| Katla | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Written by |
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| Directed by |
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| Starring |
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| Composer | Högni Egilsson |
| Country of origin | Iceland |
| Original languages |
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| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Producers |
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| Cinematography | Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson |
| Editors |
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| Production company | RVK Studios |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | 17 June 2021 |
Katla (stylized as KATLA) is an Icelandic mystery-drama television series created by Baltasar Kormákur and Sigurjón Kjartansson. The show premiered on 17 June 2021 on Netflix.[1]
A year after an eruption of the Katla volcano began, only a few people remain in the nearby town of Vík, persisting despite choking ash. An ash-caked woman who apparently disappeared twenty years earlier appears in the village, looking as she did back then. More ash-caked people who died in the past arrive in Vík, creating a paradox for those who knew them and reviving legends of "changelings". Meanwhile, a volcanologist from Reykjavík discovers the remains of a meteorite buried in the glacier, while having to deal emotionally with the reappearance of his dead son. Through their interactions with the "changelings", the inhabitants of Vík are forced to find their own ways of dealing with their unresolved issues from the past.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "From Under the Glacier" (Icelandic: Undan Jöklinum) | Baltasar Kormákur[2] | Sigurjón Kjartansson | 17 June 2021 | |
| A year after Katla's eruption, the shattered survivors are still grappling with the aftermath. Suddenly, an ash-caked woman appears on the glacier. She is taken to the hospital and reveals herself to be a Swedish woman named Gunhild. | |||||
| 2 | "Ása" | Baltasar Kormákur | Lilja Sigurðardóttir | 17 June 2021 | |
| Another ash-caked woman appears; she is Ása, Gríma's sister, thought to have been dead. An older Gunhild flies in from Sweden. | |||||
| 3 | "The Mother" (Icelandic: Móðirin) | Baltasar Kormákur | Davíð Már Stefánsson | 17 June 2021 | |
| Darri finds his dead son at his workplace. The boy is also ash-caked, like Gunhild and Ása. Darri tries to hide his son from his colleagues. Ása and Gríma go for a swim in a hot spring. | |||||
| 4 | "This Is Not Him" (Icelandic: Þetta er ekki hann) | Þóra Hilmarsdóttir | Sigurjón Kjartansson | 17 June 2021 | |
| After receiving a call from her supposedly dead son, Rakel goes to Katla and meets Darri and the boy. The sisters investigate the shed on the glacier where Asa was first spotted. | |||||
| 5 | "Northerly Winds" (Icelandic: Norðanátt) | Börkur Sigþórsson | Davíð Már Stefánsson | 17 June 2021 | |
| A shocking revelation that would ordinarily offer closure instead opens up a chasm of questions. History repeats itself, as a deadly ash storm gathers. | |||||
| 6 | "Gríma" | Börkur Sigþórsson | Davíð Már Stefánsson | 17 June 2021 | |
| Face to face with an utter mystery, Gríma tries to understand her shadowy find. Rakel has a change of heart as Gísli deals with an unexpected arrival. | |||||
| 7 | "The Rock" (Icelandic: Steinninn) | Börkur Sigþórsson | Davíð Már Stefánsson | 17 June 2021 | |
| At the scene of the accident, Rakel pours her heart out to Gríma. Darri canvases the crevasse for answers. | |||||
| 8 | "I Am You" (Icelandic: Ég er þú) | Baltasar Kormákur | Sigurjón Kjartansson | 17 June 2021 | |
In February 2017, Variety magazine reported that Baltasar Kormákur would be working on Katla, a supernatural drama series centered on the volcano of the same name, with filming to take place outside Reykjavík.[3] In October 2019, it was reported that RVK Studios was developing the series for Netflix, to be directed by Kormákur and Sigurjón Kjartansson.[4] The series started production prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent forced shutdown put a halt to the work, which had covered a few weeks by that point. Kormákur resumed production in April 2020.[5]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[6]
John Doyle of The Globe and Mail wrote: "In what is a slow-moving, Stygian and enigmatic eight-part series ... there's a beguiling mystery about heartbreak."[7] Robyn Chowdhury of New Scientist praised the series in her review, concluding: "Katla is a thriller with such depth that some episodes, particularly the fast-paced season finale, can leave you feeling genuinely emotionally raw. It is a story about grief with unpredictably dark twists and turns, worthy of multiple watches."[8]
