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Draft:Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024 TV series) season 1

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Season 1
ShowrunnerAlbert Kim
Starring
No. of episodes8
Release
Original networkNetflix
Original releaseFebruary 22, 2024 (2024-02-22)

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Aang"Michael GoiTeleplay by : Albert Kim and Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan KonietzkoFebruary 22, 2024 (2024-02-22)
2"Warriors"Michael GoiJoshua Hale FialkovFebruary 22, 2024 (2024-02-22)
3"Omashu"Jabbar RaisaniChristine BoylanFebruary 22, 2024 (2024-02-22)
4"Into the Dark"Jabbar RaisaniKeely MacDonaldFebruary 22, 2024 (2024-02-22)
5"Spirited Away"Roseanne LiangGabriel LlanasFebruary 22, 2024 (2024-02-22)
6"Masks"Roseanne LiangTeleplay by : Emily Kim & Hunter Ries and Bryan Konietzko
Story by : Ubah Mohamed and Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino		February 22, 2024 (2024-02-22)
7"The North"Jet WilkinsonAudrey Wong KennedyFebruary 22, 2024 (2024-02-22)
8"Legends"Jet WilkinsonAlbert KimFebruary 22, 2024 (2024-02-22)

Production

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Development

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In 2018, Netflix announced that a "reimagined" live-action remake of Avatar was to start production in 2019.[1][2] The series' original creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, were initially announced to be the executive producers and showrunners.[3][4] In June 2020, the creators departed the series due to creative differences. This was revealed after DiMartino published an open letter on his own website on August 12, 2020. The pair cited differences in their approach to the show compared with Netflix's vision, also citing a "negative and unsupporting" environment during their time with the studio;[5][6][7][8] the duo ultimately received writing credits for the first and sixth episodes.[9]

In August 2021, Albert Kim was officially announced as a writer, executive producer and showrunner; he commented in a blog post: "My first thought was, 'Why? What is there I could do or say with the story that wasn't done or said in the original?' But the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became. We'll be able to see bending in a real and visceral way we've never seen before."[10] In the same post, Kim emphasized that "throughout this process, our byword has been 'authenticity'. To the story. To the characters. To the cultural influences. Authenticity is what keeps us going, both in front of the camera and behind it." Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore, Michael Goi, and Roseanne Liang were also announced as executive producers with Goi and Liang both directing episodes of the series.[11][10] In the first season, each episode reportedly cost more than $15 million to make.[12]

On March 6, 2024, the series was renewed for a second and third season, with it set to conclude with the latter.[13] On April 4, 2024, it was announced that Kim would be stepping down as showrunner but would remain as an executive producer, while co-executive producer Christine Boylan and executive producer Jabbar Raisani would become showrunners for the second and third seasons.[14]

Casting

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Prior to their departure, DiMartino and Konietzko had revealed that they are committed to "culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed casting" according to a statement from Konietzko.[15] Konietzko had said that he was hoping to include Dante Basco, the original voice actor who played Zuko.[16] In August 2021 following leaked casting reports, Netflix revealed the show's cast for the main four characters: Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, Ian Ousley and Dallas Liu as Aang, Katara, Sokka and Zuko respectively.[10] Kim felt that "this was a chance to showcase Asian and Indigenous characters as living, breathing people. Not just in a cartoon, but in a world that truly exists, very similar to the one we live in."[17] In November 2021, Daniel Dae Kim, who previously voiced General Fong in the animated series and later Hiroshi Sato in The Legend of Korra, joined the cast of the series as Fire Lord Ozai.[18] Later that month, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Lim Kay Siu, and Ken Leung joined the cast of the series, playing Iroh, Gyatso, and Commander Zhao respectively.[19] In December, Elizabeth Yu, Yvonne Chapman, Tamlyn Tomita, Casey Camp-Horinek and Maria Zhang were added to the cast, respectively playing Azula, Avatar Kyoshi, Yukari (a new character added as Suki's mother in replacement of the mayor of Kyoshi Island), Gran Gran and Suki.[20]

In April 2022, Arden Cho and Momona Tamada joined the cast as June and Ty-Lee.[21][22] Later that month, C. S. Lee was cast as Avatar Roku.[23] In June 2022, A Martinez and Amber Midthunder were cast as Master Pakku and Princess Yue respectively.[24][25] In July 2022, it was revealed that James Sie would reprise his role as the Cabbage Merchant from the animated series.[26] In September 2022, more additional roles were announced, with two of them being George Takei as the voice of Koh the Face Stealer and Randall Duk Kim as the voice of Wan Shi Tong. Takei previously voiced the Fire Nation Prison Rig Warden in the animated series, while Duk Kim had a minor role in the 2010 live-action film The Last Airbender.[27]

Filming

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Production and filming began in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 16, 2021.[28][29] The series was filmed under the working titles Trade Winds and Blue Dawn. Principal photography wrapped on June 17, 2022.[30][11][31][19][32] Stewart Whelan served as a cinematographer.[33]

Visual effects

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Visual effects for the series were handled by over twenty visual effects studios, including Framestore, DNEG,[34] Rodeo FX, Scanline VFX and Image Engine.

