Netflix's latest mystery show 1899 follows a group of immigrants who board an opulent ship and encounter a series of distressing events when they're confronted by a second ship that harbors terrifying secrets.
The series was made by the same creators of the successful German show Dark and explores plenty of thrilling sci-fi tropes in an intricate narrative. It's the kind of show that will make viewers feel like true detectives as they try to figure out exactly what's happening, and for fans of the series, there are plenty of similar shows to enjoy once they've finished 1899's thrilling journey.
The OA (2016 - 2019)
Stream On Netflix
Also from Netflix, The OA follows a troubled blind woman who reapers after years missing with her vision restored, giving rise to suspicion and paranoia among the inhabitants of her town, while some believe she represents a miracle.
Just like in 1899, The OA's biggest sci-fi elements revolve around the opening of portals to other dimensions and how it affects the character's "original" dimension, similarly playing with how the term "reality" can quickly lose its meaning. The OA was unfortunately canceled but the strong female lead who gives the show its title remains one of the most memorable Netflix characters, while 1899's Maura has the potential to reach her.
The Mist (2017)
Available To Rent On Prime Video & VUDU
Based on the popular Stephen King short story, The Mist is a bizarre cosmic horror series about an eerie mist that envelops a small town, leaving the inhabitants adrift of unimaginable creatures.
Although 1899 improves pretty much everything The Mist failed to provide in of suspense and sci-fi, they both deal with characters trying to keep their morality and sanity in a scenario beyond comprehension. 1899 is at its best when it comes to character development, while The Mist stands out for the incredible monster designs.
Manifest (2018 - )
Stream On Netflix
wrapped season 4 and made the internet go wild, but, thankfully, fans can find comfort in Netflix's 1899, which shares a lot of things in common with the mystery show. Manifest follows the consequences of a commercial airliner suddenly reappearing after being missing for five years. As the engers try to reconnect with society, concerning visions and mysterious events begin to haunt them.
What makes Manifest and 1899 so similar is how much time both shows spend developing multiple characters in order to get the mystery going. Viewers relate to them and feel for them, which makes their harrowing descent into the rabbit hole all the more frightening.
The Lost Room (2006)
Stream On VUDU, TubiTV, & Freevee
It seems like everyone has forgotten about The Lost Room, yet it remains a consistent mystery miniseries that doesn't waste time meandering. Throughout three two-hour-long episodes, Joe Miller investigates a puzzling motel room that works as a portal to a chilling alternate dimension.
With a great ensemble cast which includes young Elle Fanning, The Lost Room and 1899 get really close when it comes to symbolism; the two shows offer a range of objects and scenarios inserted as casual details that turn out to be important pieces of the jigsaw. They are the kind of show in which a seemingly ordinary hairband has the power of destroying the balance between worlds, and it just makes total sense to the story.
The Leftovers (2014 - 2017)
Stream On HBO Max
One ofThe Leftovers doesn't really on easy answers, and often provides no answers at all, throwing viewers right into a shattered narrative where a range of characters in a small town are still trying to cope with the mysterious disappearance of 2% of the global population three years before.
Similarly to 1899, The Leftovers does a great job of limiting a tragedy of massive proportions to a small, selected group of characters viewers love to hate, almost as if the story is bonded to a shared microcosmos that follows the main characters and reaches them wherever they go, offering them no chance to get rid of their fate.
Westworld (2016 - 2022)
Stream On HBO Max
1899 is a series predominantly about simulations as the final episodes imply, following a format that has the potential to resonate with what Westworld has been offering fans ever since season 1. The HBO show takes place in a distant future where people can a massive virtual simulation in which there are no moral rules and telling an android from a human is nearly impossible.
Just like in 1899, Westworld's clever plot twists constantly change the way viewers perceive the characters and the contrast between a futuristic reality with a period lost in time plays well with the show's purpose to force a collision between past and present in a single time and space.
Fringe (2008 - 2013)
Strean On HBO Max
dealing with the unexplained and cold cases, although Fringe stands out with its intricate parallel dimensions that challenge space and time. In the show, an FBI agent is forced to forces with an unpredictable scientist and his estranged son in order to investigate a series of bizarre phenomena linked to another world.
Although Fringe is a procedural sci-fi and offers a much smaller set of characters than 1899, all the elements that make the new Netflix show so thrilling were definitely presented in Fringe at some point, from the parallel worlds to the distinctive time jumps that transport the characters to a harrowing future.
Under The Dome (2013 - 2015)
Stream On Paramount+
Based on a Stephen King book, Under The Dome follows the lives of ordinary inhabitants of a small town in Maine shaken by an invisible and indestructible force that falls upon them and cuts them off from the rest of civilization.
Hopefully, 1899 won't try to follow Under The Dome's steps of rapidly replacing the psychologically-heavy character arcs with non-stop absurdity, but both show's first seasons are remarkable in of balancing a claustrophobic atmosphere of paranoia and supernatural menace with individual characters' dramas that will eventually collide.
Lost (2004 - 2010)
Stream On Hulu & Freevee
The record-breaking series Lost gathered thousands of people every week to follow victims of a plane crash trying to escape an island that hides plenty of dark secrets.
Similar to 1899 and its mysterious two ships, the characters are left adrift in the dangerous puzzle the island represents, struggling to survive and establish a peaceful community as they gradually uncover the threatening place they were swept to.
Dark (2017 - 2020)
Stream On Netflix
Unsurprisingly, Dark is the best show to check out before or after 1899, and the similarities stretch beyond the fact both series share the same creators. Dark is a family chronicle that takes place across different generations; distinctive periods in time triggered by the mysterious disappearance of two young children in 2019.
In both Dark and 1899 past and present collide under the influence of unknown forces, with a mosaic of characters forced to contemplate their own demons in an entangled narrative involving time travels, simulations, portals that lead to other dimensions, and many, many versions of the same characters.
