Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

'Netflix' teaser for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events looks brilliant - but is it real?

Forget the 2004 film adaptation, the 13 books were made for a TV serialisation

Daisy Wyatt
Monday 06 July 2015 09:36 BST
Comments
The first teaser for Netflix's adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
The first teaser for Netflix's adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The first teaser for Netflix’s adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events appeared to have been released on Sunday – and it looked like the streaming service had nailed the tone of the children’s Gothic noir.

Featuring beetles running out of a gramophone, dirty plates strewn with maggots, a monster-like creature bearing its teeth in a jar and a huge spider running across a table, the very convincing-looking teaser for the TV series pointed to some seriously creepy action.

Netflix has sought to downplay the release of the clip, with a spokesperson telling Variety that it didn't come from them and was "not anything official".

The short, 35-second clip was uploaded to YouTube by a user called Eleanora Poe, making it certainly appear like a leaked teaser. But discerning readers will remember Poe as the editor of fictitious The Daily Punctilio, who notoriously fires the books’ narrator Snicket for writing a bad review of a play.

A Series of Unfortunate Events was adapted into a film in 2004, with comedian Jim Carrey playing the Baudelaire orphans’ nasty uncle Count Olaf.

Netflix announced a TV series based on the 13 books by Lemony Snicket, the pen name for author Daniel Handler, in November 2014. Whether this week's YouTube video was an untimely leak - or an exceptional piece of fan-made tomfoolery - remains to be seen.

Casting for the series, which is due to debut in 2016, has yet to be announced.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in