Back in October, Spotify announced that it was going to offer 15 hours of audiobooks a month for subscribers. At first, some publishers were worried that it would undercut the profits of the medium, but just a few months later and it looks like Spotify is at the forefront of the explosive growth being experienced by audiobooks. With that in mind, we’re going to rank the top 11 audiobooks currently available on Spotify. 2073o

The audiobook market has been steadily growing, and the fourth quarter of 2023 saw a 14% jump from last year. That’s without Spotify, by the way. Add in that variable and the number jumps to 28%, massive growth indicating more and more people are listening to their books rather than reading them.

Spotify has more than 200,000 books to choose from and listeners have absorbed more than 90,000 individual ones. Spotify, with its 226 million listeners, has been struggling to make a profit with music, so it’s been pushing audiobooks hard. The company convinced all five of America’s biggest publishers to use the platform, and struck deals with many smaller ones as well. Whether this alters the book landscape the way it did with music remains to be seen.

Without further ado, here are eleven of the best audiobooks available to stream right now.

I’m Glad My Mom Died —Jennette McCurdy 5b11g

This bestseller came out in 2022 and made a big splash with its honest writing and candid descriptions of being a child star. It has even more resonance lately with all the eyes on Nickelodeon’s behavior with children in the documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. From addiction to abusive parenting to eating disorders, McCurdy covers it all with courage and humor, and narrates it, too.

A Court of Thorns and Roses — Sarah J. Maas 2f4o56

It’s hard to describe the absolute popularity of these series if you haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing them yourself, but A Court of Thorns and Roses is a great place to start. The easiest way to describe it is as a total retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story, but even that doesn’t begin to describe the absolute majesty of it. These books are stupid popular for a reason. Just be warned, once you’re hooked, they’re hard to step away from.

The Mountain is You — Brianna Wiest 4c6b1h

There are a lot of self-help books out there, but The Mountain is You is definitely having a moment. It deals with one of the most common maladies we face as humans: Self-sabotage. Author Wiest teaches you to recognize negative thoughts and patterns as they happen, and learn to deal with them so you can experience true growth.

Kitchen Confidential — Anthony Bourdain 21543z

Made even more poignant because the book’s brilliant author is no longer with us, Kitchen Confidential is the tell-all that got Anthony Bourdain on the map. Part memoir and part instruction manual, it’s both a deep dive into the culinary industry as well as into the mind of a man who could somehow make cuisine feel both magical, and approachable.

Empire of the Summer Moon – S.C. Gwynne 2j2yr

This Pulitzer Prize-winning book tells the story of the forty-year war between the white settlers of the West and the Comanche Nation, who were viciously murdered and removed from their own land. It’s a fascinating tale of war, expansion, and how America ended up becoming the nation it is today. A must read for history buffs and fans of the old West.

All the Light We Cannot See — Anthony Doerr 643p

A beautiful, heartbreaking tale of two lives caught up in the furor of the Second World War. One is a brilliant German orphan boy who can fix radios seemingly by osmosis, and the other is a young blind girl stuck in a coastal French town under attack by the Allies. It spans generations and reads like warm butter. It hits every human emotion and it’s by far one of the best novels ever written. Don’t believe us? Well, it also won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. An absolute masterpiece.

Shōgun, Parts One and Two 614n27

Shogun is currently experiencing a renaissance. It’s an epic novel by James Clavell about pre-industry feudal Japan and Spotify has it available in two parts. If the name sounds familiar, that’s because it’s currently airing on FX/Hulu, and even better it’s getting incredible reviews. It’s a great time to catch up on the source material, which was originally released in 1975 and has sold more than 15 million copies to date.

The Three-Body Problem — Cixin Liu 1395i

Not many book series have made the type of impact that The Three-Body Problem has made. The first book in a trilogy called Remembrance of Earth’s Past, it was the first book from an Asian author to win the prestigious Hugo Award. It’s also the subject of a buzzy Netflix show and there are plans for movies and more. Time to jump on the bandwagon already.

