In new original Netflix series The Queen's Gambit, chess is the name of the game, but the first look at the psychological thriller hints that there is far more at stake than just winning a trophy.
The streaming platform just released a teaser of The Queen's Gambit, a dark new show that follows the turbulent ascent of young woman through the male-dominated professional chess circuit in the 1950s South. Emma's Anya Taylor-Joy stars as protagonist (and possibly antagonist, from the looks of the trailer) Beth Harmon, an amateur chess player who shows exceptional talent in the game and becomes one of its most prominent players in her area. But even as her star rises, Beth's success is perpetually threatened by her mounting personal vices, with each of her hidden addictions pushing her close to the edge of losing everything she's fought tooth and nail for.
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The Queen's Gambit marks Taylor-Joy's return to television following her successful run in BBC series Peaky Blinders and animated fantasy drama The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. The actress will be joined onscreen by Marielle Heller, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Moses Ingram, Harry Melling, and Bill Camp.
The show is the brainchild of Godless showrunner Scott Frank and Allan Scot, and both men also serve as executive producers on the project. If The Queen's Gambit is reminding you of a certain 1999 film starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow, you're on the right track; the similar vibes between forthcoming series and The Talented Mr. Ripley are because the Netflix project is also executive produced by William Horberg, who produced Anthony Minghella’s Oscar-nominated adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel.
Described as a miniseries, The Queen's Gambit promises to keep audiences at the edge of their seats — and possibly rethink the way we think about chess. The Netflix show will be available for streaming on 23rd October.