Leigh Bardugo

Image: HeadpressOk, this isn’t a sci-fi or fantasy book, but it’s definitely in the realms of horror. In the hands of film scholar and director Kier-La Janisse—who made Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, the definitive documentary on folk horror—it’s guaranteed to be a fascinating adaptation. Severin Films announced the project earlier this week in a press release, and described the book as follows: “Documenting the intersection of ethnographic documentary, the dystopic future visions of JG Ballard, and the 1970s snuff…

Last week, Netflix announced it’d pulled the plug on Shadow & Bone, the YA fantasy show based on Leigh Bardugo’s popular five-book series. Much as fans mourned the show for being unable to tell the full story of the main trilogy, they were also just as devastated (if not more so) to realize this cancellation meant its intended spinoff also wouldn’t see the light of day.Netflix Passwords, ChatGPT Can’t Detect AI, and No More CoTweets | Editor PicksKnown as Six of Crows and named after the first book in the titular…

Ben Barnes as the Darkling and Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov in Shadow and Bone.Image: NetflixIt’s a sad day for fans of Netflix’ Shadow and Bone. The series adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s fantasy novels—which was developed by Arrival’s Eric Heisserer and gobbled up by passionate viewers—will not return for a third season. This cancellation was just one of many announced by Netflix today.Netflix Passwords, ChatGPT Can’t Detect AI, and No More CoTweets | Editor PicksAlso getting the axe, as reported by Deadline: adult…

If you’ve discovered Shadow and Bone thanks to Netflix, you might be thinking to yourself, “Maybe I’ll pick up the books, this seems like a fun series!” And while you wouldn’t be wrong, you also wouldn’t be starting in the best place. Leigh Bardugo’s original Grishaverse Trilogy—Alina’s trilogy—is comprised of Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising. It’s a very good, if very predictable, YA fantasy series. It’s also nearly a decade old, and some of the choices it makes that were innovative at the time are…

Image: NetflixThe main plot of the series takes cues from two books, but there are scenes, characters, and winks towards an additional four books, including Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom (which follows the Crows of Ketterdam), and the duology that follows Nikolai Lantsov; King of Scars and Rule of Wolves. To call the series rushed is an understatement. The characters were enough to keep me invested, but if Shadow and Bone had just slimmed down the plot and slowed the pacing,and it would have been a much better…

Netflix hit Shadow and Bone’s second season follows up the heists and twists of season one, offering another glimpse inside the magical world of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse. While the pacing of the series is exceptionally fast and the three main plotlines feel cramped, the show still delivers an exciting-enough plot, successfully renders each of its (many) characters with brilliant and chaotic fury, and remains accessible without losing a sense of style.In this season, after Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) escapes the…

There is a lot of romance in Shadow and Bone. It is based on a YA series, after all. While there are a lot of other epic fantasy shows that have a lot of sexual entanglements, I found the romances in season two—which premieres March 16 on Netflix—to be some of the most compelling character arcs within the series. We have Alina and Mal, Mathias and Nina, Kaz and Inej, and Wylan and Jesper (whose romance changes from the book in ways I found delightful and fun for their characters!). At a recent Shadow and Bone press event…

Image: Netflix | Dávid LukácsThe highly anticipated second season of Shadow and Bone is right around the corner (March 16!) and we’re finally getting some new footage. After the sneak preview images a few months ago and the excellent New York Comic Con panel, my hype for this fantasy series is at an all time high. Shadow and Bone, based on the trilogy by Leigh Bardugo (with a dash of the sequel duology Six of Crows), is easy to watch and understand, elevating its YA roots into a series that’s delightfully fun and full of…

Image: David Appleby/NetflixIn a new interview, Shadow and Bone showrunners Eric Heisserer and Daegan Fryklind have revealed some of the thought processes behind the second season’s adaptation hang-ups. It’s a complicated undertaking, since the show takes inspiration from not only Leigh Bardugo’s original Shadow and Bone trilogy, but also the Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom duology. The showrunners told Entertainment Weekly that season two covers “multiple books” and touches on “deep cut” plotlines that not even Bardugo saw…

Kit Young, Amita Suman, and Freddy Carter as the Crows.Image: Netflix | David ApplebyCovering New York Comic Con is not a sprint, but a marathon. And every now and then you get to take a break and really enjoy a panel. Within the crash of cosplay, incredible artists, and a barrage of news, the Shadow and Bone panel with author Leigh Bardugo and Netflix series stars Amita Suman (Inej Ghafa), Freddy Carter (Kaz Brekker), Kit Young (Jesper Fahey), and Ben Barnes (General Kirigan/the Darkling) was a breath of fresh air.This…