On November 13, 2018, it was announced that "Dark" creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar were developing the project for Netflix under their overall deal at the streaming service. The series was confirmed to be moving forward two weeks later during a Netflix press conference showcasing European original programming. By July 2020, bo Odar revealed via Instagram that Friese had completed writing the script for the pilot episode. During an interview with Deadline Hollywood, Friese explained how the European migrant crisis and Brexit were influential to the series, saying: