The Dark Marvels cast includes many experts from different fields and regular actors who help to portray the narrative.
Dark Marvels is one of the newest History Channel documentary series. Although the show follows the same format as others like Modern Marvels, its subject matter is much darker.
Dark Marvels uses both expert interviews and live-action sequences in its narrative in order to ensure that the history and details of the macabre subjects discussed in the show are explained clearly.
How Dark Marvels came about
The History Channel has always been known for creating some of the most interesting and thoughtful docuseries on television.
In fact, the long-running show, Modern Marvels (which has been on the air for 21 seasons already), proved to be so successful that the network decided to create a second series called Dark Marvels.
The original Modern Marvels examines several modern technologies and techniques which are used to make our lives in the modern age much easier. However, the newer Dark Marvels has a much more macabre focus.
Everything you need to know about the Dark Marvels cast
Dark Marvels has a much more sinister undertone than many of its History Channel counterparts. It delves deeper into the brutal and twisted backgrounds of some of the most evil creations and methods of punishment in human history.
The show examines everything from torture devices to prison designs, and includes plenty of narration and explanations along the way.
These explanations are provided by historians and other field experts, to ensure that all of these complex subjects can be easily understood.
Some of the experts that you may be able to spot in the first few episodes of the show include:
| Expert | Title |
| Jordan Wagner (also known as Doctor ER) | Board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician |
| Aaron Irvin | Associate Professor Of History, Murray State University |
| Eileen Joy | Medievalist |
| Rebecca Simon | Professor of History, Santa Monica College |
| Cord J. Whitaker | Professor of Medieval English Literature and Culture, Wellesley College |
| Larissa Tracy | Author |
| Daniel Dickrell | Mechanical Engineer |
| Mark Essig | Author |
| Daniel Lachance | Associate Professor of History, Emory University |
| Greg Jackson | Podcast Host |
Aside from the long list of experts who help to narrate Dark Marvels, the show also uses actors to portray various historical figures on in live-action snippets.
These give viewers a visual representation of how different scenarios may have played out in real life. Some of these actors are listed in the table below:
| Actor | Role |
| Adam Pepper | Malcolm X |
| Jimmy Bacon | Alcatraz Inmate and George Westinghouse |
| Frank Catale | Thomas Edison |
| Jonathan Peacy | Viking King |
Dark Marvels also features quite a bit of archival footage throughout and if you are quick enough, this can make for quite an interesting game of historic “guess who?”.
Who works on Dark Marvels behind the scenes?
While it is fun to watch these experts and actors play out and explain various scenarios on Dark Marvels, it is often everything that happens behind the scenes that makes a documentary-type show successful.
History Channel has revealed that the same team who produced Modern Marvels is also behind Dark Marvels.
This means that the behind-the-scenes team of Dark Marvels includes familiar names like Bruce Nash (the Modern Marvels creator) and the Actuality Productions team, among others.
Topics covered in the first season of Dark Marvel
Only three episodes of the very first season of Dark Marvels have aired thus far, but the show has already covered a vast array of subjects which are sure to make your skin crawl.
This includes the history, backstory and engineering behind varying devices that were historically used to torture and kill, weapons of war, not-so-ethical spy tools, sneaky traps, unique imprisonment methods and games which could end in death.
This is probably also why the cast includes experts from so many different fields.
Where to watch Dark Marvels
Dark Marvels is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but the show does give viewers some valuable insights into the parts of history that are often avoided because of their sour undertones.
So far, the series has received many positive reviews from fans who enjoy a touch of darkness with their entertainment.
The first season of Dark Marvels has only just begun and the very first episode of the show, titled “Death Devices” only aired a few days ago on July 10, 2023.
If you want to catch the rest of the season, tune into History Channel on Monday around 10/9c (or stream the show the next day via the History Channel app or website).
Alternatively, you can also watch the show online via online streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, Philo or DIRECTV Stream.