None of This is True — Lisa Jewell 33y57

British author Lisa Jewell is no stranger to the fiction section, and this latest turn is no different. If you’re in the mood for a thriller, look no further than the story of None of This is True. It’s a dark tale that gets darker with each twist of plot and like many other Jewell books, it’s hard to put down — oops, or in the case of this recording, “stop listening.” Treat yourself to a master of the genre who’s still on top of her game.

The Hobbit — J.R.R. Tolkien 2ho6g

The Hobbit. What else really needs to be said? Whether you’re getting into it for the first time or returning to it after reading it eons ago, this book is like a warm hug from a long-lost friend. It has everything you would want from a fantasy novel and a whole lot you didn’t even know you wanted. Classics are classics for a reason, and this is one of the best. There’s a reason it’s one of the best selling novels of all time.

The Woman in Me — Britney Spears 6cv32

When Britney Spears released The Woman in Me in 2023, it caused such a stir that it completely changed the public’s perception of the pop princess. It’s a monster bestseller, with over two million sold since its release, but it’s also surprisingly well-written and very candid. It also seemed to damage Justin Timberlake, who seemed untouchable from a PR standpoint, and it shed more light on Britney’s tumultuous 2000s period. After all these years, we finally have the full story from the person at the center of it all.

As the year comes to a close, the time has come to reflect on everything that Netflix had to offer.

The streaming titan put out an impressive collection of new projects. The TV series released this year were particularly quite successful. From the faithful adaptations,  to original stories, it’s been a great year for Netflix, and these shows dominated in 2023. 

10. Painkiller 5a1j2w

This scathing drama series chronicles the opioid crisis as it follows Richard Sackler of Purdue Pharma, where OxyContin was first manufactured and distributed nationwide. The show was based on the acclaimed New Yorker article by Patrick Radden Keefe, and Barry Meier’s novel covering the crisis. 

9. Castlevania: Nocturne 1i5v49

Netflix’s announcement of a sequel to the original Castlevania series was met with extreme excitement, and thankfully, the follow-up did not disappoint! Nocturne is set during the French Revolution, and follows Richter Belmont, the descendant of Trevor and Sypha Belmont. Together with his friend Maria, and a former slave named Annette, they fight the forces of evil as a new threat emerges, the Vampire Messiah. 

8. Beef 576m71

Ali Wong and Steven Yeun had audiences letting out primal screams of rage in this comedy-drama series. The pair star as strangers who get involved in a sprawling beef after a road rage incident. The show tackled themes of rage, race, classism, and more in a funny, yet poignant manner that resonated with viewers. The show would later get shrouded in a major controversy, but fans are ittedly still hoping for a second season.  

7. That ‘90s Show 166640

Fans of That ‘70s Show were initially wary when Netflix announced a sequel about the teenage daughter of Eric and Donna Forman. Thankfully, the show was a success and has been renewed for a second season. It follows Leia Forman as she spends a summer with her grandparents Red and Kitty, and the escapades that she engages in with the other teens in the neighborhood. That ‘90s Show also struck some nostalgia chords by bringing back the original series’ stars (though not Danny Masterson, for obvious reasons) for some comedic cameos.

6. One Piece 3o5d1i

Live-action anime adaptations have historically been more misses than hits. However, Netflix managed to knock it out of the park with their adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s iconic anime, One Piece. The show follows aspiring pirate Monkey D. Luffy who dreams of becoming the King of the Pirates. He sets off in search of the legendary One Piece treasure, assembling his crew and evading pirate-hunters. The adaptation was well received, with praise going to its cast and special effects. 

5. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story 2c3x54

Netflix once again struck gold with the third entry in the highly acclaimed period romance, Bridgerton. The prequel limited series follows Queen Charlotte at age 17, and her arranged marriage with King George. Despite neither party being enthusiastic about the union, they grow closer as they face multiple challenges as Charlotte rises to prominence. In usual Bridgerton fashion, there were marvelous exclamations of love, emotionally gripping moments, and steamy scenes!

