Netflix has acquired the rights to the popular young adult novels A Series of Unfortunate Events to turn into a live-action series. While this seems surprising to fans of the stories, this is a win-win for the studios involved. Netflix is looking to round out its original programming, from kid-friendly animation Turbo Flash to adults-only Orange is the New Black. Paramount, who will be fast-tracking the series, was also responsible for the unpopular 2004 movie starring Jim Carrey. Snicket will remain an executive producer of the series, and a slower and more character-based adaptation could stay truer to the novels’ gothic tone.
For those unfamiliar, Lemony Snicket (a nom de plume for Daniel Handler) chronicles the misadventures of the orphans Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. Across 13 books readers were treated to dark, witty narration by the fictional Snicket and a complex conspiracy plot involving the children, their scheming uncle Count Olaf, and a mysterious organization known as the V.F.D. The series has been translated into 43 languages, sold over 65 million copies, and won multiple literary awards.
From Deadline: “I can’t believe it,” Snicket said, from an undisclosed location. “After years of providing top-quality entertainment on demand, Netflix is risking its reputation and its success by associating itself with my dismaying and upsetting books.” Netflix went on to say, “Mr. Snicket’s participation will be limited, given his emotional distress, but the project has the full involvement of his legal, literary and social representative Daniel Handler, who is often mistaken for him.”