New Netflix show Shadow and Bone highlights feminine-aligned cast of color, builds on fantasy universe

Ben Barnes, pictured above, is a leading role in Netflix’s “Shadow and Bone” series. While Barnes seems to be getting a ton of attention for his appearance in the first season, other actors including lead Jessie Mei Li are equally talented but less recognized. (Courtesy of Gage Skidmore on Flickr).

Despite the fact that I’ve only been a fan of the Grishaverse for less than three weeks, this fantasy world and its characters have quickly become my latest obsession. This extends to the cast of the Shadow and Bone television series on Netflix. As much as we love the series’ men, we must remember to stan its women, too.

Although I’ve already written about the book, I must talk about Netflix’s adaptation of this story. The show dropped on April 23 and quickly made its way to the top of Netflix’s rankings. The show is based off the hit young adult fantasy book series of the same name by author Leigh Bardugo.

It’s also important to acknowledge that the show incorporates characters from Bardugo’s other bestselling series, Six of Crows (which takes place two years after the end of the third Shadow and Bone book), giving them entirely new backstories that connect to the Shadow and Bone show’s timeline. 

Since the Shadow and Bone show was released, social media has erupted with TikToks, Instagram posts and tweets from readers and new fans. Many of them focused on our talented, very attractive male cast, such as Ben Barnes, Kit Young, Archie Renaux, Calahan Skogman and Freddy Carter—my personal favorite. Even Milo the goat has fans fawning over him and creating a Twitter account—though I think a cast member did it. 

I love our leading men—and goat—as much as any fan, especially since reading the books, but I think our beautiful, badass feminine-aligned cast deserves just as much attention. So, now I’m going to talk about the lovely Jessie Mei Li, Amita Suman and Danielle Galligan. 

There shouldn’t be any major spoilers below for the show or the books, but if you want background on the first book and a rundown of the Grishaverse, check out the article I mentioned above.

First, we need to start with our beautiful Sun Summoner, Alina Starkov—played by Jessie Mei Li, whom many fans absolutely adore. In cast interviews, they’re always smiling and laughing. It’s obvious that Li is the embodiment of light, just like their character. Yet, Li is more than just a ray of sunshine.

Li’s openness to talk about her race, gender and ADHD diagnosis without holding back is an inspiration to many fans. One Twitter user, whose account was later removed, sums it up perfectly, writing, “the fact that an Asian, gender nonconforming, neurodivergent person is playing our Alina that many of us see ourselves in is so inspiring especially because they actively speak out on how these identities have transformed [them] and make us feel seen. I love them.” 

While there has been a greater effort in casting diverse individuals on the screen, it’s still not quite as common. Although the plot centers around Alina’s discovery of her hidden powers that could save the world, Li wanted to make sure that she covered all parts of the character, including the character’s humor and the importance of her race.

“When it came to the things about Alina's race, I just understood it, and I knew how I wanted to play it,” Li told Harper’s Bazaar. “I was so glad that her race is actually talked about, because it could have been a case of [the show] just wanting to up the diversity. But when your story takes place in a country that is at war and the story is about finding where you belong and identity, there is no better way to show that than what they have done.”

In fact, Bardugo discussed how her debut series isn’t as diverse as it should be, especially since many young adult fantasy novels usually portray white casts, something she hoped Netflix would address. 

“And that's something I've tried to improve on as I write, to write more authentically and reflect the people around me in the world, around me more realistically,” Bardugo told NPR. “And I said to Eric [Heisserer, Shadow and Bone showrunner], you know, you guys can do this better than I did. And we talked about how to build this into the story organically. And it really made perfect sense for Alina to be half- Shu because in the books she comes from a border town and the border is constantly shifting, depending on who's winning the war.”

Bardugo’s effort to include more diversity in her books is reflected in her second series, Six of Crows, from which the amazing Inej Ghafa—Amita Suman—is from. For some backstory, Inej is a stealthy spy and assassin for a powerful gang of thieves who holds tight to her faith; however, she’s still struggling to overcome her traumatic past of sexual abuse.

Obviously, Inej is an extremely complex character, and no one is better suited for this role than Suman. She has expressed she feels a responsibility playing this role, especially as a woman of color. 

"From an actress point of view and from a personal point of view, I learned a lot from [Inej],” Suman told Seventeen. “She is someone that always demands equality and honesty. And if she doesn't get it, she's so willing to walk away. And that's something that's really important to practice, no matter what age, skin, color, race, gender, sex, whatever you are. It's always important to fight for your equality. She's given me a voice to do that.”

Despite the seriousness of the role, Suman’s cast interviews portray a kind hearted and funny person. A personal favorite is when she grabs her castmate’s shoe after a frightening prank. Suman is definitely someone I’d love to be friends with, especially since she’s only one year older than me and was a guest star on Doctor Who.

Finally, Danielle Galligan, who plays the feisty Nina Zenik from Six of Crows, is someone that deserves more of the spotlight. Bardugo’s diverse cast also extended to body portrayals. Nina is a powerful, strong and curvaceous Grisha that had been kidnapped by a hot soldier from an enemy country before finding her way to the same group of thieves as Inej. Many fans interpreted Nina as plus sized. 

When Galligan’s casting was announced, many fans responded extremely negatively because they felt Galligan wasn’t curvy enough. Considering that society often feels that average body sizes such as eights can be plus-size, fans had no right to judge Galligan. Yet, she took the hate in stride.

“I’d never been talked about in the media before, at all, so I was just treading water. And of course, I can understand where they’re coming from,” Galligan told EVOKE. “We live in a society where the female experience, and the length and breadth and width of all the different women, aren’t fully represented on screen yet. I have felt restricted in my career and my life, and when I saw Nina I thought, ‘Oh my God, I feel some representation.’”

Galligan absolutely slays as Nina! She captures the flirty yet fierce character well. Due to the nature of Nina’s story, Galligan isn’t in the show as often as Suman and Li. It’s a shame she isn’t in more cast interviews, but one can clearly see how hysterical she is in the same prank video. 

 As much as I’d love to discuss Sujaya Dasgupta—who plays Zoya Nazyalensky—and Daisy Head—who plays Genya Safin, this article’s already gotten extremely long. So, I’ll share this interview from both of them that shows how amazing they are.

Clearly, there are many incredible feminine-aligned cast members of Shadow and Bone. If the brilliant actors haven’t convinced you to watch the show, check out a summary of the show in 60 seconds created by the cast. Then, you should still watch the whole series and can see the women work just as hard as the men to carry the show.