Dark is a German sci-fi trip through Winden. Families unravel a mystery that is older than your grandma’s recipes. Two kids vanish and suddenly, everyone has secrets. Past, present, future- all tangled up like your headphones after a long day. With its mind-bending plot and time jumps, this show is a must for any sci-fi nerd. Or just anyone who enjoys confusion.

Meet the characters from Dark

Jonas Kahnwald

Jonas is the heart-on-his-sleeve, guilt-ridden epicenter of the whole mess — broody, desperately trying to fix things and somehow making them worse at the same time. He’s the kind of guy who looks like he hasn’t slept but is actually up inventing timelines in his head; also, I swear he hums to calm down, or maybe that’s just me projecting. There’s this weird mix of hopeful teen and world-weary mentor in him, which is both tragic and kinda heroic. He cares so hard it hurts, and yes he will wear the same jacket in every possible century (or at least it seems like it).

Charlotte Doppler

Charlotte is all clinical calm on the surface and quietly unraveling underneath — pragmatic, meticulous, and driven by questions no one else wants to ask. She takes notes like it’s a hobby and yet forgets small things, like coffee mugs (or was that a notebook? memories are fuzzy), and she has this maternal pull that makes her both terrifying and compassionate. There’s a stubborn edge too, like she will dig until the hard truth is ugly and undeniably there. Fun fact I keep imagining: she organizes her files alphabetically but then scribbles heart symbols in the margins when she’s stressed, which is probably not true but I feel it.

Martha Nielsen

Martha is sharp, complicated, and impossible to pin down — equal parts fragile and fierce, and she makes the wrong choices with this stubborn conviction that it’s the only way. She’s full of contradictions: one minute cold and calculating, the next a lost kid who cries over tiny things like a song on the radio; she definitely has a lighter she flicks when thinking, or maybe that’s a pen, who knows. Her lines blur in the best/worst way and she carries this vibe that whatever she does will echo forever. Also she looks good in rain — don’t ask me why I said that, I just know.

Hannah Kahnwald

Hannah is messy, sharp, and honestly a little chaotic in a way that makes every scene she’s in more electric. Protective and sometimes selfish, she loves hard, grabs at affection, and will absolutely say the thing you didn’t want to hear — and then feel bad about it later, or not, it depends. There’s a cunning side that slips out when she’s cornered, but also this softer, almost nostalgic streak where she hoards small sentimental junk (postcards? receipts?). She’s simultaneously someone you’d call in a crisis and someone you’d maybe keep an eye on, in the best possible way.

Peter Doppler

Peter is this awkward, lovely blend of ordinary dad and man caught in too-big mysteries — unassuming until the moment everything gets uncomfortable and then he’s all weird calm. He genuinely wants to be the stable center for his family, which makes his flaws and secrets land even harder, and he has this nervous laugh that pops up at the wrong times. There’s a sadness behind his eyes, like someone who’s read a book no one else has and can’t stop thinking about it, plus a weird hobby I’m 80% sure involves tools or small wooden things. He’s practical but quietly tragic and somehow very human in every flinch.

Katharina Nielsen

Katharina is fierce, parental, and has this no-nonsense armor that makes her equal parts admirable and exhausting — she’ll scream you into submission and then be the first to bandage the wounds. She’s a protector by instinct: stubborn, brave, maybe a little reckless when it comes to family, and willing to break rules like it’s a civic duty. There’s a sharp humor hiding under all the survival mode, and she collects grudges like other people collect postcards (not that she’d admit it). Also she probably hums old pop songs when she’s pretending not to be worried; I refuse to be wrong about that.

The Stranger

The Stranger is the grizzled, time-beaten puzzle piece — mysterious, obsessed, and weirdly paternal in the strangest of ways. He’s equal parts mapmaker and remorse machine, all scars and whispered schematics, and I love that he’s somehow both quietly caring and absolutely terrifying. He keeps secrets like artifacts, and sometimes he’s tender and then suddenly cold, which is very on-brand for someone who lives in paradoxes. Oh and he definitely has a notebook he’s emotionally attached to — probably smells faintly of old paper and bad coffee.

Bartosz Tiedemann

Bartosz is the awkward, ambitious friend who slides from loyal sidekick to morally questionable teammate and back again — insecure, curious, and annoyingly persuasive when he wants something. He starts as the easygoing guy-next-door but then weirdly leans into power like it’s a new accessory, which is sad and fascinating. He’s trying to find himself, and sometimes that means terrible choices, and sometimes it means genuine bravery — mood swings, basically. Small detail: he probably hoards cassette tapes or something retro that he insists is ‘collectible,’ even if no one asked.

Magnus Nielsen

Magnus is the steady, lovable nerd who makes the group feel like home — loyal, sometimes goofy, but with this backbone you don’t see coming until it matters. He’s the kind of friend who jokes to defuse and then stares into the void thinking about consequences, which I relate to on a cellular level. There’s a softness to him, like he cries at movies he swears he didn’t like, and also an annoying stubborn streak that saves people’s lives more than once. He probably has a hoodie for every occasion and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

Ulrich Nielsen

Ulrich is impulsive, furious, and heartbreakingly paternal — he loves his family with a kind of ferocity that makes him reckless and, uh, sometimes very bad at thinking ahead. He’s the archetypal angry dad who will break rules, break doors, break timelines if that’s what it takes, and you both hate and understand him for it. Deep down there’s a desperate tenderness and a lot of bad decisions that feel like they were made out of love, which is tragic in the absolute best way. Also he wears heavy boots and will absolutely pick a fight if someone mentions his kid in a bad tone — that part’s not subtle.