David Farnor | On 03, Oct 2019

Netflix has assembled a global cast for Into the Night, its new original series.

The production, directed by Inti Calfat and Dirk Verheye (Over Water), produced by Entre Chien et Loup and created by Jason George (The Protector, Narcos) hails from Belgium, but will boast a cast from all over the world, including France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia and Turkey.

The series begins with a sudden solar event, as the sun inexplicably starts killing everything in its path. The show centers around the ‘lucky’ passengers and crew of an overnight flight out of Brussels, as they attempt to fly west – into the safety of the dark night. The plane’s manifest is multinational and multilingual, with passengers, rich and poor, young and old, civilian and military. The seemingly ordinary travelers share but one thing: A desire to survive the sun, and each other, by any means necessary.

Here’s a rundown of the main cast:

Sylvie – Pauline Etienne

Pauline Etienne is a Belgian actress and starred in Le bel âge, where she plays alongside Michel Piccoli. Her credits include Guillaume Nicloux’s La Religieuse with Isabelle Huppert, for which received the Magritte Award for best actress. She has recently been seen in the French TV series Le Bureau des Légendes where she plays Celine, and the Belgian noir crime Drama Public Enemy.

Mathieu – Laurent Capelluto

Laurent Capelluto stars in film and theatre, both in Brussels and Paris. He worked with many creators and directors such as Arnaud Desplechin, Michel Hazanavicius, Michael Haneke, and Kore-Eda. He plays the role of prosecutor Siriani in the series Black Spot, of which season 1 and 2 are available on Netflix. He has received several nominations and awards for his work in Belgium and France.

Nabil Mallat – Osman

Nabil Mallat became known for his role in the film Image (2014). Nabil also played in Gangsta (2018) and Rafaël (2019). On Belgian television, he is known for his work in De Dag (2018) and Cordon (2016).

Terenzio – Stéfano Cassetti

Stefano had the lead role (his first role ever) in the French feature film Roberto Succo (2001, Cedric Kahn). Since then he has been working in France, Italy, and Germany. Recently seen in Der Fall Collini, Les Estivants, L’extraordinaire Voyage du Fakir, Black Spot1 and Rosemary’s Baby. He is based between Paris, Berlin and Lake Garda.

Rik – Jan Bijvoet

Jan Bijvoet is a Belgian actor and musician from Antwerp. He graduated as an actor from Studio Herman Teirlinck. He is known in Belgium for his career in theatre, but he also became known for his roles in Belgian series and films, like Van Vlees en Bloed, The Broken Circle Breakdown, and D’Ardennen. In 2007 he was nominated for the Flemish Price of Culture for Performing Arts. On the international scene, Jan Bijvoet is known for his roles in Fenix, Borgman, El Abrazo de la Serpiente and Peaky Blinders.

Gabrielle – Astrid Whettnall

In 2016 Astrid won the Magritte de la Meilleure Award for best actrice for her perfomance in Road to Istanbul, directed by three time Oscar nominee Rachid Bouchareb. Her most recent role was the leading part in Baron Noir, a TV series on Canal + in France, which has been nominated for the Emmy’s. Over the years she has worked with great directors such as Costa Gavras, Xavier Gianolli, and Claude Lelouch.

Horst – Vincent Londez

Vincent Londez is a French actor who has played many roles in TV, Stage and feature films in his 20 years career. His recent role was in the Belgian Noir crime drama Public Enemy, and in the French Sci-fi TV series Missions, where he plays the role of billionaire Ivan Goldstein.

Zara – Regina Bikkinina

Regina Bikkinina is a Russian-Tatar actress and dancer. She went to acting school at the Shchukin theatre institute in Moscow. In 2014 Regina went to work on Geneva’s stages. Regina appeared in plays of Chekhov, Strindberg and Dostoyevsky and danced in Shakespeare’s Othello.

Ines – Alba Gaïa Bellugi

Alba is a French actress with Danish and Italian roots. She is known for her role in Intouchables (2011). After this, she has played several roles in different TV series. Her most recent role was in the TV show Le Bureau des Légendes, in which she plays the character of Prune Debailly.

Laura – Babetida Sadjo

Babetida Sadjo is a Guinea-Bissau Belgian actress. After graduating from the Royal dramatic conservatory of Brussels, she was the first Black woman to win the ENSOR of best actress in a supporting role for the film Waste Land directed by Pieter van Hees. Her international career kicked off when she played one of the two leading characters in the Sundance award-winning film, And Breathe Normally directed by Isold Uggadottir.

Ayaz – Mehmet Kurtulus

Mehmet is an internationally working and award-winning German-Turkish actor. In the US feature film Big Game, he played alongside Samuel L. Jackson. Mehmet starred in and co produced Head-On by Fatih Akin which was honored with a Golden Bear Award at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival and with a European Film Award. He starred as lead cast in the first Turkish Netflix Original Series, The Protector.

Jakub – Ksawery Szlenkier

Ksawery Szlenkier is a Polish film and stage actor. He graduated from the internationally renowned Film School in Lodz. Related to the National Theater in Warsaw. He played in many European co-productions such as, Within the Whirlwind by Marleen Gorris, My name is Sara by Steven Oritt and “Správa” (The Report Movie) directed by Peter Bebjak, which will premiere in 2020.

 

Filming on the series is now underway, with an expected release date of 2020.

 

Into the Night: Netflix orders first Belgian series

4th September 2019

Netflix has ordered its first Belgian original series, Into the Night.

The six-part series, which will be directed by Belgian duo Inti Calfat and Dirk Verheye (Over Water) and produced by Entre Chien et Loup, is written and created by Jason George (The Protector, Narcos) who serves as showrunner and executive producer.

The series is based on Jacek Dukaj’s bestselling novel The Old Axolotl. It tells the story about retaining humanity in the face of a cosmic disaster, as a flight departs Brussels. Into the Night begins with a sudden solar event, as the sun inexplicably starts killing everything in its path. The show centers around the ‘lucky’ passengers and crew of an overnight flight out of Brussels, as they attempt to fly west — into the safety of the dark night. The plane’s manifest is multinational and multilingual, with passengers rich and poor, young and old, civilian and military. The seemingly ordinary travelers share but one thing: A desire to survive the sun — and each other — by any means necessary.

Michael Azzolino, Director of International Originals at Netflix, says: “We are happy to announce our first Belgian original series Into the Night. We are excited to work with this great international team of writers, producers, directors and cast to bring this unique series to life.”

“Within this high-concept thriller, Into the Night asks a basic question that’s heard a lot these days: Can people still unite for the greater good — or will self-interests tear us apart?” adds showrunner and writer, Jason George. “I was drawn to the idea that a commercial flight is a makeshift community, packing together strangers with different backgrounds and beliefs. Sometimes, this leads to the forming of friendships. Sometimes, it’s arguments over armrests.”

Other executive producers include Tomek Baginski (The Witcher, The Cathedral) and Dukaj. The series will launch globally on Netflix in 2020.

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