Netflix show Shadow and Bone has been cancelled after just two seasons, leaving fans in shock.
Developed by Oscar-nominated writer Eric Heisserer (Arrival, Bird Box), Shadow and Bone was based on the work of author Leigh Bardugo and centres around a young orphan named Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li).
Dark forces conspire against her when she unleashes an extraordinary power that could change the fate of her war-torn world.
Co-starring Ben Barnes (The Punisher) and actors Danielle Galligan (Kin) and Patrick Gibson (The OA), the show ran for two seasons – together scoring an 84 per cent Rotten Tomatoes critics score.
But just months after the second season aired in March this year, Netflix has canned the show, along with its planned spin-off series Six of Crows.
Netflix and other streaming platforms and broadcasters are having to make decisions about which shows they want to carry on making.
The writers and actors strike in Hollywood have caused major disruption this year, but both are now at an end.
The industrial action has led to a rise in production costs though, prompting the likes of Netflix to make some tough decisions about their existing series.
Other factors for the cancellations included how well the shows performed versus how much they cost to make.
And whilst the first season of Shadow and Bone was a huge success, season two didn’t reach the same heights of popularity.
Taking to Instagram, Bardugo said she was “heartbroken and deeply disappointed” by the show’s cancellation.
But she added that she also felt “gratitude” for the adaptation, writing: “Most authors never get to see their work adapted. Many who do end up regretting the experience. I’m one of the lucky few who can look at an adaptation with pride and tremendous joy.”
Fans of the show were unable to hide their devastation at Shadow and Bone being culled by Netflix, with one writing on X: “Netflix cancelled Shadow and Bone, I am cancelling my life. [The] universe is testing me so hard right now. I need Six of Crows.”
Another penned: “Shadow and Bone cancelled… No one speak to me ever again.”
A third added: “Shadow and Bone getting cancelled when we were about to get the Six of Crows is so sick OMG.”
Another user commented: “Waking up to shadow & bone still being cancelled. I was hoping it was all a nightmare I had to wake up from.”
And someone else exclaimed: “So you’re telling me that the cancellation of Shadow and Bone wasn’t a nightmare but a real thing??”
