Discovering a massive government conspiracy that reaches back years into the country's past... sound familiar? Er, sort of! That happens to be the plot of 1983, Netlix's first Polish Original. Netflix released the first full trailer for 1983 today, giving some more details on the somewhat mysterious show. (As of now, Netflix does not have press photos on its site.) The show will arrive on Netflix on November 30.
1983, contrary to what you might think, takes place in 2003, twenty years after a vicious bombing in Poland. As a young law student begins investigating the attack, he uncovers a vast government conspiracy. There shall be cork board theories! There shall be big reveals! There shall be murderous glares across crowded rooms! 1983 is Netflix's stab at the spy thriller, and it's fitting into the genre nicely. The show resembles FX's The Americans in look and the BBC-turned-Netflix series Bodyguard in essence — no one is to be trusted in this show, especially not the government.
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1983, while mostly fictional, appears to be based on a period in Poland's history during which the government imposed martial law in order to squash a country-wide labor union movement.
"Never forget," an unseen narrator says in the trailer. "Your people are a nation of sheep. They need a lion." The lion in question may be the law student, who is as of yet unnamed but is portrayed by Polish actor Maciej Musiał. Musiał is known to Polish audiences for his role in the TV show Rodzinka.pl. Most importantly, Musiał will also appear in Netflix's upcoming sci-fi series The Witcher, which stars erstwhile Superman Henry Cavill. (Remember this picture?)
In the past two years, Netflix has expanded into the international market with aplomb, producing critically revered shows like Dark (Germany), Elite (Spain), The Rain (Denmark), and 3% (Brazil). 1983 marks the streaming site's first foray into producing Polish TV, although the site did pick up the Polish series Ultraviolet for distribution earlier this year. These moves are always exciting; Netflix introduces a whole new cast of actors, usually, and, increasingly, international Netflix productions have more to offer than the platform's American counterparts.
I'll leave you with this: Musiał, who is 23 years old, has a fantastic Instagram. Look at this mournful boy in his big hat!