Music

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On February 16, 2023, it was confirmed that award-winning Japanese-American composer Takeshi Furukawa was attached to the project as its composer.[35]

Jeremy Zuckerman, who composed music for the original show, was originally set to return to compose the music for the remake[36] but later denied his involvement with the show after DiMartino and Konietzko left the project.[37] The music was recorded at Synchron Stage in Vienna with the Synchron Stage Orchestra and Choir. In addition of being recorded in different places, including London at Angel Studios and Budapest as East Connection Music Recording.

Avatar: The Last Airbender
No.TitleLength
1."Earthbender"2:51
2."Prologue & Main Title"1:31
3."Southern Air Temple"1:05
4."You Are the Avatar"4:02
5."No Survivors"7:15
6."Katara"2:31
7."The Boy in the Iceberg"2:19
8."Sky Bison"1:10
9."Kyoshi Island"1:22
10."I Just Haven't Seen the World"3:33
11."Commander Zhao"1:47
12."Suki's Training"2:03
13."Omashu"2:12
14."Aang Fights Zuko"1:45
15."Lu Ten's Funeral"1:38
16."Tale of Two Lovers"1:53
17."An Old Friend"2:33
18."Memorable Journey"3:02
19."Scorched Forest"1:55
20."Lowlife Bounty Hunter"2:04
21."Pohuai Escape"5:26
22."Zuko's Return"6:53
23."Agna Que'A"1:45
24."Princess Yue"1:52
25."Moon Slayer"3:45
26."Aang Becomes the Ocean Spirit"4:16
27."Just the Beginning"1:15
28."End Credits"3:16
Total length:67:00

Reception

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Critical response

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The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season 59% approval rating based on 75 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Avatar: The Last Airbender serves as a solid live-action entry point into the beloved franchise, although it only sporadically recaptures the magic of its source material."[38] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[39]

Jack Seale from The Guardian gave the series a positive review, saying "The landscapes sparkle, there is a giant six-legged flying bison that carries everyone spectacularly from place to place through the clouds and the young cast are up to the task."[40] Josh Yehl from IGN gave a generally positive review, saying "The live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series enriches the original story with meaningful new material, but its breakneck pacing, exposition-heavy dialogue, and hit-or-miss effects aren't precisely in balance."[41] James Marsh from the South China Morning Post gave an extremely positive review, "Hardened devotees of the source material will inevitably find minor cosmetic and composite changes to quibble about, but critics will be hard-pressed to argue against Kim and his crew's heart being in the right place."[42] Anita Singh from The Telegraph gave a mixed response: "It's solid entertainment: fast-moving, action-packed, with decent fight scenes and some appealing performances, all done on a generous Netflix budget. Don't expect subtlety – this is aimed at children so the characters and plot are broadly drawn."[43] Variety opined that, while it wasn't as bad as the 2010 film The Last Airbender, it "will leave fans wishing the streamer had left DiMartino and Konietzko's masterpiece alone."[44] Kelly Lawler from USA Today called the show "a corrupted facsimile of the original" and claimed "it's clear after two failed attempts to tell this story in live action that the greatness of Avatar was because of its animation, not in spite of it."[45]

Viewership

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Season 1 topped the weekly global Netflix chart from February 19–25, with 154.4 million hours watched by 21.2 million viewers in its first week.[46] During its second week, the series remained atop but viewership decreased to 144.2 million hours watched by 19.9 million viewers and ranked among the top 10 in 92 countries and at number one in 76 countries.[47] It thus amassed 298.6 million hours watched by 41.1 million viewers in less than two weeks of its release.[48] Nielsen reported that on the "streaming charts for the week of February 19–25", Avatar: The Last Airbender was number one in the "originals" category and also number one overall "with 2.56B minutes viewed".[49]

Accolades

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The first season was nominated for Favorite Family TV Show and Favorite Male TV Star (Family) for Gordon Cormier at the 2024 Kids' Choice Awards.[50]

