1983 is a Polish thriller drama television series produced for and released by Netflix on 30 November 2018. The series, created and written by Joshua Long and based on an original idea by Long and Maciej Musiał, is set in an alternate timeline in which the fall of the communist Polish People's Republic never happened, and the Iron Curtain is still in place.[1][2] It is Netflix's first Polish original series.[3]
| 1983 | |
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| Genre | Thriller drama |
| Created by | Joshua Long |
| Written by | Joshua Long |
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| Starring | |
| Country of origin | Poland |
| Original languages | Polish English Russian Vietnamese |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | November 30, 2018 |
Premise
editThe series is set in 2003; 20 years after a coordinated terrorist attack took place on multiple sites in Poland in 1983 which altered the course of history. The Iron Curtain (and probably the Berlin Wall) is still in place and the Cold War did not end. Law student Kajetan (Maciej Musiał) and Citizens' Militia investigator Anatol (Robert Więckiewicz) uncover a conspiracy that could potentially start a revolution.
Setting
editThis article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. (June 2023) |
The story is set in a gloomy and cold Warsaw, where dilapidated, grimy Soviet-style apartment blocks stand side by side with futuristic and imposing government and police buildings. The secret police of the Security Bureau now use computer surveillance mechanisms, tracking cell phones and digitizing citizens' data (classified according to their "level of danger").[4] People need to scan their digital ID cards before entering government buildings, leaving a record of their activities.
Society is run by the "Party", a privileged elite who enjoy a good education, high economic and social status, and live in gated compounds. The rest of the population is uninterested in politics and are distracted by escapism and consumerism, at least for goods that are not censored or prohibited. Many Western books are censored. The "Light Brigade", a group of young resistance fighters, oppose this dictatorship.
Poland is imagined to have seen massive immigration from Indochina, and in particular from the socialist republic of Vietnam. Some night scenes set in overcrowded Asian neighborhoods hint at Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.
There are few explicit references to communism in the series (no statues of Lenin in the streets, no red stars on uniforms or revolutionary chants). The regime created an Orwellian state, whose sole ideological goal is the suppression of dissent and the control of individuals.
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Cast
editMain
edit- Maciej Musiał as Kajetan Skowron[3]
- Robert Więckiewicz as Anatol Janów
- Michalina Olszańska as Ofelia Ibrom
- Zofia Wichłacz as Karolina Lis
- Andrzej Chyra as Władysław Lis
Recurring
edit- Ewa Błaszczyk as Maria Gierowska[3]
- Edyta Olszówka as Julia Stępińska
- Agnieszka Żulewska as Maja Skowron
- Wojciech Kalarus as Mikołaj Trojan
- Mirosław Zbrojewicz as Kazimierz Świętobór
- Patrycja Volny as Dana Rolbiecki
- Vu Le Hong as Bao Chu ("Uncle")
- Clive Russell as William Keating
- Mateusz Kościukiewicz as Kamil Zatoń
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [5] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Entanglement" "Uwikłanie" | Agnieszka Holland and Katarzyna Adamik | Joshua Long | November 30, 2018 | |
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It is set in 2003 in a totalitarian Poland, after Poland suffered a series of massive terrorist bombings in 1983. The Cold War never ended, so the Iron Curtain remains in place. A young law student and a jaded old detective are starting to discover evidence of a conspiracy and they learn about the Light Brigade, a resistance movement. | |||||
| 2 | "Rollback" | Agnieszka Holland and Katarzyna Adamik | Joshua Long | November 30, 2018 | |
| 3 | "Alignment" "Układ" | Katarzyna Adamik | Joshua Long | November 30, 2018 | |
| 4 | "Blowback" "Reperkusje" | Katarzyna Adamik | Joshua Long | November 30, 2018 | |
| 5 | "Sanctuary" "Sanktuarium" | Olga Chajdas | Joshua Long | November 30, 2018 | |
| 6 | "Subversion" "Zdrada" | Olga Chajdas | Joshua Long | November 30, 2018 | |
| 7 | "Mayday" | Agnieszka Smoczyńska | Joshua Long | November 30, 2018 | |
| 8 | "Requiem" | Katarzyna Adamik | Joshua Long | November 30, 2018 | |
Production
editOn 6 March 2018, Netflix announced that the series was in production, consisting of 8 episodes.[6] On 2 October 2018, the first teaser trailer was released, with the series set to premiere globally on 30 November.[3]
A second season is being considered.[7]
References
edit- ^ "'Dark, dystopian' spy thriller from Agnieszka Holland becomes first Polish series on Netflix". The First News. 4 October 2018.
- ^ "1983 on Netflix: UK release date, cast, trailer and plot". Daily Mirror. 29 November 2018.
- ^ a b c d "1983: Netflix first Polish original series launches November 30th, 2018". Netflix Media Center. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ Lorusso, Leo. "1983: dalla Polonia su Netflix una serie distopica di culto ∂ Fantascienza.com".
- ^ "1983 - Episodes Guide and Summaries". Next Episode. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "1983: The first Polish Netflix original series is currently in production". Netflix Media Center. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ "Powstaje 2. sezon 1983. Czy polski serial Netflix powinien wrócić?" (in Polish). 2019-10-11.
