For over a decade, Netflix has been a leading platform for animated shows. Its first adult animated series, “BoJack Horseman,” was nominated for three Emmys and regarded as one of the best shows of the 2010s. The company has two animated feature Oscars under its belt after the success of “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” and “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” But one of Netflix’s biggest successes premiered five years ago: “Arcane.”
“Arcane” was initially an attempt to expand Riot’s “League of Legends” universe, one of the most played video games of all time. The series followed a series of playable and non-playable characters established in the franchise’s lore but charted a new story that brought several characters together in a clash between the wealthy Piltover and its poor, corrupted neighboring town Zaun. The story centered on two sisters within the chaos: Vi, a tough-as-nails street thief who ends up working for Piltover’s police force, and Jinx, a traumatized girl who breeds rebellion wherever she goes.
The series’ beautiful animated scenes, great needle-drop choices, and emotional story won over many people who may not have even heard of “League of Legends” before. Across the show’s two seasons, “Arcane” won eight out of nine Emmys it was nominated for, and all 16 Annie Awards it was nominated for.
Arcane was a win for Netflix, but not for the League of Legends company Riot
Fans were surprised when Netflix announced that Season 2 would be the final season for “Arcane,” since the show was just getting started as it dug into the political upheaval between the two cities. In fact, many criticized the pacing in Season 2, saying that certain storylines felt rushed. The series’ showrunner and co-creator Christian Linke defended the early ending, telling Cinemablend in 2024, “We always had a specific story in mind. Look, you could have stretched it, I’m sure. But for us, it was always just like we started with this in mind.”
There may have been other factors impacting the decision. Riot, the company that made “League of Legends,” decided to fund “Arcane” itself rather than sell the characters to a Hollywood studio. The company spent a reported $250 million to make the series, and according to Variety, Riot earned roughly $108 million in total from Netflix and Tencent for the right to license the series. Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources, that not enough fans of the show were playing the game, so Riot wasn’t making much extra revenue from the game.
Despite the series not lasting long and the debate around its ending, “Arcane” is one of Netflix’s most culturally impactful animated series. It helped fuel the trend of animators pushing boundaries with animated shows and movies instead of settling for rudimentary 3D models. It had a really dark, personal story that moved a lot of audiences. And that’s why it still holds the title of one of the best animated series of all time.
