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There was much more to untangled in the criminally cancelled show.
While we still mourn the 1899 premature cancellation, star Rosalie Craig reveals showrunners Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar had big plans for her character Virginia. During an exclusive interview with Collider’s own Perri Nemiroff in Park City during Sundance, Craig also lamented that the show fell victim to algorithms before it could tell its full story.
1899 follows a group of multicultural passengers aboard a ship crossing the ocean from Europe to the United States in 1899. One of these characters was Virginia, a madame trafficking young Asian girls with plans to sell them in America. Of course, as the season finale revealed, the whole ship journey was part of a computer simulation, and the people inside it had their memories scrambled. So, while we don’t know who Virginia truly was outside the simulation, she was the only character to survive touching a dangerous virus that spread through her body like a virtual infection.
Given that nothing is random in Friese and bo Odar’s mind-boggling stories, Virginia’s viral infection was planted for a reason. And if the show hadn’t been cancelled, fans would have watched Virginia take a more prominent place in Season 2 of 1899. When asked if she knew where the series was taking Virginia, Craig confirmed there was a master plan behind everything. As the star tells us:
“Oh my goodness, absolutely. Talking about having artistic vision, that is a fierce couple [bo Odar and Friese] who make extraordinary art, I think. There was so much for Virginia out there. I was definitely one of the characters who was about ready to come into her own in Season 2, and you maybe would find out why she’s so dark, so evil, and driven the way she is. I know those things, but I was real excited by exploring them.”
Why Was 1899 Canceled By Netflix?
Virginia is not the only character that won’t get their journey properly explored, as 1899’s cancelation forced us to say goodbye to the brilliant cast. Netflix didn’t think the show was successful enough to invest in a second season. However, since the streamer only considers the viewership numbers of the first month after a new show’s release, the company might have set 1899 to fail. Due to the complexity of its themes, 1899 was developed to be slowly digested instead of consumed in one go, which ultimately harmed the show. As Craig puts it:
“I think ‘1899’ is a product of what we’re experiencing [with] algorithms and things not given the proper life they deserve. [Baran bo Odar] and [Jantje Friese] are people who create series which take time. They’re not binge-worthy and you have to sit with the pieces of art and think about them and wait for them to develop. But we live in an instant society so we’re a product of that unfortunately.”
Season 1 of 1899 is available right now on Netflix. Unfortunately, there’s little hope Friese and bo Odar will ever finish their story.
Special thanks to our 2023 partners at Sundance including presenting partner Saratoga Spring Water and supporting partners Marbl Toronto, EMFACE, Sommsation, Hendrick’s Gin, Stella Artois, mou, and the all-electric vehicle, Fisker Ocean.