4. All The Light We Cannot See k6z6r

Based on the Pulitzer-winning novel of the same name, this miniseries was a huge hit on Netflix. The four-part series follows Werner, a young German soldier as he begins to question his beliefs on the war when he starts listening to a radio show hosted by Marie-Laure, a blind French girl. The show transcends borders and time as we see the trajectory of their lives and how they intersect. 

3. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off 201v29

The Scott Pilgrim comic series, as well as the cult classic 2010 film are widely beloved. The 2023 animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a retelling of Scott’s story, following most of the same plot beats and battles against Ramona’s exes. Released to critical acclaim, the series reunited the cast of the live-action to voice the characters. This made for an even more exciting series filled with hilarious and absurd events that is sure to be a great watch for old and new fans alike. 

2. The Fall of the House of Usher 6s6k44

Fans of horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan were obsessed with his Edgar Allan Poe-inspired Netflix series this year. The miniseries revolves around Roderick Usher, the prestigious and corrupt CEO of a pharmaceutical empire, as his heirs begin to mysteriously die. Following an interview format, we see Usher recount the events that led to his success and demise in this chilling series. 

1. Blue Eye Samurai 332b32

Blue Eye Samurai has been making waves for its impressive animation and story. Set in the Japanese Edo period, the animated series follows Mizu, a half-white Samurai who had been discriminated against all her life for being mixed-race. After the death of her mother, she sets off on a quest of vengeance to hunt down the four remaining white men in Japan, knowing that one of them must be her father. With a compelling plot, striking visuals, and superb voice acting, Blue Eye Samurai wasted no time in becoming a hit!

Halloween has ed, and Netflix has been taking things slow for the past week — or at least that’s what it feels like. Lately, the platform hasn’t made any life-altering changes to its library and that’s not necessarily bad — it just means that you might need to settle for less. Or at least make peace with the lackluster content that has been put out, as was the case for the action film, Wingwomen.

Thankfully, if you’re a fan of films and shows that are so bad that they’re good, Netflix has a basket full of options for you. From Damsel to Hurricane Season, there are plenty of shows and films proudly embracing their mediocrity for a fun watch. Nonetheless, we still have some gossip to share as the Snyderverse once again says goodbye to a project. Unexpected, but there’s still a light at the end of the tunnel for Snyder fans.

Wingwomen finally reaches the platform, expectedly becoming a ginormous success 5qc4g

We’ve long been campaigning for the success of Wingwomen. Following the absolute powerhouses hailing from Spain and South Korea, it was only obvious that the female-led action movie from would receive the same treatment. The only difference is that, unlike Lupin, Wingwomen is has been deemed mediocre and lackluster. Let’s be honest, that doesn’t seem to matter though because it is by far the biggest movie premiere of the week. Allons-y, – take two.

The Snyderverse says goodbye to Army of the Dead for good but Rebel Moon isn’t going anywhere 216x1w

One could have never imagined that Army of the Dead, backed by the likes of Netflix and Zack Snyder, would be on the list of casualties in the future. If Netflix can pride itself on anything, it’s at being absolutely unexpected — and that it has been. The zombie blockbuster film was destined to be one of the platform’s biggest original movies, with an entire universe planned for the future, but sadly, it was scrapped before it could even produce a tangible result.

In a positive twist in the Snyderverse news, however, Rebel Moon was confirmed to be a part of the Army of the Dead universe, and it is surely not expected to go anywhere anytime soon. Any fans expecting to see the actual results of this new spiderweb of zombie entanglements will need to settle for Rebel Moon, Army of Thieves, and Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas. Hopefully, Twilight of the Gods will get the memo, and persevere.

Damsel is the original blockbuster that never saw the light of day… until now 5b4s36

A long, long time ago, we heard of a mythical Millie Bobby Brown dragon-slaying epic that was in the works. Until it wasn’t. Back in March, it was officially removed from release calendars, with little hope for fans. But good news comes to those who wait, and the world has finally received confirmation that Brown is returning for Damsel.

The timely announcement comes right after Stranger Things day has ended, surprising fans with the unexpected but welcome news that no one saw coming – but they ended up here anyway. Even if you have to wait until 2024.

