It might have descended into the hyperbolic on occasion, but Netflix users have every reason to be fearful for the fate of any popular series as more time passes without any concrete news on a potential renewal. We’re now 76 days removed since the premiere of season 2, and yet the status of Shadow and Bone remains up in the air.
While the streaming service has a habit of taking its time when deciding whether or not an in-house episodic original will live or die, the data doesn’t paint the most encouraging picture. After all, additional runs for The Night Agent, The Diplomat, and Vikings: Valhalla were all announced less than two weeks after the most recent batch dropped, but we’re closing in on three months of nothingness for the GrishaVerse.
Looking back to Lockwood & Co. – the last high-profile fantasy cancellation to throw users into dismay – there was a period of 105 days between Joe Cornish’s supernatural detective caper arriving on Netflix and the confirmation that it was the latest in a long line of one-and-done efforts, so time might still be on the side of Shadow and Bone.
On the other hand, wouldn’t the higher-ups be keen to reveal fresh content is coming down the pipeline sooner rather than later? The fandom has become so concerned that they’ve resorted to playing season 2 on repeat in an attempt to try and trick the number-crunchers that it’s gathering up massive viewership hours, but there are absolutely no guarantees it’ll prove to be worth it in the long run.
Pessimistic? Sure, but history has not been on the Netflix fantasy genre’s side.