“The Queen’s Gambit” Is Netflix’s Most-Watched Limited Series

November 23, 2020 / Posted by:

The Queen’s Gambit, that show about an orphan chess prodigy who loves poppin’ pills and drinkin’ booze in the swinging sixties, is Netflix’s most-watched limited series ever. In its first 28 days, it has been watched in 62 million households. It stars Anna Taylor-Joy, who you also may recognize (sans floofy red wig) from her starring roles in Emma, Split, and The Witch. Peter Friedlander, VP of Netflix Original Series, detailed the show’s success in a blog post.

He wrote, via Deadline:

“Three years ago when Scott Frank (Godless) first approached us about adapting The Queen’s Gambit – Walter Tevis’ 1983 book about a young chess prodigy – we felt it was a compelling tale. Beth is an underdog who faces addiction, loss and abandonment. Her success – against the odds- speaks to the importance of perseverance, family, and finding, and staying true to, yourself. However, I don’t think any of us could have predicted that The Queen’s Gambit – and the extraordinary Anya Taylor-Joy – would become the global phenomena they are today, or our biggest limited scripted series ever.

Before it was made into a series, there were a few stabs at adapting the book into a film. The most recent attempt involved Heath Ledger. He was set to direct (it would have been his directorial debut), and star alongside Ellen Page as Beth. Production and principal photography were set for late 2008, but it was put on hold after Heath’s death in January of that same year.

Even though I’m terrible at chess (thinking ahead is a bore), I really enjoyed the show. Mostly because I love a good period piece where the sexists are like, “She can’t play chess, she’s a broad!” Then this quiet, unassuming girl moves a pawn twice, is all “CHECKMATE”, and the men’s brains explode. “B-b-but, she ain’t got a dick!” A highly satisfying formula indeed. Oo, also, there’s a pretty good chess montage set to the banger “Classical Gas”:

Pic: YouTube

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