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To the Lake

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To the Lake
RussianЭпидемия
GenrePost-apocalyptic, thriller, drama
Based onVongozero
by Yana Vagner
Directed byPavel Kostomarov
Starring
Country of originRussia
Original languageRussian
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes16
Production
Production company1-2-3 Production[1]
Original release
NetworkNetflix
Release14 November 2019 (2019-11-14) –
2 June 2022 (2022-06-02)

To the Lake (Russian: Эпидемия, lit. 'Epidemic') is a Russian post-apocalyptic thriller television series launched on the Premier platform on 14 November 2019.[2] Its first season is based on Vongozero, a novel by Russian author Yana Vagner.[3] Netflix acquired the first season and released it internationally on 8 October 2020.

Synopsis

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Residents of Moscow are infected with an unknown deadly virus, the main symptoms of which are coughing and discoloration of the eyes; after three to four days, death occurs. As the disease becomes an epidemic, the Russian capital gradually turns into a city of the dead: there is no electric power, money has lost its value, chaos and lawlessness reign everywhere, and gangs of marauders gather. The media are panicking, and those who are not yet infected are desperately fighting for food and fuel. The city is quarantined, with all access points closed.

Fleeing from the epidemic, Sergey, along with his second wife, her autistic son, his own son, his ex-wife, his father, and a neighboring family, go to Karelia. There, on a small deserted island in the middle of Vongozero, they plan to hide from the threat of infection in a refuge ship that has been converted into a camping cabin.

Against the background of a terrible global catastrophe, a cruel family drama is also played out. People who normally would never have been under the same roof must now unite to try to escape a deadly disease. On the way, they will not only face various dangers, but also overcome family troubles, learn to survive, and try to forgive.

Cast and characters

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Production

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First season

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Filming took place in 2018 in the Moscow Oblast and the Arkhangelsk Oblast (in Onega and the village of Malozhma, Onezhsky District). Lake Vongozero was represented by Onega Bay.[4] After its release in Russia, Netflix bought the rights to the series for $1.5 million, according to Kommersant.[5][6]

Second season

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Directed by Dmitry Tyurin, filming for the second season began in April 2021.[7] In October 2020, the producer of the series, Yevgeny Nikishov, announced that the plot would not be based on Living People, the sequel to Vongozero. Filming completed in early September 2021.[8] The first episode was released on 21 April 2022, by Premier.[9]

Episodes

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Season 1 (2019–20)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11"Episode 1"Pavel KostomarovRoman Kantor14 November 2019 (2019-11-14)
As a contagious illness, panic, and looting ravage Moscow, a thrown-together band of families and neighbors forms a shaky alliance for survival.
22"Episode 2"Pavel KostomarovRoman Kantor21 November 2019 (2019-11-21)
The group's frantic escape is disrupted by a costly mistake and human threats. A final destination is chosen.
33"Episode 3"Pavel KostomarovRoman Kantor, "featuring" Alexey Karaulov28 November 2019 (2019-11-28)
Sparks fly between Polina and Misha. A brutal attack puts a life at risk. Temporary shelter in the storm is shaken by a horrifying discovery.
44"Episode 4"Pavel KostomarovRoman Kantor, "featuring" Alexey Karaulov5 December 2019 (2019-12-05)
Strangers, both kind and cruel, change the journey's course, and romance blooms in unexpected places. An angry mob causes chaos and a tragic mistake.
55"Episode 5"Pavel KostomarovRoman Kantor, "featuring" Alexey Karaulov12 December 2019 (2019-12-12)
Discovering someone missing, the caravan doubles back and comes upon a good samaritan...and some horrifying children. The disease reaches the group.
66"Episode 6"Pavel KostomarovRoman Kantor, Alexey Karaulov20 December 2019 (2019-12-20)
An infection leads to a house divided, and a line is crossed by Irina and Sergey. Flashbacks reveal pain in Sergey, Polina, and Marina's past.
77"Episode 7"Pavel KostomarovRoman Kantor, "featuring" Alexey Karaulov27 December 2019 (2019-12-27)
After Boris prays, a blessing arrives—along with more heartbreak. Irina and Sergey struggle with their secret. Safe havens prove anything but.
88"Episode 8"Pavel KostomarovRoman Kantor3 January 2020 (2020-01-03)
Marriage vows make new beginnings. Irina exposes damning secrets from Anna's diary. Pavel grapples with hard choices. A happy reunion is short-lived.

