Shadow and Bone (TV series)

Shadow and Bone is a 2021 American fantasy television series developed by Eric Heisserer for Netflix, starring Jessie Mei Li, Ben Barnes and Archie Renaux, with Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, and Kit Young in supporting roles. Based on the works of Leigh Bardugo, the series takes place in the Grishaverse fantasy setting and follows Alina Starkov (Li), an orphan and cartographer who discovers she is a Grisha, someone with magical abilities, and the key to saving her war-torn world.
The first season, which adapts Bardugo’s novel Shadow and Bone (2012), premiered on April 23, 2021, and also features an original storyline involving the Crows, a criminal gang from Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology.
Shadow and Bone received generally positive reviews, with praise for its world-building and cast, but some criticism aimed at its pacing. Following its success, Netflix renewed the show for a second season, which premiered on March 16, 2023, and adapted Siege and Storm (2013), Ruin and Rising (2014), and parts of Crooked Kingdom (2016). Despite growing fan support, Shadow and Bone was canceled after two seasons in November 2023.
The series is set in the Grishaverse, which comprises the nations of Ravka, Fjerda, Shu Han, Kerch, Novyi Zem, and the Wandering Isle. Each nation draws inspiration from real-world countries, reflecting elements of language, culture, and tradition from different historical periods. In the Grishaverse, there exists a group of individuals referred to as "magic-users". These people, known as Grisha, are practitioners of what is called "The Small Science," a unique ability that allows each Grisha to manipulate matter at the molecular level.
Ravka is home to most of the Grisha, where they are typically discovered as children by traveling Grisha testers and brought to train in the nation's Second Army. Ravka is one of the few places where Grisha can live without fear of persecution. During their training for the Second Army, Grisha are divided into three orders based on their gift in The Small Science:
The nation of Ravka is geographically divided into two regions, from east to west, by the Shadow Fold (commonly referred to as "The Fold"), a vast area of impenetrable darkness inhabited by terrifying creatures, created centuries earlier by a Grisha known as the Black Heretic. Ravka is embroiled in a war with the northern nation of Fjerda, while its western half seeks independence. General Kirigan, also known as The Darkling, leads Ravka's Second Army and is determined to find the Sun Summoner, the only person capable of destroying the Fold and potentially reuniting Ravka.
In the series' first episode, Alina Starkov, a cartographer in Ravka's First Army, is revealed to be the long-prophesied Sun Summoner, which sets off a chain of events that affect the entire Grishaverse. As Alina begins to come to terms with her newfound identity, she becomes the target of multiple factions. Kaz Brekker, the leader of the criminal gang known as the Crows in Ketterdam, is hired to capture her, while Fjerdan witch hunters—dedicated to eliminating Grisha—seek to kill her. Alina must navigate a world of shifting allegiances and hidden threats as she struggles to harness her powers and save Ravka.
In January 2019, Netflix announced a series order for an eight-episode first season of Shadow and Bone, with Eric Heisserer serving as showrunner, creator, head writer, and executive producer. The series is produced under Netflix’s deal with 21 Laps Entertainment, with Shawn Levy executive producing. Other executive producers included Leigh Bardugo, Pouya Shahbazian, Dan Levine, Dan Cohen, and Josh Barry. On October 2, 2019, it was confirmed that Lee Toland Krieger would direct the pilot episode.
In June 2021, the series was renewed for an eight-episode second season. Production for the second season officially began in January 2022. By December 2022, it was reported that the second season would not only adapt Siege and Storm but also cover elements from Ruin and Rising, completing Leigh Bardugo's main Grishaverse trilogy.
Following the release of season two, Heisserer revealed that scripts for a potential spin-off series centered on the Crows were already written. However, he emphasized that the future of Shadow and Bone and any spin-offs would depend on the viewership of season two. On November 15, 2023, Netflix canceled Shadow and Bone after two seasons.[14] Plans for the Crows spin-off were subsequently abandoned as well.
In a panel discussion led by Petra Mayer, NPR books editor, at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Leigh Bardugo revealed that David J. Peterson, known for his work on creating fictional languages for shows like Game of Thrones, would be developing the languages for the Grishaverse in Shadow and Bone. Christian Thalmann was also involved in contributing to the creation of these fictional languages.
Casting for Shadow and Bone began in April 2019, with auditions for the lead role of Alina Starkov. On October 2, 2019, it was officially announced that Jessie Mei Li would star as Alina, with Ben Barnes, Freddy Carter, Archie Renaux, Amita Suman and Kit Young joining as key supporting actors. Additional cast members included Sujaya Dasgupta, Danielle Galligan, Daisy Head and Simon Sears.
A second round of casting was announced on December 18, 2019, which brought Calahan Skogman, Zoë Wanamaker, Kevin Eldon, Julian Kostov, Luke Pasqualino, Jasmine Blackborow and Gabrielle Brooks to the recurring cast. Leigh Bardugo, the author of the book series, was also scheduled for a cameo appearance as a Materialki Durast in the third episode of the season.
