Fans of author Leigh Bardugo's young adult fiction hit Shadow and Bone were delighted in 2020, when it was announced that the best-seller would be adapted for a Netflix original series.
A year later, it became one of the most intensely viewed shows on the movie-streaming app, with a subsequent, equally-popular series hitting our screens in 2023.
Its premise sees sinister forces plot against a young soldier after she reveals a magical power that may unite her world. It stars the likes of Jessie Mei Li, Archi Renaux, Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Kit Young and Ben Barnes.
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Just months on however, and fans of the show have been dealt the heartbreaking blow that both Shadow and Bone and its planned spin-off series Six of Crows have both been axed by Netflix bosses.
Despite the scripts apparently being ready to go, streaming companies have been assessing their output over the last year or so.
This is a result of the actors' and writers' strikes, which had kicked off in May this year, and finally concluded in September.
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Author Bardugo recently took to Instagram to share the devastating news with her followers, admitting it has left her 'heartbroken and deeply disappointed'.
She wrote in a lengthy statement: "Friends, by now you've probably heard that there will be no season 3 for Shadow and Bone and no Six of Crows spinoff.
"The news hit me hard. I'm heartbroken and deeply disappointed, but I'm also trying to hold onto my very real gratitude.
"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."
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The fantasy writer went on to thank her 'writers, crew, and extraordinary cast who are not just wildly talented, but genuinely good people'.
Bardugo continued: "Most of all, I want to say how grateful I am to the folks reading this - whether you found your way to the books first or discovered them through the show.
"The Grishaverse is a better place because of you and I am so grateful for every tweet, post, comment, review, artwork, fic, tattoo and cosplay that helped to make all of this possible."
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She signed off her post admitting: "I'm going to go have a cry, and maybe a drink, and then see where the story takes us next."
Fans of the show were unable to contain their devastation after learning about the news.
"Netflix cancelled Shadow and Bone, I am cancelling my life. [The] universe is testing me so hard right now. I need Six of Crows," one wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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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."
While a final user commented: "Waking up to shadow & bone still being cancelled. I was hoping it was all a nightmare I had to wake up from."
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV
Rhianna Benson