Streaming giant Netflix has a pretty solid track record with its exclusive shows. Whether it's lavish dramas like Bridgerton, The Crown and Queen's Gambit or character-based genre dishes like The Umbrella Academy, Sense8 and The OA or high fantasy like The Witcher, Cursed and The Letter for the King - Netflix is a tried and tested one Heavy hitter.
In the new big budget fantasy series Shadow and Bone, Netflix is adding another title to its growing stable. Based on YA novels by Leigh Bardugo, the series is set to cause a sensation later this month with its mix of world education, romance and action.
We watched the first season of Shadow and Bone before it premiered. Is it worth checking out? Below is a breakdown of what to expect and when and where to be prepared.
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What is Shadow and Bone about?
In a fictional world not entirely dissimilar to ours, society is divided into classes of people who practice magic (the grisha) and those who do not.
The Grisha serves the King of Ravka under a mysterious "shadow conjurer" who rules them as an elite army. In a battalion of mortal soldiers, a young cartographer, Alina, realizes that she is a rare species of Grisha that is only spoken of in myth. She is a sun conjurer who can use the light and power of the sun. She could hold in her hand the key to the destruction of the fold or the Unsea, a vast expanse of shadow filled with violent spirits, created generations ago by a previous shadow conjurer who worked for the king.
As Alina gets used to the Grisha lifestyle and learns to control her magical gifts, she also begins to question the Shadow Summoner's motives and tries to reunite with her childhood best friend, Mal, who is her returns as the political forces grow gloomy and gloomy.
Meanwhile, criminals on the other side of the fold have gotten wind of the Sun Summoner and want part of the action. A team of thieves are hired to chase Alina, which complicates her life when they head to Ravka to cause trouble. But they may be your only way out as friends and enemies are harder to identify.
When and where can i see it?
Shadow and Bone will be released as a Netflix exclusive product on April 23, 2021. As a series produced by Netflix, it will be available on the streaming platform around the world.
The entire first season, which includes eight one-hour episodes, will fall immediately. No word on a second season just yet, but this will likely be a big release for Netflix.
Who is involved
Shadow and Bone was developed by Eric Heisserer, who also acts as a showrunner, executive producer and writer. Heisserer wrote the science fiction drama Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve, which earned him an Oscar nomination. He also wrote the 2018 Netflix original horror film Bird Box.
Directed by executive producer Lee Toland Krieger, who also directed Netflix's Riverdale-adjoining Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Other directorial credits for Shadow and Bone include Dan Liu, Mairzee Almas, and Jeremy Webb.
Stars Jessie Mei Li, Archie Renaux, Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Kit Young and Ben Barnes are in front of the camera.
On-screen them include Sujaya Dasgupta, Danielle Galligan, Daisy Head, Simon Sears, Calahan Skogman, Zoë Wanamaker, Kevin Eldon, Julian Kostov, Luke Pasqualino, Jasmine Blackborow, and Gabrielle Brooks.
Author Leigh Bardugo, on whose novels the series is based, also acts as executive producer.
Which book is Shadow and Bone based on?
While Shadow and Bone is technically an adaptation of Bardugo's novel Shadow and Bone, some of the series might surprise readers.
Shadow and Bone (the book) was Bardugo's debut novel and is the first part of her Grisha trilogy. The trilogy is again part of Bardugo's broader "Grishaverse".
This is where things get interesting. Her later novels Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom are part of the Grishaverse, but they are set in a different fictional country (loosely based on Amsterdam) and set a generation later. Still, this duology is also represented in Netflix's Shadow and Bone, which is a significant departure from the two-book series.
On the Netflix show, the characters of Six of Crows, a ragged team of thieves, are looking for a way to cross the fold to find Alina. It's a plot point that goes with the novels - where Alina is wanted by other countries and the thieves are part of the underworld they might be looking for - but it also messes things up and complicates the show a bit, with new factions invest on all sides.
Do I have to read the books first?
Shadow and Bone works alone as a series. You can safely go fresh in and make something out of it. As you read the books, you will surely appreciate the plot and its changes from the book more. I'm always curious to see how shows and films take their liberties with their source material. And Shadow and Bone impressively juggle these two storylines.
The characters make sense together. Your conflicts fit into a common world. And their personalities merge and collide in interesting ways.
It may certainly irritate some fans of the books who are looking for a faithful adaptation. But Shadow and Bone has a rich tradition of projects that want to be creative with their source material rather than just transferring it to the canvas. Some things work better on the page, others can only be properly expressed visually. It takes skill to tell the difference.
Other shows and films could take liberties with their source material such as Shadow and Bone.
David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch is a famous example of this type of creative exchange with a novel. The Canadian cult director told both the story of the novel and the writing of William Burroughs. The Annihilation, which went on to become a Netflix Original in international markets, is a more recent example in which the enigmatic tone of the hit novel has been restored while major plot points and characters have been fundamentally changed for the screen.
I don't think a book is "not customizable," but some make it difficult. Certain types of narrative and characterization resist proper translation on the screen. Filmmakers might choose to delve into source material rather than dialogue in order to tell the best story possible. While Shadow and Bone can feel a little crowded at times, it's more powerful to expand the scope to multiple complementary storylines.
Another fun thing about this approach is that everyone is halfway there. Do you have a friend who reads Shadow and Bone? You will be as surprised as you are by some of the events on the show. At least if you're fresh in.
Is Shadow and Bone any good?
Aside from books, the show is great fun. It has a hard edge without straying too far from YA territory. It doesn't hit the dark and gruesome levels of Game of Thrones, but it doesn't strike.
Jessie Mei Li and Archie Renaux play the main teenagers as tragic, star-crossed lovers in a believable and compelling way. They get invested in their battles right away, and Ben Barnes is perfectly cast as the handsome, mysterious, and brooding shadow summoner. Meanwhile, the thieves from all over the fold are a charming, found family of rascals. There is no way to balance everyone's needs and it is difficult to look away when their paths cross and meet.
Shadow and Bone also shows off its aesthetics beautifully. The costumes are reminiscent of Imperial Russia, and the digital effects that animate the fold are absolutely gorgeous. The sublime power of the Unsea is expressed the moment you see it. It puts the bet right in front of the gate.
It's not perfect, and at times it feels like a subplot or two has been dropped to keep things moving a bit more smoothly. But I suspect fans of the imagination will find something they like in this movie.
If you like this, don't sleep on Shadow and Bone. Check it out when it releases on Netflix on April 23rd.
