Freeform is the new name for the cable channel ABC
Family. I believe this is the first new show for that
newly-named channel. "Shadowhunters" is based on a
series of YA books called "The Mortal Instruments."
(In fact, the full name of the show is called "Shadowhunters:
The Mortal Instruments.") I haven't read the books, or seen
the movie "City of Bones" that was also based on the first
book.
I have to say that the show reminds me a lot of the ABC
Family show "The Nine Lives of Chloe King," which was also
based on some YA novels. It ran for just one season in 2011.
I really loved that show and was upset when it was canceled.
However, the second part of the season got a little silly,
so it wasn't as good as when it started. It'll be
interesting to see if "Shadowhunters" stays good throughout
its run.
Like "Nine Lives", this show is about a young girl with
beautiful hair and close friends, whose mother has kept a
big secret from her about her past and her family, and she
has a special destiny involving the supernatural that she is
suddenly faced with. She's not happy about it. The heroine
of this show is Clary Fray (Katherine McNamara), and she
gets into art school in the first episode. She turns 18, so
her mother tries to tell her the truth, but a series of
events happen that change Clary's whole life. She has some
geeky friends that she hangs out with, and they quickly get
pulled into the events with her.
Clary finds out that she's a demon hunter; her mother was
also one and has been hiding something called The Mortal Cup
for a long time. The demons are trying to find the cup.
Clary meets some young attractive people, other demon
hunters, who protect mortals from them. Clary doesn't know
who to trust at first. It looks like there's going to be a
triangle between her friend Simon (Alberto Rosende) and her
new friend Jace (Dominic Sherwood). To complicate
things, Jace's father is the head bad guy, Valentine (Alan
Van Sprang, whom you may recognize as King Henry from
"Reign"). Valentine and Jocelyn (Clary's mom) have a past,
so I wonder if Valentine is her father, too? We shall see!
The one thing I found funny about the show is that they
called mortals "mundanes" which is what people in the
Society for Creative Anachronisms calls non-SCA people. As
someone who used to be in the SCA, I found that just
hilarious.
Anyway, it's a fun little YA show (not as good as
"Vampire Diaries" from what I can tell), and if you like
these type of scifi/fantasy/supernatural shows, you should
enjoy this one as well.
MORE INFORMATION:
Based on the bestselling young adult fantasy book series
The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, “Shadowhunters”
follows 18-year-old Clary Fray, who finds out on her
birthday that she is not who she thinks she is but rather
comes from a long line of Shadowhunters – human-angel
hybrids who hunt down demons. When her mother Jocelyn is
kidnapped, Clary is thrown into the world of demon hunting
with mysterious Shadowhunter Jace and her best friend,
Simon. Now living among faeries, warlocks, vampires and
werewolves, Clary begins a journey of self-discovery as she
learns more about her past and what her future may hold.
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