[1] In a dramatic advisory capacity, Dutch producer and screenwriter Maarten van der Duin and BBC-author Andrew Bampfield worked on the film's development.

The series is based on an idea by Gunnar Dedio, producer at the film company LOOKSfilm and Ulrike Dotzer, the Head of Department ARTE at Norddeutscher Rundfunk.

The result is not only a political or military history of the First World War, but a story that poignantly captures the feelings and moods of the people.

The series was produced by LOOKSfilm Leipzig,[9] Les Films d’ici Paris und Filmoption International Montreal.

[citation needed] Arte began broadcasting the eight-part series on 29 April 2014 in Germany and France, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I.

[13] Additional partners of the series are SWR, NDR and WDR in Germany; ORF in Austria; and the BBC in the United Kingdom.

[citation needed] The BBC broadcast the series under the title Great War Diary in three episodes of 60 minutes.

[14] Dutch broadcasters NTR and VPRO produced an additional episode about the situation in the Netherlands which aired on 5 April 2014, on Nederland 2.

[17][better source needed] Beginning on 9 March 2014 the WDR broadcast a six-part, eponymous Radio Documentary by Christine Sievers and Nicolaus Schröder.

"[27] The Dutch version of the series was described as follows by NRC Handelsblad: "Phantastic Television Making... We ride a rollercoaster of emotions, as if we are not supposed to understand history but rather to live it ourselves.

O'Reilly called the series "superbly done" and said "unlike other Netflix programming that escapes the mind moments after consumption, "14" lingers.