Netflix has announced the premiere date for the psychological-thriller series ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ which stars Anya Taylor-Joy in the leading role. The series is scheduled to premiere on October 23 at Netflix. The announcement came with a teaser for the show, you can watch it above.
The series which is based on Walter Tevis’s novel The Queen’s Gambit, tells the story of an eight-year-old orphan Beth Harmon who is quiet, sullen, and by all appearances unremarkable. That is until she plays her first game of chess. Her senses grow sharper, her thinking clearer, and for the first time in her life, she feels herself fully in control. By the age of sixteen, she's competing for the U.S. Open championship. But as Beth hones her skills on the professional circuit, the stakes get higher, her isolation grows more frightening, and the thought of escape becomes all the more tempting. Based on the book by Walter Tevis.
Gotham Award winner and BAFTA Rising Star nominee Anya Taylor-Joy (Split, Glass, The Witch) is starring as Beth Harmon. Other cast members include Harry Melling, Chloe Pirrie, Moses Ingram, Annabeth Kelly, Janina Elkin, Marielle Heller, Dolores Carbonari, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Matthew Dennis Lewis.
Two time Academy Award nominee, Scott Frank (Godless, Logan) is writer, director, and executive producer on the series. William Horberg (The Talented Mr. Ripley), Allan Scott (Don’t Look Now, The Preacher’s Wife) also serves as executive producer.
The limited series will consist of 6-episodes.
Earlier in 2009, Heath Ledger was originally attached to direct a film adaptation of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ before his untimely death.