Ever since
Game Of Thrones set the high-water mark for televisual fantasy, the search for the successor to its Iron Throne has been on.
Shadow And Bone, based on Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels, isn’t as bold or shocking as George R.R. Martin’s uncompromising epic, but the impact of Westeros is keenly felt all over Netflix’s lavish series. For one, it dispenses fantasy jargon without deigning to explain what any of it means, and its sprawling, complex world feels similarly lived-in and well-formed. And though it doesn’t have a Stark, it
does have a Starkov our hero Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), providing a welcome narrative through-line against a wider backdrop of politicking and power-plays.
Jessie Mei Li and Ben Barnes shine in Netflix s
Shadow and Bone, which brings the Grishaverse brilliantly to the screen with
Game of Thrones-style world-building, lush costumes, and thrills aplenty.
With
Shadow and Bone, the new fantasy series set to hit Netflix on Friday, April 23, the mega streamer behind
The Witcher and
Fate: The Winx Saga is continuing on its mission to broaden and expand the groundwork HBO’s
Game of Thrones laid for genre television.
The new show, which is based on the best-selling YA books by Leigh Bardugo and stars Jessie Mei Li, Ben Barnes, Freddy Carter, Archie Renaux, Amita Suman, and Zoë Wanamaker, tells the story of Alina Starkov, a seemingly average young girl who embarks on the quintessential hero’s journey to realizing her true purpose, magical power, and resolve against unfathomable odds and a dastardly villain.
Television and film adaptations of popular book series don t just give the works they re based on a new life. They also offer those working on it a chance to build on the characters and themes within, ideally for the better. In the case of Netflix s
Shadow and Bone, the upcoming adaptation of author Leigh Bardugo s bestselling Grishaverse books, this meant creating a more inclusive world that reflects one a modern audience is more used to, and that meant casting more diversely. There s a kind of weird idea that an inclusive or diverse cast is somehow artificial or contrived, Bardugo, who is also an executive producer on the series, told SYFY WIRE and other members of the press ahead of the series April 23 premiere. And I find that very weird because our world does not look straight and white, and there s no reason that a fantasy world should look straight and white.
Netflix Launches Geeked
✖
One of Netflix s many popular Twitter accounts just got a major rebrand with the @NXOnNetflix account turning into @NetflixGeeked. The new account will be their primary source for all genre films and shows with a sizzle reel and poster teasing all of the different originals they ll be delivering news about including shows that are already hits like Stranger Things, The Witcher, and Lucifer, plus upcoming titles like Shadow And Bone, Army of the Dead, Jupiter’s Legacy, and many more. They also taut many of their original animes that we know to be in development including Assassin’s Creed, Usagi Yojimbo, Godzilla Singular Point, and The Cuphead Show. See the full impressive list for yourself below.