'Shadow and Bone' cast and crew build world in behind-the-scenes video

April 15 (UPI) -- Netflix is giving a behind-the-scenes look at the new series Shadow and Bone.

The streaming service shared a video Thursday featuring the show's cast and crew on the set of the upcoming fantasy series.

Shadow and Bone is based on Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, two novels in Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse book series. The series centers on Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), an orphan and soldier who learns she is a Grisha, a person with the ability to manipulate the elements.

The new video features scenes from the show and interviews with Bardugo, an executive producer on the series, series creator and showrunner Eric Heisserer, and several cast members.

"For the show, we've taken the stories of Shadow and Bone and we've taken the characters of Six of Crows, and we've brought them together in this really extraordinary way," Bardugo said.

Bardugo said the Netflix adaptation is inspired by 19th century Tsarist Russia. The series takes place in the fictional country of Ravka, which has "been torn in two by a swath of darkness called the Shadow Fold."

Archie Renaux co-stars as Malyen "Mal" Oretsev, Alina's childhood friend and fellow soldier, with Ben Barnes as the Darkling, the general of the Grisha Army, Freddy Carter as Kaz Brekker, the leader of the Dregs, and Amita Suman and Kit Young as Inej Ghafa and Jesper Fahey, members of the Dregs.

"Much in the same way that Stranger Things is always character-anchored storytelling against a backdrop of genre, Shadow and Bone is rooted against a backdrop of wonder and magic and adventure and scope," executive producer Shawn Levy said.

Netflix shared a trailer for Shadow and Bone in March that shows Alina discover her power to summon light.

Shadow and Bone premieres April 23 on Netflix.