?→1921	The leader of Sic Mundus, also known as "Adam"	Dietrich Hollinderbäumer
Mikkel Nielsen/Michael Kahnwald	2019→1986	Ulrich and Katharina's youngest child	Daan Lennard Liebrenz (de)
	2019	Jonas' father, an artist whose suicide opens the series	Sebastian Rudolph (de)
Hannah Kahnwald (née Krüger)	1986	A shy young girl	Ella Lee (de)
	2019→1954	Jonas' mother and Michael's wife, a massage therapist	Maja Schöne (de)
Ines Kahnwald	1953	A young girl	Lena Urzendowsky (de)
	1986	Michael's adoptive mother, a nurse	Anne Ratte-Polle (de)
	2019	Jonas' estranged grandmother	Angela Winkler
Sebastian Krüger	1986	Hannah's blue-collar father	Denis Schmidt
Daniel Kahnwald	1953	Ines' father, the Winden chief of police	Florian Panzner
Martha Nielsen	2019	Ulrich and Katharina's middle child, Bartosz's girlfriend and Jonas' love interest	Lisa Vicari (de)
Magnus Nielsen	2019	Ulrich and Katharina's oldest child	Moritz Jahn
	?→1921	A member of Sic Mundus	Wolfram Koch (de)
Ulrich Nielsen	1986	A high school student struggling after his brother's disappearance	Ludger Bökelmann
	2019→1953	Katharina's husband, Magnus, Martha and Mikkel's father, a police officer	Oliver Masucci
	1987	Patient in a psychiatric ward	Winfried Glatzeder
Katharina Nielsen	1986	Ulrich's girlfriend, a high school student	Nele Trebs (de)
	2019	Ulrich's wife, Magnus, Martha, and Mikkel's mother, a high school principal	Jördis Triebel
Mads Nielsen	1986	Ulrich's younger brother who disappeared	Valentin Oppermann
Tronte Nielsen	1953	Agnes' son, newly arrived in Winden	Joshio Marlon
	1986	Jana's husband, Ulrich and Mads' father, a journalist	Felix Kramer (de)
	2019	Jana's husband, Ulrich's father, Magnus, Martha and Mikkel's grandfather	Walter Kreye
Jana Nielsen	1953	A young girl	Rike Sindler
	1986	Tronte's wife, Ulrich and Mads' mother	Anne Lebinsky
	2019	Tronte's wife, Ulrich's mother, Magnus, Martha and Mikkel's grandmother	Tatja Seibt (de)
Agnes Nielsen	1921	A young girl	Helena Pieske (de)
	1953	Tronte's mother, newly returned to Winden	Antje Traue
Franziska Doppler	2019	Jonas, Magnus and Martha's classmate	Gina Stiebitz (de)
	?→1921	A member of Sic Mundus	Carina Wiese
Elisabeth Doppler	2019	Franziska's deaf younger sister	Carlotta von Falkenhayn (de)
	2053	Leader of the survivors in Winden	Sandra Borgmann (de)
Peter Doppler	2019	Franziska and Elisabeth's father, Jonas' psychologist	Stephan Kampwirth
Charlotte Doppler	1986	A young woman raised by her grandfather	Stephanie Amarell (de)
	2019	Peter's wife, Franziska and Elisabeth's mother, Winden chief of police	Karoline Eichhorn
Helge Doppler	1953	Bernd and Greta's son	Tom Philipp
	1986	Peter's father, a power plant guard	Peter Schneider
	2019	Patient in a psychiatric ward	Hermann Beyer (de)
Bernd Doppler	1953	Greta's husband, Helge's father, founder of the nuclear plant	Anatole Taubman
	1986	Helge's father, former director of the nuclear plant	Michael Mendl
Greta Doppler	1953	Bernd's wife, Helge's mother	Cordelia Wege (de)
H.G. Tannhaus	1953	Charlotte's guardian, a clockmaker	Arnd Klawitter
	1986	A clockmaker and author	Christian Steyer (de)
Bartosz Tiedemann	2019	Regina and Aleksander's son, Jonas' best friend and Martha's boyfriend	Paul Lux (de)
Regina Tiedemann	1986	Claudia's daughter	Lydia Makrides
	2019	Aleksander's wife, Bartosz' mother, a hotel manager	Deborah Kaufmann (de)
Aleksander Tiedemann	1986	A mysterious young man	Béla Gabor Lenz (de)
	2019	Regina's husband, Bartosz' father, director of the nuclear plant	Peter Benedict (de)
Claudia Tiedemann	1953	Egon and Doris' daughter, Helge's tutor	Gwendolyn Göbel
	1986	Regina's mother, director of the nuclear plant	Julika Jenkins
	2019	A time traveler opposing Sic Mundus	Lisa Kreuzer
Egon Tiedemann	1953	Claudia's father, a police officer	Sebastian Hülk (de)
	1986	Claudia's father, a police officer approaching retirement	Christian Pätzold (de)
Doris Tiedemann	1953	Claudia's mother and Egon's wife	Luise Heyer
Noah	1921	Agnes' brother, an acolyte of Sic Mundus	Max Schimmelpfennig (de)
	?	A priest and member of Sic Mundus	Mark Waschke

