In 2019, Netflix optioned the rights to Jeff Smith’s beloved fantasy comic Bone. Two years have passed and, as the series celebrates its 30th anniversary, fans are energetic for an update on the Bone cousins’ Netflix adventure. Polygon spoke to Smith and asked him what’s going on with the show. He discussed the ability obtained to work on the series. “There were a couple of people that worked on some shows that I [asked about],” Smith says, “because I watched a bunch of Cartoon Network shows and some Netflix shows. Is this person around? Can we get this person? What’s this guy doing now? Or what’s she doing? And thanks to the pandemic, I was able to get everybody I wanted.”
He likewise takes note of what the pandemic meant for the production’s timetable however permitted them to get some of those recently involved abilities onto the show. “I say thanks because there were people that were in contract, but we were delayed by like, eight or nine months because of the pandemic; [by that time] the contracts were up, and I got everybody I wanted,” he says. “I don’t want to really say who they are, because I don’t want to steal Netflix’s thunder but, yes. I got my dream team of animation people, and I’m pretty excited about it so far.”
Bone follows the cousins Bone, Fone Bone, and Phony Bone in the wake of being projected out of Boneville and into a more extensive world of magic and adventure. Smith is supervising the adaptation himself. The Bone comic started publication in 1991 and ran for 55 issues, arriving at its conclusion in 2004. The series won 10 Eisner Awards and 11 Harvey Awards.
Announcing the Netflix deal, Smith had said, “I’ve waited a long time for this. Netflix is the perfect home for Bone. Fans of the books know that the story develops chapter by chapter and book by book. An animated series is exactly the way to do this! The team at Netflix understands Bone and is committed to doing something special — this is good news for kids and cartoon lovers all over the world.”
With Bone and its Usagi Yojimbo variation, Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles, Netflix is wagering on classic indie comics to help shore up its children’s programming. Neither one of the serieses has a release date yet.
