# Shadow and Bone (TV series)
**Shadow and Bone** is an American fantasy television series developed by Eric Heisserer for Netflix, adapting [Leigh Bardugo](https://www.edgepedia.org/leigh-bardugo)'s Grishaverse novels, principally the *Shadow and Bone* trilogy (beginning in 2012) and the *Six of Crows* duology (2015). It premiered on April 23, 2021, ran for two seasons and 16 episodes, and was canceled in November 2023.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/shadow_and_bone) • [2](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10157580/2/Ikram%20Belaid%20Thesis%202022.pdf) • [3](https://www.tvline.com/news/shadow-and-bone-cancelled-season-3-netflix-six-of-crows-spinoff-1235081451/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | Netflix, April 23, 2021 to March 16, 2023; 2 seasons, 16 episodes, about 52 minutes each[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/shadow_and_bone) • [4](https://latestnetflix.com/series/85720) |
| Source material | Leigh Bardugo's *Shadow and Bone* trilogy (2012) and *Six of Crows* duology (2015), set in the Grishaverse[2](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10157580/2/Ikram%20Belaid%20Thesis%202022.pdf) |
| Showrunner | Eric Heisserer, Oscar-nominated writer of *Arrival*, also writer and executive producer[5](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/shadow-and-bone-showrunner-eric-heisserer-73110/) |
| Main cast | Jessie Mei Li (Alina Starkov), Archie Renaux (Mal Oretsev), Ben Barnes (General Kirigan), Freddy Carter (Kaz Brekker), Amita Suman (Inej), Kit Young (Jesper Fahey)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/shadow_and_bone) |
| Critical reception | Average Tomatometer 83% (season 1: 89%, season 2: 78%); Metacritic Metascore 69[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/shadow_and_bone) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/shadow-and-bone/critic-reviews/) |
| Cancellation | Announced November 15, 2023, with no third season and the planned *Six of Crows* spinoff also axed[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/shadow-and-bone-cancelled-season-3-netflix-six-of-crows-spinoff-1235081451/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The series is set in Ravka, a war-torn kingdom inspired by tsarist Russia that is split in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of perpetual darkness filled with flying monsters called volcra.[7](https://time.com/5956638/shadow-and-bone-books-six-of-crows/) • [8](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/shadow-and-bone-creative-team-bringing-the-grishaverse-to-life) Alina Starkov, an orphan mapmaker and soldier, discovers on her first Fold crossing that she can summon light, a power that could destroy the Fold and unite her country.[7](https://time.com/5956638/shadow-and-bone-books-six-of-crows/) Executive producer [Shawn Levy](https://www.edgepedia.org/shawn-levy) described the aesthetic as drawn from tsarist Russia rather than the medieval settings common in fantasy, with costuming, production design, and invented languages giving the show a distinct look.[8](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/shadow-and-bone-creative-team-bringing-the-grishaverse-to-life) Ben Barnes, who plays General Kirigan, described the world as a "czar-punk" mix of early trains, guns, and revolvers alongside magic, swords, and capes.[9](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/shadow-and-bone-stars-ben-barnes-archie-renaux-showrunner-eric-heisserer-on-new-fantasy-series/)
### Seasons and cancellation
Season 1, eight episodes, premiered April 23, 2021, and covers material close to the first novel, ending with Alina and Mal on the run, a position matching the end of the first book.[4](https://latestnetflix.com/series/85720) • [7](https://time.com/5956638/shadow-and-bone-books-six-of-crows/) Season 2 arrived on March 16, 2023, after a gap of nearly two years, and compressed the remaining two books of the trilogy.[4](https://latestnetflix.com/series/85720) • [12](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/shadow-and-bone-canceled-at-netflix-wont-return-for-season-3/) Heisserer and co-showrunner Daegan Fryklind had sought a twenty-episode season order to explore the story more fully but could not convince Netflix to extend the run.[13](https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/czar-punk-eric-heisserer-on-shadow-and-bone/)
On November 15, 2023, Netflix canceled the series after two seasons and simultaneously passed on the *Six of Crows* spinoff that had been in development but never greenlit.[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/shadow-and-bone-cancelled-season-3-netflix-six-of-crows-spinoff-1235081451/) • [12](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/shadow-and-bone-canceled-at-netflix-wont-return-for-season-3/) Bardugo announced both decisions in an Instagram post, saying she was heartbroken.[3](https://www.tvline.com/news/shadow-and-bone-cancelled-season-3-netflix-six-of-crows-spinoff-1235081451/) The cancellation came more than six months after season 2 premiered, a delay fans noted while renewal remained undecided.[14](https://netflixlife.com/2023/11/15/shadow-and-bone-canceled-no-season-3/)
## Development
Heisserer's path to the show began with a 2016 [New Year's resolution](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-years-resolution) to read for pleasure. A friend pitched *Six of Crows* as "Ocean's Eleven in a Game of Thrones world"; he devoured it, tweeted his thanks to Bardugo, and a year later her literary representatives contacted him after Netflix had acquired the rights to *Shadow and Bone*. His pitch was to adapt both series, and Netflix subsequently secured the rights to everything in the Grishaverse.[8](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/shadow-and-bone-creative-team-bringing-the-grishaverse-to-life) • [5](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/shadow-and-bone-showrunner-eric-heisserer-73110/) Bardugo served as an executive producer and was closely involved; she said she chose Heisserer because he respected the world fans loved while bringing new ideas for the characters.[8](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/shadow-and-bone-creative-team-bringing-the-grishaverse-to-life)
