Much like previous promos before it, today’s new trailer for Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events begins with a warning: “If you are interested in a story with a happy ending, that story is streaming elsewhere.” Those of you familiar with the Baudelaire saga will likely agree, of course – what with its whimsical cruelty and the seemingly unending sense of hopelessness, Daniel Handler’s novel series is a far cry from a warm and fuzzy feel-good hit.
But rather than shy away from the bleak, morose tone, Netflix has embraced A Series of Unfortunate Events with two open arms, engineering a quirky new original series that welcomes Neil Patrick Harris as the dreaded Count Olaf. For a character who has seemingly endured a torrid childhood, Harris’ ghastly nemesis makes no bones about making the lives of his newly adopted children – Violet (Malina Weissman), Klaus (Louis Hynes), and baby Sunny – miserable from the get-go, ordering them to work in an industrial factory from no age.
It’s all part of his wicked plan to steal the family inheritance, and though Netflix’s marketing spiel is consistently warning us to avert our gaze – in a meta, reverse psychology kinda way – we can’t wait to see how the show unfolds.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events will be told across eight episodes in total, all of which will premiere via Netflix on January 13. Also on board are Patrick Warburton (Lemony Snicket), Alfre Woodard (Aunt Josephine), Catherine O’Hara (Dr. Orwell), K. Todd Freeman (Mr. Poe) and Aasif Maandvi (Uncle Monty).
Based on the internationally best-selling series of books by Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) and starring Emmy and Tony Award winner Neil Patrick Harris, A Series of Unfortunate Events recounts the tragic tale of the Baudelaire orphans — Violet, Klaus, and Sunny – whose evil guardian Count Olaf will stop at nothing to get his hands on their inheritance. The siblings must outsmart Olaf at every turn, foiling his many devious plans and disguises, in order to discover clues to their parents’ mysterious death.