Netflix has released a new trailer along with the key art for Archive 81, a supernatural thriller series telling a story across two separate timelines. Set to debut on the streamer this month, the show provides something new for viewers looking for something dark and a bit mind-bending. You can see what we mean by checking out the trailer below.
Archive 81 follows archivist Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie), who takes a job restoring a collection of damaged videotapes from 1994. Reconstructing the work of a documentary filmmaker named Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi), he is drawn into her investigation of a dangerous cult at the Visser apartment building. As the season unfolds across these two timelines, Dan slowly finds himself obsessed with uncovering what happened to Melody. When the two characters form a mysterious connection, Dan becomes convinced he can save her from the terrifying end she met 25 years ago.
“I'm obsessed with mystery box shows, the kind that lead us down a rabbit hole into a strange, dark world," says Archive 81 showrunner, executive producer, and writer Rebecca Sonnenshine. "Archive 81 is a character-driven, deeply emotional story about the nature of art, faith, and the search for identity -- all wrapped up in a frayed blanket of existential dread."
She added: "The show also gave this film geek the chance to unearth all sorts of forgotten media formats as found footage, which results in a unique, visually-textured story that is both beautiful and terrifying.”
Archive 81 Is Inspired By The Podcast Of The Same Name
An original story loosely inspired by the popular podcast of the same name, Archive 81 is a supernatural thriller series executive produced by showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Boys, The Vampire Diaries), James Wan and Michael Clear of Atomic Monster (The Conjuring Universe film franchise and Malignant), Rebecca Thomas (Stranger Things, Limetown), Antoine Douaihy (Panic, The Good Cop) and Paul Harris Boardman (Deliver Us from Evil).
“I wanted to really feel like the camera was a part of my arm, so it doesn’t feel awkward, it actually feels natural, and when I’m filming (scenes for the show), I know what I’m doing,” star Dina Shihabi said of her role, per Trib. “If you think about how comfortable we are with our iPhones, you don’t need to be thinking about it when you’re taking a picture, when you’re texting, and I wanted it to feel like that.”
“We really wanted to capture the spirit of the podcast,” Sonnenshine also said, referring to the podcast which inspired the series. “They had incredibly deep, detailed sound work in their podcast, and we wanted to honor that by having a very rich and complicated sound design on our show.”
Of a possible future beyond season 1, Sonnenshine added, “I hope people don’t see it coming. The series takes interesting twists and left turns in a good way, so I hope people will go along for the ride. For season 2, there is a plan. It has not been pitched (to Netflix executives). I will cross that bridge when I come to it, but, yes, we have a plan.”
