Netflix has released the teaser trailer for its new limited series The Queen’s Gambit starring Anya Taylor-Joy. The psychological thriller details the coming-of-age of chess prodigy Beth Harmon as she balances her burgeoning genius with a harrowing addiction to tranquilizers. Along with lead Taylor-Joy, the series also stars filmmaker Marielle Heller, Moses Ingram, Bill Camp, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. After receiving a series order consisting of six episodes, the Netflix show went into production in August 2019. Taylor-Joy has lit up the screen in both indie productions and mainstream films over the last few years, starring in Robert Eggers’ The Witch and The New Mutants, which is in theaters this Friday.
The first teaser from Netflix depicts the high wire act Taylor-Joy’s character will be dealing with as she takes the chess world by storm and deals with her substance abuse enabled by the orphanage she grew up in. The series is based on the novel of the same name written by Walter Tevis. Scott Frank, creator and director of Godless, also on Netflix, will serve as director and co-writer on the series. As revealed in the trailer, all six episodes will be available on Netflix beginning October 23.
The Queen’s Gambit is part of a formidable slate of content that Netflix will be premiering over the next few months, including Ryan Murphy‘s Ratched, the fourth season of The Crown, and Charlie Kaufman‘s latest I’m Thinking of Ending Things. With the release of this teaser, though, The Queen’s Gambit might prove to be one of the most anticipated shows, not only because of Taylor-Joy‘s enigmatic screen presence, but because of the talent behind-the-scenes as well.