With its massive success after season one, two years has gone by since viewers saw Eric Heisserer’s adaptation of Shadow and Bone. Fans are now jumping to see what lies in store for one of Netflix’s newest fantasy series. According to Screenrant, the second season is going strong to tie the lore heavy world of the “Grishaverse”.
This series is based off of the many books written by Israeli American author, Leigh Bardugo (Hell Bent, Summer Days & Summer Nights). Her novels include many references to fantasy and superheroes, and one of her most notable works include the Shadow and Bone Trilogy and the Six of Crows Duology. Both of those series tell the tales of a world similar to reality, however it is inhabited by various groups of people, one of which is called the Grisha, hence the name of the entire continuity that these stories take place in. There is also a huge Shadow Fold sliced right in the middle of what can be described as an alternate Eurasia. This is where many of the villains and monsters of the world come from.
It was reported by Deadline in 2019 that Netflix picked up a series order of eight episodes based on the book trilogy. They had also brought on Eric Heisserer (Bird Box, Arrival) and Shawn Levy (Free Guy, The Adam Project) to develop and produce the limited series. Heisserer serves as the series showrunner, and he writes and executive produces alongside Levy, Pouya Shahbazian (Divergent, American Honey), Dan Levine (The Darkest Minds, The Adam Project), Dan Cohen (Stranger Things, Love and Monsters), and Josh Barry (NYPD Blue, Salem). Bardugo also joined them as an Executive producer. The project was produced by Netflix in collaboration with 21 Laps, who was behind massive hits such as Arrival and Stranger Things.
The entire premise stems around an orphan named Alina Starkov, who is enlisted as a soldier in the fictional realm of Ravka. They fight against creatures and monsters who terrorize the land and eat human flesh. She discovers a power to unite her people and close off the Shadow Fold that divides her country into two. With everyone turning on each other, she would have to go through more than just magic in order to not only survive but save her people from darkness. via. Netflix.
Jessie Mei Li’ (Last Night in Soho, Locked Up Abroad) stars as Alina Starkov, an orphan and former assistant cartographer. She finds out she can control light, an ultra-rare ability for her kind. In the Netflix series, Alina is reimagined as half-Shu (having had one parent from Shu-Han) instead of entirely Grisha.
The rest of the main cast include Kaylan Teague (Boy & Dragon, Kiddyzuzaa Land) who plays a Young Alina; Archie Renaux’s (The Greatest Beer Run Ever, Catherine Called Birdy) Malyen “Mal” Oretsev, an orphan tracker and Alina’s childhood best friend; Cody Molko (Horizon Zero Dawn, The Drowning) as young Mal; Freddy Carter’s (Wonder Woman, Pennysworth) Kaz Brekker, leader of the Crows and known as Dirtyhands; Amita Suman’s (The Sandman, Doctor Who) Inej Ghafa, known as the Wraith; Kit Young’s (The Origin, Endeavor) Jesper Fahey, a skilled sharpshooter; Ben Barnes’ (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Punisher) General Aleksander Kirigan / The Darkling, who is the general of the Second Army and the Shadow Summoner; and Zoë Wanamaker’s (Prime Suspect, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) Baghra, Alina’s Grisha trainer.
Netflix has also added more to the main cast for the second season. This includes Lewis Tan (Deadpool 2, Mortal Kombat) as Tolya Yul-Bataar; Patrick Gibson (The OA, Before We Die) as Nikolai Lantsov; Anna Leong Brophy (Traces, NightWatchMan) as Tamar Kir-Bataar; Jack Wolfe (The Witcher, The Magic Flute) as Wylan Hendriks; and Daisy Head (The Proxy, The Sandman) as Genya Safin.
When the fantasy drama series first aired on April 23rd, 2021, it was a massive hit with audiences. Since many people were still dealing with the Covid pandemic, many took the time to stream shows they might have not been able to watch before. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 55 million Netflix accounts viewed Shadow and Bone worldwide; this was after only four weeks after its premiere. It’s not surprise since Bardugo’s novels also had 2.5 million copies of Shadow and Bone sold in the English Language. via. Deadline.