Recurring cast

• Nils Brunkhorst (de) as the high school's science teacher in 2019
• Lena Dörrie (de) as Clara Schrage, a nurse attending to Helge Doppler in 2019
• Tara Fischer (de) as a friend of Katharina in 1986
• Leopold Hornung (de) as Torben Wöller, a junior police officer in 2019
• Tom Jahn (de) as Jürgen Obendorf, Erik Obendorf's father
• Anna König (de) as Edda Heimann, a pathologist in 2019
• Vico Mücke as Yasin Friese, Elisabeth Doppler's friend in 2019
• Barbara Philipp (de) as Selma Ahrens, a 1986 caseworker
• Paul Radom as Erik Obendorf, a teenage drug dealer gone missing in 2019
• Anton Rubtsov (de) as Benni/Bernadette Wöller, a transgender prostitute in 2019
• Anna Schönberg as Nurse Donata, Ines Kahnwald's co-worker in 1986
• Mieke Schymura (de) as Officer Jankowski, a junior police officer in 2019
• Lea Willkowsky as Jasmin Trewen, Claudia Tiedemann's secretary in 1986
• Lea van Acken as Silja, a survivor of the apocalypse in 2053
• Sylvester Groth as Clausen, an investigator looking into the disappearances in 2020

Family tree

Episodes

Series	Episodes		Originally released
1	10		1 December 2017 (2017-12-01)
2	8		21 June 2019 (2019-06-21)

