Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events Gets Premiere Date & Suitably Morbid Trailer

Netflix announced Tuesday that its series reboot of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events will premiere Friday, January 13 (of course) and released a self-referential teaser trailer that stars the author and narrator Lemony Snicket (Patrick Warburton) warning viewers to stay away from his creation.

In the teaser, Snicket walks through an empty soundstage talking about how usually the set would be alive with people hard at work creating great entertainment, but "the story of the Baudelaire orphans is so upsetting and so utterly unnerving that the entire crew is suffering from low morale, a phrase which here means 'under observation for melancholia, ennui and acute wistfulness.'"

He looks directly into the camera and begs viewers to not watch, to spare themselves from the "whimsical cruelty" of what's to come. It's a counterintuitive marketing strategy, but it just might work!

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is based on the bestselling book series of the same name by Daniel Handler, who executive produces here along with Barry Sonnenfeld, who was originally supposed to direct the 2004 film adaptation that ended up being directed by Brad Silberling. The movie starred Jim Carrey as the wicked Count Olaf, who schemes to steal his orphaned niece and nephew Violet and Klaus Baudelaire's inheritance.

Neil Patrick Harris takes over from Carrey as Count Olaf. Malina Weissman stars as Violet and Louis Hynes plays Klaus. Warburton, Aasif Mandvi and Joan Cusack co-star.