Louis Hofmann in a yellow raincoat standing on a deserted road in Dark.Image via Netflix
By
Dennis Aronov
Published 28 minutes ago
Dennis has written for publications like USA Today, Prediction News, and Psychology Today before bringing his thoughts to Collider. Despite consuming an arguably concerning amount of Netflix content, he maintains enough critical faculties to form opinions worth reading. His claim to fame is not falling asleep through virtually every film he's encountered in recent years—with one notable exception: falling asleep during "Barbie" only to be awakened by Ryan Gosling belting "I'm Just Ken." When not analyzing entertainment or defending his streaming habits as "research," Dennis can be found wondering if perhaps he should go outside more often.
Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recapIn the time of peak TV, it wasn’t rare to find yourself desperately waiting for new episodes. Whether it was Lost or Prison Break, these shows had a chokehold on audiences with their addictive plots and powerful performances. In the current day and age of streaming, the amount of content being produced is at an all-time high, with many more shows being misses, rather than hits. A rare few rise above the deluge of content, and Dark is one of those rare few. The German series is not only one of the best sci-fi thrillers on Netflix, but one of the best projects on the streamer, period.
Created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, Dark has only three seasons spanning over 26 episodes. From its unnerving opening to the emotionally climactic finale, Dark accomplishes what so few shows manage in an era of bloated seasons and abandoned plot threads: excellence across its entire run.
What Is ‘Dark’ About?
Set in a fictional small town in Germany, Dark follows the stories of the town’s families, with a particular focus on four. Multiple children start vanishing, which raises tensions in a town rife with complicated histories, damaged relationships, and multi-generational trauma. The Netflix series is a wild mix of genres, including science fiction, mystery, and thriller, all wrapped in a time-travel conspiracy. The story frequently plays with the idea of the time travel paradox, a contradiction that occurs because of time travel, and makes viewers question what is going on for most of the series.
Taking place over multiple eras and spanning many decades, the sci-fi noir constantly drops hints about who, where, why, and, most importantly, when. With a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, Dark has become widely recognized as one of the best series of all time, including by BuzzFeed and the BBC.
‘Dark’ Is Far From Simple – on Purpose
Thanks to 10-second TikTok videos and viewer patience at an all-time low, creators are newly forced to often spoon-feed audiences accustomed to second-screen viewing, but a rare few demand the audience’s attention. Nothing is a straightforward path in Dark, and everything is somehow always connected. Unlike dramas like Pretty Little Liars, which seemingly made up connections and theories as it went along, Dark stands out because its creators plotted out everything beforehand. This allows for the series to be convoluted, complicated, and never patronizing. Each episode of Dark is a 10/10 because there is a clear intent behind every installment. The creators knew which beats they had to hit before the season ended, resulting in a cohesive, interconnected tapestry that doesn’t miss a beat.
When a young boy, Mikkel Nielsen (Daan Lennard Liebrenz), goes missing, in tandem with two other disappearances and a body, Ulrich, Mikkel’s father (Oliver Masucci), finds himself wondering if there’s a connection between all of these instances. Moreover, it triggers his own childhood memories of his own brother going missing back when he was a kid in 1986. If you think this sounds complicated, it’s only part of the story, because in Ulrich’s exploration of the crimes and the past, we find ourselves there, literally. This complicated web of family and time makes you question who is who and how it’s all possible, but the ability to keep each strand consistent and connected is what makes Dark shine. Don’t worry, viewers don’t have to watch all three seasons to find anything out; almost every episode provides a revelation or two that only drives more of your attention towards the series.
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Posts 1 By Collier Jennings Jul 15, 2025Typically, a series like this can become larger than life, but somehow Dark never ceases to feel like a small-town drama a la Ozark or Gilmore Girls (if not vibe, then in scale). From a struggling hotel business to personal family issues, each character has their own reasons for hiding the past. Creating grounded moments in sci-fi can feel odd when the stakes are high, but with expert writing, those personal moments feel just as important. They drive a larger narrative and commentary on fate vs. free will, or on the idea of moral ambiguity. If someone’s path to the past led to a new future, is there any free will involved in that? If someone has to hurt one person to prevent the harm of another, does that make it okay? All of these questions are asked throughout Dark’s narrative, and the creators never offer a clear answer, letting viewers decide the truth on their own.
Dark juggles multiple timelines and dozens of characters without ever losing sight of its emotional core: the tragic weight of our choices and the impossible desire to undo them. The sci-fi thriller suggests that the past, present, and future are more deeply entangled than we'd like to believe and that some cycles can't be broken, only understood. If you're looking for a series where every episode justifies its existence and builds toward something that feels genuinely earned, Dark delivers from beginning to end.
Dark
Like Follow Followed TV-MA Crime Drama Mystery Science Fiction Supernatural Release Date 2017 - 2020 Network Netflix Showrunner Jantje Friese Directors Baran bo Odar Writers Marc O. Seng, Martin Behnke, Ronny SchalkCast
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Louis Hofmann
Jonas Kahnwald
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Lisa Vicari
Martha Nielsen
A family saga with a supernatural twist, set in a German town where the disappearance of two young children exposes the relationships among four families.
Main Genre Crime Seasons 3 Creator(s) Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese Streaming Service(s) Netflix Genres Crime, Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction, Supernatural Powered by
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