Season 1 (2017)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"Secrets" "Geheimnisse"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Baran bo Odar	1 December 2017 (2017-12-01)
In June 2019, 43-year-old Michael Kahnwald commits suicide, but his mother, Ines, hides his suicide letter before anyone else notices it. On November 4, after months of treatment at a psychiatric facility, Michael's teenage son, Jonas, returns to school, and reunites with best friend Bartosz Tiedemann, who is now dating Jonas' love interest, Martha. Erik Obendorf, the high school's main supplier of marijuana, has been missing for two weeks, and police officer Ulrich Nielsen – the father of Martha and her brothers, teenager Magnus and pre-teen Mikkel – has been assigned the investigation, which struggles to uncover any clues. Meanwhile, Ulrich is also cheating on his wife, high school principal Katharina, with Jonas' mother Hannah. While searching for Erik's stash of drugs in a cave not far from the town's soon-to-be-closed-down nuclear power plant, Jonas, Bartosz, the three Nielsen children, and schoolmate Franziska Doppler are frightened by strange sounds and their flickering flashlights, and Mikkel disappears as they flee the cave. The next day, the body of a young boy is discovered, but it is not Mikkel. At an unknown location, a hooded figure straps Erik to a chair, while clamping a mechanism around his head.
2	2	"Lies" "Lügen"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Ronny Schalk	1 December 2017 (2017-12-01)
Mikkel's disappearance brings back memories from 1986 when Ulrich's younger brother Mads vanished, and Ulrich starts believing that the disappearances of Erik, Mikkel and the body of the third boy are related. While searching the caves, he finds a locked door leading to the nearby nuclear power plant, and although Ulrich's request to enter the power plant is refused by its director Aleksander Tiedemann, Bartosz' father, he is still able to discard the father of Erik Obendorf, a power plant driver, from his list of suspects. Police chief Charlotte Doppler is informed that the dead boy, dressed in a 1980s outfit, died only 16 hours earlier, and that his ears were destroyed by extreme pressure. Later, as lights start flickering and birds fall dead from the sky, Charlotte grows even more concerned. Meanwhile, an unkempt stranger checks into the hotel owned by Bartosz' mother, Regina. Ulrich's mother Jana lies to Ulrich, claiming that her husband Tronte was with her the night of Mikkel's disappearance, while knowing he left their house. At dawn, a disoriented Mikkel wakes up in the cave and runs home, only to discover what date he now lives in: November 5, 1986.
3	3	"Past and Present" "Gestern und Heute"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Marc O. Seng	1 December 2017 (2017-12-01)
In 1986, four weeks after the disappearance of Mads Nielsen, a desperate Mikkel is taken in by police officer Egon Tiedemann, who suspects he has been beaten by the teenage Ulrich. Mikkel is brought to the hospital by nurse Ines Kahnwald, who gains his trust. At the nuclear plant, newly elected director Claudia Tiedemann, Egon's daughter and Regina's mother, clashes with her predecessor Bernd Doppler, who informs her of secret barrels hidden in the nearby caves. Bernd's son, guard Helge, gives Claudia a book: Eine Reise durch die Zeit (A Journey Through Time) by H. G. Tannhaus. Meanwhile, as the town's electricity is flickering, a teenaged Charlotte starts investigating the deaths of multiple birds, while shy young Hannah has an unrequited crush on Ulrich, and Regina is being bullied and engages in self-harm. A flock of sheep is found dead from cardiac arrest with their eardrums ruptured, and, in an undisclosed location, a man surrounded by clocks tinkers with a brass machine. Mikkel sneaks away from the hospital and returns to the caves; after injuring himself, he calls for help. In 2019, Ulrich, also having returned to the caves, hears his faint calls, but they are unable to see each other.
4	4	"Double Lives" "Doppelleben"	Baran bo Odar	Martin Behnke & Jantje Friese	1 December 2017 (2017-12-01)
