Shadowhunters is a supernatural drama. Since the full name of the show is called Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, it stands to reason that it is based on the series called The Mortal Instruments, which in turn, is one of the five series that make up The Shadowhunter Chronicles.
For those who are unfamiliar, Shadowhunters is set in a world populated by vampires, werewolves, and a wide range of other supernatural entities. Said entities can pose a serious threat to normal humans, but that threat is held back by the titular Shadowhunters, who are humans with angelic heritage. The series is centered on a teenage girl named Clary Fray, a normal human who learns that she is a Shadowhunter at the age of 18. Unfortunately, this happens at around the same time that her mother Jocelyn is kidnapped by rogue Shadowhunters led by her father Valentine Morgenstern, thus resulting in a scramble to get her mother back that doubles as a journey of self-discovery.
How Has Shadowhunters Changed Over Time?
On the whole, Shadowhunters has been well-received. Certainly, it has met with a better reception than the movie called The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, which was also produced by Constantin Film for the purpose of covering the same source material. As a result, Shadowhunters has received a total of three seasons. It is interesting to note that the first season received a total of 13 episodes. In contrast, the second and third seasons have 20 and 22 episodes, with the latter having 2 additional episodes because those are needed to bring the series as a whole to a proper conclusion.
Since Shadowhunters has been running since January of 2016, it should come as no surprise to learn that it has seen some changes over the course of its existence. For instance, there has been some cast changes, with the best example being how Maia Roberts went from being a recurring character in Season 2 to being a main character in Season 3. Moreover, there has been some notable changes to the crew as well. In particular, it is worth noting that the showrunner Ed Decter exited Shadowhunters in August of 2016, which would have been after the making of the first season but before the filming had started up for the second season. As a result, he was replaced by both Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer, who had served similar roles for Smallville.
Otherwise, the most notable changes to Shadowhunters might be those related to its plot. Yes, the same cast have been playing the same characters over the course of its existence. However, those characters are now in very different places because of the events that have passed within Shadowhunters, meaning that someone whose impressions were based on the initial setup might be very surprised to see those same characters in the present. On top of this, it should be mentioned that there is still time to go before the series get wrapped up in March of 2019, meaning that there are still further changes to come for those who have become invested in it.
Final Thoughts
Summed up, Shadowhunters hasn’t seen a huge amount of change compared to some of the other series that can be found out there. However, it seems to have been helped in this by a couple of factors. First, the production of the series hasn’t run into a lot of the problems that can produce huge shakeups in such things. Second, it hasn’t lasted long enough for a lot of the other problems that can show up to show up.
With that said, one can’t help but wonder whether Shadowhunters will be capable of inspiring other series to follow in its footsteps. After all, Shadowhunters is based on The Mortal Instruments, which is but one of five series. Three of those five series have already been written, while one is being written and the last one is expected to be written in the future. As such, since Shadowhunters managed to find a measure of success, one can’t help but wonder whether there will be further series based on its counterparts, particularly since those potential series would presumably be able to tap into an existing fan base to some extent.
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