The third and final season of A Series of Unfortunate Events is coming soon to Netflix and to get us ready for the final instalment, we thought we’d take a look through everything we know about the upcoming season. This includes all the information we know on the plot and what books the final season will cover, who’s been cast for season 3 and other handy snippets of information too.
Netflix first announced its plans to adapt the novel series back in 2014 after Paramount had to find a new way of adapting the books after its movie attempts floundered. It wouldn’t be until three years later until the first season released on Netflix.
Seasons 1 & 2 Recap
Let’s first take a look at where we’ve been to see where we’re going next.
The series covers all the books from a novels of the same name by author Daniel Hadler. The story follows the three Baudelaire orphans who continue to be hunted down by Count Olaf to obtain their fortune as they flit between relatives in search of a new home.
Season 1 covered the first four books of the novel series. The books covered were The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window and The Miserable Mill. Each book was covered across two episodes. Eight episodes were released under season 1.
This season, the special guests included Aasif Mandvi as Uncle Monty for episodes 3 and 4. Alfre Woodard starred in episodes 5 & 6 as Aunt Josephine. Don Johnson appeared in episodes 7 & 8 as Sir.
In season 2, the series kicks off with the three children head to boarding school covered in the book, The Austere Academy. Episodes 3 and 4 covering The Ersatz Elevator. Following on episodes 5 and 6 covers The Vile Village. Episodes 7 and 8 takes us to The Hostile Hospital and the final two episodes of the series take us to The Carnivorous Carnival.
How has the show been received so far?
The series has been very much well received since its first season release. Going by awards alone, the series has been the recipient of an award for Hollywood Music In Media Awards for having the best original main title theme song. It was nominated for another 17 awards including 3 Primetime Emmys.
Both user and critic reviews have remained strong across both seasons. At the moment, the series is sitting at an 81 by the critics and 7.9 user reviews on Metacritic. On IMDb, the series relects a similar story sitting at 7.8/10.
Why is season 3 the final season?
The source material will have dried up by the time season 3 wraps. The original deal between Paramount and Netflix was to adapt the books and that is it. Neil Patrick Harris first confirmed the fact that season 3 would be the final season back in March.
Daniel Handler (who goes under Lemony Snicket as the author of these books) has produced multiple books outside of the main storyline which could be adapted in the future. These include multiple companion books, other canon and his other book series, All the Wrong Questions. All of this could also be adapted in the future but nothing has yet to be announced.
What books will season 3 cover?
The final books left to be covered are:
- The Slippery Slope (2 episodes)
- The Grim Grotto (2 episodes)
- The Penultimate Peril (2 episodes)
- The End (1 extended episode)
This season will take us to the heights of the Mortmain Mountains as well as going undersea in a submarine, a hotel and to a remote island.
Season 2 left us with a few more answers (and plenty more questions) regarding V.F.D (Volunteer Fire Department) which we expect to get answered throughout season 3.
The overall story arc has been evolving to discover what exactly happened to the Baudelaire parents and what the future of the children will be. Speaking to BUILD Series, Malina Weissman and Louis Hynes spoke about how the children have become slowly more proactive about their situation rather than reactive as they were in the first season.
How many episodes will there be in season 3?
There’s been confirmed to be only 7 episodes for season 3. That means it’ll be the shortest season by far but it may be the case that the final episode may be extended.
Barry Sonnenfeld, the director of the show has said that his work on A Series of Unfortunate Events as “my best work”. He’s also stated that the reason why there’s 7 episodes rather than 8 is that there wasn’t enough material to justify spreading across two episodes.
Who’s returning for season 3?
The three main Baudelaire children are all returning that being Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes and Presley Smith. We’re of course seeing the return of Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Warburton and K. Todd Freeman returning.
Count Olaf’s sidekicks are also confirmed to be returning including Usman Ally who plays the Hook-Handed Man and Matty Cardarople as Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender. Jacqueline and Joynce Robbins will reprise their roles too. Lucy Punch who plays Esmé Squalor is also scheduled to return.
- We don’t know if Tara Strong will be returning to voice Sunny. Presley Smith who plays Sunny is understood to now be talking in real life.
- Tony Hale known for his roles on Arrested Development and Veep will be back for season 3 after he appeared in The Ersatz Elevator.
- Kitana Turnbull who played Camelita Spats is listed to return after appearing in The Austere Academy
- No confirmation of Will Arnett or Cobie Smulders who play the mother and father are due to return although it is expected.
- Ithamar Enriquez, Nathan Fillion, Lossen Chambers and Kevin Chamberlin will all appear in The Vile Village episodes.
Most casting information is available on IMDb.
Who’s directing in season 3?
Barry Sonnenfeld and Bo Welch will be returning to direct during season 3. Barry Sonnenfeld is responsible for the adaptation so it was only right he return behind the camera.
We’ll also see two new directors debut this season. Liza Johnson known for Return (2011) and In the Air (2009) will direct episodes 3 & 4. Jonathan Teplitzky whos directed episodes of Marcella, Broadchurch and Spirited will be directing the first two episodes of season 3.
How far into production is season 3?
The series has officially wrapped for filming and now is in the final edit then ready for release. The announcement of the final filming day (at least for Neil Patrick Harris) came on May 7th, 2018.
The production then wrapped on May 11th and was celebrated with fireworks. We also got pictures from the final day on the set including cast members, Louis Hynes, Malina Weissman and Patrick Warburton.
In terms of actual behind the scenes, our best source of information has come from a Twitter account called UnfortunateTV.
If you were wondering how much the cast has grown in the past three years, Louis Hynes released on Twitter a comparison picture of when they first started to the final day.
When will season 3 be on Netflix?
The final season will be available to stream from New Year Day. It was expected to release in early 2019 but not literally the very first day.
Fans anticipating its release will ecstatic to hear that in a few short weeks they’ll be able to binge on the show once more.
Is there a trailer yet?
Netflix has finally released a trailer just a few weeks prior to its release.
Other Information Regarding Season 3
- Netflix added a whole host of brand new avatars this year in its changes to the Netflix avatar system. These include a wide range of A Series of Unfortunate Events avatars.
- Daniel Handler still continues to be involved in the series.
We’ll keep this post updated all the way up until the release of season 3 on Netflix.
