Shadow and Bone stars react to show's cancellation on Netflix

The cast members of Netflix's Shadow and Bone have shared reactions about the end of the show. Based on Leigh Bardugo's young adult fantasy novel trilogy of the same name, the fantasy television series ran for two seasons. Netflix decided to terminate Shadow and Bone along with its proposed spinoff Six of Crows.

All eight episodes of the first season premiered on April 23, 2021. In June 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, also consisting of eight episodes, which premiered on March 16, 2023.

Following the cancellation, the cast of Shadow and Bone has posted a variety of social media tributes to the programme. Ben Barnes (The Darkling), Kit Young (Jesper Fahey), Archie Renaux (Mal Oretsev), and Jessie Mei Li (Alina Starkov) are the key cast members who have posted about the show. 

“I was so excited to watch the brilliant, beautiful humans I love so much who made Shadow and Bone take this world, their characters and this story onwards,” he wrote. “This part of the journey is sorrowful and I am so proud to have been a part of it,” said Ben Barnes while sharing some behind-the-scenes tidbits, including a video of him rehearsing the various sounds that made the shadowy monsters known as nichevo’ya so fearsome on screen.

Jessie Mei Li aka the Sun Summoner Alina Starkov, posted footage of her screen test for the role in 2019 with the caption, “Shadow and Bone has come to an end. My first big job and I will never forget it. Walking away now towards exciting new horizons with some friends for life! Thanks for watching, Grishaverse.”

Renaux wrote that he “loved working on the show and loved working with everyone involved,” describing his Shadow and Bone experience as a “truly a special time in my life.” While thanking fans for their support, he also noted that he was “sorry to all our writers that won’t be able to share the next chapter in the story.”

Apart from Shadow and Bone, other projects which faced the axe were Glamourous, Agent Elvis, Captain Fall and Farzar which had one season each.