References

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  1. ^ "The 'Avatar' lives again! Live-action 'Last Airbender' series coming to Netflix". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  2. ^ "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' returns as a live-action Netflix series". Engadget. September 18, 2018. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  3. ^ Porter, Rick (September 18, 2018). "Live-Action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Series Coming to Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  4. ^ Hipes, Patrick (September 18, 2018). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Live-Action Series In Works At Netflix". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  5. ^ Michael Dante DiMartino [@mike_dante_d] (August 12, 2020). "@bryankonietzko also wrote a statement concerning our departure.
    🌊⛰🔥🌪"    . Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020 – via Instagram.
  6. ^ Bryan Konietzko [@bryankonietzko] (August 12, 2020). "Well, friends... there you have it. Big sigh. 💔⬇️💔 I'm sure many of you will understandably want to know more and will ask me questions in…". Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020 – via Instagram.
  7. ^ "An open letter to Avatar: The Last Airbender fans". Michael Dante DiMartino. August 12, 2020. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  8. ^ Otterson, Joe (August 12, 2020). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Creators Exit Netflix Live-Action Adaptation". Variety. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  9. ^ "Trade Winds". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Otterson, Joe (August 12, 2021). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Netflix Live-Action Series Sets Main Cast". Variety. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Isenberg, Meara (July 16, 2021). "Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation to start filming in November". CNET. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  12. ^ Tolsky, Andy (March 24, 2022). "ATLA Live-Action Netflix Show Reportedly Costs $15 Million Per Episode". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
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  17. ^ Webster, Andrew (August 12, 2021). "Netflix reveals cast for its live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  18. ^ Kit, Borys; Goldberg, Lesley (November 3, 2021). "Daniel Dae Kim to Star in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Netflix Live-Action Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (November 16, 2021). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Netflix Live-Action Series Casts Its Uncle Iroh, Gyatso, and Commander Zhao". Variety. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  20. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (December 16, 2021). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender': Elizabeth Yu, Yvonne Chapman & Tamlyn Tomita Among 5 Added To Netflix Adaptation". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  21. ^ Williams, Caleb (April 9, 2022). "EXCLUSIVE: Arden Cho Has Joined Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' TV Series". Knight Edge Media. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  22. ^ Williams, Caleb (April 9, 2022). "Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Also Adds Momona Tamada". Knight Edge Media. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference RokuCast was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pakku was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yue was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference JamesSie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Wang, Jessica (September 27, 2022). "Avatar: The Last Airbender casts George Takei, Arden Cho, Danny Pudi, and more". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  28. ^ "Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation to start filming in November". CNET. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  29. ^ Gittins, Susan (June 12, 2022). "Netflix's AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER Wraps Filming in Vancouver". Hollywood North Buzz. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
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  34. ^ Cite error: The named reference dneg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  35. ^ "Takeshi Furukawa Set To Compose Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' TV Series (EXCLUSIVE)". February 16, 2023. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
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  37. ^ Zuckerman, Jeremy [@jeremyzuckerman] (July 21, 2021). "To those who are wondering, I will not be working on the Netflix live action ATLA adaptation. However, I'm beyond excited to further explore the Avatar universe with Mike, Bryan, and everyone else at Avatar Studios" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
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  39. ^ "Avatar: The Last Airbender: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  40. ^ Seale, Jack (February 22, 2024). "Avatar: The Last Airbender review – a sparkling return for one of the greatest fantasy series of all time". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  41. ^ Yehl, Joshua (February 22, 2024). "Avatar: The Last Airbender Review". IGN. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  42. ^ "Avatar: The Last Airbender – fans of the OG, you can breathe a sigh of relief". South China Morning Post. February 22, 2024. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  43. ^ Singh, Anita (February 22, 2024). "Avatar: The Last Airbender, review: adored millennial cartoon becomes Gen-Z crowdpleaser". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
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  45. ^ Lawler, Kelly (February 22, 2024). "Review: Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' is a failure in every way". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  46. ^ Hailu, Selome (February 27, 2024). "Netflix Top 10: 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Opens in First Place With 21.2 Million Views, Up 15% From 'One Piece' Live-Action Debut". Variety. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  47. ^ "Netflix Top 10 Week of Feb. 26: "Avatar: The Last Airbender" Holds Onto #1; "Code 8: Part II" Debuts on Top" (Press release). Netflix. March 5, 2023. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024 – via The Futon Critic.
  48. ^ Agard, Chancellor (March 14, 2024). "Avatar: The Last Airbender Will Return for Seasons 2 and 3". Tudum by Netflix. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  49. ^ Porter, Rick (March 21, 2024). "Streaming Ratings: 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Premieres at No. 1". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  50. ^ Petski, Denise (June 4, 2024). "Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Beyoncé, Timothée Chalamet, Ayo Edebiri Among 2024 Kids' Choice Awards Nominees – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
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