While prominent characters Nikolai Lantsov and Wylan Van Eck were absent from the first season, they were introduced in the second season. On January 13, 2022, Lewis Tan, Patrick Gibson, Anna Leong Brophy and Jack Wolfe were officially added to the cast for the second season, with Daisy Head, Danielle Galligan, and Calahan Skogman promoted to series regulars. Further new cast members were confirmed in November 2022, including Tommy Rodger, Rhoda Ofori-Attah, Alistair Nwachukwu, Tumi Fani-Kayode, and Seamus O'Hara.
Principal photography for the first season of Shadow and Bone commenced on location in and around Budapest and Keszthely, Hungary, in October 2019 and concluded at the end of February 2020. Additional shoots took place in Vancouver in September 2020.
The set for Ketterdam was constructed at Origo Studios. Several locations around Budapest were used for key scenes, including the Ethnographic Museum (used as the Grand Palace throne room), Buda Castle (for the Royal Archives exterior and its medieval rondella for the Grisha training grounds and Os Alta gates), the old Stock Exchange (for the Royal Archives interior), and the main square (as Novokribirsk).
Outside of Budapest, Festetics Palace was used for both the exterior and interior of the Little Palace, with the winter fete taking place in its concert hall. Other filming locations included the Amadé–Bajzáth–Pappenheim Mansion (as the Keramzin orphanage), the town of Szentendre (depicting Ryevost), its open-air museum (as Chernast), and the Royal Palace of Gödöllő (used for the stable and chapel). The flashback scene where the Darkling creates the Shadow Fold was filmed at the ruined Széchényi–Wenckheim mansion in Békéscsaba.
Filming for the second season began in early January 2022 and wrapped on June 6, 2022.
Post-production for Shadow and Bone commenced after filming wrapped in February 2020. In June 2020, Leigh Bardugo reported via Twitter that working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic had slowed down the post-production process, making the release date uncertain. Ted Rae served as the VFX supervisor for the series.
Joseph Trapanese composed the score for Shadow and Bone. Eric Heisserer and Leigh Bardugo previewed some of the score during a panel at New York Comic Con in October 2020. By December 16, 2020, executive producer Josh Barry confirmed that the final sound mix had been completed.
Trapanese composed the score over the course of 11 months. In an interview with AwardsDaily.com, he detailed how he assembled the score during lockdown, conducting an orchestra remotely via Zoom and incorporating solo recordings. The score drew inspiration from Russian and Slavic music, with Sergei Prokofiev and traditional folk songs serving as specific influences. Trapanese also incorporated elements from other musical traditions, such as gamelan, to add diversity to the soundtrack.
Netflix released a season one announcement teaser in December 2020, followed by promotional stills through Entertainment Weekly and main character posters in January 2021. In February 2021, Leigh Bardugo, Eric Heisserer, and the six main cast members participated in a panel at the IGN Fan Fest, where a teaser trailer was unveiled, along with additional stills. The day before, Netflix had posted a poster featuring the Shadow Fold. The official trailer for season one was released on March 30, 2021, by Netflix, after an earlier leak.
In a November 2019 interview with SensaCine, Bardugo mentioned that the series was expected to air in late 2020. Ultimately, Shadow and Bone premiered on April 23, 2021, on Netflix. The following day, Netflix released an aftershow titled Shadow and Bone – The Afterparty. The second season of the series was released on March 16, 2023. The official trailer for season two was released on February 17, 2023.
Netflix announced alongside the season two renewal that 55 million households had watched the first season within its first 28 days of availability. For season two, Netflix reported that it had been viewed for 192.9 million hours between January and June 2023, making it the 26th most-watched show on Netflix during that period, out of 18,000 titles. According to a report by Eshap, the combined hours viewed for both seasons in the first half of 2023 amounted to 292.4 million hours, which ranked the series at number 15 on the list of the most-watched shows during that time.
Season two remained in Netflix's Global Top 10 for five weeks and was in the top 10 of 86 countries for up to six weeks after its release. Shadow and Bone also ranked number two on the Nielsen charts in the week of its release, with over 1.14 billion minutes watched by subscribers, including episodes from season one. It stayed among the top 10 original series for four weeks after its premiere, compared to a five-week run during season one, although the viewing time was about the same. According to TheWrap, based on data gathered by Whip Media, Shadow and Bone was number 24 on the list of the most-watched series across all streaming platforms in 2023.
As of January 2024, the show has a rating of 7.5 out of 10 on IMDb based on 112,000 ratings. It was number 10 on the list of the most searched shows worldwide on Google in 2023. In January 2024, Shadow and Bone was voted Fan Favorite Series of 2023 on Rotten Tomatoes. The show took the lead with 54% of votes while the remaining four shows in the top five all earned just 4% of the vote.
