Not your typical diversity-box-ticked series: Fantasy ‘Shadow and Bone’ strengthens connections to real life

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Teen dramas often perpetuate the notion of non-consensual relationships and lack diversity in their casts and production crew. Popular shows like “Gossip Girl” and “Riverdale” are guilty of overlooking these problems, portraying toxic relationships as normal to younger audiences and influencing their views on healthy relationships and themselves.

Not so with the Netflix fantasy series “Shadow and Bone,” which is based on the book series “Shadow and Bone” and “Six of Crows.” The show, which debuted in April, highlights themes of consent and cultural diversity, attempting to help to combat such problems.

This series details the journey of a 17-year-old orphan Alina as she makes her way through sudden fame and respect with newfound powers as a Sun Summoner, someone who can manipulate sunlight. 

Author Leigh Bardugo wanted this TV series to combat the stereotypical white, heterosexual “Chosen One” stories she grew up reading and watching. When Bardugo wrote “Shadow and Bone,” her writing reflected the stories she grew up reading without  diverse characters. She gained confidence as she wrote and decided that she wished to portray the world around her realistically, adding diversity to future series she wrote. 

This idea is reflected in the character setups for the show adaptation of the book. Instead of casting Alina as Caucasian, as she is in the book, Bardugo changed Alina’s ethnicity to Half-Shu (Shu Han is based on Mongolia and China), a fictional touch that not only adds diversity but also depth to her character development.

Her biracial identity allows the show to capture the microaggressions and racist comments Alina deals with, parallelling the insensitive comments people of color receive in real life. 

Jessie Mei Li, the actress portraying Alina, said to Collider that the inclusion of these instances clarifies why Alina believes she isn’t worthy of being Sun Summoner, something the books fail to address. 

The show also made the conscious decision to have a diverse production team. Bardugo told Popsugar that the executive producer, Eric Heisserer, placed an emphasis on making sure the writers room was just as diverse as the cast, and that characters were treated with “honesty, and respect and sensitivity.” 

Amita Suman, who plays Inej Ghafa, a Suli acrobat, said the production “wasn’t just ticking a diversity box.” Her character’s race was built into her identity and interactions with those around her. 

Another noteworthy difference between the book and the TV series is how the actors took the initiative to address and integrate critical societal issues into the show. For instance, leading actor Ben Barnes, who portrays the Darkling, the antagonist of the series, weaved in the previously absent concept of consent into storylines. 

Instead of heavily romanticizing the unbalanced power roles in a relationship, the show cherishes human decency above drama by portraying Alina as an independent female who resists being pushed around. Alina is given agency as she chooses how to continue her relationships. The seamless inclusion of consent is often overlooked in major TV shows like “Twilight” and “Pretty Little Liars.” 

The unromanticized portrayal of toxic relationships is crucial for promoting healthy interactions in real life. Especially for younger audiences, whose world views are still developing, the recognition of consent and choice can shape the way they communicate with others.  

Sure, “Shadow and Bone” may not be groundbreaking in its approach to telling a story, but the values it examines  go to the core of what it means to be a teen today. The show was unsurprisingly renewed for a second season on Netflix. I’m excited to see what comes next.