Netflix Takes on Sigmund Freud in Eerie New Series
Netflix has premiered a new show on Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. Simply titled Freud, the program is set in 1886 Vienna as the revolutionary theories of a young Sigmund Freud are under heavy opposition.
Austrian actor Robert Finster plays the titular character in Freud, which also stars Ella Rumpf and Georg Friedrich, and is directed by Vienna native Marvin Kren. The show begins as Freud is joined by famed psychic medium Fleur Salomé (played by Rumpf) and a war veteran and police officer named Alfred Kiss (played by Friedrich), who are intrigued by his theories. Freud soon finds himself at the center of a murderous conspiracy that has all of Austria on alert.
While Freud is set in Vienna, Kren chose to film the show in Prague. "The architecture of the cities is similar," he told Variety, "but the great thing about Prague, and I am thrilled we shot there, is that unlike Vienna, which has been massively renovated over the years, it still has a historical patina to it."
Kren went on to add about Freud, "Although he was notoriously controlling with how his own story and biography were presented, we do know that in his private life he was heavily into cocaine and that he was a very ambitious, highly intellectual Jewish doctor who did not come from a wealthy family. Anti-Semitism in Vienna was growing, and he was obsessed with the idea of the subconscious. Those are the important elements about him. We created this extraordinary young man who wants to find his place in society."
Press play below to watch the trailer for Freud, which you can currently stream on Netflix.