Shadow and Bone (TV series)
Bibliographic Information
Title: Shadow and Bone
Creator: Eric Heisserer
Streaming Service: Netflix
Release Date: 2021-2023
Genre/Format
Action/Adventure/Drama/Fantasy - TV Series
Awards or Honors
Primetime Emmy Awards Nomination for outstanding special visual effects in a single episode
Irish Film and Television Awards nomination for best visual effects in 2021
People’s Choice Awards nomination for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show of 2021
Rating
TV-14 (Netflix) for gore, language, nudity, sex, smoking, violence
TV Series Length
The series ran for two seasons, 16 episodes total
Part 1 Summary
The series opens with 15-year-old Sabrina Spellman, who is half-witch and half-human, living a normal teenage girl life. Traditionally, witches undergo a dark baptism on their 16th birthday, and Sabrina’s is approaching. She doesn’t want to leave her human friends and boyfriend behind in service to the Dark Lord, though, which is a given in the Church of Night. She lives with two aunts and a cousin as her parents died when she was an infant. Sabrina has one aunt who it seems would do anything in service to their Dark Lord, and one aunt who quietly questions her own decision to join the Church of Night. Her cousin in under house arrest for reasons not fully known. After a failed dark baptism and a witch trial, Sabrina is allowed to keep her human friends if she agrees to attend the Church of Night sanctioned school for witches. She has an ultimate goal of taking Satan down, though, and so she is thrust into an adventure to strengthen her magical skills all while dealing with normal teenager drama and evil forces that are trying to take her and her friends down.
Creator Description
Eric Heisserer is an American filmmaker, comic book writer, television writer, and television producer.
He was nominated for an Oscar in 2017 for writing the screenplay for Arrival (2016). He sold his first script to Warner Brothers in 2005 after working in the video games industry for a number of years.
Rotten Tomatoes (n.d.)
Critical Evaluation
I haven’t read Bardugo’s books, but they have been on my TBR, so I decided to give this series a try. I can’t speak to the adaptation of her stories, but I loved the first season of this series! The characters were well-developed and the plot was surprising in a good way. I thought the acting, the sets, and the visual effects were also all amazing!
I loved Alina, but Jesper was a close second
Creative Use for a Library Program
Alina is a cartographer before her magic is discovered. Host a map-making night where teens can create hand-drawn maps or digital ones with software like Inkarnate.
Speed-Round Talk
Alina, a cartographer with an army, discovers she is a Grisha (a magical being) who can summon light. She is the first known Grisha to be able to do this, and she may be needed to destroy a dark shadow filled with monsters that is physically dividing her world. Will she have to forfeit who she thought she was to save the world?
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation
This TV series is pretty violent, and may not be suitable for some. Some young adults who do not like to watch violence on TV may be better suited to read the books. The TV series may encourage the reading of the books, as well.
Reason for Inclusion
I thought this series was well done. It touches on themes like light and dark, good and evil, but it an imaginative way that will immerse readers in a fantasy world full of delicious details.
Bonus Information
This TV series is based on two book series from Leigh Bardugo, so there are lots of ways to dive deeper into the characters and the plot! The first season of the TV series combines Bardugo’s book from the first trilogy, Shadow and Bone (2011) with her later books, Six of Crows (2015) and its sequel, Crooked Kingdom (2016). The second season is based on the second two books in the The Shadow and Bone trilogy (Weaver & Gonzalez, 2023).
A fun fandom Netflix created for more information on the series.
References
Bardugo, L. (n.d.). Grishaverse. https://grishaverse.com
IMDb. (n.d.a). Shadow and bone awards. Retrieved December 9, 2024 from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2403776/awards/
Netflix. (n.d.). Shadow and Bone [TV series].. https://www.netflix.com/title/80236319
Netflix (@netflix). (2021, March 30). Shadow and Bone | Official trailer | Netflix. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1WHQTbJ7vE
Rotten Tomatoes. (n.d.). Eric Heisserer. Fandango, a Division of NBCUniversal. Retrieved December 8, 2024, from https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/eric_heisserer
Weaver, H. & Gonzalez, E. (2023, March 16). The grishaverse explained: What is Shadow and Bone based on? Elle. Retrieved December 8, 2024, from https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a36209788/what-books-shadow-and-bone-netflix-show-based-on/
*Cover Image is property of Netflix; taken from Netflix.