Shadow and Bone has received generally positive reviews from critics. For the first season, Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 89% based on 81 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "From gorgeous costumes to impressive—if intimidating—world-building, Shadow and Bone is an exciting adventure for fans and newcomers alike." Metacritic gave the first season a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
Ben Travis of Empire gave the first season 3 out of 5 stars, praising the world-building and the engaging lead characters but noting similarities to Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Game of Thrones. He described some elements of the series as "overly confusing" but concluded that "Shadow and Bone will draw you into the Fold with its absorbing world-building and engaging lead duo." Nicole Clark of IGN remarked that the season "captures much of the darker magic...while being unafraid to make smart changes to certain characters' origin stories and even the sequence of events—even if the storylines from the two series of books don't always easily mesh." Molly Freeman of Screen Rant called it a "thrillingly exciting fantasy drama."
Writing for RogerEbert.com, Roxana Hadadi acknowledged the series' use of young adult fiction clichés but praised the cast and the fight sequences. She wrote, "Eric Heisserer's adaptation transcends this familiarity thanks to the commitment of a pitch-perfect cast, well-stylized fight sequences, and intentional character development." She concluded, "Shadow and Bone maintains a sense of interior place for the characters... and the well-balanced nature of this first season makes for a promising introduction into this franchise's fantastical universe."
Yaameen Al-Muttaqi of The Daily Star praised the darker themes explored in the series due to the older ages of the characters compared to the books, highlighting themes like "abuse, corruption, propaganda, manipulation, and human trafficking." However, he was critical of the lack of world-building, concluding that "a fair number of things are also left unexplained or unexplored in the series, which may leave viewers who have not read the books, confused." Allison Nichols of Tell-Tale TV similarly noted that viewers unfamiliar with the source material may feel isolated when the series "throw[s] them in storylines that seemingly have nothing to do with the main storyline of the show — Alina's journey."
For the second season of Shadow and Bone, Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 83% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 6.0/10. The website's critics consensus states, "Shadow and Bone's sophomore season packs in too much story sinew to properly breathe, but this adventure remains great fun for fantasy fans." On Metacritic, the second season received a score of 73, based on reviews from 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
Lacy Baugher Milas of Paste Magazine provided a critical review, describing the second season as "not only poorly paced but narratively overstuffed, crammed with new characters, superfluous side quests, and rapid-fire plot revelations that are rarely given enough time to breathe, let alone develop fully." Milas noted that the expanded plotlines resulted in minimal exploration of the emotional fallout experienced by the characters. However, she praised the performances of Jessie Mei Li, Archie Renaux, Danielle Galligan, Kit Young, Jack Wolfe, Ben Barnes, and Zoë Wanamaker.
Abby Cavenaugh of Collider gave the second season a B− rating, calling it "more of a lackluster and uneven follow-up" but still an "entertaining ride from start to finish." Cavenaugh attributed the crammed plotlines to the adaptation of material from six of Leigh Bardugo's novels: Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising, Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom, King of Scars, and The Lives of Saints. She praised Ben Barnes' portrayal of the Darkling, likening it to Michael B. Jordan's performance of Erik Killmonger in Black Panther, while also commending newcomers Patrick Gibson, Lewis Tan, and Anna Leong Brophy. However, Cavenaugh criticized their "overacting" and felt that Calahan Skogman's character, Matthias, was underdeveloped.
Samantha H. Chung of The Harvard Crimson gave a mixed review, praising the performances of Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Patrick Gibson, and Daisy Head while criticizing the second season's pacing and cramming of multiple storylines. Chung felt that the breakneck pace impacted the development of character relationships but praised the expansive worldbuilding, visually stunning settings, exploration of Alina's biracial identity, and the chemistry between Kit Young and Jack Wolfe's characters.
Netflix officially canceled Shadow and Bone on November 15, 2023, despite its strong performance earlier in the year. The series was the 15th most-watched show on Netflix during the first half of 2023, the 10th most Googled show worldwide in 2023, and had remained in the top 10 in 86 countries for up to six weeks after its release. The cancellation followed the end of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, which Netflix cited as the reason for ending the show.
Eric Heisserer, the showrunner of Shadow and Bone, was part of the Negotiating Committee during the strike, and several key cast and crew members, including Leigh Bardugo, Ben Barnes, Daeghan Fryklind, Shelley Meals, Christina Strain, Erin Conley, Stacy Milbourn, and Lilly Slaydon, also participated in the labor action. Following the cancellation, numerous media outlets criticized Netflix's decision, arguing that it was a misstep based on the series' strong viewership data.
Following the cancellation of Shadow and Bone, Netflix confirmed that it would not move forward with the Six of Crows spin-off. The script for the spin-off had been commissioned and completed before the release of season 2. Eric Heisserer shared a sizzle reel for the planned spin-off in a Reddit comment, giving fans a glimpse of what could have been.
In response to the cancellation, fans quickly launched a campaign titled Save the Grishaverse to advocate for the continuation of the series and the spin-off. A Discord server was set up to organize the movement, and a petition titled "SAVE Shadow and Bone!!!" was created on Change.org on November 16, 2023, garnering more than 120,000 signatures within four days. The petition became the most signed renewal petition on Change.org in 2023.
Additionally, a Kickstarter campaign was launched on November 18, 2023, to fund a billboard campaign in Los Angeles and London. The campaign closed on December 23, 2023, having raised $13,882 from 457 backers. The two billboards were unveiled on January 23, 2024.