Following a successful premiere that saw the series rise to the top spot on the Netflix TV charts, Avatar: The Last Airbender has now been renewed for seasons 2 and 3. The live-action remake will have a chance to adapt the full story of Avatar Aang from the revered Nickelodeon animated series, which also ended with its third season back in 2008.
Avatar: The Last Airbender follows the ascent of the latest Avatar, Aang (Gordon Cormier), as he learns to master the four elements (Water, Earth, Fire, Air) and use his newfound powers to save the world from the wrathful Fire Nation. Along the way, Aang befriends the Southern Water Tribe members Sokka (Ian Ousley) and Katara (Kiawentiio), two siblings who join Aang on his quest and explore the world alongside him on the back of his sky bison, Appa.
While the live-action remake has found an audience, viewers are mixed on how successfully it adapts the source material. The first season is currently sitting at 59% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.4/10 on IMDb. Compare that to the cartoon, which has a stunning 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and sits in 7th place of all TV shows with 9.3/10 on IMDb.
Meeting the expectations of the original show’s fans — some of whom consider it to be one of the best TV shows ever made, animated or otherwise — was never going to be easy. You may also recall that the creators of the Nickelodeon series were initially in charge of this adaptation but ended up walking away over unexplained creative differences.
Nevertheless, this is excellent news for any fans of the adaptation who were understandably concerned that the series wouldn’t receive a proper ending. After all, Netflix has killed off plenty of shows after one season that were clearly set up for more, including 1899, Lockwood & Co., I Am Not Okay With This, and most recently, The Brothers Sun.
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