"Arcane" is an international phenomenon for Netflix. So why is it ending after just two seasons? As any "League of Legends" player who has spent a few too many Riot Points can tell you, sometimes the economic numbers just don't work out.
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00:00Arcane is an international phenomenon for Netflix, so why is it ending after just two
00:05seasons?
00:06As any League of Legends player who has spent a few too many Riot Points can tell you, sometimes
00:11the economic numbers just don't work out.
00:14Arcane is a stunning piece of animation and a truly epic video game adaptation.
00:18Just like Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse pushed the medium forward on the feature side,
00:23Arcane challenged what was previously possible in TV animation, all while being one of the
00:27best video game adaptations ever made.
00:30Based on the uber-popular online battle arena game League of Legends, the show portrays
00:34the origin story of several characters from the game while focusing on the story of Vi
00:39and Jinx, two sisters caught on opposite sides of a conflict between the utopian Piltover
00:44and the oppressed Underground of Zorn.
00:46The first season of Arcane was an immediate success, becoming the highest-rated Netflix
00:50series at the time of its release.
00:52It also garnered critical acclaim and became the first streaming show to win the Emmy for
00:56Outstanding Animated Program, along with three other Emmy awards.
01:00That sounds like the formula for a long-running hit, right?
01:03Sadly, no.
01:04News that the series is ending after its second season has left fans dumbfounded.
01:09What are you planning?
01:11To watch it all burn.
01:13The first season felt like just the start of a much larger universe, perhaps even the
01:17first series in a franchise that could bring the many stories and characters from League
01:21of Legends to life.
01:23After all, the game has a vast lore and features dozens of characters with unique backstories.
01:28According to Variety, Arcane was originally planned and budgeted for a five-season arc,
01:33but League of Legends developer Riot Games, which also produced the series, has stalled
01:37its streaming output.
01:39The key reason for that is cash.
01:41The Outlook reports that the 18 episodes of the first two seasons of Arcane cost the studio
01:46$250 million to produce and promote, making it by far the most expensive animated series
01:52ever developed.
01:53This was a bet.
01:54It was a risky bet.
01:55You just kind of have to, at some point, make that bet."
01:59There are a few factors that explain how Arcane got to a feature-level budget.
02:03For one, the show spent six years in production, much of that in development, which is a rare
02:07luxury in modern animation.
02:09Sources familiar with the production also report that Riot spent $60 million of its
02:14own money to promote the first season.
02:16Variety notes that's far more than what Netflix itself spent on the show.
02:20Sure, that spend contributed to the series becoming a huge hit all over the world, but
02:24given Riot Games already had a user base of millions of players of its games, it also
02:29may have been a bit excessive.
02:31Arcane was Riot's first TV project, and Variety paints a picture of an experience proving
02:35costly for the company.
02:37Shortly before the release of the first season of the series, the company's then-CEO, Nicolo
02:41Laurent, told Fast Company that he planned to turn Riot into the entertainment company
02:46of the 21st century.
02:48Riot has made attempts to develop other TV and movie projects, but only Arcane has made
02:52it to the screen, and Variety notes that nothing else even came close to being made.
02:57The outlet reports,
02:58"...while various writers have come and gone, not a single script ordered got anywhere near
03:02a green light for so much as a pilot or was even far enough along to have any directors
03:07or stars attached."
03:08Though he's still listed as an advisor for the company, Laurent stepped down as Riot's
03:13CEO in May 2023.
03:15With that shift, Riot Games' TV and film division was essentially disbanded.
03:20"...sometimes taking a leap forward means leaving a few things behind."
03:29Despite its massive success, Arcane has not proven to be particularly profitable considering
03:34its exorbitant budget.
03:36Variety notes that Riot gets a $3 million licensing fee per episode from Netflix, and
03:41an additional $3 million from the Chinese multimedia company, Tencent.
03:46Riot can make up some of the difference with merchandise and selling skins from the show
03:49in its games, but breaking even might be the best-case scenario.
03:53The second and final season of Arcane releases its first three episodes on Netflix November
03:589th, 2024, followed by another three episodes on November 16th and the final three episodes
04:04on November 23rd.
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