Hurricane Season becomes the one mystery thriller on the platform to debut as a flop 6j1d46

We’ve all seen Haunting of the Hill House, Lupin, Dark, and How to Get Away With Murder. What do they have in common, you might ask? Well, they are all mystery thrillers backed by the largest streaming platform of all time. And yet, Hurricane Season is defying the successful pattern created by Netflix by achieving the unachievable: Never debuting in the top 10 since its release on Nov. 1. At least the show can pride itself on carrying a legacy never achieved before.

All the Light We Cannot See is this week’s top selection all over the world 67273e

We can at least end Wednesday with some good news: All the Light We Cannot See was the undeniable front-runner of this week’s episodic Olympics. Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the series just arrived on Netflix, and whether it was due to lackluster contenders or the fact that it managed to build a fanbase, it became the most-watched show of the week, notching 37.6 million views. It might make a good November watch, if you can overlook the Rotten Tomatoes score.

Having become virtually bulletproof from critics, Netflix has settled into a groove of sending out exclusive and expensive original titles that more often than not take an absolute pasting from critics, but can be relied upon to succeed where it really counts by racking up significant viewing figures.

This week, the streaming service has offered a two-for-one deal, with its number one most-watched English-language movie and TV show both suffering from near-identically terrible reviews, which has obviously done nothing to dissuade subscribers that sinking their time into either – or both – was worth it.

On the feature-length front, trashy thriller Locked In may have failed to defeat equally-mundane French actioner Wingwomen to claim the overall top spot, but 28.8 million hours viewed and 17.8 million views still put it miles ahead of every other new arrival to have hit the library over the last week bar one.

Meanwhile, Shawn Levy’s bungled adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning novel All the Light We Cannot See easily crushed the episodic competition on every front, notching 37.6 million and 9.8 million across the aforementioned metrics. The two couldn’t be more different in virtually every way, but one thing they do share is a terrible Rotten Tomatoes score.

Locked In has topped out at 24 percent on the aggregation site, barely ahead of the World War II epic’s 23 percent. Just as panned as each other, they’ve done what the majority of tedious Netflix originals do anyway, and wasted no time in reaching the summit of the charts.

A combination of television’s ongoing Golden Age and the streaming era may have undoubtedly combined to make episodic storytelling more cinematic than ever, but at the end of the day it’s still TV. Don’t say that to Shawn Levy, though, because he can’t seem to reconcile with that fact.

The executive producer and occasional director of Netflix’s behemoth Stranger Things has repeatedly offered that the cultural juggernaut is cinema, overlooking the obvious fact it’s split into individual chapters that coexist to form an overarching story arc commonly referred to as “a season.”

And yet, despite his latest offering All the Light We Cannot See being listed among the streaming service’s “Series” section and consisting of four episodes, in an interview with People he once again couldn’t wrap his head around the concept of directing a TV show.

“I wanted to approach it like a long movie, in this case, a four-hour movie. It looks unlike anything I’ve ever made. The performances have a very different tone than anything I’ve made. It’s a straight-up period drama.”

While the production values, cinematography, visual effects, and no doubt the budget are easily comparable with a feature film, if All the Light We See wanted to be a movie then it probably would have been seeing as the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel won’t have been short of suitors since first being published.

Levy is currently working on Deadpool 3, which is very much a movie because it’s a single contained tale set to be released exclusively in theaters, but he’ll also be directing an episode of Stranger Things 5, which is a TV show. Just don’t expect him to say that out loud when it finally arrives, though.

There’s no harm or shame in any filmmaker seeking to break out of their comfort zone and expand their horizons, but there wasn’t really any evidence to prove that Shawn Levy had what it took to successfully direct Netflix’s four-part adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning novel All the Light We Cannot See, either.

His filmography largely consists of effects-driven escapades that play to a broad audience, not to mention his previous small screen experience being mostly restricted to family-friendly favorites like The Secret World of Alex Mack, Animorphs, The Famous Jett Jackson, forgotten DC adaptation Birds of Prey, and of course Stranger Things.

