Netflix has unveiled the trailer for its upcoming period miniseries, Transatlantic, inspired by the two unsung American heroes who built an underground rescue operation to help refugees escape Europe during World War II. Joining the streaming platform's slew of period dramas, Transatlantic explores the true story of journalist Varian Fry and American heiress Mary Jayne Gold, who both played a crucial part in helping artists and writers flee France by building an Emergency Rescue Committee.
Recent film releases put journalists in the spotlight, with She Said and Boston Strangler depicting real-life journalists breaking a major and important story. This time, going a few decades back, Transatlantic delves into the story of "a young lady without a clue about the real world," who—with the help of a male journalist and some other refugees—looks for other allies to help them operate an emergency rescue committee in a dangerous 1940s Marseille. In the trailer, Community actress Gillian Jacobs and Gotham alum Cory Michael Smith play Varian Fry and Mary Jayne Gold, who took a stand for refugees, building not only a rescue operation but a resistance that would change the world forever.
The forthcoming period drama tells the gripping historical tale of humanity in general—and how it takes only a few courageous ordinary people to make an impact in an era plagued with war, saving lives and the works of artists trying to escape to find a much safer location. Said to be inspired by Julie Orringer's 2019 biographical fiction novel, The Flight Portfolio, which tells the crises of the 1940s, the Transatlantic cast includes Yoli Fuller as Souleymane Touré, Nadiv Molcho as Bill Freier, Jodhi May as Peggy Guggenheim, Corey Stoll as Graham Patterson, Lucas Englander as Albert Hirschman, and Amit Rahav as Thomas Lovegrove.
Who's Involved With Transatlantic?
Created by Daniel Hendler and Unorthodox creator Anna Winger, with Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond, and Mia Meyerthe at the helm, the upcoming miniseries will cover how the international group and the other refugees put their lives in danger to help save artists and their work, running against time to form an escape strategy without any assurances if they will make it out alive. The rest of the cast includes Ian Turiak, Ralph Amoussou, Grégory Montel, Henriette Confurius, Lolita Chammah, Jonas Nay, Alexander Fehling, and Moritz Bleibtreu.
Production took place in Marseille, France, which is the exact location where the whole rescue operation happened. Consisting of seven episodes, the upcoming period drama—which was first announced in 2021—will soon grace Netflix on April 7.
You can watch the trailer and read the official synopsis below.
"Two Americans and their allies form a scrappy rescue operation in 1940 Marseilles to help artists, writers and other refugees fleeing Europe during WWII."