When discussing with The Hollywood Reporter about the planned release, Bardugo let out her excitement for season two. “I’ve been writing in the Grishaverse for nearly 10 years now, so I’m thrilled we get to keep this adventure going…There are so many places we’ve barely gotten to visit, and I can’t wait to introduce our audience to more of the saints, soldiers, thugs, thieves, princes and privateers who make this world so much fun to explore. It’s going to be real magic to see our brilliant, talented cast expand.”
In that same article, Levy also discussed his enthusiasm leading up to the release of Shadow and Bone season two, “The fun of our jobs as producers is the collaboration with creative partners who inspire us. Leigh Bardugo and Eric Heisserer are two such partners; together they have created a world and pantheon of characters that fans all over the globe have “embraced”…To the wishes of both Bardugo and Levy, they would be able to deliver to fans another jam-packed season full of drama, magic, and epic battles.
According to Screenrant, “Far from a sophomore slump, season 2 merges various aspects of Bardugo’s trilogy and parts of the Crows’ story while continuing to revitalize the narrative with a fresh perspective.”
Netflix has this as a logline for fans of the series: “The fate of Sun Summoner Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) and BFF/tracker Mal (Archie Renaux) is still up in the air, but as the Shadow and Bone Season 1 finale implies, the danger is only beginning. General Kirigan (Ben Barnes) is emerging again in Season 2 with even more powers than before. The first full trailer for the season, which you can watch above, shows Alina and the Darkling finally facing off — but before then, there’s also new characters (ahem, Nikolai and Wylan), big new monsters, the flying ship Hummingbird and even a hookup.”
At the Netflix Tudum global fan event, showrunner Heisserer had this to say, “The most wonderful thing about Season 2 is that we get to advance the story of these characters that we’d left in precarious positions at the end of Season 1. There’s a lot of potential for them this season…They have to face the consequences for their actions, and then they get to meet new people along the way. The Grishaverse also expands in this season, both in mythology and in characters.”
Daegan Fryklind serves as a Co-Showrunner and executive producer for Shadow and Bone, and he comments on the new opportunities to tell this story, “We’ve also really dug into more of the mythology this season in terms of the amplifiers, but also the creator of the amplifiers, Morozova — who he was, what his backstory is and how he ties into this world.”
Screenrant has praised the show even more as it discusses the many plot points in its review, “Fans will find everything they loved about season 1 present in season 2, with even more style, character development, and gravitas that elevate what’s at stake for everyone. Shadow and Bone’s strengths remain in its personal storytelling, though it never forgets about the wider effects the Darkling’s plot has had across the Grishaverse.”
That is not all either. looking at the ratings from the previous season, it is clear that this series has something going for it. Shadow and Bone is ranked overall at 89% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, and an 88% for the audience score. They also have 7.6/10 on IMDb with season one’s highest rated episode being its season finale titled “No Mourners” at an 8.3/10. It gets even better with season two because its highest ranked episode can be found in season two episode four “Every Monstrous Thing”, which scores a perfect 10/10 on IMDb.
The train doesn’t stop with this much going for it. Many fans are raving about the second season on social media. It makes it even better that just like the previous season, audiences can watch the series in bulk as all eight episodes of season two were released today at 12:00am PT.
Many spoilers are trending on Twitter right now. Proceed with caution if you don’t want certain plot points to be shown without watching it for yourself.
As Netflix themselves stated, “Shadow and Bone Season 2 premieres March 16 at 12 a.m. PT with more friendships, new romance, bigger battles, epic adventures — and a shocking family secret that could shatter everything.”
You can have the opportunity to either watch season two all at once or separate it into increments. If a new viewer has the free time, they will take advantage to watch both seasons in one sitting. Enjoy your time whatever the case may be and preview the second season here with this trailer released by Netflix.