Over 15 years after Avatar: The Last Airbender ended, here's how the animated series became Netflix's #1 show. Avatar: The Last Airbender debuted on Nickelodeon in 2005, introducing audiences to Aang, the latest incarnation of the powerful Avatar, who can master all four forms of elemental bending: air, water, fire, and earth. The series only lasted for three seasons, as it concluded before M. Night Shyamalan's live-action movie. The world of Avatar has since continued with The Legend of Korra, but the love for the original series is immense.
Even though Avatar: The Last Airbender stayed on cable through reruns, the series has found new life thanks to Netflix. The streaming service announced earlier this year that the series would debut in May, eliciting a ton of excitement from fans. But, for a series that ended almost 12 years ago, it was unclear just how big of a hit The Last Airbender would be on Netflix. The first few days that it was available, the show didn't appear on Netflix's Top 10 at all, but then a few days later, it rocketed to the service's #1 program and stayed atop the list for nearly a week. As of June 2020, The Last Airbender has remained part of the Top 10 and toppled many other newer pieces of programming — so how did this happen?
One of the keys to Avatar: The Last Airbender's renewed popularity is based on the passionate fan base the series accumulated in the past. It made a lasting impression on many viewers 15 years ago, and they are evidently eager to revisit the show. The Last Airbender debuted on Nickelodeon to over 3 million viewers, and some of its most-watched episodes eclipsed 5 million. This is also the first time the show has been available on a streaming service, so the accessibility and availability of Netflix helped propel Avatar: The Last Airbender to be the service's #1 show.
As popular as the show was on Nickelodeon, the show's pre-existing audience probably wouldn't be enough for it to climb the charts. The legacy that The Last Airbender left and the excitement generated by it coming to Netflix could have resulted in millions more discovering the show for the first time. This could be why it took a few days to appear on the Top 10, as hardcore fans drove interest online, and the interest climbed. Thanks to Netflix's 186M subscribers worldwide (and roughly 70M in the U.S. alone), The Last Airbender succeeded as people rewatched the show or finally decided to dive in. It also doesn't hurt that the series arrived in the middle of a global pandemic when people are home even more and could be looking for escapist entertainment.
The interest in Avatar: The Last Airbender isn't just an example of how beloved the series is, but is also good news for Netflix's future. Netflix announced in 2018 that they are developing a live-action The Last Airbender reimagining with the show's original creators. There hasn't been much news on it since, but that could change quickly. Now that Avatar: The Last Airbender is proven to be a big draw for Netflix, interest in a live-action series could be even higher. With the big-budget a live-action adaptation will need, hopefully the performance of the original animated series will push Netflix to spare no expense.