Unfortunately, looking at current Rotten Tomatoes approval ratings of just 23 and 55 percent from critics and audiences, the Deadpool 3 director’s first foray into prestige drama has not been a successful one, which makes it a shame that he itted to People he was only planning to helm an episode before he became convinced he was the only person for the job.

“When I read the first draft of the first episode of the adaptation, my plan was to produce the show, maybe direct an episode. But after I read it, I knew I needed to do it all myself.”

All the Light We Cannot See does boast some sumptuous visuals and several stellar performances from its ensemble cast, but the narrative and thematic shortcomings are nothing if not glaring. Some people just aren’t cut out for drama, and the consensus is beginning to form that Levy is one of them.

A live-action adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel backed by the biggest streaming service in the business that features a pair of eminently successful and heavily-renowned talents steering the ship from behind the camera sounds like a slam dunk on paper, but Netflix’s All the Light We Cannot See is anything but.

The platform generally holds off on review embargoes for its highest-profile originals until the second they premiere, but opting to open the doors on reactions to the episodic epic inspired by Anthony Doerr’s acclaimed novel of the same name months before its release has proven to be a catastrophic decision on Netflix’s part after the four-part wartime miniseries took an absolute pasting from all corners.

At the time of writing, All the Light We Cannot see holds an embarrassing 23 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, not quite what anybody was wanting, hoping, or expecting from a blockbuster exclusive helmed by Free Guy and Deadpool 3‘s Shawn Levy, with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight on scripting duties.

Obviously, being unanimously panned has never stopped any Netflix film or television title from making an immediate splash on the viewership charts, but that’s about the only front on which the ill-judged adaptation has managed to succeed.

Per FlixPatrol, All the Light We Cannot See had debuted as the number one most-watched TV show on the worldwide charts, having reached the very top in 54 countries and cracked the Top 10 in upwards of 30 more, but it would have been a much better outcome were it not so crushingly disappointing.

The Holidays can only go one of two ways for fans of film and TV: you’re either even busier than normal and have even less time to watch old and new additions to your watchlist, or you’re actually freer than usual, cuddling up in bed with a warm blanket and some hot tea, about to click on that Netflix icon.

While we’re pretty sure most of us fall into the former category, just in case you’re part of the latter, we’re bringing you all the freshest Netflix treats to lead you smoothly into the year. From a less-than-ideal new release, the coveted return of a South Korean horror staple after three years, to the world’s second-biggest superhero franchise and a good ol’ British crime mystery, chilly November, December, and January are looking stacked for Netflix enjoyers.

The great Warner Bros. – Netflix pilgrimage continues, as DC’s failed attempt at a cinematic universe makes its way to the TUDUM platform 543e

The licensing deal between Warner Bros. and Netflix, which has seen multiple high-profile titles the latter’s catalog, has just gotten wilder. The studios that own Netflix’s main competitor, Max, seem to have forgone exclusive rights to most of the movies in the DC Extended Universe, presumably in favor of giving them a second chance at life on the neighboring platform.

Netflix has announced that, come Dec. 1, Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League (not the Zack Snyder one), Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman: 1984, AND The Suicide Squad are all going to be available to stream for its 247.2 million paid subscribers, who must probably be questioning the worth of their Max hip right about now. That is, if they even have one.

Fair enough; lending Netflix the likes of Ballers, Band of Brothers, and Insecure is one thing, but the cinematic universe of one of two leading comic book brands on Earth is a completely different ballgame. What’s next, Game of Thrones and Succession?

Not every Netflix was particularly fond of the news. The unrelenting Zack Snyder fandom, which has been begging the red streamer to buy the Snyderverse and give it continuity, was left feeling understandably betrayed; not only were their wishes ignored, but Warner Bros. didn’t even give Netflix the permission to stream the Snyder cut version of the disgraced Justice League.

Three years after premiering, a South Korean streaming pioneer gets a Season 2 date 516d1d

If you think the Stranger Things hiatuses were long, just count your blessings that you’re not a Sweet Home fan. The Netflix show premiered all the way back in 2020 to acclaim and a groundbreaking reception that made it the first Korean-language original to make the platform’s U.S. Top 10.