Season 2 (2022)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
91"Episode 9"Dmitry TyurinRoman Kantor, Andrey Ivanov, Rikke Brin, featuring Dmitry Tyurin21 April 2022 (2022-04-21)
Four young people—Taras, Alena, Aziz, and Sonya—completely unsuited to surviving in the apocalypse, are isolated from civilization in a country house in the Karelian wilderness. They find Zhenya, a deserter from the Russian Special Forces cleaning squad, in the forest. Tension grows as the group runs out of supplies, water, and electricity.
102"Episode 10"Dmitry TyurinRoman Kantor, Andrey Ivanov, Rikke Brin, featuring Dmitry Tyurin21 April 2022 (2022-04-21)
The protagonists from the first season live in an abandoned military unit without ammunition or food. Sergey sits by the fire all day and thinks about the dead Anya. Misha has withdrawn into himself after his mother's death, and his marriage with Polina is not going well. Everything changes when little Nastya emerges from the dense forest. Circumstances force the group to hastily leave the unit.
113"Episode 11"Dmitry TyurinRoman Kantor, Andrey Ivanov, Rikke Brin, featuring Dmitry Tyurin28 April 2022 (2022-04-28)
Nastya brings the group to her native Slavic pagan community, where no one knows about the virus and the global epidemic. Lyonya is injured in a hunting accident. Polina and Misha, in a fit of passion, do something irreparable, placing the group's safety in jeopardy.
124"Episode 12"Dmitry TyurinRoman Kantor, Andrey Ivanov, Rikke Brin, featuring Dmitry Tyurin5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)
The group joins Zhenya and his new comrades and head to a refugee camp in Finland, but a conflict forces them to split up. Zhenya and the first group are trapped in a cave, but they manage to escape. Taras, Alyona, Aziz, and Sonya reach the border first but do not manage to cross.
135"Episode 13"Dmitry TyurinRoman Kantor, Andrey Ivanov, Rikke Brin, featuring Dmitry Tyurin12 May 2022 (2022-05-12)
Lyonya's hunting injury worsens. Sámi shaman Lakka comes to the group's aid. Anton is jealous of Nastya and tries to poison the girl with herbs. The group notices her illness in time and save her, but more troubles are in store for Nastya.
146"Episode 14"Dmitry TyurinRoman Kantor, Andrey Ivanov, Rikke Brin, featuring Dmitry Tyurin19 May 2022 (2022-05-19)
Orthodox pilgrim Rodion, who went mad after losing his family to the virus on a rail journey to the Solovetsky Monastery, mistakes little Nastya for his dead daughter. Anton and Marina search for the girl.
157"Episode 15"Dmitry TyurinRoman Kantor, Andrey Ivanov, Rikke Brin, featuring Dmitry Tyurin26 May 2022 (2022-05-26)
Lakka has a prophetic vision and tells the group to set off immediately. They decide to take the train, driven by Zhenya, to the monastery. A Chinese man sneaks onto the train, pursued by Russian soldiers. The condition of the train and the tracks cause a death in the group.
168"Episode 16"Dmitry TyurinRoman Kantor, Andrey Ivanov, Rikke Brin, featuring Dmitry Tyurin2 June 2022 (2022-06-02)
The group, the military men, and the Chinese prisoner are attacked by a band of former teenage prisoners at a penal colony, but escape. At a lighthouse on the shore of the White Sea, they send a signal to the residents of the monastery, who accept them onto their boat to take them to the island. It turns out that the virus has reached the monastery, but a certain "savior" has come to the rescue. The military men have a conflict with the monks, which results in the deaths of many on the boat. Zhenya is seriously wounded. The boat sinks, but the survivors reach the island shore, where they recognize a familiar face.