In 2019, Jonas finds maps and notes about the caves in his family's garage, while Charlotte tries to find a connection between the disappeared boys and the dead birds, which – just like the dead boy – are found to have burst eardrums. The birds also show similar symptoms to birds found after the Chernobyl disaster, and Charlotte suspects connections to the Winden events of 1986. Meanwhile, her marriage to psychologist Peter is crumbling since he was discovered to be having an affair with a transgender prostitute, and she finds evidence that Peter was out driving the night of Mikkel's disappearance, despite him claiming otherwise. Their oldest daughter, Franziska, confides in Magnus Nielsen that she plans to leave Winden due to her parents' wrecked marriage, and they end up having sex. Franziska's younger sister, the deaf Elisabeth, goes missing after school, but eventually returns home, explaining that she met a mysterious man, Noah, who gave her a watch once belonging to Charlotte. Meanwhile, Peter's father Helge, who is suffering from dementia, is found roaming the forest, claiming that he "must stop Noah". The next morning, a hooded figure approaches Elisabeth's friend, Yasin, and tells him that Noah has sent him.
5	5	"Truths" "Wahrheiten"	Baran bo Odar	Martin Behnke & Jantje Friese	1 December 2017 (2017-12-01)
In 1986, Mikkel is in the hospital after breaking his leg in the cave, and is visited by a priest: Noah. After having witnessed Ulrich and Katharina having sex, Hannah falsely tells the police that she saw Ulrich rape Katharina, and Ulrich is arrested. In 2019, with Yasin also vanished, panic is starting to spread, and Charlotte accuses Peter of being involved in the boys' disappearances. Hannah wants to resume her affair with Ulrich, but he angrily refuses. At the hotel, the Stranger tells Regina to deliver a package to Jonas while he is away for a few days, and at Michael's grave, the Stranger approaches Jonas, telling him that his father once saved his life. Bartosz meets Erik Obendorf's drug supplier, who is shown to be the same priest who visited Mikkel 33 years earlier. Later, Jonas receives the Stranger's package, containing a light, a Geiger counter, and Michael's suicide letter. In the letter Jonas' father explains that on 4 November 2019, he traveled back to 1986, where he stayed and grew up, raised by Ines, eventually marrying Hannah and fathering Jonas. Thus Mikkel Nielsen became Michael Kahnwald.
6	6	"Sic Mundus Creatus Est"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Ronny Schalk	1 December 2017 (2017-12-01)
In 2019, Mikkel's family struggles not to turn against each other, Regina finds out that she has breast cancer, and Ulrich learns that his father was having an affair with Claudia at the time of Mads' disappearance. After learning that Regina was the last one to see Mads in 1986, Ulrich confronts her, and while she admits to detesting him for bullying her during their childhood, she also makes him see that Hannah was the one framing him for rape. Visiting the morgue, Ulrich finally realizes that the dead boy is Mads, not aged since 33 years ago. Meanwhile, Jonas fails to tell his mother about the suicide letter but enters the caves armed with his father's notes and the equipment from the package sent by the Stranger. Within the caves, he finds a door with a Latin phrase, Sic mundus creatus est ("Thus the world was created"), and after crawling through to the other side, he notices flyers put up for the missing Mads Nielsen. A van drives by and stops: it's 14-year-old Hannah and her father Sebastian, offering him a ride in the rain, warning him about acid rain from the recent Chernobyl disaster.
7	7	"Crossroads" "Kreuzwege"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Marc O. Seng	1 December 2017 (2017-12-01)
In 2019, the police are finally allowed to enter the power plant, and Charlotte finds a welded shut door in the caves. Meanwhile, Ulrich finds Egon's 1986 notes, making Helge a suspect, and visits him at the nursing home. Frightened, Helge claims to be able to change the past and future. Ulrich is suspended from work and Katharina confronts him about his affair. Charlotte discovers that the cave system goes beneath an old cabin owned by Helge, and later she receives a voice message from Ulrich, stating that Helge is the kidnapper, but that the question is not how he is doing it, but when. Late at night, Helge leaves the nursing home, followed by Ulrich, who brings a book from Helge's room: Eine Reise durch die Zeit by H.G. Tannhaus. In 1986, Helge, who was working at the plant the night Mads disappeared, is questioned by Egon about his whereabouts. The Stranger warns Jonas that taking Mikkel back home will result in Jonas never being born. Katharina unsuccessfully attempts to convince Egon that Ulrich never raped her, and Helge and Noah prepare to move Yasin's dead body from a bunker behind Helge's cabin.