The apocalyptic horror wouldn’t be renewed until 18 months later, and has only now received a release date for its coveted second season. The zombie residents of the Green Home apartment complex are finally dragging themselves back to screens worldwide on Dec. 1. At least season 3 has already been greenlit as well. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take another three years before we get a glimpse of that as well.

Song Kang is returning as the charismatic protagonist Cha Hyun-soo. Lee Jin-uk, Lee Si-young, Ko Min-si, Park Gyu-young, and more also star.

Ring in the New Year with Harlan Coben’s eighth adaptation for Netflix 1dyd

There is a new Harlan Coben adaptation coming to Netflix at the start of the new year. The eighth of the prolific mystery author’s novels to be turned into an original for the streamer, Fool Me Once is based on the 2016 book of the same name, and centers on Maya Burkett, a former Special Ops pilot, bereaved by the death of her husband Joe. One day she sees him on a nanny cam playing with their daughter, plunging her into a shocking investigation.

The eight-episode series stars Coronation Street‘s Michelle Keegan and Obsession‘s Richard Armitage as Maya and Joe and has been given a Jan. 1 premiere date by Netflix.

Stale World War II drama from Deadpool 3 director finally hits Netflix 5rm4g

The director of Free Guy, The Adam Project, and Deadpool 3 would probably not be your first choice to helm a Nazi-era war drama, and it might be for good reason. Shawn Levy’s All The Light We Cannot See was not exactly embraced by critics after early screenings, and it’s not receiving much love now that it has finally ed Netflix, either.

Taking from Anthony Doerr’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, this four-part limited series has been called “messy,” “silly” and simultaneously “undercooked” and “overwrought.” The story follows Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl who lives with her father in Paris, and Werner Pfennig, a German orphan who gets drafted into the Nazi army. Their separate lives eventually cross.

Despite the source material’s acclaim, this iteration from Levy doesn’t seem to share the same magic. While it currently boasts a 92% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, 26 reviews from professional opinion-makers only rate it at an average of 31%.

Novel adaptations come with their own set of challenges, but Netflix’s adaption of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anthony Doerr’s masterpiece All the Light We Cannot See was going to require more than just two-and-a-half hours of footage.

Set in the 1930s and 1940s, All The Light We Cannot See tells the story of multiple characters, but two above all else: our heroine Marie-Laure, played by newcomer Aria Mia Loberti, and a young boy named Werner, played by German actor Louis Hofmann. Marie-Laure is a young blind French teenager living in Saint-Malo, with her father Daniel (Mark Ruffalo), and uncle Etienne (Hugh Laurie).

Marie-Laure and her father fled to Saint-Malo after the Nazis occupied Paris, forcing them out of their hometown. Werner is a gifted young German radio operator who is recruited by the Nazis to spy on the enemy. In this case, the enemy is Marie-Laure, as she broadcasts a French resistance frequency that becomes the country’s sole source of hope and the enemy’s worst nightmare. 

That’s only a fraction of the story, as an important chunk is also devoted to Ruffalo and Laurie’s respective characters as Marie-Laure’s father and uncle, as well as the infamously coveted and mystical jewel they hold in their possession, known as the Sea of Flames. As such, series director Shawn Levy (Deadpool 3, Stranger Things, Free Guy) decided the only way to tell the story properly was to break it up into a limited series. 

All the Light We Cannot See episode count 1s32o

Unlike other famous novel adaptations such as Brie Larson’s Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV Plus, All the Light We Cannot See bears but four episodes, each coming in at around an hour long. Episodes 2 and 4 are 51 and 53 minutes, respectively, whereas episodes 1 and 3 are 62 minutes.

In the novel, the first act sets the scene of Marie-Laure and her father’s life in Paris before they are forced out. It also gives us a chance to build a rapport with Werner as a young orphan before he’s ultimately recruited by the Nazis. Without this, the remainder of the story would carry far less weight. In the Netflix series, we get most of this information told through flashbacks, with much of the second episode doing this heavy lifting.