Reception

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To the Lake has an approval rating of 100% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on six reviews, and an average rating of 8/10.[10]

Controversy

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The fifth episode of season 1 disappeared from Premier's platform on 14 December 2019, just two days after its release. In it, hospital patients and other civilians are executed by men who appear to be security forces, prompting speculation that the episode had been censored. However, the company said the second half of the season was postponed until February 2020, due to the success of another series, and that the fifth episode was part of the second half. Director Pavel Kostomarov said the episode's removal came as a surprise and that he was not given a reason.[11][12]

On 20 December, the episode reappeared on Premier.[13][14] Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky denied media reports that he was involved in the controversy, saying, "there is no censorship in our country" and that the episode's removal was of a "technical nature". Premier said the season would continue to air weekly until its conclusion, at the request of viewers.[15]

Awards and recognition

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  • On 23 June 2019, the series received an award for cinematic achievement at the inaugural Chitka festival in Moscow.[16]
  • On 13 September 2019 the series was presented at the 43rd "Cinema Symposium of the International Association of Film Commissions (AFCI)" in St. Petersburg.
  • On 11 February 2020, it was shortlisted for the VIII Award of the Association of Film and Television Producers in 15 nominations.[17]
  • On 1 April 2020, the series received the Fresh TV Fiction rating of the Swiss research company the WIT, which highlights notable international projects.[18]
  • On 7 October 2020, To the Lake took eighth place in series rankings on Netflix.[19] By 11 October, it had climbed to fourth place.[20]
  • On 12 October 2020, American horror writer Stephen King called the series "damn good".[21][22][23]

References

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  1. ^ Radulovic, Petrana (1 October 2020). "Every movie and show coming to Netflix in October". Polygon.
  2. ^ "Онлайн-платформа PREMIER выпустила трейлер к сериалу "Эпидемия"". REGNUM News Agency.
  3. ^ "Яна Вагнер: писать роман "Вонгозеро" было очень страшно". RIA Novosti (in Russian).
  4. ^ "Мороз -26 градусов, потоп и дикие животные вокруг: сериал "Эпидемия" снимали в суровых условиях". teleprogramma.pro. 28 January 2020.
  5. ^ Netflix разогнал «Эпидемию»
  6. ^ Regev, Nir (15 November 2020). "Viktoriya Agalakova Interview: 'To the Lake' on Netflix". The Natural Aristocrat. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  7. ^ Эпидемия 2 | Бэкстейдж со съёмок нового сезона | PREMIER
  8. ^ "Завершились съемки второго сезона сериала "Эпидемия"". РИА Новости (in Russian). 13 September 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Названа дата премьеры второго сезона сериала "Эпидемия"". Российская газета (in Russian). 8 April 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  10. ^ "To the Lake - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  11. ^ "Онлайн-кинотеатр Premier удалил серию "Эпидемии" Павла Костомарова про беспорядки и приостановил показ до февраля". tvrain.ru. 14 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Онлайн-кинотеатр Premier удалил эпизод сериала "Эпидемия" о беспорядках". Ведомости.
  13. ^ "Медуза" выяснила, что Мединский помог вернуть на экраны сериал "Эпидемия"
  14. ^ "Режиссер "Эпидемии" пообещал, что сериал будет показан без купюр". Газета.Ru.
  15. ^ "Ìåäèíñêèé îòâåðã ïðè÷àñòíîñòü ê âîçâðàùåíèþ íà ýêðàíû ñåðèàëà "Ýïèäåìèÿ"". Interfax.ru.
  16. ^ "Сериал "Зулейха открывает глаза" назвали самой ожидаемой экранизацией". Российская газета (in Russian). 24 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Ассоциация продюсеров кино и телевидения". www.rusproducers.com. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Сериал "Эпидемия" вошел в рейтинг Fresh TV Fiction – ТАСС". TACC (in Russian). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Российский сериал "Эпидемия" вошел в топ-10 лучших сериалов Netflix – ТАСС". TACC (in Russian). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Netflix разогнал «Эпидемию»". Коммерсантъ (in Russian). 12 October 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Много снега, холодно и "все пьют водку". Стивен Кинг написал отзыв на российский сериал "Эпидемия"". snob.ru (in Russian). 12 October 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Стивен Кинг назвал "чертовски хорошим" российский сериал "Эпидемия" – ТАСС". TACC (in Russian). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  23. ^ "Стивен Кинг рекомендует к просмотру российский сериал "Эпидемия"". Российская газета (in Russian). 12 October 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
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