TV FROM AROUND THE WORLD: "Dark" (Germany)

So you just finished rewatching “Game of Thrones” again… Need a new television obsession? Under-the-radar Netflix original series “Dark” just released its second season in June. It’s mind-bending and addictive, and I recommend you start watching it immediately!

Created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, the show follows 4 families living in the fictional town of Winden in Germany. When young boys start going missing, the people in Winden start investigating and uncover a mystery across time. Though the initial plot synopsis might sound a bit like “Stranger Things” (as many people pointed out when the first season trailer dropped), “Dark” is complicated, emotional, and will definitely make your brain hurt. It’s also, as expected, a lot darker than “Stranger Things”, both visually and narratively. 

“Dark” stars Louis Hofmann as Jonas Kahnwald, a teenage boy dealing with the recent death of his father. He’s just returned home from a summer away, and everything’s different. Jonas’s best friend Bartosz has started dating Martha, the girl he likes, and his mother Hannah is getting into her own trouble, having an affair with Martha’s father, Ulrich. One night, Jonas and Bartosz go with Martha and her two brothers -- older brother Magnus and younger brother Mikkel -- to explore the Winden caves. What happens next sets off a cycle of events no one could’ve seen coming. All of this is revealed in Episode 1, so I wouldn’t consider them spoilers.

While the first season set up the mystery and family drama, the second season adds a whole new layer of complications, expanding and completely changing everything we thought we knew about these characters. To be honest, it can be hard to keep track of everyone and how they relate, and I went so far as to make a character tree to lay it all out. Just saying, it really helped!

The show has a loyal group of fans on Reddit that dissect and chart every detail, so go there for help understanding the show, or just to talk about how amazing it is. Also, as planned by the creators, the show will return for one last cycle, and they are currently filming the third season right now. 

If you like“The 100”, “The Leftovers”, “Stranger Things”, “Chernobyl”, or “Counterpart”, or if you’re just looking for a thought-provoking, beautiful, sci-fi drama, you NEED to start watching “Dark” on Netflix right now!