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Netflix sells ‘1899’ as "the new series from the creators of Dark" and it does well: this type of hook works for you

'Dark': why the Netflix science fiction series has become a cultural phenomenon

The first reviews of ‘1899’ speak of an excellent series that makes good use of its excellent pedigree: Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, creators of ‘Dark’, seem to have set up a new mystery that, this time, leads us to at the end of the 19th century. A ship full of European immigrants crossing the ocean trying to reach New York In search of a new life they are the protagonists, in choral mode, of this enigma that explodes when they come across another ship like theirs, but completely empty.

Questions brought directly from the past, bizarre machinery, and above all, an atmosphere of continuous intrigue on board the ship are the keys to this series that will have to face the inevitable comparisons. For example, It is said that which is less convoluted than ‘Dark’, but has a similar structure. And also that its science fiction elements are much lighter than the previous series, although in that sense the most prudent thing to do seems to be to wait for future seasons.

Using ‘Dark’ to promote ‘1899’ makes all the sense in the world: that labyrinthine production of time travel was at number 1 of the most watched on Netflix for weeks, when its last season premiered in 2020, in the non-English-language series category. In a Rotten Tomatoes poll With votes of 2.5 million user votes, 80% chose it as the best international production. It is the best business card for ‘1899’, a series with an international cast but without big stars to sell it on their own.

Classic style promotions

Netflix has tried to promote its products the old-fashioned way, that is, pulling the power of the big names of its directors or, above all, its stars. For this, at the stroke of a checkbook, he has brought creators and performers directly from Hollywood to his fold. He did it especially at the time when Netflix seemed to want to compete face to face with the studios and release blockbusters in movie theaters. It was the time of Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’ and also the lurch of him pulling star system and proposing films like ‘Red Alert’, ‘The Invisible Agent’ or ‘Project Adam’.

It is a policy with which he still continues, but with nuances. For example, the latest film by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, ‘Bardo, false chronicle of a few truths‘, scheduled for release in mid-December, continues along these lines but It is already perceived as an isolated product, as an authorial whim that we will see from time to time and that will give way to more aggressive promotional policies

One of those most powerful promotional maneuvers is the one we have experienced with ‘Puñales por el espalda’. Netflix has bought the rights to a pair of exclusive sequels again directed by Rian Johnson, partly along the lines mentioned above of leveraging Hollywood stars, but a bit in the platform’s book of style: shooting checks to make sure. exclusiveness.

The Shared Universe Netflix

However, little by little Netflix is ​​gaining traction and, of course, uses its own hit productions to chain them to the news. In this way, for example, the sequel to ‘The Old Guard’ is no longer sold to us as “the Charlize Theron movie on Netflix”, but as “the continuation of ‘The Old Guard’. Netflix already has enough catalog to take advantage of a star system own self.

and sometimes that star system it is multiplied in other productions without the need to make direct reference to past successes on Netflix (sometimes it would be counterproductive, since it would make viewers think that they are facing a pseudo-sequel). The clearest case is that of ‘Stranger Things’, whose young stars we have seen in other Netflix movies and series: Millie Bobby Brown in ‘Enola Holmes‘ or Sadie Sink in ‘Terror Street’, among others. And more recently, Maya Hawke in ‘Revenge Now’, a comedy with youthful airs that undoubtedly channels the style of ‘Stranger Things’ without having to quote her directly.

And they do that often: when Netflix released the series ‘Who is Anna?‘ made sure to make it clear that the production came from Shonda Rhimes, also responsible for ‘The Bridgertons‘, one of the most successful series in the history of Netflix. With ‘La Casa de Papel’ he has not pulled the appeal of the cast, but has launched remakes set in other countries, such as ‘La Casa de Papel: Corea’. And the success of ‘Vigilant‘ and ‘DAHMER’ have fed each other with a very smart move by Netflix: releasing them almost simultaneously and stressing that both were produced by Ryan Murhy.

I've been consuming 'true crime' documentaries and movies all my life.  My conclusion is that the genre is exhausted

Although Netflix can sometimes give the impression that it has money to spare, the truth is that it does not have the infrastructure and experience of its two major competitors: Warner and Disney, who have literally spent decades fine-tuning the promotion of their products. Now that Netflix has a catalog to brag about, she too can aim high with a self-reference hit.

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