Shadow and Bone Cancellation Hits Hard as Fans Lose Faith in Netflix For Good: “Nothing surprising about it”
Upon its release, the American fantasy streaming TV series Shadow and Bone became one of the most-watched shows on Netflix with over 55 million households having watched it within 28 days of its release. The show follows the story of an orphan map maker Alina Starkov of the Kingdom Ravka’s First Army who discovers that she is a Grisha with the rare ability to harness sunlight.
The show Shadow and Bone is based on Leigh Bardugo’s trilogy Shadow and Bone and the duology Six of Crows, both of which are set in Grishaverse. The first and second seasons of the show premiered in April 2021 and March 2023, respectively. Despite the announcement of the third season and a spin-off series, the show has been recently canceled by Netflix, much to the outrage of fans.
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Shadow and Bone’s Cancelation Does Not Come as a Shock to Fans
By now, people have become accustomed to Netflix’s antics. The streaming service has developed a habit of canceling shows out of nowhere, leaving fans frustrated about having some of their favorite shows not have the ending they deserved or leaving the storyline unexplored.
Shadow and Bone introduced its audiences to the Ravka kingdom occupied by humans and magic users known as Grisha. For hundreds of years, the kingdom has been stigmatized by the Shadow Fold which is an expanse of land enveloped in darkness. The kingdom’s newfound hope is Alina Starkov, portrayed by Jessie Mei Li.
The second season of the show even introduced new characters including the Ravkan prince Nikolai Lantsov who led a double life as the privateer Sturmhond. Although the show was going to be renewed for a third season even a spin-off series, it was recently announced by Deadline that Netflix will not be going forward with the show anymore.
Knew this was coming, also its Netflix so nothing surprising about it
— Screen Wizard 🧙♂️ (@screenwizardz) November 16, 2023
However, fans do not seem to be too shocked by this announcement as one of them wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “..Netflix so nothing surprising about it” Many others were unbothered as they did not find the second season as engaging as the first one.
Shadow and Bone Author Disheartened by the Cancelation News
Shadow and Bone author Leigh Bardugo has been as disheartened as the fans who had been eagerly anticipating the release of the next season of the show. Bardugo addressed the cancelation of the show in a statement posted on November 15.
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In the Instagram post, Leigh Bardugo wrote:
“Friends, by now you’ve probably heard that there will be no season 3 for Shadow and Bone and no Six of Crows spinoff. The news hit me hard. I’m heartbroken and deeply disappointed, but I’m also trying to hold onto my very real gratitude. Most authors never get to see their work adapted. Many who do end up regretting the experience. I’m one of the lucky few who can look at an adaptation with pride and tremendous joy.”
The author went on to say that she is not only thankful to the cast and crew who helped create the show but also to every single person who has ever engaged with the book or series by any means and made the Grishaverse come alive.
