If you want to watch a miserable tale, Netflix's new original series might be the perfect fit for you. In other words, the trailer for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events was released on October 4. In the trailer, the omniscient, fourth-wall breaking narrator and author Lemony Snicket (Patrick Warburton) warns the viewer of the "low morale" that has befallen the set and advises to turn away as to avoid "the cruel whimsy and whimsical cruelty" of the series. However, just as his persuading fans not to read the books failed, we will ignore him and watch anyway.
For those who are unfamiliar with the books, it follows the Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, who after the death of their parents are sent to live with their distant relative, Count Olaf. The orphans quickly find out Olaf's evil intentions to steal their fortune, and throughout the series, Olaf pursues them as they figure out a conspiracy about their parents' past and deaths. The first book, The Bad Beginning, was released in 1999 and the thirteenth and final book, The End, was released in 2006. In 2004, a film adaptation starring Jim Carrey as Count Olaf hit theaters but did not sit well with fans mostly due to the fact that it attempted to fit the first three books into an hour and a half movie.
The Netflix adaptation looks to be more faithful to the books, with each book being adapted into two one-hour long episodes each. Neil Patrick Harris will be starring as Count Olaf, Malina Weissman as Violet, and Louis Hynes as Klaus. A CGI baby will be used for Sunny due to the series' extended need for a baby and the danger that the Baudelaires are frequently put into. Daniel Handler (the much less exciting real name of Lemony Snicket) is serving as executive producer to ensure that the misadventures of the Baudelaires as depicted as miserably as intended.
On January 13th, 2017, the first season consisting of eight episodes will be available to binge-watch, a word which here means "to watch a ridiculous amount of television in a short amount of time, usually with snacks."
