“Cursed” is a new Netflix series starring Katherine Langford and is a twist on the legend of King Arthur.
So let’s dive into some trivia about the new series.
- Cursed is an American fantasy drama web television series
- It is based on the illustrated novel of the same name by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler
- The series premiered on Netflix on July 17, 2020
- Writing for Deadline, Nellie Andreeva describes Cursed as “a re-imagining of the Arthurian legend, told through the eyes of Nimue, a young heroine with a mysterious gift who is destined to become the powerful (and tragic) Lady of the Lake. After her mother’s death, she finds an unexpected partner in Arthur, a young mercenary, in a quest to find Merlin and deliver an ancient sword. Over the course of her journey, Nimue will become a symbol of courage and rebellion against the terrifying Red Paladins, and their complicit King Uther”
- In another piece on that site, Andreeva calls the show “a coming-of-age story whose themes are familiar to our own time: the obliteration of the natural world, religious terror, senseless war, and finding the courage to lead in the face of the impossible”
- On March 28, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes
- The show is based on the upcoming novel of the same name by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler that had itself been announced a week prior and was expected to be published by Simon & Schuster in 2019
- The book, an illustrated young adult novel entitled Cursed, was set to have Wheeler write the story and Miller provide the illustrations
- In addition to creating the television adaptation, Miller and Wheeler were also expected to executive produce the series as well
- On September 12, 2018, it was announced that Zetna Fuentes is set to direct
- And serve as an executive producer for the first two episodes of the series
- In September 2018, Katherine Langford was cast in the series’ lead role
- In March 2019, it was announced Devon Terrell, Gustaf Skarsgård, Peter Mullan, Lily Newmark, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Daniel Sharman, Sebastian Armesto, Emily Coates and Billy Jenkins had joined the cast
- In January 2019, set building began on disused Army land in Deepcut, England
- This was expected to continue until March 2019
- With filming then scheduled to start and continue until September 2019
- Cursed has received generally positive reviews from critics
- With praise going to its plot, visuals and Langford’s performance, though some criticism has been aimed at the writing
- Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an an approval rating of 70%
- Based on 27 reviews
- With an average rating of 6.19/10
- The website’s critics consensus states, “Cursed’s first season isn’t as subversive as its source material, but strong plotting and a heroic performance from Katherine Langford make for an enjoyable escape”
- Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the show a score of 57 out of 100
- Based on 8 reviews
- Indicating “mixed or average reviews”
