Heweliusz – Series Review | Netflix

HEWELIUSZ on Netflix is a limited series about a catastrophic ferry disaster. It has five episodes and is based on a true story. It’s both heartbreaking and extremely angering to watch. Read our Heweliusz series review!

HEWELIUSZ on Netflix is a limited series about a catastrophic ferry disaster that happened in 1993. With just five episodes, it is a fairly quick watch. However, it is also a brutal story about pain, suffering, and corruption.

Also, the episodes tend to be around one hour long, with the fifth and final episode close to feature film-length at 80 minutes. If you’re curious about history and want a character-driven story to help set the stage, then this is ideal.

Continue reading our Heweliusz series review below. Find it on Netflix from November 5, 2025.

A catastrophe with many moving parts

With the Heweliusz series on Netflix, many painful elements need to be covered. Not least, how those in power were quick to blame the captain of the ferry for this terrible and fatal catastrophe.

I can’t speak to how much of what is told in this series is accurate. However, it is obvious that many elements played a part in the tragedy. The captain, as the person in charge of the ferry, played a part, but just one part, not the only.

While German port authorities warned of hurricane-level winds, it seems the Heweliusz ferry was given the all-clear to leave port. And yet, shortly after leaving port, they were in a ferocious storm that they should have been warned about.

Also, the ferry itself had clearly seen better days, as “repairs” years earlier had left it in pretty bad shape. To put it mildly.

The aftermath of a tragedy

It all began on January 13, 1993, when the ferry Heweliusz departed from Świnoujście in Poland and sailed towards Ystad in Sweden. However, in this Netflix series, we also see what happened in the hours before the ferry took off.

And we especially follow the actual tragedy and the aftermath of it all. Without giving away any wild spoilers, I can say that not many survived. It’s not unlike the situation with the Titanic, except this tragedy happened for different reasons.

We see people in a desperate fight for survival, and the rescue mission is made nearly impossible by the terrible weather conditions. Back on land, word gets out about the ferry capsizing before authorities know much.

Obviously, as the news comes out, we see devastated families trying to make sense of it all. And, of course, they are desperate to know if their loved ones are among the few survivors.

Also, those who do survive tend to struggle with feelings of guilt – or are forced to go along with explanations, they don’t necessarily believe are accurate.

Watch the Heweliusz series on Netflix now

The director of Heweliusz on Netflix is Jan Holoubek, and the writer of the series is Kasper Bajon. The two also worked together on the Netflix series The Mire and High Water.

Overall, this is powerful storytelling that breaks hearts and should anger you. Not least thanks to powerful portrayals by familiar faces. Including Borys Szyc (Detective Forst), Jacek Koman (Soulcatcher), Mirosław Zbrojewicz, Magdalena Różczka, and Konrad Eleryk.

By telling the story with flashbacks and moving back and forth in the timeline several times, it does require the full attention of its viewers. You will know when we go back in time, so that part is easy enough to follow.

However, I wasn’t crazy about the way some cliffhangers at the end of episodes were not followed up on. That’s why our rating isn’t higher. Personally, I felt stranded right alongside those family members at times.

Maybe this was the point?!

Heweliusz is out on Netflix from November 5, 2025.

Details

Director: Jan Holoubek
Writer: Kasper Bajon
Cast: Jan Englert, Borys Szyc, Magdalena Zawadzka, Jacek Koman, Mirosław Zbrojewicz, Magdalena Różczka, Andrzej Konopka, Justyna Wasilewska, Tomasz Schuchardt, Michał Żurawski, Łukasz Lewandowski, Dariusz Chojnacki, Jacek Beler, Michał Pawlik, Konrad Eleryk, Mia Goti, Marcin Jan Januszkiewicz