Transatlantic - What We Know So Far
While "Netflix" continues to push out American crowdpleasers like "Stranger Things," the streaming giant also devotes considerable resources to its international offerings. Occasionally, one of these international dramas, like "Squid Game," will become a breakthrough hit and top Netflix's viewership charts around the world. Even if these dramas don't become ratings juggernauts, many of them still clean up at awards time.
Take "Unorthodox," the German series that premiered in 2020 and starred Shira Haas as a young orthodox Jewish woman who flees her confining married life to live with her estranged mother in Berlin. That series racked up an impressive eight Primetime Emmy nominations, winning one (per The Emmys).
Given that success, it's no surprise that Netflix and "Unorthodox's" co-creator, Anna Winger, have teamed up to make several more projects. The first of these is a period drama set during World War II. Here's everything we know so far about "Transatlantic."
What is the release date for Transatlantic?
At this point, "Transatlantic" doesn't have a release date. However, the Deadline article from March 2022 that announced "Transatlantic's" major casting hires did confirm that the show would come out in 2023. That same announcement also confirmed that production had begun on "Transatlantic," in Marseilles, France. Finally, "Transatlantic" has a "coming soon" page on Netflix's website. All of these are good signs that "Transatlantic" will actually happen.
Getting more specific than that is tricky, but we can make an educated guess based on "Transatlantic" creator Anna Winger's past history with Netflix. Per Cinemaholic, production on the four-part "Unorthodox" wrapped on August 2019, after four months of filming. "Unorthodox" then premiered on Netflix on March 26, 2020.
According to What's on Netflix?, production for "Transatlantic" ended in November 2022. If "Transatlantic" gets a similar six-month gap between the end of production and the premiere, the earliest it could debut is May 2023.
What is the plot of Transatlantic?
As reported by Deadline, "Transatlantic" is an adaptation of Julie Orringer's 2019 novel "The Flight Portfolio," and it's based on one of the lesser-known episodes from World War II: the Martinique Escape Route, through which thousands of refugees fled the Nazi puppet Vichy French regime.
Set in 1940, the series is told through the eyes of an American journalist who travels to the French city of Marseilles with the goal of rescuing endangered artists and writers who are either Jewish or anti-Nazi–i.e. providing them with documents, arranging their travel, and housing them. The character is based on real-life journalist Varian Fry. In real life, Fry helped several famed artists escape persecution, like Marcel Duchamp, Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, and Hannah Arendt (via The New York Times). Soon, however, Fry became sympathetic to all refugees who were trying to escape the Nazis, and spent more than a year shepherding them to safety. Naturally, there will also be some "unexpected romance" between some of the characters, too–more on them below.
Who is in the cast of Transatlantic?
"Transatlantic" boasts an international cast, and the show is being filmed primarily in English, French, and German. On the American side of things, Deadline reported that "Gotham's" Cory Michael Smith plays the lead character, the journalist who's based on Varian Fry. He's joined by "Community's" Gillian Jacobs. She plays Mary Jane Gold, an American heiress who co-founds the Emergency Rescue Committee with Fry and funds the escapes. Finally, "Billions" star Corey Stoll plays a character named Patterson, the American consul in Marseilles who's opposed to opening up America's borders to what he believes are "undesirables." This was a common American point of view during these years, and it sounds like Patterson will be the biggest non-Nazi antagonist in the story.
The rest of the cast includes Grégory Montel ("Call My Agent"), Lucas Englander ("Bridge of Spies"), Ralph Amoussou ("Missions"), Deleila Piasko ("Boys Are Us"), and Amit Rahhav ("Unorthodox"). Their roles have yet to be announced.
Who is writing, producing and directing Transatlantic?
As reported by Deadline, "Transatlantic" is co-created by Anna Winger and Daniel Hendler. Winger also serves as showrunner and executive produces. Winger is an American writer living in Berlin. In September 2021, Winger and Netflix announced a partnership for Winger to create international TV shows for the streaming platform, and "Transatlantic" is their first venture (via Deadline). She's producing via her company, Airlift Productions. Daniel Hendler is an Uruguayan actor who previously starred in Spanish-language films like "The Moneychanger" and "The Intruder" (per IMDb).
The Deadline report also listed collaborators Stéphanie Chuat are Véronique Reymond as the two lead directors. Chuat and Reymond have directed together several times before. Their last film was the 2020 drama "My Little Sister," which starred "Homeland's" Nina Hoss as a playwright who convinces her actor twin brother to continue acting despite a cancer diagnosis (via IMDb).