Unlike its source material, the Netflix series has been attacked by numerous negative reviews, with many citing a weaker beating heart and the want for poetic emphasis that pervaded every page of the novel. Nevertheless, for fans who have clung to the beloved 2014 novel, there’s nothing quite like seeing your favorite characters come to life on the screen.

All the Light We Cannot See is currently streaming on Netflix.

When he isn’t ing Netflix’s flagship series, Stranger Things, or directing Deadpool 3, Shawn Levy is still extremely busy. While the latter has been delayed due to the AMPTP’s inability to come to with SAG-AFTRA, the filmmaker will release another television series — All the Light We Cannot See, the four-part miniseries covers interlinking storylines during World War II.

Based on the critically acclaimed book by Anthony Doerr, the story is a fictionalized version of a true story. After invades Paris, a blind French girl, Marie-Laure LeBlanc, takes refuge in Saint-Malo, where the real-life battle commences. The Netflix series will tell the story throughout four episodes, demonstrating the characters’ perseverance during incredible odds. Carrying this show on her shoulders is the relatively unknown Aria Mia Loberti in the role of Marie-Laure. Though this is her first official onscreen credit, she has an interesting story to tell.

Filmmakers decided on a fresh face 285z6

When casting started for All the Light We Cannot See, Levy had an open mind but quickly realized there was only one way to portray Marie-Laure. The female lead of the story is blind, a significant aspect of the character. Levy told CBS News that it soon became apparent that applying sensitivity to the material was the correct direction.

“I had this gnawing suspicion that the right way to do this and the best way to do this was to do it with an actress, or a non-actress who is new to acting, but who brought the experience that Marie, the character, lives with. And that meant a low-vision or blind candidate. And we saw hundreds and hundreds, and Aria rose to the top.”

Loberti was new to acting but sent in an audition on video, and the rest is history. At the time, she had been pursuing a career in academia but felt something was missing. Having a career in the arts did not seem practical since there were not many roles for people who were blind. But when she learned about the audition, she threw her hat in the ring. Not necessarily believing she would get the part, she would soon be surprised. She was what they were looking for and brought authenticity to the project, telling Netflix that she “wanted this character to be an authentic portrayal of a young girl growing up to become a young woman who’s blind — that’s important for me to bring to the screen.”

But the most important point is that being blind isn’t the definition of who the character is or who Loberti is either. Despite what she had been led to believe — that being in Hollywood wasn’t possible — she defied everyone’s expectations. And though Marie-Laure is in the middle of a warzone, she doesn’t let being blind define her either.

Throughout a career that’s yielded billions upon billions of dollars at the box office and will next deliver the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first R-rated entry in Deadpool 3, drama has been an alien concept to Shawn Levy as a filmmaker. Fair play to the director for attempting to broaden his horizons, but Netflix’s limited series All the Light We Cannot See – which premieres on Nov. 2 – states a compelling case for why he’s been so averse to hard-hitting and weighty material.

The four-part adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Anthony Doerr has no shortage of pedigree on either side of the camera, with Levy having been one of blockbuster cinema’s go-to guys for almost two decades, with the scripts being handled by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, never mind the impeccable production design and lavish visuals that are par for the course when it comes to the streaming service’s high-profile original output. And yet, the end result manages to be both undercooked and overwrought at the exact same time.

Of course, the finest filmmakers are more than capable of switching genres at ease, but never once does All the Light We Cannot See give off the impression that Levy has a future outside of his effects-heavy wheelhouse, with the saccharine sentimentality being ladled on thick at the expense of building character, while those with an affinity for the source material won’t be best pleased with some of the artistic and creative license that’s been applied.

Newcomer Aria Mia Loberti gives a good of herself in what’s her first-ever acting role, though, with the lead playing Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind Frenchwoman living alone in the German-occupied coastal town of Saint-Malo, where she sends out nightly radio broadcasts from the supposed safe haven of an attic, although her literary readings inevitably hold a much greater significance to those who listen.