## Adaptation from the books
The central structural change is the merging of two timelines. In the books, the *Six of Crows* story takes place after the entire *Shadow and Bone* trilogy ends; the show moves the Crows, the Ketterdam criminals Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, and Jesper Fahey, into the events of the first book, inventing a prequel story for them in which their heist target is Alina herself.[10](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/shadow-and-bone-season-one-different-from-book) • [7](https://time.com/5956638/shadow-and-bone-books-six-of-crows/) Heisserer said the goal was to paint a broader scope of the world Bardugo had built, and that ignoring those characters would have been a disservice.[11](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/shadow-and-bone-book-changes/) The Grisha Heartrender Nina Zenik and the Fjerdan witch-hunter Matthias Helvar also appear, with their shipwreck storyline, told only in flashbacks in the books, played out on screen.[11](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/shadow-and-bone-book-changes/)
Other changes followed from the books' first-person narration. Because the novels are told from Alina's point of view, events she did not witness could not be shown directly; the show depicts the centuries-earlier creation of the Shadow Fold firsthand.[10](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/shadow-and-bone-season-one-different-from-book) Alina and Mal are half-Shu in the series, whereas the books treat them simply as Ravkan; the change makes them outsiders who "look like the enemy" in a Ravka at war with [Shu Han](https://www.edgepedia.org/shu-han), and Bardugo and Heisserer agreed on it together.[10](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/shadow-and-bone-season-one-different-from-book) • [11](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/shadow-and-bone-book-changes/) The Darkling, the books' principal antagonist, is renamed General Kirigan in the show, a name Heisserer said was adopted because "the Darkling" proved awkward for actors to speak in dialogue; his first name, Aleksander, is revealed early in the series rather than in the third novel, and the name connects to Count Kirigin from the *King of Scars* books.[11](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/shadow-and-bone-book-changes/) The show also adds invented characters such as the Conductor, who ferries the Crows across the Fold, and gives the Darkling a more nuanced portrayal, showing how he became what he is.[10](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/shadow-and-bone-season-one-different-from-book)
## Reception
Season 1 holds an 89% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes and season 2 a 78%, for an average of 83% across 113 reviews; the audience Popcornmeter average is 84%.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/shadow_and_bone) Metacritic recorded a Metascore of 69 from 31 critic reviews, with 20 positive and 11 mixed and none negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/shadow-and-bone/critic-reviews/) Critics praised the show's accessibility to newcomers; Collider's review highlighted its success in creating a universe that feels fresh without confusing viewers new to the material.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/shadow-and-bone/critic-reviews/) Reviewers of season 2 noted that it packed in too much story to breathe properly while remaining entertaining for fantasy fans.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/shadow_and_bone/s02)
## References
1. [Shadow and Bone, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/shadow_and_bone)
2. [Ikram Belaid (2022). Thesis chapter on diversity in the Shadow and Bone adaptation, UCL Discovery](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10157580/2/Ikram%20Belaid%20Thesis%202022.pdf)
3. [Shadow And Bone Cancelled: No Season 3 At Netflix, Spinoff Axed, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/news/shadow-and-bone-cancelled-season-3-netflix-six-of-crows-spinoff-1235081451/)
4. [Shadow and Bone (2021), Latest Netflix series page](https://latestnetflix.com/series/85720)
5. [Shadow and Bone Showrunner Eric Heisserer, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/shadow-and-bone-showrunner-eric-heisserer-73110/)
6. [Shadow and Bone critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/shadow-and-bone/critic-reviews/)
7. [How Netflix's Shadow and Bone Builds on Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse Novels, Time](https://time.com/5956638/shadow-and-bone-books-six-of-crows/)
8. [The Shadow and Bone Creative Team on Bringing the Grishaverse to Life, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/shadow-and-bone-creative-team-bringing-the-grishaverse-to-life)
9. [7 Things To Know About Netflix's Shadow and Bone, Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/shadow-and-bone-stars-ben-barnes-archie-renaux-showrunner-eric-heisserer-on-new-fantasy-series/)
10. [Shadow and Bone: What the Netflix series changed from the books, SYFY WIRE](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/shadow-and-bone-season-one-different-from-book)
11. [How does Shadow and Bone change the Grishaverse books?, Radio Times](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/shadow-and-bone-book-changes/)
12. [Shadow and Bone Canceled at Netflix; Won't Return for Season 3, What's on Netflix](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/shadow-and-bone-canceled-at-netflix-wont-return-for-season-3/)
13. [Czar Punk: Eric Heisserer On Shadow And Bone, Creative Screenwriting](https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/czar-punk-eric-heisserer-on-shadow-and-bone/)
14. [Leigh Bardugo confirms Shadow and Bone season 3 and Six of Crows are not happening at Netflix, Netflix Life](https://netflixlife.com/2023/11/15/shadow-and-bone-canceled-no-season-3/)
15. [Shadow and Bone: Season 2, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/shadow_and_bone/s02)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Genre and subject-scripted series › Fantasy, supernatural, and horror series › High fantasy and mythic adventure series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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