The new Netflix adaptation has fans buzzing thanks to its acclaimed source material.
Readers of the Pulitzer Prize-winning historical drama All The Light We Cannot See shared their excitement on social media this week after the streaming service released the first full-length trailer for the miniseries of the same name.
The show, directed by Sean Levy, stars Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie, along with acclaimed German actors Louis Hoffman and Lars Eidinger.
But much of the buzz from fans of the show has centered around lead actress Aria Mia Loberti, who is blind like the character she plays.
The miniseries marks the screen debut of the rising star, who won the role after wowing the show’s director and producers in a global search for blind and partially sighted actresses.
Excitement: Mark Ruffalo’s Mark Ruffalo-starrer Netflix miniseries ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ has fans ecstatic after releasing its first full-length trailer this week
Inspirational: The World War II film was popular with fans thanks to its best-selling source novel and the casting of blind actress Aria Mia Loberti
When the trailer was released on YouTube and social media, fans commented in droves to express their excitement.
The novel, written by American author Anthony Doerr, was a hit with critics, who applauded his lyrical writing style.
All The Light We Cannot See was also a huge commercial success, leading to dozens of reissues after the initial printing sold out.
By the end of 2021, the book had sold more than 15 million copies.
It was later awarded the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as that year’s Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and was also one of the shortlisted selections to compete for the National Book Award.
The novel and subsequent series follow two contrasting characters, a blind French woman and a German youth who becomes a soldier thanks to his skill with radio technology.
A girl (Loberti) hosts secret anti-Nazi broadcasts on a secret radio system with the help of her uncle (Hugh Laurie), while Ruffalo plays her father.
But as he tries to fight the Nazi occupation, a young soldier — recruited against his will — is tasked with finding the source of her emissions.
In conflict: Loberti plays a young French woman who hosted anti-Nazi broadcasts during the occupation, while Louis Hoffmann plays a young soldier forced to work for the Nazis because of his skill in locating secret broadcasts
Family: Hugh Laurie plays the girl’s uncle, who ran his own undercover shows, while Ruffalo plays her father
Terrifying: Lars Eidinger plays a Nazi officer determined to find Loberti’s rebellious character
‘Omg finally!! The book was so good it’s one of my favorite historical novels,” said one fan in response to the trailer.
Another fan said that “Another WWII novel that I like is being made into a movie,” comparing it to an earlier adaptation of The Book Thief. ‘So elated I could CRY.’
One user expressed his excitement and called it a “beautiful story”.
Another fan thought the trailer made the show look ‘relatable’ and ‘creepy’.
A user who claimed to have won a contest to see the first episode of the series was already impressed and urged viewers of the trailer to check out the source novel.
Another viewer wondered if the show could be even better than the novel, based on the promise of the atmospheric trailer.
Other viewers were inspired by the casting of legally blind actress Loberti, who added a sense of authenticity to the miniseries.
“All the Light We Cannot See looks like one of the better movies Netflix has put out lately and having a blind actress play someone secretly broadcasting a radio during WWII is pretty interesting,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter). .
Better than a book? Several fans raved about the trailer after already liking the source novel, which was a huge commercial success
Representation: Other people who watched the trailer were inspired by the casting of legally blind new actress Aria Mia Loberti, who they found inspiring
One fan who was apparently legally blind was inspired to have a character like her on the show.
“It means so much to see a blind woman like me starring in a landmark series created by an authentic talent,” they wrote.
One viewer was inspired by the behind-the-scenes video of Loberti’s casting and hoped to see more of her time working on the show.
All four episodes of All The Light We Cannot See will be released on Netflix on November 2.