A Series Of Unfortunate Events is probably Netflix’s next big series, not least because after a little time away doing stage work and reminding us he’s a national treasure, Neil Patrick Harris is back. And in a lot of disguises, no less!
If you’re unfamiliar with the series, it follows the Baudelaire children, whose parents pass away in a fire and find themselves dealing with their uncle, Count Olaf, a homicidal supervillain who will stop at nothing to bump off the kids and collect their family fortune. The books have a lot of fun with the cheesy Victorian adventure story tropes that drive the plot, including author Daniel Handler spoofing his own role as the omniscient narrator. There’s a reason his pseudonym on the books is Lemony Snicket.
The series itself has a suitable mock-Gothic vibe and sense of unreality, right down to Patrick Warburton playing Snicket. The series, like the books, seems to have a nice degree of self-awareness; one clip from the trailer has Olaf admit he’s mostly doing this because trolling small children in disguises is fun for him. It’ll presumably be fun for us, as well, but we’ll find out soon enough. Netflix will premiere the show on Friday, January 13.
(via YouTube)
