An Open Letter to Martin Moszkowicz and Oliver Berben of Constantin Film, and Larry Tanz of Netflix
Gentlemen, let’s be frank, shall we?
We all know why Shadowhunters was successful. And it isn’t because it was written by Cassandra Clare.
It’s been successful for the same reason that the fandom was outraged that it was cancelled during Pride Month. For the same reason the #SaveShadowhunters movement has raised almost $19,000 for The Trevor Project, a charity benefitting LGBTQ+ youth.
It’s because this show, and these characters, struck a chord with a largely queer audience. Which happened because Magnus Bane is healthy bisexual representation, and Alec Lightwood is healthy gay representation, and because those characters are in a healthy, loving, stable relationship with each other. It’s because Raphael Santiago is absolutely groundbreaking and almost never seen on television asexual representation.
It’s because the cast of supporting characters includes at least three sapphic women and another gay male. It’s because the cast and crew includes LGBT people.
Do you honestly believe you can use the popularity that this show has garnered with a largely queer audience for its representation of queer characters and use it to pitch us a show where the only main queer character is a bisexual man in an unhealthy, abusive relationship with a cheating, manipulative woman?
Leaving aside issues of healthy representation, it is unethical bordering on amoral for you to use the movement built by a largely queer audience to try to pitch a show that almost entirely gets rid of the almost all of the very things we found worth saving in this show. Where the only character from Shadowhunters who could possibly make an appearance is one half of a beloved pair–the pair whose popularity made this show the success it is–while the other half hasn’t even been born yet?
How dare you? How dare you?
And this isn’t out of a dislike for the idea of a series based on The Infernal Devices. I mentioned on Twitter just earlier today that I wouldn’t mind seeing such a series. But not at the expense of OUR show, and not standing on the backs of OUR efforts.
If you choose to go this route with things, I will not be there to see it. #SaveShadowhunters. That is it. That is our message. Don’t you dare try to capitalize on our efforts to sell us something else entirely.
You should be ashamed of yourselves for even attempting such a thing.
Amelia C. Gormley LGBT Romance Author
