A Series of Unfortunate Events

The orphaned Baudelaire children face trials, tribulations and the evil Count Olaf, all in their quest to uncover the secret of their parents' death.

A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017-2019) is a Netflix family adventure series created by Barry Sonnenfeld and Daniel Handler, adapted from Handler's novel sequence. Three orphaned siblings, Violet (Malina Weissman), Klaus (Louis Hynes) and baby Sunny (Presley Smith), are shuttled between eccentric and dangerous guardians after a fire takes their parents, and their engine is simple and urgent: stay alive, avoid the grasp of the vain, ever-disguised Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris), and quietly chase the secret behind their family's death. Each episode is built from a new disguise, a new hideout and a new set of adults who fail to listen, with the siblings' inventiveness often their only defense. Patrick Warburton narrates as the mournful author Lemony Snicket, whose asides warn viewers away from the misery to come. The show runs across three seasons and twenty-five episodes, a continuing mystery told in episodic chapters. Its storybook world is deliberately out of time, mixing mid-century cars, gothic mansions and modern gadgetry. The mood is gothic deadpan whimsy: grim, darkly funny and sincere about childhood. Fans of Coraline, Pushing Daisies and the classic Oliver Twist will find resonance here.

Viewers broadly rate the series positively, enjoying its darkly comic gothic tone, inventive narration and fidelity to the source novels' spirit.

• Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)shared offbeat whimsical tone, orphan protagonists and a villain-driven quest structure
• Coralineshared dark whimsy, storybook narration and gothic family adventure
• Oliver Twistshared orphan children facing a scheming adult antagonist in a Victorian-flavored setting
• Pushing Daisiesshared deadpan narration and absurdist comedic darkness aimed at families

Created by

Barry Sonnenfeld, Daniel Handler

Release Date

2017-01-13

Episode runtime

52 min

Rating

7.7 / 10 (1075)

What is A Series of Unfortunate Events about?

Three orphaned Baudelaire siblings are passed from guardian to guardian while fleeing the scheming Count Olaf, trying to uncover the secret behind their parents' death.

What is A Series of Unfortunate Events like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Series of Unfortunate Events as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.

Is A Series of Unfortunate Events violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in A Series of Unfortunate Events as mild.

What did critics think of A Series of Unfortunate Events?

Viewers broadly rate the series positively, enjoying its darkly comic gothic tone, inventive narration and fidelity to the source novels' spirit.

Which shows are like A Series of Unfortunate Events?

Shows with a similar feel include Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Coraline, Oliver Twist, and Pushing Daisies.

How long is A Series of Unfortunate Events?

A Series of Unfortunate Events: 3 seasons, 25 episodes.

Is A Series of Unfortunate Events still running?

No, A Series of Unfortunate Events has ended.

Where can I watch A Series of Unfortunate Events?

In United States, A Series of Unfortunate Events streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.