The second half of the dual-wielding narrative strands follows Louis Hofmann – best known for headlining Netflix’s phenomenal sci-fi series Dark – as German soldier Werner, who finds himself enamored by the broadcasts and the person behind them, despite his duties as part of the Nazi invasion the intent to relay their locations to his superiors so the culprits can be tracked down and eliminated.

Both of the key players in the story are illuminated through their respective backstories, with Marie’s thread zeroing in on the relationship with her now-missing father, played by Mark Ruffalo carrying an accent that’s probably going to be one of the biggest talking points coming out of All the Light We Cannot See, make of that what you will.

Meanwhile, Werner is humanized through his own flashbacks that paint him as somebody sympathetic viewers should be rooting for, despite his complicity in the Nazi’s harrowing campaign across Europe. Supreme evil Nazi Von Rumpel (Lars Eidinger) – who may as well have been ripped from the Indiana Jones franchise – has made it his mission to find Marie under the belief she knows the location of a diamond he’s confident will cure what ails him, while Werner’s growing fondness for the mysterious broadcaster forces him to surreptitiously fight back against his military overlords in an effort to protect her from afar.

It’s an engaging enough story, and obviously an acclaimed one looking at how the novel was greeted, but that simply doesn’t translate to the screen in Levy and Knight’s hands. Some of the resolutions to particular arcs are a little too neat, what should have been huge moments for certain people get glossed over in an attempt to make it onto the next plot point as soon as possible, with a great deal of the book’s nuance and subtlety being tossed out of the window in favor of an overly-familiar, by-the-numbers approach that signposts many of its elements as predictable, regardless of whether or not you’re familiar with its inspirations.

There’s an excellent adaptation buried in here somewhere, but Levy makes it perfectly clear he’s not the one to tell it. The visuals and production design are among All the Light We Cannot See‘s strongest suits without a doubt, but when everything else becomes so increasingly convenient in connecting the dots between everyone’s various journeys and arcs with the minimum of fuss, that superficiality only becomes more pronounced as each new installment progresses.

Good Nazi? Check. Grizzled war veteran overcoming a crippling personal obstacle in the nick of time? In Hugh Laurie’s case as Etienne LeBlanc, check. The two protagonists having an unspoken shared connection that ultimately ties itself to another major character? Check. Super evil Nazis who hammer home that Werner really is a good egg among a bad bunch? Check. Emotionally-resonant monologues dropped with regularity to outline the stakes in expository fashion? Check. All the Light We Cannot See sought to take on a moving, powerful, and uplifting novel through the prism of a big budget TV series, but bar a few minor flourishes and a couple of compelling performances, it’s almost the living definition of “content.”

It’s there, it’s nice to look at, it does everything you expect it to do, and then it ends. It should have been so much more, and could have been in the hands of a different creative team, but it’s hard to imagine it latching onto the consciousness in the same way the novel did, even if it’s guaranteed to spend at least a week or two as one of Netflix’s most-watched originals.

Buzz is building around Netflix’s new four-part drama series All The Light We Cannot See, which drops on Nov. 2. Boasting a star-studded cast including Aria Mia Loberti in her debut role, House star Hugh Laurie, triple Academy Award nominee Mark Ruffalo, and up-and-coming German actor Louis Hofmann, the series is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Anthony Doerr. But is the World War Two drama based on a true story, or not?

A neglected part of World War Two’s history 574j2

In fact, All The Light We Cannot See is fictional, though the backdrop for the story is entirely real. The Battle of St Malo was fought in August 1944, less than a month after Allied forces broke out from their bridgehead on Normandy’s beaches. Concerned about a flank attack on their armies as they pushed eastwards towards , a group of American, British, and Free French units were detached to head west into Brittany instead. The port town of St Malo had been heavily fortified by the Germans, and a siege was imposed. Doerr situates the action in the town itself during the siege, with Loberti and Hofmann playing a blind French girl and a young German boy pressed into service against his will, as the Nazi manpower shortage began to bite. The trailer, which dropped in the spring, speaks to a lavish production with a big budget, and has already garnered in excess of five million views of YouTube. If it lives up to the hype, All The Light We Cannot See will be worth watching.