1983 (TV series)

1983
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Joshua Long
Written by	Joshua Long
Story by	Joshua Long Maciej Musiał
Directed by	Katarzyna Adamik Olga Chajdas Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Smoczyńska
Starring	Maciej Musiał Robert Więckiewicz Michalina Olszańska Zofia Wichłacz Andrzej Chyra Krzysztof Wach
Country of origin	Poland
Original languages	Polish English Russian Vietnamese
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Production companies	The Kennedy/Marshall Company House Media Company
Release
Original network	Netflix
Original release	November 30, 2018 (2018-11-30)
External links
Website

1983 is a Polish crime drama streaming 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]

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 did not end. Law student Kajetan (Maciej Musiał) and Milicja Obywatelska investigator Anatol (Robert Więckiewicz) uncover a conspiracy that could potentially start a revolution.

Setting[]

This 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. Please by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (April 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

The directors create a gloomy and cold Warsaw, where old Soviet-style apartment blocks stand side by side with futuristic and imposing government and police buildings, equipped with modern instruments of control. The secret services of the SB now use computer surveillance mechanisms, tracking cell phones and digitizing citizens' data (classified according to their "level of danger").^[4]

Society is run by the "Party", a privileged elite who enjoy a good education and excellent economic status. The rest of the population is disinterested in politics and devote themselves to consumerism, at least as regards those goods that are not censored or prohibited. Opposing this system is the "Brigade of Light", a group of young people who carry out resistance to the dictatorship in clandestinity.

Poland is then 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 - seem like a reference to the Blade Runner movie.

There are very few explicit references to communism in the series (no statue of Lenin in the streets, no red star or revolutionary chant). The regime appears to have created an Orwellian state, whose sole ideological goal is the suppression of dissent and the control of individuals.

Agnieszka Holland, one of the series directors.

Cast[]

Main[]

• 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[]

• Ewa Błaszczyk as Maria Gierowska^[3]
• as Julia Stępińska
• as Maja Skowron
• as Mikołaj Trojan
• Mirosław Zbrojewicz as Kazimierz Świętobór
• Patrycja Volny as Dana Rolbiecki
• as Bao Chu ("Uncle")
• Clive Russell as William Keating
• Mateusz Kościukiewicz as Kamil Zatoń

Episodes[]

Production[]

On 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[]

External links[]

• 1983 at IMDb 
• 1983 on Netflix