How the Hell Will Netflix Make a TV Show Out of ‘Catan’?

If you’re a board game fan, you’re well familiar with Catan, first released in 1995 as Settlers of Catan before a sleeker rebrand a decade or so ago. With distinctive hexagonal tiles forming the board, players compete to create the most successful settlement on a deserted island, trading resources, building villages and roads, and avoiding the dreaded robber. It’s so popular, multiple Catan expansions with variant settings have been released. It’s fun, it’s rewarding, and it relies on practical planning and crafty strategy. But is this a board game that is… narratively compelling in any way? Netflix hopes so!

The streamer has just snagged the rights to Catan, according to Variety, and is “now developing projects based on the beloved board game across film and both scripted and unscripted TV, as well as both live-action and animation.”

That covers a lot of ground. While Netflix has found success with video game adaptations (Arcane, Castlevania), Variety reminds us that the streamer also has a Monopoly-inspired reality competition in the works (not to be confused with another capitalism-focused Netflix game show, Squid Game: The Challenge).

“When our father Klaus Teuber first introduced Catan 30 years ago, he imagined an aspirational world where people would gather by trading, building, and settling together—both at the table and beyond it,” Benjamin and Guido Teuber, co-CEOs of Catan GmbH, said in a statement to the trade. “This collaboration with Netflix marks an exciting new chapter in that journey. For three decades, Catan has connected families and friends around the world. Now, we’re thrilled to see it inspire storytelling on a global stage—staying true to our father’s vision of creativity, strategy, and human connection.”

Klaus Teuber passed away in 2023 but did actually pen a pair of novels set in the world of Catan, imagining an extended Viking family that discovers challenges galore when they sail for a new life on a deserted island.

It seems more likely Netflix will go the unscripted route with Catan, maybe even attempting a Survivor-type show pitting “settlers” against each other, with a villainous robber stealing materials just when someone’s finally piled up enough to build that house or road segment they’ve been dying to add to the table. (If you’ve played Catan, you can relate.)

What do you think of Netflix’s Catan plans? Would you bet any resources in favor of its success?

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