By
Dhruv Sharma
Published Feb 21, 2026, 10:00 PM EST
Dhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns.
Before Screen Rant, he was a Senior Writer for The Cinemaholic, covering everything from anime to television, from reality TV to movies.
After high school, he was on his way to become a Civil Engineer. However, he soon realized that writing was his true calling. As a result, he took a leap and never looked back.
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It is almost impossible for a show to be perfect throughout its runtime, but a Netflix sci-fi series comes close to achieving the feat in its 3-season runtime.
Almost all TV shows, especially the ones that last beyond two seasons, have weak filler episodes that weigh down their overall quality. One Netflix sci-fi show, however, rarely leaves any dull moments throughout its 3-season runtime and ensures that every little development in its story ties into the overarching narrative.
For a first-time viewer, the time travel show in question may not seem perfect. However, in hindsight, it becomes clear that every subtle detail in the sci-fi series has been crafted to drive the story's momentum.
Every Episode In Dark’s 3-Season Runtime Is Almost Perfectly Crafted
Man walking out of a grassy cave on Netflix's Dark
Time travel shows can be impossibly challenging to execute because the "make up as you go" storytelling format often leaves them with multiple plot holes. Netflix's Dark manages to avoid most shortcomings that weigh down shows of the genre because its creators, Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, knew exactly what they were doing from the beginning.
Netflix's Dark has a perfectly cyclical and airtight time travel narrative that gradually pays off every story setup and development despite having a very complex structure.
What makes Dark's time travel story even more convincing is its casting. Different versions of the same character from different timelines are obviously portrayed by separate actors. However, it becomes hard to it becomes hard to tell where one performance ends and another begins because the physical resemblance and mannerisms between the actors are so precise.
Even from a purely visual standpoint, Dark is extremely atmospheric with its gloomy backdrops that make a character out of its central town of Widen. These visuals are further complemented by Ben Frost's haunting scores that ensure there are no tonal drops in the series.
The Time Travel Genre Has Not Been The Same Since Netflix's Dark
Dark set the bar so incredibly high with its perfect and well-rounded portrayal of time travel that it almost feels like the sci-fi sub-genre has been dead since its release. There have been a few time travel movies and shows since its release, but almost all of them have paled in comparison.
Subscribe for Deep Dives into Dark and Time Travel
Unearth clearer meaning from Dark by subscribing to a newsletter that breaks down timelines, maps character relationships, and offers rewatch guides, visual breakdowns, and focused scene analysis to decode the series' complexities. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.Apart from just being a complex exploration of closed loops, the original Netflix show also had a strong human core that dabbled with themes of grief and the human desire to know whether our lives are pre-determined.
These human aspects of the show further elevate it above most other time travel narratives that try a little too hard to be complex but lack the emotional grounding that makes Dark so incredible. Since Dark has conclusively ended its run, it will never return to Netflix with another season. Thankfully, though, it has high rewatch value, allowing audiences to revisit it again and again.
Dark
TV-MA
Crime
Drama
Mystery
Science Fiction
Supernatural
63
9.2/10
Release Date
2017 - 2020
Dark is a German science fiction thriller focusing on four families in a small town impacted by the disappearance of a child. As they search for answers, they uncover a web of interconnected secrets, revealing complex temporal and familial relationships spanning multiple generations.
Network Netflix Cast Louis Hofmann, Lisa Vicari, Andreas Pietschmann, Maja Schöne, Stephan Kampwirth, Paul Lux, Jördis Triebel, Karoline Eichhorn, Axel Werner, Barbara Philipp, Christian Pätzold, Deborah Kaufmann, Hans Diehl, Julika Jenkins, Natascha Paulick, Nina Kronjäger, Nina Weniger, Oliver Masucci, Werner Wölbern, Eric Bouwer, Felix Kramer, Katharina Spiering, Anna König, Jakob Diehl, Lena Dörrie, Moritz Jahn, Nele Trebs, Sammy Scheuritzel, Tom Jahn Showrunner Jantje Friese Directors Baran bo Odar Writers Marc O. Seng, Martin Behnke, Ronny Schalk Main Genre Crime Creator(s) Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese Executive Producer(s) Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese, Max Wiedemann, Quirin Berg, Kelly Luegenbiehl, Justyna Müsch, Erik Barmack Seasons 3 Streaming Service(s) Netflix Powered by
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Dark
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Netflix
Subscribe for Deep Dives into Dark and Time Travel
Unearth clearer meaning from Dark by subscribing to a newsletter that breaks down timelines, maps character relationships, and offers rewatch guides, visual breakdowns, and focused scene analysis to decode the series' complexities. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Trending Now
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