A defamation lawsuit against the popular Netflix TV show The Queen's Gambit from Georgian chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili has finally come to a conclusion.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that both sides stated they reached an undisclosed deal. The lawsuit came from a line in the show's finale, which saw a commentator saying about protagonist Beth Harmon, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, “The only unusual thing about her, really, is her sex. And even that’s not unique in Russia. There’s Nona Gaprindashvili, but she’s the female world champion and has never faced men.” Gaprindashvili described the notion that she “never faced men” as “manifestly false, as well as being grossly sexist and belittling,” adding that, in 1968, when the episode was set, she had faced off against at least 59 male chess players.
Netflix initially attempted to evade the lawsuit on the basis that The Queen's Gambit is fictitious, but U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips explained, "The fact that the series was a fictional work does not insulate Netflix from liability for defamation if all the elements of defamation are otherwise present," and moved the lawsuit forward.
Queen's Gambit Won't Be Back
Netflix likely won't be seeing any more chess-based lawsuits anytime soon, as The Queen's Gambit executive producers Scott Frank and William Horberg confirmed they won't be making a second season. "I feel like we told the story we wanted to tell," Frank said, adding, "I’m terrified that if we try to tell more, we would ruin what we’ve already told."
While a new Queen's Gambit season isn't currently in the cards, Taylor-Joy still has her plate full with other work. The actor is currently filming a Mad Max prequel called Furiosa. The film is set to take place before the events of 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, and will follow a younger Furiosa after she is "snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers" and joins the great Bike Horde as they traverse the wasteland.
Director George Miller said of the new film that it came from "a need to explain [Fury Road’s] world" and wanting to explore how it came to be. As of now, Furiosa has a release date of May 24, 2024.
The Queen's Gambit is currently available to stream on Netflix.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter