Shadow and Bone overwhelmingly wins Rotten Tomatoes poll for the best series of 2023

Last year, Netflix canceled the fantasy drama Shadow and Bone after its second season, cutting short what Netflix had once planned to be a multi-show cinematic universe. Fans of the series, which was based on the books by Leigh Bardugo, were upset, but there was little they could do about it.

Little, but not nothing. Fans made their position plain by overwhelmingly electing Shadow and Bone their favorite TV show of 2023 in a new Rotten Tomatoes poll, which was held from January 9th to 19th. Shadow and Bone received a whopping 54% of the vote, easily claiming the number one spot. The other shows with enough votes to make it into the top five — in descending order: The Last of Us; Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; The Bear; and Star Trek: Picard — received only 4% of the total vote apiece.

Now, obviously this is one poll on a single (albeit large and popular) website; it doesn't mean Netflix is going to bring back Shadow and Bone. But clearly the fans will be heard.

Of all the shows that Netflix canceled in 2023, Shadow and Bone was the most-watched, with the first and second seasons clocking almost 300 million watch hours between them. Still, that was only enough to make Shadow and Bone the 26th most watched Netflix series for the first half of the year, which may not have been cost-effective given the show's high price tag.

In addition to canceling Shadow and Bone, Netflix also pitched a planned spinoff based on Bardugo's Six of Crows books.

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