8	8	"As You Sow, so You Shall Reap" "Was man sät, das wird man ernten"	Baran bo Odar	Martin Behnke & Jantje Friese	1 December 2017 (2017-12-01)
In 1953, birds begin to die, and the unidentified bodies of Erik and Yasin are discovered. Police chief Daniel Kahnwald and officer Egon Tiedemann are puzzled by the boys' odd outfits. Ulrich arrives from 2019 and meets several locals, including newcomer Agnes Nielsen and her son Tronte, who are about to rent a room in the Tiedemann house, and a watchmaker named H.G. Tannhaus, who declines knowledge of the book found in Helge's 2019 home. Through the young Ines and Jana, Ulrich learns of the two bodies, and when introduced to the 9-year-old Helge, he realizes killing him will save the lives of the boys. He bludgeons Helge, and leaves him for dead in the bunker. Later, Tannhaus finds Ulrich's smartphone. In 1986, the Stranger meets with an elderly Tannhaus, who shares his theory of time travel through wormholes. The Stranger confirms his theories and states that such a wormhole, allowing people to travel 33 years into the past or into the future, exists in Winden. He asks Tannhaus to fix a broken brass device of his, so he can destroy the wormhole. Tannhaus later brings out a newer version of the device, studying them side by side.
9	9	"Everything is Now" "Alles ist Jetzt"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Marc O. Seng	1 December 2017 (2017-12-01)
In 1986, Ulrich is freed from rape accusations, and Hannah secretly discovers that a newly arrived young man, who calls himself Aleksander Tiedemann, is living under a false identity. Claudia encounters her dog Gretchen, who disappeared in 1953, alive and well by the caves, and starts to read Tannhaus' book. When Bernd admits that the hidden barrels contain byproducts of a small meltdown, Claudia hires Aleksander to secretly weld shut the door to them. In an argument with Helge (revealing that the abducted boys died from Noah's attempt to create a time machine) Noah states his mission to free humanity, likening himself to the Biblical Noah. In 2019, Hannah uses her knowledge of Aleksander's past to blackmail him into destroying Ulrich's life, while Regina discovers the Stranger's research. Bartosz is approached by Claudia, his supposedly dead grandmother. Later, Bartosz meets with Noah and agrees to join him. In 1953, Helge has been reported missing, and Noah – appearing the same age as in 1986 and 2019 – offers pastoral support to Helge's mother, Greta. Ulrich is arrested and confesses to murdering Helge. The Claudia of 2019 enters Tannhaus' shop with blueprints for the brass machine, asking him to build it for her.
10	10	"Alpha and Omega" "Alpha und Omega"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Ronny Schalk	1 December 2017 (2017-12-01)
During the night of Mikkel's disappearance, Peter is visiting the solitude of Helge's cabin when Mads' body suddenly appears. He calls Tronte to the cabin, and Claudia arrives, telling them to move the corpse. In 1986, Noah and Helge kidnap Jonas, who has returned to bring Mikkel back to 2019. Also having returned to 1986, the elderly Helge is later killed while attempting to stop his younger self by driving a car into him. Jonas wakes in the bunker, accompanied by the Stranger, who reveals himself to be the adult Jonas and leaves to destroy the wormhole by using the brass machine, which Tannhaus has completed from the broken version brought by the adult Jonas and Ulrich's smartphone. In 2019, Charlotte finds a 1953 article on Helge's kidnapping, including a photo of Ulrich. Noah tells Bartosz that Claudia is their main adversary, and that the adult Jonas, unwittingly, is about to create the wormhole. In 1953, 9-year-old Helge regains consciousness as the wormhole appears, connecting him to Jonas in 1986. As they reach out to each other, Helge is transported to 1986, while Jonas awakes in a post-apocalyptic Winden of 2052, getting knocked out by an armed girl.

Season 2 (2019)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
11	1	"Beginnings and Endings" "Anfänge und Enden"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Daphne Ferraro	21 June 2019 (2019-06-21)
In 1921, outside Winden, two men are building a passage into the cave that would later be used as the portal. One of them, revealed as the younger Noah, kills the other with a pickaxe on suspicions that he "lost [his] faith". The younger Noah is guided by his older self, the priest from the preceding season, who is part of a group of time travelers called Sic Mundis led by the disfigured and mysterious Adam, who tells the older Noah to prepare for an "apocalypse" that'll occur in June 27, 2020 – six days from then. In June 21, 2020, six days from the apocalypse, things in Winden have grown unstable. A newcomer, Clausen, arrives to assist Charlotte and the police force into their investigations in the disappearances. Katharina searches the cave for answers. Martha breaks up with Bartosz, who was visited by Noah afterwards. Magnus suspects Fransizka of infidelity. The adult Jonas from the future reconciles with Hannah. Martha and Magnus uncover the time travel plot. Meanwhile, Charlotte and Peter find out about Sic Mundus' existence. Aleksander has men from the force move a truck of radioactive waste into the power plant. In 2053, the teenage Jonas is still stuck in post-apocalyptic Winden, having learned of the incoming apocalypse. He plans to stop it, but is under strict watch by the adult Elisabeth, who survived the apocalypse and now leads a group of survivors. She forbids anyone to enter the power plant, now known as the Dead Zone, under penalty of death. Jonas enters the Dead Zone, ignoring her rules, and finds an oddly shaped blob named the God Particle inside.
12	2	"Dark Matter" "Dunkle Materie"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Ronny Schalk	21 June 2019 (2019-06-21)
In 1987, Mikkel struggles living his new life as Michael with Ines as his guardian. The old Claudia visits her 1987 self and informs her about the time travel plot, sending her coordinates of a time machine buried in her backyard. Egon is now retired and suffering from advanced cancer, but doubts his actions in 1953. He interviews Helge's 1987 self and goes to the local psychiatric facility to visit an old Ulrich, who spent 34 years in captivity for being mistakenly accused as the murderer in 1953. Ulrich rebuffs Egon for his naivety. 2020, five days before the apocalypse. Clausen and Charlotte interview Regina, suffering from breast cancer. She discusses the adult Jonas, who was at her hotel, and his belongings, some of which were pages from a book Tannhaus wrote. The newfound evidence makes Charlotte question her origins. Magnus confronts Fransizka. The adult Jonas informs Hannah about time travel and takes her to 1987, where they find Mikkel in Ines' house. 2053. Jonas finds out more about the God Particle, which can be used as a portal for time travel. He sets out to steal fuel for use to access the portal, but is caught by the adult Elisabeth, who almost hangs him in public. Elisabeth is reluctant and instead jails Jonas. Silja, Elisabeth's right-hand woman, doubts Elisabeth's stance and frees Jonas. They go to the Dead Zone, where they succesfully access the God Particle. Jonas heads inside, leaving Silja alone.
13	3	"Ghosts" "Gespenster"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Marc O. Seng	21 June 2019 (2019-06-21)
Helge's 1953 self stays at the bunker for a few months and arrives back at Winden in 1954. Agnes starts an affair with Doris and arrives at the bunker to meet the old Claudia, who tells her about Sic Mundus' plot. Claudia has an emotional encounter with her father Egon's 1953 self, telling him she's sorry. She also gives her time machine to Tannhaus' 1953 self before getting killed by Noah, who finds some unsettling pages in her belongings. Egon's 1953 self unsuccessfully interviews Helge after his return and pays a visit to an unresponsive Ulrich in jail. In 1987, the old Egon visits Ulrich at the asylum and informs him about Mikkel. Ulrich attacks Egon and is restrained. Claudia's 1987 self visits Helge's 1987 self and uses the time machine she found to travel to 2020: she cries seeing a dying Regina at her home.
14	4	"The Travelers" "Die Reisenden"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Martin Behnke	21 June 2019 (2019-06-21)
A badly hurt Jonas finds himself in Winden at the year 1921, where he is nursed by the inhabitants. He has a brief encounter with the younger Noah and his sister Agnes. He then tries to head back to 2020 through the portal, only to realize that he's stuck in 1921 because there was no portal built at the time. The younger Noah takes Jonas to the church, where he meets the older Noah, who escorts him to meet Adam, who shows noose scars across his neck, revealing himself as an elderly Jonas. In 2020, the Stranger and Hannah meet Charlotte and Peter at the bunker and they discuss the time travel plot, which they also reveal to a skeptical Katharina. Claudia's 1987 self arrives at the public library, where she discovers Egon's death, and she travels back to 1987. A suspicious Clausen interviews Aleksander, who reveals his original surname – Koehler – before he married Regina. Martha, Magnus, Fransizka, and Elisabeth visit the cave, where they cross paths with Bartosz, who was given a time machine by Noah. The kids take the time machine and leave Bartosz tied up in the cave. In 2053, Silja walks outside the Dead Zone, where she is confronted by the adult Elisabeth at gunpoint. They have a heated conversation in which Elisabeth refers to the God Particle claiming: "They say it's a piece of God, but it's actually a piece of the Devil."
15	5	"Lost and Found" "Vom Suchen und Finden"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Ronny Schalk	21 June 2019 (2019-06-21)
Jonas meets Adam and Adam tells Jonas that "a man lives three lives", the first ends with a “loss of naivety.” The second with “loss of innocence.” The third with “loss of life itself.” However, Jonas doesn´t care about this, just wanting to return to 2020. Adam notices Jonas's attitude and explains to Jonas that even if they are the same person Adam doesn´t know how Jonas is going to act in the future. Jonas then asks if Sic Mundus Creatus Est is an established religion to which Adam responds that God is "time", not an all-knowing entity. The universe is a cycle of cause and effect, of “light and shadow.” To live is to exist in paradox. In 1987 Claudia Tiedemann visits Egon and invites him to move with Regina and Claudia with the intention of preventing his death on June 26th of 1987. We see an old Ulrich Nielsen thinking of escape from the psychiatric ward. An orderly comes to bring food to his room, chatting about Ronald Reagan as “a first–rate guy” and “a visionary". Ulrich knocks him out and steals the key. After he escapes he finds Mikkel standing at the patio of his house. Ulrich tries to make Mikkel understand who he really is and tells him the phrase that Mikkel said in episode 1 about magic. Mikkel realizes that the old man is actually his dad. Ulrich tries to take Mikkel to the cave, however, the whole city has been notified that Ulrich escaped. The police stop Ulrich and Mikkel just meters away from the cave. Ines recovers Mikkel and Ulrich goes back to the psychiatric ward. In 2020 Katharina tries to explain to Magnus and Martha what she discovered but they are angry with her because she hasn´t been around for months. This leads Katharina to Hannah for help understanding time travel. Adult Jonas leaves Martha a necklace at the Nielsen´s house and goes to the Doppler´s house to help Charlotte. Charlotte tells Jonas that H.G Tannhaus is not her real grandfather. Magnus, Martha and company head to the caves and have Bartosz explain to them that the artifact is a time machine. Bartosz takes Martha, Franziska, Elisabeth, Magnus 1986. Charlotte visits Tannhaus's workshop and Noah arrives, revealing to Charlotte that she is his daughter.
16	6	"An Endless Cycle" "Ein unendlicher Kreis"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Martin Behnke	21 June 2019 (2019-06-21)
17	7	"The White Devil" "Der weiße Teufel"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Marc O. Seng	21 June 2019 (2019-06-21)
18	8	"Endings and Beginnings" "Enden und Anfänge"	Baran bo Odar	Jantje Friese & Daphne Ferraro	21 June 2019 (2019-06-21)

