'Dark' Season 1 Character Map
Rekindling my love of horror and thriller movies, television shows, and sharing my thoughts with whoever may read them.
Photos depicting the people of Winden are tacked to a wall in 'Dark' (2017), a Netflix Original Series.
What is 'Dark'?
'Dark' is a German-based Netflix Original Series that takes place in the fictional town of Winden, Germany in 2019. Throughout the season we get glimpses of some of the characters lives during their past and also as a few of them time-travel to 1986 and 1953.
This is one show that was recommended to me by Netflix because of my past viewing history of shows like Stranger Things and The Haunting of Hill House. To be honest, I wasn't sure about watching it simply because it's in German, but I'm so glad I did. If you enjoy science, time travel theories, murder, adultery and don't mind either reading subtitles or listening to dubbed audio, I highly recommend this series. If you'd like to see the little review I did on 'Dark' you can find the link at the bottom of this page under, 'My Reviews'.
The reason for making this character map is because there's a rather large cast of characters to remember and, in the beginning, it can be a bit overwhelming to remember who's who; couple that with many of them being depicted over the span of three timelines and several of them time-traveling, and it can give you a headache trying to keep them straight, or maybe that's just me.
Winden Families
There are four Winden families that are the primary focus in the first season. Although there are many supporting characters that play crucial roles, these four families will be the main focus for this character map and without giving too many spoilers, show how they connect to each other.
Nielsen Family
Nielsen family tree from 'Dark' (2017), a Netflix Original Series.
| Character | Appears in Years | Summary |
|---|---|---|
Agnes Nielsen | 1953 | Widow. Mother to Tronte. Grandmother to Ulrich and Mads. |
Tronte Nielsen | 1953, 1986, 2019 | Married to Jana. Father to Ulrich and Mads. Reporter in 1986. |
Jana Nielsen | 1953, 1986, 2019 | Married to Tronte. Mother to Ulrich and Mads. Still heartbroken over Mad's disappearance 33 years later. |
Ulrich Nielsen | 1953 (time travel), 1986, 2019 | Married to Katharina. Brother to Mads. Father to Magnus, Martha and Mikkel. Town cop. Having an affair with Hanna Kahnwald. |
Mads Nielsen | 1986 | Son of Tronte and Jana. Brother to Ulrich. Disappeared in 1986. |
Katharina Nielsen | 1986, 2019 | Married to Ulrich. Mother to Magnus, Martha and Mikkel. |
Magnus Nielsen | 2019 | Son of Ulrich and Katharina. Secretely dating Franziska. |
Martha Nielsen | 2019 | Daughter of Ulrich and Katharina. Has a crush history with Jonas Kahnwald. Dating Bartosz Tiedemann. |
Mikkel Nielsen | 1986 (time travel), 2019 | Son of Ulrich and Katharina. Goes missing in 2019. Time travels to 1986. |
Kahnwald Family
Kahnwald family tree from 'Dark' (2017), a Netflix Original Series.
| Character | Appears in Years | |
|---|---|---|
Daniel Kahnwald | 1953 | Father of Ines. Grandfather of Michael. Police Chief. |
Ines Kahnwald | 1953, 1986, 2019 | Single. Adopted mother of Michael. Grandmother to Jonas. Nurse in Winden Hospital. |
Michael Kahnwald | 1986, 2019 | Married to Hannah. Father of Jonas. Commits suicide in episode one. |
Hannah Kahnwald | 1986, 2019 | Widow of Michael. Mother of Jonas. Having an affair with Ulrich Nielsen. Massage therapist. |
Sebastian Krüger | 1986 | Father of Hannah. Owns a laundry service. |
Jonas Kahnwald | 1986 (time travel), 2019 | Son of Michael and Hannah. Told people he was in boarding school in France after his father's death, but was in a mental hospital. Has a crush history with Martha Nielsen. |
Doppler Family
Doppler family tree from 'Dark' (2017), a Netflix Original Series.
| Character | Appears in Years | Summary |
|---|---|---|
Bernd Doppler | 1953, 1986 | Married to Greta. Father of Helge. Founder of the Winden nuclear power plant. |
Greta | 1953 | Married to Bernd. Mother of Helge. |
H G Tannhaus | 1953, 1986 | Grandfather of Charlotte Doppler. Owns a clock shop. Builder of the time machine. |
Helge Doppler | 1953, 1986, 2019 | Father of Peter. Works at the nuclear power plant. |
Peter Doppler | 2019 | Married to Charlotte. Father of Franzika and Elisabeth. Jonas' therapist.Franziska |
Charlotte Doppler | 1986, 2019 | Married to Peter. Granddaughter of H G Tannhaus. Mother of Franzika and Elisabeth. Town cop.Franziska |
Franziska Doppler | 2019 | Daughter of Peter and Charlotte. In a secret relationship with Magnus Nielsen. |
Elisabeth Doppler | 2019 | Daughter of Peter and Charlotte. Deaf. |
Tiedemann Family
Tiedemann family tree from 'Dark' (2017), a Netflix Original Series.
| Character | Appears in Years | Summary |
|---|---|---|
Egon Tiedemann | 1953, 1986 | Married to Doris. Father of Claudia. Grandfather of Regina. Town cop. |
Doris Tiedemann | 1953 | Married to Egon. Mother of Claudia. Leaves Egon sometime before 1986. |
Claudia Tiedemann | 1953, 1986, 2019 | Mother of Regina. Becomes the Director of the nuclear power plant when Bernd steps down. Leaves Winden sometime after 1986 and returns in 2019. |
Regina Tiedemann | 1986, 2019 | Married to Aleksander. Mother to Bartosz. Owner of the town hotel. |
Aleksander Tiedemann | 1986, 2019 | Married to Regina. Father to Bartosz. Director of the nuclear power plant in 2019. Real name is Boris Niewald. Arrived in Winden with a bullet wound and a fake passport. |
Bartosz | 2019 | Son of Regina and Aleksander. Dating Martha Nielsen. |
My Reviews
- 'Dark': A Season 1 Review
My review of the German TV thriller 'Dark' (2017), a Netflix Original Series. - 'The Haunting of Hill House': A Season 1 Review
My review of the fantasy horror show 'The Haunting of Hill House', season 1, a Netflix original series.
© 2019 Veronica
What are your thoughts about 'Dark'?
Greg Heide on September 26, 2020:
Thank you! Very interesting series but a very convoluted plot. Your chart made it much easier to follow the labyrinth of characters, past & present.
Tajwer Shakir on September 25, 2020:
This is required to follow this show. Highly twisted plot I have ever come across in the TV shows.
Veronica (author) from USA on July 19, 2020:
Thank you! I started out making notes for myself and I was hoping it would help others. I really need to do season 2 now, because... holy cow!
shavinder on July 10, 2020:
Good work , hard to understand in show,
This chart and explanations are awesome
