Netflix Drops a Crime-Busting Sigmund Freud with New Series

"Freud" will follow a younger incarnation of the father of psychoanalysis as he battles cocaine addiction in the middle of his struggling medical career. He will soon team up with a police officer and a psychic to solve a gruesome murder set in 19th-century Vienna.

Each episode is about 45 minutes long. The rest of the German-language series will dive into how Freud develops his now-famous theories as he gets entangled in a more massive conspiracy.

In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, fans can stay home and binge-watch the series on the prime streaming service, and watch Freud gain an understanding of the human mind through a fictional crime thriller lens. Friends from different locations can also watch the show at the same time using Party Mode.

Austrian actor Robert Finster, known for his roles in Krieg (2017) and My Brother's Keeper (2014), will lead as the titular character. Swiss actress Ella Rumpf plays the psychic medium Fleur Salome while Austrian veteran actor Georg Friedrich (Wild Mouse, The Piano Teacher) is war veteran and police officer Alfred Kiss.

The ensemble will be joined by "Therapy For a Vampire" actor Christoph Krutzler as Franz Poschacher, "Vienna Crime Squad" Brigitte Kren as Lenore, as well as actor Philipp Hochmair and actress Anja Kling.

In an interview with Variety, director Marven Kren shared the production team's dedication to preserving essential elements in the creation of the new series.

"He was notoriously controlling with how his own story and biography were presented," the award-winning director shared in the interview. He then continued with facets of the character present in the series, such as Freud being "heavily into cocaine" and being a "very ambitious, highly intellectual Jewish doctor", not from a "wealthy family."

A little known fact about the father of psychoanalysis is his addiction to cocaine, writing a paper titled "On Coca" in 1884 where he famously attested "a song of praise to this magical substance".

Kren also explained that while the story was set in Vienna, Freud was actually filmed in Prague. The decision came because the "architecture of the cities is similar", although Vienna remained his "main visual influence".

The director also discussed how "Freud" had to be an outsider to the medical community of 19th century Vienna. At the start of the series, he dabbles first with hypnosis in an attempt to cure a patient. Kren explained that one of Sigmund Freud's most famous images where he sat beside his patient was developed from hypnosis as well.

"Freud's" production team also works the growing Anti-Semitism in 19th century Vienna to flesh out the young neurologist wanting a place in society. Also, as the dark suspense mixes both fact and fiction, some names exist in both. In the series, fans are introduced to Fleur Salome, the young psychic who works with Freud. In reality, Freud did have a Salome in his life. Fellow psychoanalyst Lou Andreas-Salome was Freud's friend and confidant, believing her to have "the gift of understanding others possibly better than they understand themselves."

Netflix has also released its lined up films for April 2020. Check the Upcoming Movies on Netflix.