SHADOW AND BONE
THE MAGICAL THINKING BEHIND NETFLIX’S SHADOW AND BONE...
Shedding some light on Netflix’s fantasy saga.
When writer/producer Eric Heisserer reached out to a friend in Oklahoma, asking for pleasure-reading suggestions, the answer was enticing. “He said, ‘Would you like Ocean’s Eleven in a Game Of Thrones universe?’ And I was, ‘Yes, of course. Let me try that!’” recalls Heisserer. The book? Leigh Bardugo’s 2015 fantasy Six Of Crows, part of the so-called Grishaverse series. Heisserer “devoured” it and immediately moved on to other books in the collection.
Fast-forward to 2021 and the arrival of Netflix’s eight-episode series Shadow And Bone, with Heisserer (an Oscar nominee for scripting Arrival) as showrunner. Inspired by the SAB trilogy – beginning with Bardugo’s 2012 debut that lends the show its title – it also folds in elements of Six Of Crows and its follow-up novel Crooked Kingdom. Confused? Don’t worry: it’ll all become clear once you take the plunge into Ravka, the show’s Imperial Russianinspired alternate-world setting.
East vs. west, the Industrial Revolution and steampunk themes all contribute to this hugely imaginative universe. “It takes place in a world where some people have magic powers, some people don’t, and the whole world seems to be at war,” explains 25-yearold newcomer Jessie Mei Li, who plays the show’s lead, Alina Starkov. “There’s lots of different stories that kind of come together and create something which is new, but feels familiar.”
FOLD WAR
Amid all the chaos, orphaned cartographer Alina begins to train with an elite magical army known as Grisha, wrestling with her own light-summoning powers that she’s only just starting to understand. “In the books, and in the show, when we meet Alina, she’s unsure of herself, she’s wary, she’s skittish. She doesn’t trust people,” says the actor. Her one true soulmate is childhood friend Mal (Archie Renaux). “They’re two people who balance each other out, support each other no matter what, and will go to the ends of the earth for each other,” says Li. “Mal is Alina’s moral compass.”
Yet their relationship is but one element of Heisserer’s take on
Bardugo’s world of monsters and magic, where realms are divided by a swath of darkness called the Shadow Fold, which contains a host of demonic creatures, including the Volcra. With Ravka’s neighbouring nations – such as Shu Han – also in the mix, it’s a daunting world to step into, though Heisserer makes no apologies for refusing to dumb down Bardugo’s fantasy.
“You don’t want to shy away from the language of this world, whether it be names of places, or people or currency, whatever the case is,” he explains. “The good watermark for us is… were this, say, a medical show, where doctors might be throwing around medical terminology the general public isn’t aware of, would that be permissible? And if so, then let’s make sure whatever jargon we throw around is like that – the audience doesn’t necessarily bump on it.”
WRITE TRACK
Heisserer is part of a six-strong writing team, while Lee Toland Krieger (Riverdale) is the show’s tone-setting director. However, fans will be relieved to learn that Bardugo has remained heavily involved and is credited as an executive producer. “She was the first person to hear our episode and season pitches,” says the showrunner. “She was involved in everything from casting to costuming to set design. And I even put her in the show - she has a cameo [in Episode 3].”
Speaking of casting, Shadow
And Bone is largely fleshed out with up-and-comers, although Westworld’s Ben Barnes features as General ‘Darkling’ Kirigan, a military leader looking to use Alina and her powers for his own ends. Look out, too, for the estimable Zoë Wanamaker. When it came to Alina, Heisserer and Bardugo took a different route from the books, deciding the character was half-Shu – which led them to Li, who has an English mother and Hong Kong-Chinese father.
“When drilling down to the core themes of the books, we found so many of the characters had a key thematic question: Where do I belong?” says Heisserer. “And in exploring that, I wondered how we could make it a more visceral or compelling concern for Alina.” The notion immediately clicked with Li. “It’s been a problem for me in my whole life,” she says, “[and for] lots of people I know, who are dual-heritage, or even firstgeneration immigrants. You don’t even know where you fit in.”
Heisserer couldn’t be happier to have Li leading the show (which shot mostly in Budapest). “Jessie is ridiculously smart,” he smiles. “She taught herself Hungarian faster than anybody else on the show. Just so she could tell jokes to the crew!” Hungarian wisecracks aside, she’s pretty quick on pinning down the appeal of Shadow And Bone, too. “I don’t feel this show is YA at all,” she says. “People of my age will enjoy it, as will those in their thirties and forties. I think it’s pretty universal.” James Mottram
SHADOW AND BONE IS AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX FROM 23 APRIL.
‘SO MANY OF THE CHARACTERS HAD A KEY QUESTION: WHERE DO I BELONG?’
ERIC HEISSERER