Cursed, a young adult reimagining of Arthurian legend, is officially the number one show on Netflix.
The first season of Cursed, Netflix’s adaptation of the graphic novel from Tom Wheeler and Frank Miller, dropped this past Friday, and has wasted no time in climbing to the top spot on the streaming giant’s list of the top 10 most-watched shows in the United States, per Forbes. The series reimagines the events of the Arthurian legend as a young adult story. It follows Nimue, aka the Lady of the Lake (Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why), after she receives the legendary sword Excalibur. Arthur, Merlin and all the rest are along for the ride as well, although they may not be the legends you remember.
CURSED (L to R) GUSTAF SKARSGRD as MERLIN in episode 102 of CURSED Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2020
How long will Cursed remain on top? That’s less clear. The show largely had its debut slot to itself, but could now face stiff competition from something like the Bulls documentary series The Last Dance. Still, those two series are pretty different — sports versus fantasy — so even if Cursed is bounced from the top spot, it might not mean fewer people are watching it, just a different set.
Netflix also had a hit late last year with The Witcher, so it looks like its efforts to corner the market on fantasy are working. The Last Kingdom is another great medieval-esque show, although that one is less fantasy and more history.
Critically, the verdict on Cursed is more ambiguous. Critics more or less like it: it has a respectable 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. But its audience score is a dismal 47%.
So is the show good or bad? Happily, we’re reviewing it episode by episode and can give you a definitive answer:
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels