The Legend of Korra has finally arrived on Netflix! Set 70 years after Avatar: The Last Airbender, the sequel series follows Avatar Aang’s successor Korra, a 17-year-old headstrong woman from the Southern Water Tribe. Over four seasons (or Books), we watch Korra mature from firebrand into a more enlightened being.
The Legend of Korra originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 14, 2012 to Dec. 19, 2014. Just as Korra is the polar opposite of Aang in terms of temperament, The Legend of Korra also strikes a different tone than its predecessor. The Avatar sequel delves into more complex and nuanced socio-political issues like race, gender, and sexual orientation.
You can binge all four seasons of Netflix from day one, unlike what CBS All-Access did with only having the first two season available forcing me to buy the Blu-ray boxset so I could re-watch Seasons 3 and 4 earlier this year. A similar thing happened with Avatar: The Last Airbender. I bought the Blu-ray boxset last year, and then Netflix started streaming it. Perhaps I have some mystical power that causes Netflix to run series after I buy the boxset. Hmmm?
KORRA RISES
Netflix acquired streaming rights to Korra from ViacomCBS, which owns a huge library of series and movies. However, while the two Avatar series have been available on CBS All-Access, Netflix has a much larger customer base with over 182 million subscribers compared to CBS All-Access’ 11+ million. Even though Avatar: The Last Airbender was available to stream for years on other platforms, it wasn’t until Aang and gang hit Netflix that the show had a resurgence of popularity.
You can expect Korra to get the same kind of love and rise in popularity, as well it should. Thanks to Netflix, Avatar and Korra are connecting with a new generation of fans. Once the COVID pandemic is over, it would be great to see a lot of Avatar cosplay at the cons again.
Despite my poorly timed boxset purchases, I am thrilled that Korra will join Aang on Netflix. I’m also happy to see the two Avatar animated series still getting love 15 years after Avatar: The Last Airbender first premiered on Nickelodeon.
The Legend of Korra features incredible voice acting work from Janet Varney, J.K. Simmons, Mindy Sterling, David Faustino, P. J. Byrne, Kiernan Shipka, and Seychelle Gabriel. And then there’s the amazing list of guest voice actors including Henry Rollins, Aubrey Plaza, Steven Yeun, James Remar, Lisa Edelstein, and others.
NETFLIX LIVE-ACTION REMAKE
Netflix announced in 2018 that they gave a green light for a live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series with Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko returning to helm the series as executive producers and showrunners. However, DiMartino and Konietzko recently announced that they left the production over creative differences.
This means the life-action series is probably dead, or worse, Netflix will actually go through with it and create another abomination like M. Night Shyamalan’s live-action flick.
Oh, well. At least we’ll always have Aang and Korra.
