‘Shadow and Bone’ Producer Gives Major Season 2 Update

Shadow and Bone Season 2 is close — “dangerously close,” according to executive producer Shawn Levy. Levy gave fans an update on the Netflix original series during a broad-ranging interview with Collider earlier this month, revealing that the show is very close to beginning its second season. From the sound of it, most of the writing and other behind-the-scenes work is already done.

“Scripts written, heading into production shortly, in great shape, very much favorable to the characters in the world that we built and the Grishaverse that was put on screen in Season 1,” Levy said when asked about Shadow and Bone Season 2. “But building out from there. Eric Heisserer still at the helm as creator, showrunner and getting kind of dangerously close to heading into production.”

Shadow and Bone premiered back in April and was one of Netflix’s biggest hits of the year so far. The show is based on novels by Leigh Bardugo, including the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology. Surprisingly, it has been successful for a fantasy adaptation that made quite a few changes from its source material.

That makes Season 2 all the more exciting for both new fans and book readers. At this point, those who have read the books only have a vague headstart on viewers seeing the story for the first time, as it’s not clear how the added elements from Six of Crows will play into the main storyline.

The show also ended on a massive cliffhanger, making renewal and a prompt second season a virtual necessity. Heisserer previously admitted that he did this on purpose. Asked about the cliffhanger in an interview with Variety, he laughed and said: “It was me daring Netflix not to renew us.”

Still, it’s good to hear that work on the series has moved fast since that is not always the case. In some instances, writers and producers are forced to wait on official contracts and agreements to begin work due to union rules and other factors. For Shadow and Bone to go back into production less than four months after it premiered, the process must have gone pretty smoothly in this case.

Shadow and Bone Season 1 is streaming now on Netflix. Bardugo’s books are available in print, digital and audiobook formats wherever books are sold. So far, there is no word on when Season 2 might premiere.