Production

Netflix approved the series in February 2016 for a first season consisting of 10 one-hour episodes. Principal photography started on 18 October 2016 in and around Berlin and ended in March 2017. The series was filmed in 4K (Ultra HD) resolution. It is the first German-language Netflix original series and follows a trend of internationally produced Netflix originals, including the Mexican series Club de Cuervos in 2015, the Brazilian series 3% in 2016, and the Italian series Suburra: Blood on Rome in 2017. Principal photography for the second season began in Berlin on 28 June 2018.

Release

The first season of the series was released on 1 December 2017.

A second season was announced with a short teaser on the German Facebook pages of the series and Netflix on 20 December 2017. On 26 April 2019, it was announced that the second season would premiere on 21 June 2019.

Reception

The first season received mostly positive reviews from critics, with many noting its similarity to the 1990s TV series Twin Peaks and the 2016 Netflix series Stranger Things. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave Season 1 of the series an approval rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.14 out of 10 based on 42 critics. The site's critical consensus is, "Dark's central mystery unfolds slowly, both tense and terrifying, culminating in a creepy, cinematic triumph of sci-fi noir." The series was praised for its tone, the complexity of its narrative, and its pacing. Metacritic reported a score of 61 out of 100 based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Many claimed that it was darker and more in-depth than Stranger Things, and far more evocative of the tone of Twin Peaks. However, there was some criticism of its heavy-handed approach to its message, the lack of sympathetic characters, and the unoriginality of certain aspects of the series. On Rotten Tomatoes, Season 2 of the series holds an approval rating of 100% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 8.18/10."

Awards and nominations

The series was nominated for the Goldene Kamera TV awards 2018 in three categories: best series; best actress: Karoline Eichhorn as Charlotte Doppler; and best actor: Oliver Masucci as Ulrich Nielsen. None of these nominations resulted in awards, but Louis Hofmann received the "Best newcomer acting award" of the "Goldene Kamera" TV awards 2018, also in recognition of his lead role in Dark. In August of 2018 the series received nomination in the category Best TV Show in the Brazilian award BreakTudo Awards 2018, the actor Louis Hofmann received appointment in the category International Actor.

The series was awarded the 2018 Grimme-Preis award in the category "fiction", which singled out the following cast and crew for awards:

1. Jantje Friese (screenplay)
2. Baran bo Odar (director)
3. Udo Kramer (production design)
4. Simone Baer (casting)
5. Angela Winkler (actress)
6. Louis Hofmann (actor)
7. Oliver Masucci (actor)

The actors named are awarded as "representatives for the full cast".

External links

• Official website
• Dark at IMDb
• Dark mythology