To the Lake

To the Lake
Russian	Эпидемия
Genre	Thriller
Based on	Vongozero by Yana Vagner
Directed by
Starring	Viktoriya Isakova Kirill Käro Aleksandr Robak Maryana Spivak Yuri Kuznetsov Viktoriya Agalakova
Country of origin	Russia
Original language	Russian
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Production company	1-2-3 Production[1]
Distributor	Netflix (international)
Release
Original network	Premier
Original release	November 14, 2019 (2019-11-14)
External links
Netflix

To the Lake (Russian: Эпидемия, lit. 'Epidemic'), is a Russian thriller web television series launched on the Premier platform on 14 November 2019.^[2] Netflix acquired the series and released it internationally on 8 October 2020. The show is based on Vongozero, the 2011 debut novel by Russian author Yana Vagner.^[3]

Synopsis[]

Residents of Moscow are infected with an unknown deadly virus, the main symptoms of which are coughing and discoloration of the eyes; after three to four days, death occurs. As the disease becomes an epidemic, the Russian capital gradually turns into a city of the dead: there is no electricity, money has lost its value, chaos and lawlessness reign everywhere, and gangs of marauders gather. The media are panicking, and those who are not yet infected are desperately fighting for food and fuel. The city is quarantined, with all access points closed.

Fleeing from the epidemic, Sergey, along with his new lover, her autistic son, his own son, his ex-wife, his father, and a neighboring family, go to Karelia. There, on a small deserted island in the middle of , they plan to hide from the threat of infection in a refuge ship that has been converted into a camping cabin.

Against the background of a terrible global catastrophe, a cruel family drama is also played out. People who normally would never have been under the same roof must now unite to try to escape a deadly disease. On the way, they will not only face various dangers, but also overcome family troubles, learn to survive, and try to forgive.

Cast and characters[]

• Kirill Käro as Sergey
• Viktoriya Isakova as Anna, Sergey's new wife
• Aleksandr Robak as Lyonya, Sergey's neighbor
• as Marina, Lyonya's partner
• Maryana Spivak as Irina, Sergey's ex-wife
• Yuri Kuznetsov as Boris Mikhailovich, Sergey's father
• as Misha, Anna's son, who has autism spectrum disorder
• Viktoriya Agalakova as Polina, Lyonya's daughter
• as Anton, Sergey's and Irina's son
• Aleksandr Yatsenko as Pavel

Production[]

Filming took place in 2018 in Moscow, the Moscow region, and the Arkhangelsk region (in Onega and the village of Malozhma, Onezhsky District). Lake was represented by Onega Bay.^[4] After its release in Russia, Netflix bought the rights to the series for $1.5 million, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.^[5]

During a November 2020 interview,^[6] actress Viktoriya Agalakova commented on the show's positive international reception on Netflix: "I am extremely glad that foreign audiences liked our project. We made it with love, and therefore we are very pleased that people enjoy watching it—after all, that is what we worked for. Many foreigners write to me; they leave detailed reviews about our project—and, honestly, it is incredible, and it's hard to believe".

Filming for the second season began in April 2021.^[7] In October 2020, the producer of the series, Yevgeny Nikishov, announced that the plot of the second season will not be based on Vagner's second book, Living People, the sequel to Vongozero. The next season is to be directed by . Filming completed in early September 2021.^[8]

Episodes[]

References[]

External links[]

• To the Lake on Netflix
• To the Lake at IMDb