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In what will hopefully be the last surprise of 2020, Netflix The queen’s gambit gets its own set of Pop! Vinyl figures from Funko. All three figures will feature Anya Taylor-Joy’s main character, Beth Harmon, in a variety of outfits from the series, none of which are chess-related, but all of which are stylish. Fans can buy the Pops to own a piece of the show’s unique aesthetic, filtered through Funko’s dead-eyed one, but the real question is why the Queen’s Gambit to get Funko Pops?
If you allow me to speculate wildly, maybe The queen’s gambit gets a Funko Pop, not because it’s a Netflix show that’s both highly received and popular by Netflix’s own metrics, but rather because “getting Funko’ed” (making it up now) solidifies the popular content which can be a bit transient due to streaming algorithms.
Netflix was able to maintain an aggressive release schedule in 2020 due to the number of shows and movies it had already racked up. But can you honestly say you remember any of those early February and March hits like King tiger or Love is blind?
More broadly, was your media property really popular if it didn’t get Funko’ed? I would say no. And Netflix’s other Funko collaborations have immortalized equally popular streaming mega-hits like Money heist and Strange things, before they’re incorporated into Netflix soup, to resurface for new seasons.
Getting Funko’ed is almost like getting a panel at Comic-Con; it signals a level of fan engagement that justifies capitalizing, at least financially. A show may disappear from interest (or from Netflix’s many carousels), but plastic waste is forever.
Funko’s ability to quickly craft figures certainly helps in this regard. Even though Netflix’s deal was made before the series was a success, Funko’s fast-paced manufacturing approach allows it to put a Pop into production in under two months, according to a report by Property. Given the October 23 premiere date for The queen’s gambit, the Beth Harmon Pops fit well into Funko’s compact production window. (Another weird thing: these Funko Pops start shipping on April 20 of next year.)
The queen’s gambit Funko Pop! is an interesting flex of the crafting power of Funko, the development skills of Netflix, and the weird ways of surfacing in culture. No one will probably be talking about the show 40 years from now, but when I dig through the wasteland of California and find a Beth Harmon Pop in a busted suburb, I’ll remember it, and trade water accordingly.
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