Everyone by now is well aware that Netflix is turning the 13-part book series A Series of Unfortunate Events into an epic original show. And, we’re not that fussed … we’re not really that bothered … no feels here …
The first film adaptation in 2004 was fantastic! The film condensed the first three books (The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window) into one story, and did so with the intention of creating a franchise similar to that of Harry Potter. However, the film failed to hit its numbers and make the expected revenue; therefore, Paramount never proceeded with the film series.
Apparently, the film didn’t impress as many fans as they predicted – perhaps, condensing the books wasn’t the greatest idea. So, the prospect of a fleshed out TV series is probably why everyone is so behind Netflix on this one. Fewer details will be left out in the Netflix series, which was a mark that the film failed to hit with book lovers.
Now, for as long as this news has been rapidly spreading, fans have been speculating who will replace Jim Carrey as the infamous Count Olaf.
A few days ago, IMDb confirmed that none other than Neil Patrick Harris would be undertaking the role of this quirky villain.
This isn’t the first time Harris has played a charming villain: he played Dr. Horrible in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along. Granted, it’s a little less monstrous and a little more camp, but there is still a similar theatrical evil as is seen with Olaf. As seen in the picture above, Harris’s version of Count Olaf is a lot heavier on the forehead than Carrey’s and looks far dourer, which, admittedly, is a truer physical representation in many ways – just look at any of the illustrations from the novels.
I, personally, loved Jim Carrey’s take on Olaf and I thought he was perfect for the role, but I’m excited to see what Harris does with the character, too.
Alongside Neil Patrick Harris, a few co-stars have been named. Portraying the Baudelaire children, Violet and Klaus, are Malina Weissman and, newcomer, Louis Hynes. The youngest Baudelaire, Sunny, is yet to be cast. Both have a striking resemblance to the original actors and fans are delighted as they, too, appear perfect for the roles.
The only real remaining query fans have now is, how will the books be split across the series? Unlike that of Game of Thrones, which draws every season from gigantic novels with a lot of material to manipulate, no one expects there will be 13 seasons of A series of Unfortunate Events – one for every book. The ASOUE books are far too small and the story is too straightforward to drag it out as much. At most, there may be five seasons and more than one book will have to be condensed into each season. However, in show format, this will be more successfully executed than it was in a two-hour film. Or, perhaps, the show writers will add characters and side plots to bulk out the show a bit more – I think this is unlikely, though. I believe Netflix is more about quality over quantity.
Either way, every 20-something who grew up reading the ASOUE books currently looks like this whenever anyone mentions the Netflix adaptation. We are all The Littlest Elf right now!
This Netflix Original Series airs August 2016.
Let us know in the comments what you think of all of this! Are the casting choices right for you? Do you have any suggestions as to how the adaptation should condense the novels? Are you excited, or are you worried that this revival will just be a series of unfortunate events in itself? Tell us!
