Netflix has picked up a second season of its praised fantasy series Shadow and Bone, based on Leigh Bardugo’s bestselling Grishaverse novels. The streamer ordered eight one-hour episodes for Season 2 of the series, which comes from writer Eric Heisserer (Bird Box) and Stranger Things EP Shawn Levy and his 21 Laps Entertainment.
The renewal follows strong viewership numbers for the first season, which was watched by more than 55 million member households in its first 28 days, according to Netflix. The series made the Top 10 list in 93 countries around the world and hit No. 1 in 79 countries including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Russia, Spain, South Africa, and the U.S.
Starring Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov, the cast includes Archie Renaux (Malyen Oretsev), Freddy Carter (Kaz Brekker), Amita Suman (Inej), Kit Young (Jesper Fahey), Ben Barnes (General Kirigan), Danielle Galligan (Nina Zenik) and Calahan Skogman (Matthias Helvar), all set to reprise their roles in Season 2. Additional casting details will be revealed at a later date.
Created, written and executive produced by Heisserer, Shadow and Bone brings together the stories and characters of both Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, two overlapping series that take place in Bardugo’s Grishaverse.
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Shadow and Bone finds us in a war-torn world where lowly soldier and orphan Alina Starkov (Mei) has just unleashed an extraordinary power that could be the key to setting her country free. With the monstrous threat of the Shadow Fold looming, Alina is torn from everything she knows to train as part of an elite army of magical soldiers known as Grisha. But as she struggles to hone her power, she finds that allies and enemies can be one and the same and that nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. There are dangerous forces at play, including a crew of charismatic criminals, and it will take more than magic to survive.
“I’m honored and thrilled to return to the Grishaverse and continue the stories of these endearing characters, particularly Milo,” said Heisserer.
The series falls under the Netflix overall deal for Levy’s 21 Laps. Bardugo also serves as an executive producer on the series, produced by Netflix. Pouya Shahbazian (the Divergent series) also serves as an executive producer alongside Bardugo as well as Levy, Dan Levine, Dan Cohen and Josh Barry for 21 Laps.
“I’ve been writing in the Grishaverse for nearly 10 years now, so I’m thrilled we get to keep this adventure going,” said Bardugo. “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.”
With over 2.5 million copies sold in the English language alone, Bardugo’s Grishaverse books have been translated into 38 languages around the world to date. Following the series launch on Netflix, the Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology returned to bestseller lists worldwide and has spent over a month at No. 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list.
“My 21 Laps colleagues and I are thrilled that audiences around the world can continue to explore the Grishaverse and revel in the epic, unique storytelling of Shadow and Bone,” said Levy. “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. We can’t wait to take viewers on the wild ride that comes next…”
Levy recently expanded his television overall deal and signed a first-look deal for features with the streaming giant. 21 Laps is one of Netflix’s most prolific producers, with numerous series in production and more than 15 additional series and films in active development. In addition to Stranger Things, which is heading into its fourth season, series include docuseries Unsolved Mysteries and upcoming family limited series Lost Ollie.
Along with 10 feature films in development at Netflix, 21 Laps produced a new upcoming horror-thriller film alongside James Wan, There’s Someone Inside Your House, that will be released later this year. Levy also recently wrapped principal photography on The Adam Project, a new film starring Ryan Reynolds that Levy is directing and producing.
Shadow and Bone premiered on April 23 and is currently streaming worldwide on Netflix.
You can watch the renewal announcement below.