''1983'' is a Polish thriller drama

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

series produced for and released by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on 30 November 2018. The series, created and written by Joshua Long and based on an original idea by Long and

Maciej Musiał Maciej Musiał (born 11 February 1995) is a Polish actor, and television personality. Biography The son of actors Andrzej and Anna Musiał, he began his acting career at an early age with a cameo appearance in a 2004 episode of the long-running ...

, is set in an

alternate timeline Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

in which the fall of the communist

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

never happened, and the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

is still in place. It is Netflix's first Polish original series.

Premise

The series is set in 2003; a coordinated terrorist attack on multiple sites took place in Poland in 1983 which altered the course of history. The Iron Curtain is still in place and the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

did not end. Law student Kajetan (

) and

Citizens' Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

investigator Anatol (

Robert Więckiewicz Robert Więckiewicz (born 30 June 1967) is a Polish film and television actor from Nowa Ruda, Poland. In 2013, he received Best Actor Award at the Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film fes ...

) uncover a conspiracy that could potentially start a revolution.

Setting

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 Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...

of the Security Bureau now use computer surveillance mechanisms, tracking cell phones and digitizing citizens' data (classified according to their "level of danger"). 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 disinterested 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 Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Some night scenes set in overcrowded Asian neighborhoods hint at Ridley Scott's ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...

''. There are few explicit references to communism in the series (no statues of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

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. MJK32641 Agnieszka Holland (Pokot, Berlinale 2017) crop

MJK32641 Agnieszka Holland (Pokot, Berlinale 2017) crop

Cast

Main

as Kajetan Skowron *

as Anatol Janów *

Michalina Olszańska Michalina Olszańska (born 29 June 1992) is a Polish actress and writer. She is a daughter of actors Agnieszka Fatyga and Wojciech Olszański. She has published two novels as a teenager. For her role in '' I, Olga Hepnarová'' she received the M ...

as Ofelia Ibrom * Zofia Wichłacz as Karolina Lis *

Andrzej Chyra Andrzej Chyra (born 27 August 1964) is a Polish actor and a member of the Polish Film Academy and the European Film Academy. Life and career He graduated from high school and in 1987 he graduated from the Acting Theater School in Warsaw. In 199 ...

as Władysław Lis

Recurring

Ewa Błaszczyk Ewa Błaszczyk (born 15 October 1955) is a Polish actress. She has made over 35 appearances in film and television. She starred in Krzysztof Kieślowski's '' Dekalog: Nine'' and in the 1980s TV series ''Zmiennicy Zmiennicy (English: ''Subs'') is ...

as Maria Gierowska * Edyta Olszówka as Julia Stępińska * Agnieszka Żulewska as Maja Skowron * Wojciech Kalarus as Mikołaj Trojan *

Mirosław Zbrojewicz Mirosław Zbrojewicz (born 25 February 1957) is a Polish actor. Filmography Actor cast * 2018: '' My Secret Terrius'' (내 뒤에 테리우스) as spy * 2013: '' Spies of Warsaw (TV Series)'' as Marek * 2011: '' Kac Wawa'' as "Kaban" * 2010 ...

as Kazimierz Świętobór *

Patrycja Volny Patrycja Volny (born 5 February 1988) is a German-born Polish actress known for her role as Dobra Nowina in the 2017 crime film '' Spoor'', the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. She first appeared in 2012 ...

as Dana Rolbiecki * Vu Le Hong as Bao Chu ("Uncle") *

Clive Russell Clive Russell (born 7 December 1945) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline in ''Ripper Street'', Angus O'Connor in ''Happiness'' and Brynden Tully in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He also ap ...

as William Keating *

Mateusz Kościukiewicz Mateusz Kościukiewicz (; born 1 May 1986 in Nowy Tomyśl) is a Polish film actor. Life and career He grew up in Nowy Tomyśl, where he attended the General and Post-Secondary Schools. He studied at the Kraków State Higher Theater School. In 20 ...

as Kamil Zatoń

Episodes

Production

On 6 March 2018, Netflix announced that the series was in production, consisting of 8 episodes. On 2 October 2018, the first teaser trailer was released, with the series set to premiere globally on 30 November. A second season is being considered.

References

External links

*
''1983''
on

{{Netflix original ended series (2012–2018), state=collapsed Polish-language Netflix original programming Polish television series 2018 Polish television series debuts Alternate history television series Television series set in 2003 Television shows set in Poland Television shows set in Warsaw Television series about the Cold War Dystopian television series Polish spy television series