I still do not understand how Arcane managed to talk Netflix into this three-weekend release schedule for all nine episodes of each season, but they managed to do it again this time around. If you’re watching, you may have forgotten about that, but yes, three more drop tomorrow, and the final three will be a week after that.
I am not being hyperbolic when I call Arcane the best Netflix show of 2024. Yes, I suppose that’s subjective to a point, but if we’re going by actual math here, the show’s second season has a 100% critic score with two dozen reviews in now, and a stunning 96% audience score, matching the first season. You simply do not see any other series putting up those kinds of figures, and you can make the case that Arcane may be the best Netflix show they’ve ever made, at least in terms of scores, given that across two seasons now it has put up these stunning numbers. Others might have done it for one, but this kind of consistency? With this many reviews in? You simply do not see it.
Arcane only managed to grab the #1 spot on the top 10 list in the US for a day, but it has performed extremely well globally and again, viewership does not matter here as this is the planned last season of the show, ending on a high note. The future is unknown for both the League brand, which has promised more series, and the animation studio that has brought this one-of-a-kind look to life, the French Fortiche, will hopefully be in tow.
Arcane, because of this level of animation quality, and the time and work that goes into it, is said to be the most expensive animated series of all time. Supposedly it has cost $250 million to produce, and that’s even before any Riot marketing of the series. Showrunner Christian Linke said that’s not quite right, but that the high cost is justified because they wanted theatrical quality animation. And you could easily argue this is better looking than most animated movies, in terms of its style. The length of the show, 18 episodes, is also probably the equivalent of 5-6 animated movies in terms of total runtime.
These scores could change as more reviews roll in, but this has been what could be the highest performing major series in Netflix history in terms of its review scores from both critics and fans, even if viewership isn’t making the top 30 list or anything. Cannot wait to keep watching tomorrow, and next weekend after that.
Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.
Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
