One of Netflix‘s most anticipated original shows of the entire year was finally released to the world on Friday morning. Of course, that series is called Cursed, and Netflix is hoping that it will fill the fantasy void in the hearts of TV fans left wide open by Game of Thrones and The Witcher. What you may not know, however, is that Cursed is actually a take on the world of King Arthur, and it’s an adaptation of a popular novel. If you’re not sure what Cursed is about, or you want just a little more information before diving in, we’ve got you covered.
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Cursed is based on the graphic novel by Tom Wheeler and Frank Miller, which was published in October 2019. The story of the book, and the TV series, is a prequel to the classic Arthurian legend that everyone is familiar with. However, Cursed takes things in a much different direction, focusing on Nimue, the young woman who eventually becomes the Lady of the Lake.
In this version of the story, Nimue is gifted a magical sword (eventually known as Excalibur) by her dying mother, and she’s told to take the sword to Merlin. Until that point, she believed Merlin to be a myth. He’s very real, though, but he works for the king and has lost all of his magic powers. On her journey, Nimue teams up with a sell-sword named Arthur, who is far from a king at this point in time. Nimue finds herself caught up in a war between Fey (magic folk) and the church, and she must take it upon herself to realize the potential of her powers and save her people from eradication.
Nimue, Merlin, and Arthur are obvious names from Arthurian legend that just about everyone knows, but there are others that pop up throughout the series as well. Characters like Gawain don’t show up until a few episodes into the show, while others are initially hidden beneath false identities. The series is deeply rooted in the age-old story of Arthur, but with a new perspective and a lot of new ideas.
For the most part, the Cursed TV series follows the novel pretty closely. After completing the book, Wheeler and Miller began developing the show for Netflix, with Wheeler serving as showrunner, so the duo who initially came up with the idea are the ones actually developing it in a live-action format.
Katherine Langford stars in Cursed as Nimue, and she’s joined by Devon Terrell (Arthur), Gustaf Skarsgard (Merlin), Daniel Sharman (The Weeping Monk), and Shalom Brune-Franklin (Igraine).
The first season of Cursed is 10 episodes in length, so there’s plenty of story to explore from start to finish. At this time, Netflix hasn’t yet announced plans to renew Cursed for a second season. That said, it’s hard to imagine that there won’t be an announcement regarding Season 2 in the near future. The show looks poised to be a hit for the streamer and there are quite a few questions remaining and the end of the season that will need to be answered in future installments.
Are you looking forward to checking out Cursed on Netflix this weekend? Let us know in the comments!
