Sad about the end of Stranger Things? Stream this underrated Netflix show now

After nearly a decade of nosebleeds, demogorgons, and psychic visions of an apocalyptic future, strange things it’s finally over.

Believe it or not one of the most disappointing television endings in historynow you have a huge sci-fi hole in your streaming schedule.

Fortunately, you don’t have to look too far for a satisfying substitute.

In 2017, netflix released dark, a similar German sci-fi drama strange things vibes, like a missing kids angle and an eighties vibe.

But apart from these superficial aspects, dark it offers a very different and more satisfying experience.

‘Dark’ offers a more mature and complex narrative

A missing child and 80s fashions are kind of a Trojan horse to get the public to see her dark first season after the instant success of strange things the previous year. In reality, however, the two shows are not the same at all. The premise initially revolves around a group of children from the small, fictional German town of Winden, who are walking home through the woods one night and lose track of their friend Mikkel (Then Lennard Liebrenz). The disappearance of Mikkel and the suicide of the teenager Jonas (Louis Hofmann) father, Michael Kahnwald (Sebastian Rodolphe), are the first dominoes to fall in Winden’s multi-generational unraveling, as Mikkel’s quest uncovers dark, hidden secrets and a vast time-travel conspiracy.

The structure of dark it’s so complex and meticulous that it’s not something you can just see in the background as you scroll through your phone. The show is a clever exploration of fate, free will and the existential implications of time in a narrative that deftly alternates between three different time periods (1953, 1986 and 2019). dark it’s a puzzle box that isn’t poorly executed or random; every detail of the show has a purpose. With its gripping mystery, elaborate family drama and coherent yet complex time travel logic, dark achieves a masterful feat of storytelling.

The mysterious atmosphere is absorbing and immersive

A crucial part of what he does dark so absolutely captivating is its cinematography and production design, courtesy of Nicholas Summerer i Chocolate Crossrespectively. The production values ​​are feature film-like, with dark color palettes often drenched in cloudy skies and rain, foreboding forest environments, and dimly lit interiors with deep shadows that create an evocative, immersive mood. Also, great care is taken to use color to distinguish the time periods from one another, making it less strenuous for viewers to discern whether they are in the 1950s, 1980s, or the present.

But not only filmmaking lends itself dark its unique and haunting atmosphere: the music does a lot of the heavy lifting, namely the perfectly chosen needle drops. The magnificent opening theme “Goodbye” from device presenting Soap and leather instantly sets a poignant yet ominous tone for the show, and songs like “Familiär” from Agnes Obel“Me and the Devil” by Soap and leather“When I Finished Dying” by Dan Deacon and “Industry” of what kay they are expertly deployed throughout the series during crucial moments that envelop the viewer like a musical blanket.

The cast is excellent

Perhaps no show or movie has done a better job of casting past and present versions of the characters than the casting department of dark Not only are the performances of the entire cast perfect, but they also reflect each version of themselves across the timelines. Do yourself a favor and look up characters like the Kahnwald, Nielsen and Doppler families; you’d be surprised how the show’s casting department managed to find multiple people who captured the essence of their characters across generations.

And even if a character doesn’t perfectly physically match their past and present versions of themselves, the physicality through the actors’ performances still manages to seamlessly evoke their shared persona. Still, some of the matchups are so surprising that the fans Reddit have jokingly suggested that the older actors must have traveled back in time to play themselves in the show.

Play all three seasons of dark on Netflix.